HEWORTH ARLFC will be donating more than £3,000 to the NHS following the successful sales of its training shirts, which was created by a 13-year-old junior player.

The club ran a competition for a special shirt to be designed internally by those at the club, in recognition for the work done by NHS staff and other key workers during the lockdown, as caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The winner was Under-13s player Freddie Wilson, whose shirt featured the NHS logo through the middle with the rainbow colours - as seen in ‘NHS Thank You’ campaign’ behind this, as well as adorning the sleeves and collar.

Having been voted as the best designed shirt, Freddie’s shirt has been popular order for many at Heworth.

The huge interest in purchasing the shirt has seen over 330 orders placed, meaning that around £3,400 will be donated to the NHS.

The shirts’ cost £12 for adults and £10 for children and are being sold at £22 for adults and £20 for children. For each sale, £10 is being donated to the NHS.

Club spokesperson Joel Clarke said: “We’ve not have a lot happening since March given the lockdown, so we decided to the run the competition for our juniors, as we’ve got teams from Under 7s through to open age.

“We got in touch with EV2 Sport, our shirt suppliers, who were happy to run the shirt and then our committee voted upon the entries to the competition. While we can’t play at the moment, it’s great that we can keep everyone from the club engaged through this competition.

“Only particular lady messaged me saying: ‘I’ve got no interest in rugby whatsoever, but I love the idea and the shirt, would I be able to order a shirt?’”

Heworth have plans for further fundraising initiatives after lockdown comes to an end. A match between their Masters (over-35s) side and a mix of the first-team and reserves is hoped to be played, when safe to do so, celebrating the key workers at the club and proceeds from the day going to the NHS.

To purchase a shirt, email: heworthrl@gmail.com.