Tankie's Battle

On Friday evening I had the honour of working at a benefit match held at the Newcastle Falcons ground Kingston Park. This match, named ‘Tankie’s Battle’, was in honour of Paul Van-Zandvliet (also known as Tank), an ex-Falcons player who has recently been diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. Tank organised this match consisting of former team-mates and select North-East team players, including his son Leon. This was in aid of raising funds towards a trust fund for his young daughter Hope Elle and other charities.

It was a wonderful evening with a superb turn up and I felt extremely lucky to be working alongside some very experienced professionals, with a perfect view of the action. The whole atmosphere at the game was better than any matches I have attended at the ground. Everyone was in high spirits, with the Falcons Legends scoring 10 tries to 4.

As I was working pre-game I met some wonderful people including John Pearson, or ‘Tommy Tight pants’ as he introduced himself, an international ref who after the game praised my work with him pre-game. The stories I heard were incredible and confirmed my love of working as a sports therapist as you often hear some fascinating stories.

After the game we saw, and practically chased Johnny Wilkinson across the pitch for a selfie but with no luck. It must have taken him about half an hour to make it down the stands due to the number of people trying to take a snap (his cheeks must have been aching by the end). So it turned out we were unlucky to catch him before he headed off. However, I wasn’t too bothered as I think I will remember the chase more than a photo with him haha!

It was a really great evening and I hope the event raised lots of money for a great cause!