RUGBY players took on their biggest challenge to raise money for charity.

Five members of Harwich and Dovercourt Rugby Club – Sean Mills, Dean Splarn, Steven Tucker and Guy Harris, along with Joe Francis – took on a half ironman on Sunday.

The gruelling 70-mile course saw them tackle a 1.2-mile open water swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run in succession.

All five managed to complete the daunting course in Staffordshire in times ranging from 5hrs 46mins to 7hrs 57 mins.

The group are hoping to raise £6,000, which will be split between Macmillan Cancer Support and Smile Train, which provides free cleft repair surgeries to children in need.

So far, they have managed to raise more than £4,600 for the good causes.

Mr Mills, 29, said: “We had great support from people travelling up from Harwich. “This really did help everyone round the run at the end.”

To donate, go to justgiving.com/teams/ hd703 or justgiving. com/GuyHarris1991