London to Tokyo, cyclists in race to promote rugby, save children

Chandigarh: Cyclists Ron Rutland and James Owens arrived in the city on Tuesday as part of the Race to Rugby World Cup 2019.
They are cycling for the good cause of providing the poor children of Asia with an opportunity to participate in sport and learn life skills through rugby under a development programme called ‘ChildFund Pass It Back’.
They have, so far, bicycled for more than 20,000 kilometres across Europe and Asia since starting from Twickenham Stadium in London on February 2.Their journey across almost half the globe will conclude in Tokyo on September 19, ahead of the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2019 between Japan and Russia. On Tuesday, the rugby team of The British School, Sector 44, interacted with Ron and James at the Sukhna Lake complex, where it received some valuable tips from both on training and game plan.
Talking to TOI over the phone, Ron Rutland said, “We came to India three days back through the Wagah Border. It’s been a fantastic experience in Chandigarh. The city is organised and there is so much space to ride your bicycle. In the morning, we were joined by more than 100 cyclist when we were expecting quite less than that.” He added, “I was amazed to see the students of the school playing rugby with so much passion and zeal. What amazed me more was that girls outnumbered the boys.”
Ron Rutland of South Africa is entrepreneur and a former amateur rugby player. He has participated in two extreme expeditions in life—a world’s first unsupported solo bicycle journey through the entire continent of Africa, followed by a world-record-breaking ‘Hole of Golf’ across Mongolia.
James Owens, born and raised in Hong Kong, has been associated with rugby as a player as well as coach. He says he wants to use sport as a tool for social change, for which he joined ChildFund in 2015 to assist with its rugby development programme called ChildFund Pass It Back.