The inaugural Mens' Charity Tens Tournament was played in glorious sunshine, and 6 teams hotly contested the Charity 10's Trophy, fielded from the hosts, Old Coventrians RFC, Old Warwickians RFC , the Army Rugby Union Veterans section and further afield.  The Tournament Cup was lifted by the Old Coventrians RFC ‘Twilight Tourers', who defeated the Army RU Veterans in a physical and competitive final. The Tournament Shield was lifted by Old Leamingtonians RFC, and the Tournament Plate was won by the OLs Crowd Pleasers. The trophies were presented by OLs President Mike Hemming and Monty Halls.
 

Former Royal Marine officer and BBC2 personality Monty Halls helped the fundraising and rugby efforts by donning his rugby boots and participating in an Invitation 10s Mens squad made up of players from Old Leamingtonians Veterans and Old Bristolians RFC. He scored two tries on the day (including a quite outrageous chip and chase effort, running in under the opposition posts after a 100 metre dash) and afterwards joined the fundraising efforts by signing copies of the book from his recent BBC2 series, Monty Halls' Great Escape.

The Festival also hosted the penultimate round of the West Midlands Girls Tag Rugby league tournament schedule, and Old Leamingtonians welcomed twelve teams to the competition, including a new team from Stratford Grammar School for Girls. The Tournament final result saw the Barclaycard Business Girls 7s trophy lifted by Laura McLucas, Captain of Old Leamingtonians Comets, who defeated rivals Evesham WRFC by 8 tries to 6 in the final. Evesham lifted the Tournament bowl as runners up and the Tournament Shield was won by Yardley & District WRFC. The trophies were presented by Club Chairman Brian Canning, and Mrs Naomi Whittaker.

 As part of a feast of rugby on the day, the Club also hosted a competitive U14s derby fixture between OLs and Leamington RFC, which the Club's great rivals won by a 3 point margin on a firm playing surface backed up by great support from the crowd.

Old Leamingtonians Ladies also played host to Witney Ladies and produced a resounding win for Jackie Meade's blue and gold hooped team, securing a 60 - 14  result.

The newly formed Leamington Royals rugby league team played their first competitive fixture against the Birmingham Bulldogs, and were narrowly defeated with a 2 point margin by the visitors. Leamington Royals Chairman Mark Croston and Coach Ash Howlett were delighted with the close run result and the level of support.   

 After the close of the rugby festival, the crowds stayed on to enjoy a 5 hour live music concert featuring the Shirley Pipe Band, the Sambassadors of Groove and the TA Band of the Mercian and Royal Warwickshire Regiments.  Music Director Bill Bates also pulled in support from local bands Harvey, Time after Time and former Meet on the Ledge frontmen Ron Holmes and Mick Shaler.

Commenting on the success of the day, Old Leamingtonians Chairman Brian Canning and President Mike Hemming said;

 "We were delighted to play host to our first ever Charity Rugby Festival and Band Concert at Old Leamingtonians RFC. We have handed over cheques totalling £1100 to the Army Benevolent Fund and Combat Stress, and we are pleased to provide these charities support at a time of unprecedented levels of demand for their services. We will be hosting a bigger and better 2 day Charity Tens tournament on 8/9 May 2010."

For more information or to register for next year's Mens and Ladies Tens Tournaments, please contact Project Manager Mike Vallance on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 07825 889624.