A CHARITY match co-organised by a Cwmbran soldier has broken the world record for the longest game of continuous rugby and raised £40,000 for two causes.

Over the weekend, two teams played a 32-hour match at Sixways Stadium, in Worcester in an attempt to set a world record by playing continuous rugby.

The event, co-organised by Dave Allison, of Cwmbran, involved 46 players, 23 a side, and for every hour that each player participated they were allocated five minutes rest.

On Saturday afternoon, the players broke the existing record by more than an hour, raising more than £40,000 for both the Firefighters Charity (FFC) and Scotty’s Little Soldiers (SLS), which supports children who have lost a parent serving in the armed forces.

The event included a family-fun day and charity challengers were supported by staff to get through the match, including physiotherapists from Worcester University.

Mr Allison, who helped raised money for the SLS team, has thanked supporters who made the charity challenge such a success.

Posting on Facebook he said: “I have no words.

“I’ve been blown away by the support for without a doubt the best charity in the world.

“I love doing what I do because it means the world to me to know that somewhere some place a Scotty’s child is in a better place than feeling the heartache of losing a parent.”

The final score was SLS with 1,483 and the FFC with 1,603 with the charity teams raising a combined total of £49,573 and setting a new Guinness World Record in the process with 32 hours of continuous rugby played.

Part-time firefighter and Pontypool United RFC player, Nathan Davies, 26, of the Varteg area, also took part in the challenge on behalf of the Firefighters Charity (FFC).

For more information on the charity challenge, visit: charityworldrecordrugby.co.uk