Guinness World Record rugby bid gets underway at Mullingar RFC

Mullingar Rugby Club are on their way to becoming a part of rugby history. This afternoon two teams kicked off in a contest to break a world record.

Two rugby charities, Wooden Spoon and LooseHeadz, are in the process of getting into The Guinness World Record for the longest rugby games ever played and raise over £100K for charities.

Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby, and LooseHeadz, the mental health rugby charity, commenced their marathon game earlier today and will play until tomorrow afternoon.

“We got a phone call from the Lions Trust and they asked us if we would be willing to host it and it seemed like something fun to try, so we put our hand up,” Denis McDermott told the Examiner.

Anyone familiar with Mullingar RFC will know it's one of the most progressive clubs in the country. As such they have developed an outstanding campus at Cullion on the Castlepollard Road.

“We've spent a lot of time and energy over the last 10 years improving our facilities. We have two full-size 4G pitches here, two 4G paddocks, two grass pitches, coffee shop, gym, and a clubhouse.

You can't have all these things and not get people out to use them, so we were kind of delighted to get the chance. And it's a tremendous opportunity to be part of rugby history,” Denis said of the club's commitment.

The record attempt features two concurrent matches – men’s and women’s – aiming to shatter the current records of 30 hours 29 minutes 41 seconds (men’s) held by Wooden Spoon and School of hard Knocks and 24 hours 5 minutes 15 seconds (women’s).

“They're hoping to break the record at around 3 o'clock tomorrow. They're hoping to keep on playing about the 36 hour mark,” he explained.

Another Mullingar RFC club member is Clare O'Brien. On Wednesday afternoon she is sitting in front of a ledger with a pencil in her hand: “We're independent witnesses. We are on four hour shifts, we record everything in the match. Scores, scorers, substitutions, and player activity. It's all documented on paper, and we have cameras in operation as well.

“The people from the Guinness Book of Records will then go over the records and make sure everything tallies.”

Clare says this is a unique event for the club: “It's very cool to be a part of. It is great to see the club growing. To have the chance to be in the record books is good for us.”

The organisers are hoping Mullingar people will make their way to the club to lend their support to the players undertaking the gargantuan task.

As an incentive the fans will have an opportunity to meet ex-Lions legends and TV presenter Craig Doyle, who will lend their support as team managers, referees, water carriers, and more.

Hanna Stallard is the partnership manager with LooseHeadz and one of the organisers of the world record attempt: “Mullingar rugby club have been phenomenal,” she told the Examiner.

The project has been in the pipeline since last December: “Six weeks ago another rugby club pulled out and Mullingar stepped in, we are so grateful to them for accommodating us.”

This incredible event sees 92 participants: two squads of 23 men and two squads of 23 women. Players of all abilities are participating with stamina and teamwork more important than skill level.

Hannah says Mullingar turned out to be a good choice: “We booked out the Bloomfield Hotel. They are jam packed with rugby players. The local facilities are so good. We have to thank everybody who has given us such a warm welcome.”

Matt Mallinder of the Wooden Spoon charity gave some background to the record bid: “We are the current record holder, along with an organisation called the School of Hard Knocks. We are now joining with LooseHeadz for this attempt, in partnership with the Lions Trust.

“We've mixed the teams together, so it's the Wooden Headz and the Loose Spoons. The aspiration is to raise money for the charities.”

The decision to play the game in Ireland is linked with the British and Irish Lions' game against the Argentina Pumas at the Aviva Stadium next Friday, June 20, 2025. The players in the Mullingar matches will take to the pitch during half-time as newly crowned Guinness World Record holders.

Matt said the event is all about Wooden Spoon and LooseHeadz: “The rugby is great, and it's great to get the world record, but this is actually about raising funds for two very worthy charities. Every hour these players put in on the pitch will make a difference in the lives of the people who benefit from the charities.”

Mullingar RFC club member Denis says he's hoping the public will call to the club and cheer on the players in their attempt: “We're putting out a call to all rugby fans to come out, there's lots of people here, there's plenty of tea and coffee and food and there's two great games of rugby going on,” he told the Examiner.

He believes supporters may make the difference: “I think especially as the hours go on and as they get more fatigued, the encouragement of people on the sidelines, cheering them on would really, really help. So if people come out this evening or any time tomorrow and push these athletes along it would be great.”