RAF LEUCHARS NOMADS RUGBY TEAM EMBARK ON A TOUR OF A LIFETIME
Preparations on and off the pitch are well advanced for ‘RAF Leuchars Nomads’ Rugby Club’s impending tour to South Africa. RAF Leuchars Nomads’ first touring experience was over an Easter weekend in 1998 when the club visited the West Yorkshire metropolis of Doncaster on a two-match tour. This trip proved to be an overwhelming success and it was only then that the realisation hit that the club could go from strength to strength and set its sights further a field.
To say that this was an unrealistic vision would have been a massive understatement as following on from that long weekend in Doncaster the RAF Leuchars Nomads went on to undertake amazingly successful tours to Prague in 2000, South Africa in 2002 and more recently New Zealand and Fiji in 2004 (Check out www.leucharsrugby.com for more information and images). Military procedures and regulations are particularly stringent for overseas trips of this nature and as such an immense organisation, administrative and management burden was placed on the club to enable the tour to proceed. Although a dedicated tour committee undertook the bulk of this work, many responsibilities were delegated to all members of the touring parties, which was crucial in forming a strong bond and a sense of esprit de corps amongst all.
As a high profile military team touring overseas, the club was keen to become involved with public relations initiatives whilst abroad. This was particularly evident in our 2002 trip to South Africa when the RAF Leuchars Nomads began its longstanding involvement and commitment to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town.
The Red Cross Hospital is an amazing organisation that receives little state funding, relying on charitable donations in order for it to undertake and develop its outstanding work. The RAF Leuchars Nomads spent a day at the hospital where we received a full tour and came face to face with very poorly children from all backgrounds. The terrible AIDS epidemic in Africa meant that a lot of the children in the hospital were born with the disease and are purely there to receive palliative care.
We spent the day on various wards meeting as many children and their parents as possible, handing out the bags full of goodies and memorabilia to all. The language barrier restricted communication to a minimum but the faces of the children painted a thousand words and it was obvious they were delighted with our presence and the RAF stickers and baseball hats that were soon all over the wards. Since that date the RAF Leuchars Nomads adopted the hospital as its official charity and over the years has made financial contributions to its cause. In conjunction with this the RAF Leuchars Nomads frequently organise charity events and throughout the years have raised large amounts for excellent causes.
On May 27th, the RAF Leuchars Nomads are returning to South Africa on what promises to be an extremely demanding and rewarding tour. It will also give us the fantastic opportunity to return to the hospital in Cape Town, and arrangements are already in place for the squad to spend time there, assisting the nursing staff in whatever way we can as volunteers. We are also planning to assist with the Langa Township to assist with the teaching at the local Township school. Plans for the tour are well under way with all participants actively involved with its organisation.
Craig Bones, ‘RAF Leuchars Nomads’ Rugby Club’s coach and an ex-RAF Regiment corporal, highlighted why the ‘RAF Leuchars Nomads’ were so keen to return , “It was a very touching visit to this wonderful country back in 2002. It takes a lot for a grown man to be reduced to silence after so much joviality, yet this is what happened on that tour. There were children in the hospital with 80% burns and no chance of recovery, however the nurses and all the staff made sure that she was as comfortable as possible and that her parents were cared for. With Aids and Burns victims been so rife in South Africa, we felt it only just that we send funds on a monthly basis to the Children‘s Red Cross hospital and use this as the clubs official Charity, something of which the club is very proud to be associated with.
RAF Leuchars Nomads Rugby Club is an extremely successful club that has achieved unquestionable results in all aspects of the game over recent years. The club has set a benchmark in the organisation and participation of overseas tours within the military community and stands alone and is highly respected in this area. No other station team in the Royal Air Force has achieved what the RAF Leuchars Nomads have in recent years. This capability has provided us with the fantastic opportunity to engage in public relations and charitable initiative both worldwide and at home and has enabled us to make a difference to people’s lives; a memory that will remain with the club for years.
RAF Leuchars Nomads would like to thank our Official Tour sponsors: Environ, Apex Hotels, BMW, and ESS which are based at RAF Leuchars. Without their precious support, this tour would never have happened.
Last weekend, RAF Leuchars Nomads touring squad met for a pre-tour get together, which encompassed a match against Morgan FP 2 nd XV. This match was played for the Children’s Red Cross Hospital Charity Shield. After a hard and well fought match, RAF Leuchars Nomads were victorious 33-16. We would like to thank Gwynne from Morgan FP for the donation of the shield.
All of this hard work has been done to improve players skills, but the main reason and biggest prize will be giving a little happiness to some very sick children, an experience that no team member will ever forget.
Royal Air Force Leuchars Nomads Rugby Club would be very grateful for any further donations for this very worthwhile trip. If you wish to assist, please contact Flight Lieutenant Kate Cochrane on 01334 839471 Ext 7303.