Colin Charvis has agreed to roll back the years by appearing in James Hook’s testimonial game this summer.
The former Wales captain joins Mike Phillips and Shane Williams, who have already signed up for the game at The Gnoll on June 10. A thousand tickets have been sold within four days of going on sale and organisers are delighted at the response.
"It says a lot about what people think of James," said Matt Church, Cambria Sports Group chief executive, who is arranging the event. "He’s a tremendously popular guy and people want to support him as well as watch others who have established themselves as Welsh rugby legends over the years."
Read more: The verdict on James Hook, Welsh rugby's modest cavalier
There is little doubt that Charvis fits the bill on that front. One of Wales’ greatest-ever back rowers, he captained the team on 22 occasions, including at the 2003 World Cup, and wore the red jersey 94 times. There were also two Tests for the Lions and consistent excellence for his clubs, including London Welsh and Swansea.
Perhaps his greatest international performance came in 2004, when he emerged with huge credit from a joust with Richie McCaw as Wales lost 26-25 to New Zealand in Cardiff. Charvis made the legendary Kiwi look mortal that day, edging the breakdown battle and covering acres of ground around the field, along the way jolting the All Blacks with the ferocity of his tackling.
There was also a memorably up-and-down relationship with the media, but no-one doubted Charvis' quality. His former international back-row colleague Martyn Williams once named him in a Wales dream team of players he had played alongside, saying: “What a player, just hard as nails. He perhaps wasn’t the public’s favourite player for whatever reason, but he was just a phenomenal player, a real warrior. He could play anywhere in the back row — 6, 7 or 8. He was just fantastic.” You can read more on that here.
Hook has also secured the services of another Wales international Aled Brew. Once, when asked who was his best mate in rugby, Hook replied with a dozen names but made a point of adding some detail on Brew, a powerful runner who featured nine times for Wales between 2007 and 2012. "I started with Aled in the Ospreys academy and we went to Neath College together," Hook said. "He’s a great mate."
Tickets for the game can be purchased at NeathRFC.com
