A BOXING Day rugby match in Otley has raised more than £3,000.

The annual fundraiser saw PHGS Old Boys Barbarians, featuring ex-students from Prince Henry’s Grammar School, taking on Otley RUFC at their Cross Green base on Wednesday, December 26.

The players were cheered on by a 600-strong crowd and the game ended with the Barbarians scoring their first victory - winning 31-28 - in the three years that the annual fixture has been played.

A PHGS spokesman said: “Such was the clamour to play in the match that ex-Otliensians player Nathan Rogers even travelled up from Jersey to feature for the Old Boys, with substitutes playing for either side in keeping with the spirit of the day.”

The proceeds will be split between the school’s Rugby Facilities Fund and Talk Outside Of The Scrum (TOOTS), a new mental health support charity for rugby players.

A donation is also being made to St Michael’s Hospice in Harrogate in memory of former PHGS PE Teacher Caroline Tiernan, who recently passed away after suffering from Motor Neurone Disease.