Former All Black Eric Rush will be joined on stage in the Conrad's ballroom on Thursday night by England's Martin Bayfield and Austin Healey and Wales' Jonathan Davies, and all four are very entertaining dinner speakers.

The night features a gala dinner, an auction of sporting memorabilia, raffles and prizes with 10 per cent of the tickets sales going to the local Bangkok Lions Junior Rugby for next season's development programme.

The event is being held to raise funds for Austin Healey's Testimonial with proceeds going to Healey's charity of choice, the NSPCC, which helps in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children.

Bangkok is the last of six stops for the All-Star Rugby Speak-Off, which has also been held in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

All four players are as good on stage as speakers as they were on the field of play, especially Bayfield, who was given a standing ovation and had to do an encore the last time he spoke at a rugby dinner in Bangkok.

Rush has also been a guest speaker at a previous rugby dinner in Bangkok and had the audience in stitches with his tales of the All Blacks on tour. Rush, a Maori, is an accomplished speaker and is a lawyer by profession.

Healey has been a controversial figure during his long career, often getting into trouble for voicing his opinions on the game through columns in British newspapers.

Davies has played both league and union and has also been awarded at MBE in 1996, which he collected at Buckingham Palace.

ESPN star Justin "Sambo" Sampson with hosts the evening and the guest speakers will mingle with the audience during the night.

The night will also be a warm-up for local fans with the annual Bangkok Sevens tournament due to kick off at the end of the month.

For bookings and more information, call Bruce Hill on 01-754-3142 or e-mail bhillach@loxinfo.co.th or call Bob Merrigan on 01-750-7267 or e-mail robert.merrigan@echarris.com.

Alan Parkhouse

The Nation