I just wanted to provide an update on Tui and Agy following my ask for assistance just over a month ago.

Most will remember that Agy and Tui arrived in the UK just before Christmas to enjoy the experience of a new country and play a bit of rugby! They arrived and fitted into the club straight away enjoying both the rugby and the off field activities. They did say they had never experienced such weather as it never seemed to stop raining. I did reassure them that it doesn’t normally rain this much and our grounds are never normally this wet! The latter might have been a small white lie!

The guys found work, rented a flat in town and were having a great time and then……. Covid-19 arrived. They were out of work, unable to travel and unable to play rugby. All this and nowhere near their families or homes.

I put a request out to ask for funds as they were experiencing hardship and we were trying to help to get them home whilst keeping them fed/watered with a roof over their head in the meantime. Many of you were very generous and supported the boys with both monies and food/drink. We kept the cash to one side and Stu Montgomery, Wicko and Jim got to work to try and get them home.

I have to say the boys were delighted with the support from the members and felt very much part of our community. After two bookings for flights home which did not fly Stu did eventually find them a flight that did go (via Qatar). They got back to NZ, completed their 14 day quarantine period and are now back home with their families. So a very happy ending for the two boys and hopefully we will welcome them back at some point in the future.

So thank you for your support which kept them fed, watered and got them home safely. Your support for their hardship is much appreciated by myself and the boys.

Mike