July 18, 2008

England players are transformed into Roman Gods in a new viral film launched this month.

The Gods promotes this summer’s O2 Scrum on the Beach series which are part of the RFU’s Play On campaign.

Filmed on Camber Sands in Sussex in May, it shows Mars (Nick Easter), Neptune (David Strettle) and Mercury (Danny Care) making a unique impact on a game of beach rugby. England Team Manager Martin Johnson brings them back down to earth with his no-nonsense pay-off.

There are four O2 Scrum on the Beach festivals to come this summer at Tynemouth (July 26-27), Birmingham (Urban Beach, August 13), Newquay (August 23-24) and London (Urban Beach, August 27-28*).

They offer the chance to play or watch beach rugby, meet England players, test their skills in the state-of-the-art Play Zone, visit the RFU mobile exhibition units, or sit simply back on the sand and enjoy the live music and entertainment. There’s also an O2 Blueroom offering O2 customers free refreshments and the chance to chill out with the players.

The RFU’s Play On campaign aims to keep more 16-24 year-olds engaged in the game as they move from school into higher education and beyond

Play On will create a network of O2 Pathfinders trained and equipped to guide young players on their rugby journey, campaign within schools and promote rugby direct to 600,000 teenagers, and create more teams, competitions, coaches and referees to sustain their involvement.

You can view The Gods viral by clicking here and scrolling down to select The Gods video in high or low quality.

For more information about the Play On campaign visit its website www.playonrugby.com