EVERY few years, Old Whitgiftian Rugby Club recognises the contribution of a player through a testimonial and this year it was the turn of second row Will Coker, who has played at Croham Road for the last 25 years.
Chairman Sam Barke said: "The Old Whits like to do this periodically as a formal thank you to the player concerned and Will was a unanimous choice this year.
"He's played pretty much continuously over that time, including about 40 games on trips back to the United Kingdom when he lived overseas for a time in Australia."
The testimonial itself featured a Will Coker XV, all wearing his number five and comprising of players from his 25-year tenure, taking on a current club XV over four 20-minute quarters.
And Coker was delighted to see so many turn up to support him.
He said: "It was overwhelming that so many people wanted to come and have a run again, so we ended up rotating a set of 30 players, and for some of them, 20 minutes on the field was an achievement in itself -– even the referees were ex-Old Whits.
"One of the highlights for me was a reunion of the 1995 Surrey One-winning side, as well as seeing three generations of the Spicer family - John, Mickey and Jack.
The testimonial XV scraped a very competitive 29-28 victory and a fantastic amount of money was raised for charity.
Barke added: "We raised £4,500 for Will's chosen charities - Macmillan Cancer Support and the Starlight Foundation through shirt sponsorship, a raffle and silent auction – it was a real club reunion and celebration."
