Kenilworth brothers to attempt '˜drop kick challenge' for charity which helped cousin beat cancer

Keen rugby players Noah and Louis Smithson, 12 and 11 respectively, will be attempting to score 100 drop kicks in half an hour at Kenilworth Rugby Club in Glasshouse Lane on Tuesday December 27 at 1pm in exchange for sponsor money.

The money raised will go to charity Candlelighters who helped Noah and Louis’ cousin Ella Rigg through her 18-month battle against cancer.

Noah and Louis’ mother Jacqui said: “They both absolutely love rugby, so they came up with the drop-kicks idea to help Ella.

“We asked Roger Roberts at the club if we could do it, and he’s just been amazing. It’s suddenly become quite a big thing.”

Ella, 10, was diagnosed with cancer in November 2013, just a few days after her seventh birthday after suffering from stomach aches and a reduced appetite.

After going to the doctors and later to hospital, tests revealed Ella had a tumour about the size of a grapefruit in her stomach.

Ella underwent 18 months of intense treatment including a 10-hour operation and periods of chemotherapy, but in May 2015, doctors told her the cancer was in remission.

To thank Candlelighters, Ella spent much of 2016 doing various challenges to raise money, including an abseil down a castle wall, a six-hour cycling challenge and an all-day sponsored silence.

Everyone is welcome to watch Noah and Louis attempt the challenge.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so via the club’s collection bucket, by filling in sponsor sheets from the club, or on Ella’s Just Giving page at justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-rigg4