A group of rugby mad friends began playing beach touch rugby on Sandbanks beach in 2008. This group has evolved and grown into the Sandbaggers Beach Touch Rugby Team - a close knit, social club of players trying to cling to their youthful rugby playing days whilst somehow continuing to remain competitive at beach touch rugby festivals in France and the UK.

During the 2021 season one of our players and a father of three, Andrew Vaughton, was given the devastating diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease:

“MND turned my whole world and that of my family upside down. The Sandbaggers gave me a space to feel normal, helped me navigate through some very dark times and finally find my old self again. I will never forget the support and love from the group during those early days from diagnosis. With the support of everyone in Sandbaggers we have looked at ways of raising awareness and much needed money to support research and care around MND. This is why we came up with the idea of the World record attempt.”

Motor Neurone Disease is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It can leave people locked in a failing body unable to move, talk and eventually breathe. It kills six people every day in the UK, a third within 12 months of diagnosis and more than half within two years. It has no cure. The physical and emotional burden post diagnosis can be very difficult to process.

Both the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the My Name'5 Doddie foundation are supporting vital research into a cure for motor neurone disease and care for it's sufferers. Their efforts and the advances they've made give us hope where there was none, and we want to raise as much money as possible to continue their critical work.

THE CHALLENGE

World record attempt for longest game of beach touch rugby - confirmed by Guinness as a new world record.

Date: 20/21 MAY 2022

This record will require us to play as two squads of 11 for over 33 hours 33 minutes of continuous beach touch rugby. This mammoth task requires a huge amount of support and sponsorship.

Our aim is to hit our fundraising target for both charities....