Welcome to my Australian Charity page for Lifting the Lions, raising money for Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect).

The Challenge

Lifting the Lions is a challenge I've created to celebrate and coincide with the Lions Tour of Australia. I’ll be attempting to lift the combined weight of every player, from every matchday squad (both teams), from every match of the Lions Tour, in the time it takes to complete a rugby match.

The Maths

Here's the boring bit to figure out how much I have to lift:

- 23 players a match day squad, 2 squads per match, 10 matches = 460 players

- Average international player weight = just under 105 kilos

- Total weight (460x105) = just over 48,000kg, or 4 London double decker buses, or an Airbus A321 (more or less), in 80 minutes. With a 15 minute half time break of course, just like a rugby match!

I’ll be doing squats, bench press and dead lifts and I’ve already started training, and I can confirm it’s horrible.

The Charity

To honour the ethos of the Lions, I'll be raising money for charities in the UK and in Australia.

The charity in UK I'll be raising money for (on this page) is the 4Ed Foundation (via the Gloucester Rugby Foundation), a foundation which supports those diagnosed with motor-neurone disease and their families, inspired by former Leicester and Gloucester rugby captain Ed Slater.

In Australia, I'll be raising money for Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), a charity which supports children and young people with ASD through focused education and employment opportunities. You can visit that page here.

When/Where?

I'll be doing this mad challenge just before the third Lions Test at 12pm on 31 July 2025 at Crossfit Amare Vita in Kincumber on the NSW Central Coast.

.....

Thank you for supporting me on this challenge, and keep your eyes peeled for updates!