Member Article

ASDA community champion organises surprise visit from England World Cup star for Shropshire’s Rugby Rebels

Asda Donnington Wood community champion, June Walker, wanted to make Christmas extra special this year for members of the Shropshire Rugby Rebels team.

The 40-strong group provides access to young people with disabilities to the sport of tag rugby. The team of children and young adults play together every week.

June arranged for England’s World Cup winning rugby star Jason Robinson to surprise the team and come along and take a training session! After sharing his tips and tricks, Jason handed out presents to every team member, consisting of brand new kit to keep them warm during winter training.

Due to the pandemic, the Rugby Rebels weren’t able to see each other or play the sport they love, so June wanted to surprise them with something magical!

June said: “It was such a lovely night. They did their normal training for a while and I went over and joined in a game of tag with them – it was a struggle to keep up!

“And then Jason came along and did some of the training with them and he was really great. He was very, very good with the kids and they interacted with him really well. The kids loved it. He also brought along his medal from the World Cup and the kids were like ‘wow’. The parents were a bit in awe as well.

“After the training session Jason got all the kids in a semi-circle with their backs to their parents and when that was happening they put a screen in place and then he said that he wasn’t their only surprise and showed them the bags full of new kit. It was just so lovely; the kids were so chuffed.

“It was just so nice to deliver a surprise to a group that I know and that I’ve worked with. When they turned up for training, they all were all a mixed bunch with all different types of training gear, but now they’ve got the bobble hats, hoodies and rain jackets which are all embroidered with the Asda logo on. They will really look the business!

“I’ve been working with them for the past 18 months but I’ve known members of the group for about five or six years through other groups. It’s just lovely to see the friendships through the ages, as you have a five year old with a 25-year-old; with a disability, there is no age barrier.”

Jason Robinson, England Rugby World Cup star, said: “It was so nice to go along and surprise the Shropshire Rugby Rebels group with a training session and just to have a bit of fun with them. I was also able to present all the team with some warm winter kit provided by Asda – it was just priceless seeing their faces. They were all very passionate rugby fans and it was clear that they had missed playing together over the last year. It was really nice seeing the smiles on their faces, just having fun – that’s what it’s about.”

Val Edgley, joint secretary of the Rugby Rebels, agreed that everyone from the team was thrilled by the surprise.

She said: “We can’t thank June and Asda enough, we really can’t. What they’ve done has been amazing.

“The kids really, really enjoyed the training with Jason, and they each had a photo taken with him and his medal but the icing on the cake was when they brought out the hoodies and jackets and everything, it was fantastic. Where we train in the winter, it’s really cold, so this new kit is brilliant. The team will be able to wear them when they go to tournaments too.

“It was tough for the group through the pandemic because we had to stop for a while, but it’s great to be back and it’s great to get so much support from Asda.”

This Christmas Asda community champions like June will be busy helping more people enjoy magical moments together, doing their bit to spread Christmas cheer and celebrate the special festive moments so many people missed last year.

The Asda Foundation is set to donate £1 million to over 2,500 grassroots community groups to fund bringing over 400,000 people back together, many who were isolated or alone last Christmas.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nick Hill .