Edinburgh trio bring smiles to ‘Sick Kids Hospital’

• 7 Aug 2024
• News

Edinburgh Rugby players Marshall Sykes, Boan Venter and Ali Price brought a touch of rugby magic to the Royal Hospital for Children & Young People last week.

The trio visited the hospital as part of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s Olympics-themed week, spending time with young patients and their families.

The visit was a heartwarming experience for all involved. Lock Sykes reflected on the day.

He said: “Yeah, it was myself, Boan [Venter] and Ali [Price] who visited the Sick Kids Hospital. We visited different wards, had different conversations with all of the patients and had a few good laughs. All in all, I thought it was a really good day.

“I think the Olympics being on, it’s brilliant. You can see around here they’ve got the hub, which we’ve rebranded the Olympic Village.

“They’ve got that set up and there’s loads of little games for the kids and whatnot. So it’s just trying to make their day 5-10% better. I think in general it’s good promoting sports through young children as well.

Sykes continued: “I suppose there’s two sides to it, isn’t there? It’s tough to come in and see what some of the families have to go through. It’s very eye-opening, I suppose.

“You can be in your own little bubble in Edinburgh and not really see it, but equally it’s brilliant to see, even though they’re going through these tough periods of time, actually we’ve all had loads of laughter.

“I was crying with laughter a couple of times there. So they’re also putting smiles on our faces.”

Venter echoed his teammate’s sentiments, adding, “I’ll double up on that, it’s definitely eye-opening to come here.

“Like Sykes says, it’s easy to just live in your bubble and think your day-to-day is what it is, and then you come here and meet these people and see their resilience and what they have to fight every day.

“It just makes us grateful for what we have. And if we can come in, spend a bit of time with them, put a smile on their face, they put a smile on our face as well. So, yeah, it’s really rewarding in that sense. Brilliant.”

The players joined in with the Olympic-themed activities, providing laughter and entertainment for the young patients.

Alie Simpson, Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity Marketing & Communications Manager, praised the players’ involvement.

“It’s always such a highlight for children and their families at the hospital when the rugby players come to visit,” she said.

“Having the players join in with our Olympic challenges was so much fun, and they were certainly given a run for their money by some super competitive young athletes!”

“We’re so grateful to our friends at Edinburgh Rugby for always being so willing to visit. It means so much to our hospital families.”