Players from Loch Lomond Rugby Club’s junior section took on a very different kind of sporting test last week, as they swapped the rugby pitch for rowing machines to help raise money for charity.
Having seen some of their Glasgow Warriors heroes taking part, members of the U14, U16 and U18s age groups did not need much encouragement to get involved with the Doddie Aid Rowing Challenge organised by Cameron House Hotel.
A big number turned out to form teams of four, with the aim of rowing 5000m as quickly as possible.
To take part, players made donations and were also sponsored, with all proceeds going to Doddie Aid, the annual fitness challenge set up in the name of former Scotland rugby international Doddie Weir and which is part of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation which invests in research to help treat Motor Neuron Disease.
There was some healthy competition between the teams but, as well as boosting their fitness levels, none of the rowers was ever short of moral support from their clubmates throughout what was a brilliant evening.
Coaches even joked that it might need to become a fixture in the players’ training regime, too, as the U14 team put in an impressive display just a few days later to beat Wigtownshire 59-37 at home, while the U16s also enjoyed a home win over Moffat (22-12).
