THERE was high emotion for former Hurricanes rugby player Luke Orton on Saturday, when he made his first visit to the Isle of Wight since suffering a catastrophic neck injury in a beach rugby match last year.
SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS AND VIDEO
Sandown and Shanklin RFC hosted a special charity day in aid of wheelchair-bound Luke, which featured a match between a Luke Orton XV and an Island Barbarians XV, which comprised players from the Isle of Wight's three principal rugby clubs.
The Luke Orton team won, but 50 players from all the Island clubs combined, were involved in the match.
In keeping with the friendly spirit of the game, Southampton-based Level 7 referee Rhys Cleary — who offered his services free and paid his own fare to come to the Island — scored the final try from a scrummage, followed by them all gathering on the pitch to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Luke, watching from the balcony.
Luke, who travelled from the Salisbury Spinal unit, where he is undergoing intensive physiotherapy, attended the event with his partner and family, from Ventnor, on his 27th birthday.
Also, all bar profits, together with proceeds from a raffle and auction, will be donated to Luke, for a significant project to convert the family home and provide him with an adapted living space there.
Luke, a former Hurricanes player, was left paralysed following a horrific injury while playing in a beach rugby tournament in Ryde last year.
Luke, who will sadly spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, needs more than the £24,450 already raised for the conversion work, says his dad, Tony.
Saturday's event is estimated to have raised in the region of £20,000, of which £4,500 was donated by Masonic lodges from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Seeing so many come along to support the event — an estimated 450 people — made it "an extremely emotional day for Luke, his family and many friends," said Luke's dad, Tony.
Luke said: "Great to see a good game of rugby, all the supporters and the clubs coming together to make the day possible."
He added his rehabilitation was going well and that he aimed to get home by the end of next month.
Bill McPherson, the Fairway-based club's chairman, said: "It was a very emotional, fantastic day. Rugby is not just about throwing a ball around. It's about comradeship and supporting each other. I couldn't be more proud to be a part of the club."
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.
Read the rules here