MATT France of Alton RFC played for England Veterans against a Rest of the World XV in the inaugural Rugby Aid charity match at Harlequins’ Twickenham Stoop stadium.

The meeting of two star-studded teams, shown live on BT Sport, was in aid of Rugby For Heroes, a charity which supports military personnel making the transition back from service to civilian life.

Matt France is a serving member of the Army and joined Alton in 2001 when he was posted to RAF Odiham. After many seasons playing for the first team, duty called him away from the area, but he recently returned to the club and played for the reinvigorated vets side, the Alton Masters.

He also represents the Army Masters side and can now add an international call-up to his rugby CV.

World Cup winner Mike Tindall, a patron of Rugby For Heroes, led an England team that included Jason Robinson Ben Cohen, Paul Sackey, Nick Kennedy, Andy Gomarsall, Tom May, Iain Balshaw, Mark Cueto, Ugo Monye and Lee Mears, as well as former England footballer Dion Dublin and rugby league legend Martin Offiah. The England team was managed by Neil Back, assisted by Richard Hill, and coached by George Chuter and Danny Grewcock.

For the Rest of the World XV, Welsh rugby legend Shane Williams was joined by the likes of Brad Thorn, Justin Marshall, AJ Venter, Serge Betsen, Rory Lawson, Terry Fanolua, Daryl Gibson, Dafydd James, Lee Byrne and Thinus Delport, and the team was managed by former All Blacks star Zinzan Brooke.

Watched by a bumper crowd of 10,000, the sides delivered a richly entertaining, all-action match, with the Rest of the World prevailing 36-29.