Spring is in full bloom and with it so too are the efforts of the five official charity partners of The British & Irish Lions - Dallaglio Rugby Works, LooseHeadz, Matt Hampson Foundation, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Wooden Spoon.
With the Tour to Australia just around the corner, the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation announced the launch of the Doddie's Lions Challenge, a 555-mile cycle around Ireland in memory of Doddie Weir.
Kenny Logan will be accompanied by Doddie's son, Hamish Weir, and more than 50 fundraisers, celebrities and former players on the endurance ride - channelling the spirit unique to a British & Irish Lions Tour.
Joining Logan and Weir are Scottish football icon Ally McCoist, broadcaster Gabby Logan and Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber, as well as former Wasps prop Will Green, ex-Ireland A international Mel Deane and rugby podcaster Archie Curzon.
The team will cycle almost 100 miles a day across the breadth of Ireland, stopping at origin clubs of famous Irish Lions before finishing at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where they will present the match ball to Andy Farrell's side for their match against Argentina on June 20.
They hope to raise £500,000 for the foundation – to donate, click here.
Kenny Logan said: “Since Doddie died, awareness has grown massively, but fundraising remains pivotal to maintain momentum. The Foundation has now committed nearly £20 million to MND research – which is fantastic, but it’s only the beginning. Doddie would be proud – but he’d also be telling us to go further, faster. Until there’s a cure, we keep going. That’s what he would want, and it’s what we owe him.”
Punchestown saw the Kenny Alexander-owned Doddiethegreat place second in the Conway Piling Handicap Hurdle, netting a further €9,500 for the organisation.
Alexander donates all the prize money from the horse to the foundation after meeting Doddie and being inspired by his resilience.
While The Doddie Discofest will return in September on the Isle of Coll, a two-day music festival raising money for the foundation and other local charities.
Children's charity Wooden Spoon held a “Scrum Wine with Me” evening in Worcester, raising £2000 to go toward disadvantaged children across the county.
The charity's Chiltern branch has also announced a Lions Legends Lunch to be held at Bisham Abbey on 6 June, featuring Sunday Times rugby writer Stephen Jones in conversation with 2005 tourist Dwayne Peel and Australian World Cup winner Michael Lynagh.
Wooden Spoon announced its intent to break two Guinness World Records on June 18-19 alongside Looseheadz, by playing two rugby matches, a men's and women's game simultaneously for non-stop 36 hours.
Women's Rugby World Cup winners Heather Fisher, Rocky Clark and Tamara Taylor, along with rugby content creator Max Brown, are stepping up to the plate in Dublin in the hope of raising £100,000 to be split between the two charities. To donate, click here.
LooseHeadz also thanked Charlie Caine for his efforts in completing the Wilmslow Half Marathon for The LooseHeadz Foundation, raising £15,000 - their biggest individual fundraiser to date - in memory of his close friend James.
Dallaglio Rugby Works hosted an evening with former Wales and three-time British & Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland at the Cumnor Theatre in Sussex.
The evening featured an engaging Q&A, a live interview by noted sports broadcaster John Paul-Davies and a special auction, all of which helped raise funds to support young people through sport and education.
While the Matt Hampson Foundation continued its mission to change the lives of those who have picked up serious injuries through sport as they staged the latest instalment of the annual Mike Tindall Celebrity Golf Day at the Belfry Hotel and Resort.
