One of the greatest names in English rugby will be heading to Brockworth Rugby Club tonight.

Jason Leonard, an England World Cup winner who was capped over 100 times by his country, will be the special guest at a Sportsman’s Dinner which will be at Brockworth’s clubhouse in Mill Lane.

John Hawker, the former Gloucester hooker who will be MC for the evening, said: “It’s the third Sportsman’s Dinner that we’ve had. Last year John Bentley was the guest speaker and the year before it was Willie John McBride.”

Around 110 people are expected at the dinner which this year will also raise money for Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby.

“It should be a great night,” said Hawker, a former player and coach at Brockworth. “I was at a dinner in Cirencester last year when Jason Leonard was the guest speaker and he was very, very good.”

Leonard was also a very, very good prop, someone who played for England 114 times in a career that spanned some 14 years.

The highlight was that World Cup win in 2003, of course, when, at the age of 35, he went on as an extra-time substitute for Gloucester legend Phil Vickery as England clinched a thrilling 20-17 win against Australia in Sydney.

Hawker played against Leonard, who spent the vast majority of his career with Harlequins, at club level and he said: “He was a great player and he’s a great man. He loves the local rugby scene, he doesn’t forget his roots.”