New Record For Fastest Throw Of A Rugby Ball

Canary Wharf is the enigmatic heart of London’s business and financial sectors, yet on a pleasantly sunny morning in April it became the sporty setting for the Guinness World Records attempt for ‘the fastest rugby throw’. Amid the sea of business men and women in suits, five professional rugby players from London Wasps valiantly faced the challenge of competing against each other to potentially become the first person in history to achieve this world record.

The line-up included iconic players from Wasps past and present:  Nick Berry, Kenny Logan, Tom Varndell, Mark Robinson and Joe Simpson. As a Wasps fan I felt extremely privileged (and ever so slightly star struck) to be amongst this (remarkably muscular) hall of fame.

The record briefing prior to the attempt felt like a dressing room pep talk; a mixture of resolute sportsmanship and competitive banter. Prepped and psyched, the players strode out into the centre of canary Wharf, where a huge speed cage was awaiting them to attempt the world’s fastest rugby throw.

Tom Varndell certainly lived up to his reputation as one of the fastest players in European Rugby as, much to the disbelief of his fellow teammates, he smashed the world record in his first throw, achieving an incredible 42.1 miles per hour. Varndell’s impressive start certainly heated up the competition! Impressively Varndell continued to increase the speed of the rugby ball with each throw and as the attempt progressed the 6ft 2 winger appeared to be unstoppable and unrivalled.

The players were allowed five throws each and were aiming for a speed of at least 40 mph (64.37 km/h) to achieve the coveted Guinness World Records title. A rugby referee was on hand to ensure that all throws were “legal” rugby passes. The average speed of each throw was displayed digitally in the speed cage and in true competitive spirit the players’ results were displayed on a leader board.

That was however until 22 year old hot shot Joe Simpson took his final throw. Clearly unfazed by Varndell’s domination of the leader board, Joe achieved an astonishing speed of  48.0 mph (77.25 km/h)! Far from disgruntled the four other players came to congratulate their fellow teammate for his record breaking throw, whilst I presented a well-deserved certificate to a happy yet ever-humble Joe.

Huge congratulations to Joe Simpson and to the rest of the players for a great day of record breaking rugby!

-Liz Smith, 30 June 2011