Army charity match is a first for Haverhill Rugby Club

Haverhill Rugby Club has lined up a first ever match against a team of Army veterans to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Preparations are being made for the match against the Old Boy Masters 15 at Castle Playing Fields at 2pm on February 27, a team made up of ex-soldiers from the 47th Field Regiment Royal Artillery that have served in The Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Before that however Haverhill have a crucial match on Saturday (2.30pm) away to Cantabridgians II in the Greene King IPA Eastern Counties Division Two West.

The two teams are locked in second place on 39 points, with the Cambridge based side ahead on points difference and with two games in hand, so a win for Haverhill is crucial to keep them in the hunt for a top two finish.

With the teams from second to sixth all separated by just three points, defeat for Haverhill could see them drop dramatically down the table.

The match against the Old Boy Masters 15 has come about thanks to veteran Haverhill player and club stalwart Andy Carr, who used to serve in the regiment and still has lots of connections to it.

Haverhill vice chairman, David Halsey, explained: “We are just going to have a mixture of veterans and senior players out to play the game.

“They will have a mixture of fit, young lads and some older ones. It will be a tough fixture.

“It is a charity game at the end of the day, but it is something totally new for us.”