A Royston firefighter got more than he bargained for when he agreed to take part in an England Fire Service v Wales Fire Service charity match at Aviva Premiership side Saracens, one of two charity matches on the night.

Following his appearance in England’s 63-31 defeat, Steve Greaves was selected by England legend XV captain Louis Deacon to represent his country for a second time on the night as England Legends took on a World XV side.

England made amends for their crushing defeat to Wales earlier in the night, defeating World XV, boasting the likes of A J Venter and Serge Betsen, 57-38.

Greaves said: “I’d always wanted to play for my country and I had done so for the fire service on several occasions but to happen like this for real was a complete shock.

“The legends had been watching the fire service game. At half-time Louis approached me and said “come and see me after”. I thought he was joking at first but when I got into the changing room he handed the No.5 shirt and ordered me on to the pitch in five minutes for a warm-up.

“I duly obliged running through some line-out moves and backs drills with the likes of Louis, Lee Mears Mike Tindall and Jason Robinson. It was amazing, especially in front of a 2500-strong crowd.”