Thanks to the generosity of O₂, 40 richly deserving children from the London area had an incredible day watching England play The Barbarians at the home of English Rugby at Twickenham.

Before the match began, the kids had an exclusive tour of the West Fan Village which was a great experience as they could explore the rugby-related exhibitions, specialist food offerings and musical performances.  

The match was thoroughly entertaining, albeit possibly only for the England fans as they secured a massive 73-12 victory.  The day didn’t end for the children at final whistle as they were invited to the press conference where they met England players, Lee Dickson, Joe Launchbury, Henry Slade and Kieran Brookes and the England Manager Stuart Lancaster. They were given the opportunity to ask questions of the players, to get photographs with each of them and their autographs.

One carer on the day said: “Everyone enjoyed it, the game was great with lots of trys and some excellent rugby skills on display and the press conference was so much fun at the end.”  Another said, “we felt completely spoilt. The children had huge smiles and the bus “buzzed” all the way home!”

KidsOut would like to thank O₂ for their kind support in providing the tickets and to Stuart Lancaster and the rest of the England team our very best wishes for the forthcoming Rugby World Cup campaign!