Saracens full back Chris Wyles’ firewalk challenge
Rugby World Cup player to perform stunt for charity
A ST ALBANS based rugby player who has recently returned from competing in the World Cup in New Zealand will be feeling the heat next Tuesday, literally.
But it won’t have anything to do with facing the opposition on the field.
Chris Wyles, fullback, wing and centre for Saracens, admits he will need nerves of steel to take on the challenge of walking barefoot over a 20ft-long bed of hot wood embers for charity.
On Tuesday, November 8, he will be joined by about 100 Saracens staff and players, some of whom will follow in his footsteps over the scorching surface, to raise funds for the Hospice of St Francis.
The partnership between the club and hospice comes after Chris’s mum, Jessica, was cared for by the charity earlier this year. Based in Berkhamsted, the charity provides care for people with life-limiting illnesses with 20 per cent of patients from the St Albans district.
Chris, in his fourth season with Saracens, played for the USA team, beating Russia, in the 2011 Rugby World Cup as he was born and lived in America for 11 years.
Most Read
- 1 Suspected loan sharks arrested in Hemel Hempstead
- 2 See inside this loft style apartment in a former hat factory
- 3 Train timetable shakeup due in St Albans and Watford from May 15
- 4 Woman found in canal near M25 in Hertfordshire
- 5 St Albans shop showcasing small independents by renting out shelves
- 6 Nearly 100 motorway cameras upgraded to catch drivers who flout red X rules
- 7 Harpenden neighbours condemn plans for builders merchant next to residential properties
- 8 Building company resurfaces bridleway to provide safe route for riders and walkers
- 9 Revealed: Most popular Deliveroo takeaway dishes in St Albans
- 10 Missing 25-year-old last seen in Coreys Mill Lane found in Stevenage
Although the team did not get to face the All Blacks, Chris said nerves on the rugby field did not compare to what he felt about the prospect of walking over hot embers at a temperature of 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit.
He added: “It is the ultimate test of mind over matter. I’m a bit nervous but it’s for a great cause, and the whole club is going to be there. I’m hoping to have a great atmosphere.”
Chris said he wasn’t able to do a practice run before next Tuesday’s challenge takes place at 4pm at Old Albanians on the Woollams playing fields but he was mentally prepared to block out the pain and, “walk straight on to the embers.”
He went on: “As a squad we want to give something back to the hospice, so have pledged to raise enough money to employ three full-time specialist nurses by staging six sponsored events over the course of the season.”
Claire de Silva, spokeswoman for the hospice, said Saracens’ willingness to undertake challenges to raise funds had been outstanding.
To sponsor Chris visit his justgiving page at: www.justgiving.com/Chris-Wyles
