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The longest match in rugby history
ESPN Staff
June 4, 2013
Simon Whittaker with his medal © Wisbech Standard

Forty-four players took part in the longest match in rugby history and raised £60,000 for armed forces charity Scotty's Little Soldiers.

The game, which lasted 24 hours 50 minutes, took place at Leicester's Welford Road and finished just before noon on Sunday. An Armed Forces XV beat the Scotty's Little Soldiers XV 1742 - 828.

The Wisbech Standard reported that Simon Whittaker, a 40-year-old who retired from the army this year after more than two decades service, played for a remarkable 23 hours. "It was a fantastic experience," he said. "My wife and kids were watching from the stands and I played about 23 hours. I started at hooker and played all over the pitch. To be honest I got through on adrenaline."

The game was organised by Nikki Scott, whose husband Corporal Lee Scott was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. The charity supports children who have lost parents who were serving in the armed forces.

"Nikki came on the pitch and gave me a cuddle," Whittaker told the newspaper. "I had some tears in my eyes when she brought me some water and told me what an amazing job I was doing and that her husband Lee would be proud of me."

Click here for more on Scotty's Little Soldiers

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