Dedicated and Popular Pair to Appear on Bath Rugby Shirts at The Clash

Two of Bath Rugby Foundation’s most dedicated participants will take centre stage when Bath Rugby players run out at The Clash.

The showpiece event – which takes place on Saturday 7th April at Twickenham Stadium – sees the West Country side face arch-rivals Leicester Tigers in a crucial Aviva Premiership battle.

Last April, over 61,000 people savoured a fantastic occasion and this year and, when The Clash returns next month, 15 ambassadors of Bath Rugby Foundation will be with Bath Rugby’s players on the field during the match - The Bath Rugby Foundation XV will all be incorporated into the special charity shirts the players will wear at the home of England Rugby.

The Foundation’s ambassadors have all been specially selected for displaying incredible determination to overcome the odds has seen them achieve remarkable success.

Two members of the Bath Rugby Foundation XV Todd Burge and Ellie Lake were given a taste of Twickenham earlier this year when Bath Rugby Foundation paid a visit to “HQ”. The pair were part of a team of participants in Foundation mixed ability programmes who took part in a special training session at Clarendon School, with Bath Rugby stars Sam Underhill, Freddie Burns and Zach Mercer, before taking a tour of Twickenham Stadium.

Both Ellie and Todd have been named as part of the Bath Rugby Foundation XV for the dedication they have shown and the progress they have made since joining Foundation programmes.

They are both regulars at the Foundation’s Hi5! Club, which was set up to help develop the fundamental movements of children and young adults with special educational needs or disabilities. Each week, young people aged 7-25 take part in different sports and fun activities.

Bath Rugby Foundation Senior Coach, Becks Toan, said: “It’s been fantastic to see Ellie’s growth; she has been dedicated to Hi 5! Sports Club. She’s coming out of her shell recently, but it’s also great to see her

stick to her morals and to her opinions. If she something is wrong she corrects it and points it out, which takes guts.

“She’s recently started Weight Watchers and has been very dedicated to the process and increasing her activity levels through Hi5! Sports Club.”

The pair are also members of Walcot Warriors, the first Mixed Ability Rugby team in the South West.

Bath Rugby Foundation’s Health Officer, Joe Aygul, said: “Todd recently won the Premiership Rugby Play Awards 2017 for his development over the years.”

He said. "I was a little bit scared on the stage but happy at the same time. I can now teach people and help them improve and, hopefully, they could be winning awards in the future.

"Rugby has helped me make new friends, has given me more confidence and helped me release my anger when I used to get bullied."

He's a student at Bath College, previously at Writhlington school, he has really thrown himself into rugby and is now settled in his education and making the most of all opportunities that arise in his spare time.

The Clash takes place at Twickenham on Saturday, 7th April. More than 45,000 tickets for The Clash have already been sold.

Tickets for The Clash are available now, with prices starting at just £5 for juniors and £15 for adults, and area available from bathrugby.com/tickets or on 0844 448 1865.

Hospitality options are also available – visit bathrugby.com/theclash, contact the Hospitality team on 01225 325200 (option 2) or email [email protected] for more information or to book.