Rugby record left a lasting legacy
THIS week marks the twoyear anniversary of when the world record for the longest rugby match was broken by Southport Rugby Club.
The match took place on August 1, 2015, and players carried on through daylight and darkness, sunshine and rain, and lasted an astonishing 26 hours, 35 minutes and two seconds.
Although they have since relinquished the record, some effects of the match are lasting.
The match was co-organised by Gareth Lang, 35, who played to raise £12,000 for a physio vest to help his daughter Ella, 12, who has cystic fibrosis.
Similarly James Doran, a good friend of Gareth’s, played for his niece, Ava, five, who was in need of a kidney transplant.transpl
The total a amount raised from the event was £35,000. That meant that the physio vest could be bought for Ella, and £15,000 was donated to the kidney unit at Alder Hay children’s hospital on behalf of Ava.
Gareth, a father of three (soon to be four), said: “Ella has been doing really well. The vest has really helped her in everyday life.
“We have had a few problems with her medication, but she is now tolerating it and doing much better.”
Ava is also doing well after a slow and steady journey, despite encountering problems along the way.
Gareth said: “She is doing really well and she has grown. She is currently 189cm, meaning she is just one centimetre away from being the ideal height for transplant.
“Ava and her dad are going forward for the cross-match donor tests on August 29 to start the long road to be ready for her kidney transplant, hopefully within the next year.”
The game also had a lasting effect – although not so positive – on Adam Lang, Gareth’s brother, who broke his fibula four hours into the match – but continued to play for 16 hours.
Speaking to the Visiter after the match, Adam said: “I had completed all the training in the runup to it so the worst thing would have been not playing in the actual world record attempt.
“It was the atmosphere and the adrenaline that kept me going, and I was constantly thinking ‘I am trying to raise money for my niece’.”
As a result of his injury, last week was the first time Adam was able to go for a jog since the world record-breaking match.
Despite all the good that came from it, Gareth has assured people that he will never do anything like that again.
He said: “People are always asking me what I am going to do next, but I think ‘if you can’t do better, don’t do anything at all’.
“None of the lads who played answer the phone to me anymore. They always think I am ringing them with another fundraising idea!
“We had unbelievable support from the local community and it really was a once-in-a-lifetime event.”