More than 21,000 supporters bore witness to an Ultimate Big Boot first on Saturday afternoon.
Neither East Bergholt High School nor London Porterhouse were able to keep a hold of any of their ten attempted catches in blustery conditions at the home of Leicester Tigers, delivering the first nil-all draw in the competition’s history.
The Ultimate Big Boot, sponsored by De Montfort University (DMU), tests the catching skills of participants on the hallowed Welford Road turf as part of the half-time entertainment in front of thousands of supporters.
Pete Davies was captain of the London Porterhouse group from King’s Lynn, and said his team still enjoyed the experience despite the no-score.
“It was great,” he said. “There are ten of us and we’re all mates, and I think we might have thought we were better than we were.
“Last time we were here two years ago we caught four, but didn’t manage one today – it’s a good laugh and we’ll be back again for sure.”
East Bergholt managed a catch during their last appearance in the Ultimate Big Boot – when Tigers beat midlands rivals Wasps at the start of March – but weren’t able to better their score this time around.
One of the participants from the Suffolk school said: “It was amazing to be out there and although we didn’t manage to catch any balls, to be out in front of so many people was brilliant.
“It’s always a great day out here at Welford Road.”
The season’s best score so far is seven, set by staff from the Tigers Group Sales team during October’s Heineken Champions Cup match against the Scarlets.
The Ultimate Big Boot is available for group bookings and all competitors receive a Big Boot T-shirt as a souvenir. All participants must be aged 14 or over. For more information, call 0116 2171 216 and learn more about our Group Days.
