Rugby players finish 28-hour world record attempt

Provisional world records have been set simultaneously for the longest ever men and women's rugby sevens matches.

The two games were played at Sandbach Rugby Club in Cheshire over Friday and Saturday, with both contests lasting 28 hours.

For the men's match, the duration was longer than the current Guinness World Record of 24 hours and 30 minutes set in 2017, while there was not an existing record for a women's match.

Both achievements are subject to final verification from Guinness and the event, called 24/7s, has so far raised more than £68,000 for rugby mental health charity LooseHeadz.

"It was incredible, hard, tough, emotional, crazy, just a phenomenal event. It's still taking some processing," said Sandbach Rugby Club player Rob Smith-Owen.

The attempt began at about midday on Friday, with players doing multi-hour shifts until both matches finished at 16:00 BST on Saturday.

Smith-Owen told BBC Radio Stoke they started off doing three-and-a-half-hour shifts but this later became four-and-a-half hours when several players suffered injuries.

"You're just physically and mentally exhausted," he added. "One of the lads had a tracker and worked out we did around 83 miles each as a player in 28 hours.

"It was crazy but the support staff we had - all the volunteers, the physios, catering – nothing was too much trouble."

Among those taking part were former England and British & Irish Lions forward George Kruis, who said it was "one of the toughest but most rewarding rugby experiences" he ever had.

"You could feel the purpose behind every minute and while we were chasing a world record, more importantly, we were raising awareness for mental health in our sport," Kruis said.

"The atmosphere at Sandbach, on and off the pitch was unbelievable and it showed the power of community rugby."

LoozeHeadz co-founder Rob Shotton said it was an "incredible achievement" and praised the "collective effort" of those involved.

"From the players grinding through the early hours to the officials, physios, volunteers and supporters who never stopped cheering, 24/7s has shown exactly what the rugby community can do when it comes together," he added

"Every pass, tackle and step taken over those many hours helps us raise vital funds and keep pushing our mission to place a mental health champion in every rugby club in the world."

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