News | Harlequins Rugby Union | Official Site : Volunteers tackle rugby crowds during match bucket collection

PREMIERSHIP RUGBY today announced an extension of their partnership with the UK's largest insurance company, Aviva, for a further three years.The contract extension, which starts in the 2014-15 season, will cover a golden era for club rugby in England and will include a period when the country will host a Rugby World Cup and when rugby union will finally rejoin the Olympic movement.

Denzel Boatey-Agyei, Nathan Thomas and Silas-Paul Johnson have all been selected for the Harlequins Elite Player Development Groups following recent performances during the National U15 tournament.

Mike Brown will play fullback for England as they take on the Barbarians on Sunday at Twickenham Stadium. Lining up on the opposition will be prop James Johnston who has been named in the Barbarians starting XV.

The volunteers from our Richmond Friends Committee will be asking crowds at the Harlequins V Zebre Heineken Cup match to dig deep and help fill their collection buckets.

Princess Alice Hospice is a local charity dedicated to providing free, high-quality end of life care and support for adult patients and their families. The Hospice cares for people with cancer and other illnesses living in Surrey, south west London, and Middlesex serving a population in excess of 1 million.

It costs more than £8 million each year to provide these vital and much needed services for free, but only 25% of this comes from the NHS. The rest comes from our local community raised through voluntary donations and fundraising.

The Princess Alice Hospice Richmond Friends Committee approached Harlequins Rugby Union to see if they could resurrect a previous history of holding collections at club matches and were invited to attend this Saturday.

Sally Grant, committee member, said: "We are delighted that Harlequins have given us a chance to collect, not just outside the Stoop but inside as well.

"Princess Alice Hospice helps so many people in this area and so we are always looking to forge relationships with local organisations to help us raise money."

Harlequins remain top of Pool 3 in the Heineken Cup as they go into Saturday's match against Zebre. The Italian team is a new addition to the Heineken Cup. Zebre are currently bottom of Pool 3 having lost both of their opening round fixtures against Connacht and Biarritz. Harlequins welcome the new Italian addition to the Heineken Cup.

The Princess Alice Hospice team will be asking crowds to get into the festive spirit and give generously on match day on Saturday.