England's 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning side gathers at The Dorchester on Friday 20 November 2026, with a member of the squad seated at every table.
England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winners gather in the ballroom of The Dorchester in Mayfair on Friday 20 November 2026, with a member of the squad seated at every table. David Flatman hosts.
England won the cup in Sydney with a drop goal in the last minute of extra time. The squad then set up the Champions 2003 Foundation with the Switch the Play Foundation, to fund players’ move into life after the game.
Switch the Play is the only British charity working solely on that transition. A professional rugby career ends in the early thirties, often abruptly and through injury, after some fifteen years inside an institution that organised the week.
The money funds the Evolve and Thrive rugby programme and its player support grants, which pay for retraining, course fees and support.
The Dorchester’s ballroom takes a run of charity dinners each November, and this one belongs to a squad that has stayed close for two decades. The evening includes live entertainment and a charity auction.