Taking the long road to Rugby World Cup 2011
29 Apr 2010
A pair of rugby-loving Brits will set off from London this weekend on an intrepid 18-month, 18-country journey bound for the New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup - on bicycles.
Tom Hudson and girlfriend Jodie Burton plan to cycle 25,000km overland to New Zealand with the aim of arriving at Auckland’s Eden Park in time for the tournament kick-off in September 2011.
The cycling marathon will take the couple through 18 different countries, via various rugby outposts, as they embark on a charity-raising mission en route to a new life down under.
Footscray to Footscray
A number of factors helped bring the journey together for Tom, 28, and Jodie, 29 - who describe themselves as "fairly active".
Having decided to emigrate to Australia, they were looking for a life-changing challenge. Meanwhile, Tom’s parents had recently immigrated to Dunedin, in New Zealand’s South Island.
The cycling plan was hatched when Tom and Jodie read The Crossing - the story of Ben Fogle and James Cracknell rowing across the Atlantic ocean.
A rugby-related discovery added a further incentive when Tom, who has played rugby for London club Footscray for 10 years, discovered the existence of another Footscray club in Melbourne, Australia - adding a target to the challenge.
"In 2009, the two clubs made contact and agreed to help promote each other to players heading across the globe. This is where our idea was born. My girlfriend and I planned to cycle between the two clubs exploring the development of rugby.
"It has developed into a pilgrimage from the home of rugby (Twickenham Stadium) to the forthcoming rugby world cup in Auckland, New Zealand 2011," said Tom.
RWC 2011 route
The couple will set off from Twickenham stadium on 1 May, cycle through the English countryside to Dover, then cross by ferry to Calais, France.
On the way to RWC 2011, they will ride across the top of France to Strasbourg, pick up the River Danube following it through Eastern Europe to the Caspian Sea before heading south to Turkey.
From Turkey they will ride to Iran, north to Pakistan and over the Karakoram Highway into China. They plan to travel through China to South East Asia and, if there is time, explore Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia before cycling to Thailand.
From Bangkok the couple will island hop through Malaysia to Timor where they will rely on shrimp fishermen to get to Darwin.
After riding from Darwin down Australia’s east coast to Melbourne, they plan to spend some time setting up a base before flying to Auckland and then cycling the final leg to their destination - Eden Park.
Rays of Sunshine
Tom and Jodie plan to visit as many rugby outposts as possible en route, including schools, clubs, players and fans of the sport - telling the story of rugby union across the globe.
Their mission is to raise £25,000 for UK children’s charity ‘Rays of Sunshine’ which turns dreams and wishes into happy memories for children with serious and life threatening illnesses.
The couple hopes to average 100km a day, and say they only need to raise £1 per kilometre of pedalling to reach their target.
World in Union
As well as cycling for charity, they want to deliver a message at the Rugby World Cup 2011 with a ‘World in Union’ scroll carrying the signatures of prominent rugby people from the nations they have cycled through.
Their aim is to show that countries of different regions, beliefs and cultures, can stand side-by-side together in harmony.
"To us, our journey is a way of breaking down the walls between cultures, to live and understand the grey areas between people and their religions.
"Through rugby, we hope to discover that the world is not as segregated as we are led to believe. Perhaps there is a ‘path of rugby’ that can lead us to our destination, a path of one universal language and passion?" they said.
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