Source: The RPA

£20,000 raised for Restart Rugby and Rugby League Cares at AFEX Trading Day

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AFEX, one of the world’s largest non-bank providers of global payment, foreign currency and risk management solutions, played host to a unique encounter between stars of rugby union and rugby league yesterday in support of Restart Rugby, the official charity of the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA), and Rugby League Cares, the official charity of the Rugby Football League.

Over 20 of rugby’s finest professionals, past and present including Amy Wilson-Hardy (Bristol and England), Sarah McKenna (Saracens and England), Kyran Bracken (former Saracens and England), Andrew Fenby (London Irish), Tim Streather and Nils Mordt (both Saracens) and Jon Wilkin (St. Helens & England), Leon Pryce (Hull & Great Britain) and Stuart Fielden (former Bradford, Wigan & Great Britain) took to the trading floor to execute currency trades in a contest to see who from Rugby Union and Rugby League could place the most trades on behalf of their form of the game.

On the phones, it was a close run affair but Rugby League came out on top completing £6.8 million of trades within the allotted hour window compared to £6.6million completed by union players. The highest individual trade was completed by Alex Lewington of London Irish.

In total, the event raised £20,000 for the two charities that provide financial and emotional support to ex-players in their respective codes that have had their careers ended through injury or illness.

Damian Hopley, Group CEO of the RPA, said: “The support AFEX and the players have shown for Restart Rugby has been outstanding. It’s great to see so many of our members giving up their time to support such an important cause. The benefit of today’s event is twofold, not only do our members get to see what life is like working with an RPA partner, they also have the opportunity to raise money for their fellow professionals and promote the work of their incredible charity.”

Chris Rostron, Head of Rugby League Cares, said: “We are delighted to be working with AFEX and the RPA on this event. It has been a fantastic experience for the players who accompanied us today, many of whom have expressed a desire to work in the industry. For them to jump into the hustle and bustle of the trading environment is somewhat a baptism of fire, but they’ve all done exceptionally well and there is no doubt that the best way to learn is to give something a go.”

“We are very grateful of the support we are receiving from AFEX, which is critical to our work supporting players as they transition to a career beyond rugby league. Moving from one career to another is daunting prospect for anyone, so to receive support such as this is fantastic and will help us enormously with this important piece of work.”

Rachel Hollos, Global Marketing Director of AFEX, said: “We’re delighted to raise £20,000 for Restart Rugby and Rugby League Cares who do so much to support players well after their on-field careers have ended. I’m impressed by how quickly and naturally the players took to the phones, which we hope is a valuable contribution to their off field work experience.”

Report courtesy of the Rugby Players Association