Brian Moore To Host Fund-Raiser In Aid Of Wimbledon Warriors Coach

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Tickets now on sale for 'An Evening with Brian Moore'

Fomer England rugby player Brian Moore will be hosting a fundraising evening to help Wimbledon Warriors rugby coach Simon Shilston, who has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease.

The event takes place in the Upper Parish Hall of the Sacred Heart Church on Edge Hill in Wimbledon from 6pm on Wednesday April 27.

As well as giving a speech and Q&A session, Brian will also draw a raffle and conduct an auction. Organisers are now looking for items people would be interested in donating.

Simon, aged 42, was diagnosed with the disease in April 2015 and the funds will be used to help improve his life and enable him to continue working to support his family for as long as possible.

Simon has been married to Carla for 11 years and they have four children: Johnny, aged 10, identical twins Suzy and Nancy, aged nine, and three-year-old Betsy.

To enable him to carry on working in the recruitment business, a downstairs loo/garage is being converted at his home in New Malden to an accessible wet room/office.

Changes also need to be made to the downstairs of the house to accommodate Simon's electric chair, including access into the house and garden.

Simon is a former pupil of Donhead and Wimbledon College and a longstanding member of Old Wimbledonians RFC. He played for the Rams for many years and has coached what is now the Under 11 squad of the Warriors - the junior section of the OWRFC - since they started at Warriors over 6 years ago.

Brian is also the father of two Warriors (one current and one former), and his wife Belinda is an active member of the Warriors community and a coach of the U8 Warrior age group.

After becoming aware of Simon's situation, Brian offered his support and the idea of the evening was born.

There are two types of tickets available for the event - Premier and Platinum. Both types of tickets include the following:

• Pre-dinner drinks
• A meal (please indicate if you have any special dietary requirements)
• Wine, beer and soft drinks throughout the meal
• After dinner drinks
• Entry into the raffle to win one week’s holiday at Roda Golf and Beach Golf Resort (subject to availability).

Platinum ticket holders will sit on the same table as Brian, who is bound to have a few tales to share.

During his rugby career, he played for Harlequins, Nottingham, Leeds and represented England, winning 64 caps. Notorious on the pitch for winding up opposition forwards in the scrum (the French in particular), he was always willing to throw himself whole-heartily into the thick of the action.

He played in three Rugby World Cups including the World Cup final against Australia at Twickenham in 1991. He was member of the England side that won Grand Slams in 1991, 1992 and 1995, and was a Test series winner with the Lions in Australia 1989. In 1990 he was voted Rugby World Player of the Year.

Since retiring, he has been a regular media commentator, author and pundit on the sport, and is admired for his writing, forthright views and style.

To book tickets for this special event, click on this link: An Evening with Brian Moore. If you can donate any items for the auction, contact Mike Cronin at secretarywarriors@gmail.com.

March 25, 2016