Kingston University Rugby Football Club (KURFC) have brisked the chilly weather and bared it all for charity in a naked 2020 calendar.
Fifteen players posed for twelve photos with rugby balls precariously balanced over their private parts, practising rugby drills in the buff, and running through nature as naked as the day they were born.
Charity secretary Daniel Hughes-Hawkins said: “In a lot of rugby teams, there is this sense of a hierarchy between players for the fulfilment of the ‘macho man’ stereotype that rugby players seem to pressure themselves with.
“With this sort of environment becoming a breeding ground for toxic masculinity, I believe it’s important to challenge these stereotypes. Our aim is to send a message to not only to other rugby players and teams but to the general public, that ‘it’s okay to not be okay’.”
The team has raised around £200 so far, selling 41 calendars, and will donate the money to the leading suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
“We’ve been trying to raise money for men’s mental health throughout the year, so we did Movember for men’s cancer last year, and now CALM which focuses on men’s mental health,” Hughes-Hawkins said.
When asked about what it felt like to embrace the chill, winger, Isthihad Chowdhury said: “It was cold. It was open, you know, I felt great, at one with nature.”
Hughes-Hawkins added: “One woman seemed quite annoyed at us, but once you’ve slapped on the label ‘for charity’ everyone’s okay with it.”
The calendars are £10 and can be purchased on the team’s Instagram page. They will also be selling stock again on Friday, January 24 in the main reception of the Penrhyn Road campus.
If you were unlucky enough to miss out on your chance and wish to support the team, you can donate funds to CALM’s website.
Amelia Jones 
Hermione Marszalek