Rugby greats to visit island for mental health charity fundraiser

Some of the UK’s rugby greats are set to visit Jersey to speak at a fundraising dinner for a sports mental health charity.

Former England player Ben Cohen, who was part of the winning World Cup team in 2003, and scrum-half Rory Lawson, who played in the 2007 Scottish World Cup team, will share their stories at the Royal Yacht on Thursday 22 May.

The event is being held in aid of UK charity LooseHeadz, which aims to promote better mental health care for rugby players of all levels.

The charity, which hopes to place a mental health lead in every rugby club around the world, has recently formed a new partnership with Jersey Rugby Club.

Former Jersey Reds player and charity ambassador Guy Thompson said: “Jersey is a fantastic place to live, work and play rugby but we shouldn’t ignore that people are still struggling.

“I hope islanders, who have already been so generous to the rugby community, will help us raise much needed funds so LooseHeadz can continue its mission.”

Since being established in 2017, LooseHeadz has worked with 1,000 clubs in 20 different countries.

Rob Shotton, charity co-founder, said its success in such a short time demonstrated the “level of need” for a mental health focus in the entire rugby community – from grassroots to professional level.

Using the message #TackletheStigma, LooseHeadz hopes to combat misconceptions around mental health and promote suicide prevention.

Pictured: Cohen will make a speech at the Royal Yacht on 22 May.

Mr Shotton said: “When we launched, we said if we saved one life then it would have been worth it, but we know that dozens of men and women have been given the support they needed to not make that final decision.”

Mr Cohen, who will be the keynote speaker at the fundraising dinner, is a well-known campaigner for better mental health care.

He set up the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation to raise awareness of the long-term effects of bullying.

Since retiring from rugby in 2011, Cohen has also been involved in efforts to make the sport more accessible to players who are hard of hearing after he become deaf during his athletic career.