London Skolars have today announced former Bath Rugby Union Head Coach and England Rugby Defence coach, Mike Ford, as the guest speaker for the Skolars’ annual Capital Challenge.
The luncheon will take place on Friday 20th January 2017 at the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) followed immediately by a match between London Skolars and newly crowned Super League Grand Final Winners, Wigan Warriors on the HAC grounds.
Ford enjoyed a career in Rugby League that lasted almost twenty years- he played for several clubs notably Oldham, Castleford Tigers, Sydney Roosters and our guests, the Wigan Warriors. However, he became a household name with Rugby Union followers for his exploits as a coach. His first role was as the Defensive coordinator of the Irish RU, he then moved on to Saracens where he obtained his first taste as a Professional Head Coach. In 2006 he became the England Defence coach where he remained for several years before becoming Head Coach of one of England’s premier Rugby Union clubs, Bath.
Skolars General Manager, Jac Davies said the club was looking forward to another exciting event.
“Skolars are delighted to announce that we’ll again be taking on a Wigan Warriors side at our Capital Challenge event next January at the HAC. Wigan have been a great partner over the years and have really supported this initiative. I’d like to thank Ian Lenagan, Shaun Wane, Chris Radlinksi and the team for their support of this event and we hope to continue that relationship into the future,’’ he said.
“To have Mike Ford as guest speaker for the event is really exciting and will draw a lot of interest from a host of different Rugby followers. Mike has been a great servant to both rugby and rugby league as a player and more recently as a coach, so we’re really looking forward to listening to his insights and views on the game.’’
“The Capital Challenge is a fantastic event and a great way to not only promote rugby league in London but to also showcase our wonderful sport and the Skolars and Wigan clubs.’’
The 2017 Capital Challenge event marks the 10th year anniversary of the Capital Challenge. Building from strength to strength, the event has grown over the years to become a marquee annual event with some of London’s big city global firms coming on board as programme partners.
“We’re excited to again be working with our club sponsors Nasdaq, Widsom Tree, Irish Stock Exchange, Ipreo, Capita, PCubed and Exchange Data International to deliver this event.”
“One of the highlights of the event is the junior rugby league tag festival in the morning. Through our partnership with Pcubed as one of our community sponsors, we’re able to put on the junior tag festival held in the morning of Capital Challenge. The festival gives kids from across London the opportunity to play tag rugby league at the HAC and then form the guard of honour for the main game.” Said Davies.
The event will include an Exchanged Traded Funds investment conference in the morning which is sponsored by Wisdom Tree and supported by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments.
Last year’s game saw the Wigan side which included predominantly most of the up and coming stars of the future hold off Skolars to win 10 – 6 in a bruising and muddy encounter.
Wigan players that have played in the past include the likes of Anthony Gelling, Tony Clubb, Ryan Sutton, George Williams and Lewis Tierney.
Last year’s record event sold out fast, so please ensure you book your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Price start from £110+VAT for an individual and £1000+VAT for a table.
Tickets are available online now via the club website skolarsstag.wpengine.com or you can contact Louis Robinson at louisrobinson@Skolarsrl.com or 020 8888 8488.
