World Cup & England Centurions Join World Record Attempt

Former England internationals Heather Fisher, Rochelle Clark, Tamara Taylor and influencer Max Brown are set to participate in LooseHeadz and Wooden Spoon’s Guiness World Record attempt for the longest game of rugby by playing for 36 hours and raising over £100,000 to help tackle mental health.

Fisher, Clark, Taylor and Brown are just a small selection of rugby personalities competing in the attempt on behalf of British & Irish Lions Trust Charity Partners LooseHeadz and Wooden Spoon, who are seeking more sign-ups for the women’s game in particular, as well as brands looking to sponsor the historic event.

Fisher, England’s World Cup-winning flanker in 2014, said: “Even though mental health is talked about more these days, and we have a better understanding of it, we aren’t always actively promoting it.

“There are a lot of rugby players that will have struggled or will be struggling with their mental health. It’s easy to see the performance and not the person, which can mean that mental health gets overlooked, so it’s important that we heighten the awareness and tackle the stigma within rugby.

“LooseHeadz is doing a brilliant job at providing rugby with a platform to tackle mental health issues, and I see this a big opportunity to heighten the awareness of that. I’m also very excited to be involved in a Guiness World Record attempt – fingers crossed I can stay in one piece as I haven’t played since I hung up my boots in 2021!”

Rob Shotton, co-founder of LooseHeadz, said: “We can’t wait to attempt to break the current Guinness World Record for the longest men’s and women’s game of rugby in Dublin. We want to go above and beyond the standard 80 minutes of a rugby game and we’re hoping to raise over £100,000 to go towards our efforts to tackle the stigma around mental health in rugby, raise awareness and, most importantly, improve and save lives. 

“We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Wooden Spoon in this historic event; with their help, we’ve strengthened the foundations around mental health awareness. Supporting our mission are also Capgemini and Onebright, who we’re proud to have onboard to help drive us towards our goal of placing a ‘LooseHead’ at every rugby club in the world.”

The current record stands at 30 hr 29 min 41 sec and was achieved by School of Hard Knocks and Wooden Spoon, in London, UK, from 25 to 26 August 2019. The 2025 attempt will take place in Dublin on 18-19^th June before the British & Irish Lions warm-up for their tour of Australia with a match against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium.

The event comes with a package available to anyone who wishes to participate in the record-breaking attempt. The package includes a Lions Guinness World Record challenger squad kit, a pre-event training day, four nights’ accommodation in Dublin, tickets to the Lions vs Pumas, post-game reception, meals and game nutrition with physio support and celebration with award presentation.

Supported by Capgemini and Onebright, LooseHeadz is a mental health charity with the aim of normalising the conversation to #TackleTheStigma that surrounds mental health. Their goal is to prevent, promote, educate, and signpost around mental health by providing a toolkit of mental health resources, completely free of charge, by placing ‘a LooseHead’ (mental health lead) at every rugby club in the world.

LooseHeadz recently announced a new 3-step plan to tackle the stigma around mental health in rugby: 1. Connect; 2. Deliver; 3. Support. LooseHeadz are now hoping to raise £1million, which will allow the charity to host the platform, provide training for 500 clubs and mental health leads, and roll out the Onebright clinical support service at 100 clubs.

Wooden Spoon is a children's charity that supports disadvantaged and disabled children and young people in the UK and Ireland. The charity uses rugby to fund projects such as sensory rooms, sports areas, and medical care. Wooden Spoon hold the current record for the longest men’s game of rugby, lasting 30 hours 29 minutes 41 seconds.