Singing with choir for the homeless inspired my recovery, says rugby star

By David Cohen

LONDON – A rugby player tipped as a future England star tells
today how he was inspired by singing in a choir for homeless people
after being devastated by a serious injury.

This Saturday, when Saracens take on Leicester in the Aviva
Premiership final at Twickenham, they will be without Sam Stanley
who is convalescing after a late tackle snapped the anterior
cruciate ligament in his right knee. Stanley, 19, had been named in
the England under-20s side and had only recently broken into the
Saracens first team when he was sidelined for nine months. It left
him “angry, inconsolable, gutted, and in a shocking mental state”.
But “solace and a new perspective” came from an unexpected
source.

Motivated by Saracens sponsorship of the Evening Standard’s
Dispossessed Fund, Stanley and several members of the squad –
including England international David Strettle and Scotland’s Kelly
Brown – went to sing with The Choir With No Name, a choir for
homeless people supported by a grant from our Fund.