Earlier this year, our club was rocked by the loss of one of our beloved minis, six-year-old Sam Jahanshahi.

Cheeky, funny, kind, fiercely competitive and already a rugby player through and through, Sam loved his rugby both on the pitch and, like a true forward, off it too, with hot dogs and barbecues of paramount importance.

Sam was diagnosed with a condition called acute myeloid leukaemia which led to a bleed to the brain, neurosurgery and chemotherapy. He tragically died within 36 hours of the diagnosis.

Up until the week of diagnosis, Sam was an active, full-of-life, Trigger Happy TV-loving six year old. The speed with which the condition took Sam was brutal, but little is known about it, and Southgate RFC are hosting a series of events to raise money towards research into childhood acute myeloid leukaemia.

We’re doing it, in the way we feel Sam would’ve approved – through rugby, a sport he loved. “Being part of Southgate RFC brought Sam so much pride and joy,” said his father Kam. “He spent hours talking about the tackles and runs he made as-well as the tries he scored. He was so looking forward to the end of season bbq with the team that he decided he would not attend a friends' birthday party that was to clash!”

Sam's case isn't an isolated one, with other children suffering the same way, and everyone at Southgate RFC and the local community is getting behind this cause to raise funds.