The Strictly event raised over £3000.00 for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust, helped by raffling a signed Saracens playing shirt and sponsorship for ‘Big Bob’ shaving off his flowing locks, which was match funded by Barclays Bank.

BBC Sports presenter James Phillips found the walking rugby surprisingly competitive as he earned the nickname ‘Offside’ and there was a particular welcome for Lincoln’s Ancient Oaks. The Auld Greys had featured in an article on englandrugby.com in August 2022, which inspired the Ancient Oaks to set up, and the two clubs established a warm friendship. The Ancient Oaks took part in this year's Walking Rugby Festival in their grey shirts as homage to them.

Susan Regan, who joined the Auld Greys six years ago, told Radio Cumbria: “I’ve made a lot of new friends and have got an expanded friendship network too. Apart from the walking rugby, we go to the movies and fundraise too.”

Paul Want, one of the founder members says walking rugby is great physical activity and is also about “looking after one another. It gets pretty competitive, everyone’s so enthusiastic.”Paul has just handed over the reins to Peter Halsall to handle the practical running of the club, including organising next year’s festival, “while I’ll just enjoy playing.”