John Bentley - Master of Ceremonies

RugbyFest Ambassador

John Bentley, former England and Lions wing is the official RugbyFest Ambassador and a keen participant in the more social aspects of the RugbyFest event.

Originally a Union player, he made his England debut against Ireland in 1988 aged 21 and played on the summer tour against Australia.

After training as a policeman he switched codes from Rugby Union, which was then an amateur-only game, to Rugby League, where he became a professional. He played for Great Britain at league and signed for Leeds, before moving on to Halifax, as well as enjoying a short spell in Australia with Balmain Tigers.

When Rugby Union turned professional, he signed for Union side Newcastle Falcons in 1996, helping the side to their first and so far only premiership title. He was then selected for the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

Bentos, as he is affectionately known, MC’s the Evening with Kowloon and between anecdotes and beer quaffing manages to keep the event ticking along.

	John Moloney (comedian)
	Serge Betsen
	Serge Betsen is a French rugby union player who plays as a flanker for London Wasps at club level and formerly for France internationally. He is generally considered to be one of the top flankers of the professional era (post-1995) of rugby union. Nicknamed la Faucheuse (the Grim Reaper), Betsen's finest moment came during the 2002 Six Nations Championship in the match against England, when his relentless man-marking of Jonny Wilkinson eventually resulted in the fly half's replacement and paved the way for a 20–15 victory. Later, England's coach, Clive Woodward said of Betsen: "“He is the only player that I can say was the single-handed reason we lost a match." France went on to win the Grand Slam and Betsen was named France's International Player of the Year. Betsen is today a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Monaco-based international organization Peace and Sport
	Andy Nicol
	Andy Nichol is a former rugby union player and he also captained theScotland NationalRUgby Union team from scrum-half on the famous occasion in 2000 when Scotland beat England 19-13 at a rain-soaked Murrayfield and so prevented England from achieving the Grand Slam that year. He won 23 caps for Scotland. Andy is currently a sports presenter for the BBC