Athletes do battle in tug of war for cancer charity

TWELVE rowers from Leander Club took part in a tug of war match at Henley Rugby Club.

The athletes were split into two teams and played best-of-three during the half-time break of the Henley Hawks match against Oundle on Saturday.

They were supporting Henley’s entry into the House of Lords vs House of Commons tug of war match which is set to take place in June next year.

Ten teams are set to take part in the annual event, which takes place in College Garden, Westminster Abbey, in London, which raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The Henley team is aiming to raise £10,000.

The Leander team was organised by member Andy Trotman, of Wharfe Lane, Henley, who chairs the event in London. The athletes received coaching before the match by Steve Potter, a retired member of the RAF tug of war team.

Finlay Rhys Jones, 18, was on the losing team, winning one of the three rounds. He said: “It was good fun. I think we didn’t get into a good rhythm with it, which is a bit unfortunate.”

Oliver Nash, 18, was part of the winning side, said the key to the win was getting a consistent tempo. “We did well together,” he said. “We were all in time.”

Mr Potter said that he had enjoyed coaching the athletes for the “exhibition match”. He said: “They were fantastic and enthusiastic, which makes it so much easier to coach.

“It was a very competitive match and I love coaching people who have never done it before.” Mr Trotman said the rowers had been great sports. He said: “Leander Club have very, very generously given us these athletes the afternoon and these are all people aspiring to be Olympians.

“Maybe this could be the beginning of a Henley town tug of war club!”

Mr Trotman said it had been great to see the rugby club getting behind the initiative. The Hawks players were wearing a special one-off Macmillan green jersey for the game.