A rugby fan and former player from Bolton has set himself the incredible challenge of running six half-marathons in just over six months for the 2024 Six Nations in an effort to raise money for The ChristieNHS Foundation Trustand his late father.
Thomas Relph, a 37-year-old who previously represented local side Bolton RUFC, is taking his love of the gentleman’s game and the annual Six Nations tournament one step further by putting in nearly 80 miles between March and October on behalf of the local cancer research and treatment hospital.
Relph and his dad Mark, who he sadly lost to cancer in July last year, always shared a deep love affair with the game since Tom was a little kid, travelling all around the world to watch rugby along with his brother Oliver.
Speaking ahead of the challenge, Thomas said wanted to do something to honour his dad’s memory in a unique and inspiring way, as he explained: “After he died, I felt I needed to do something for The Christie as they cared for my dad so much… I felt I owed them, as they made it possible for my dad to meet his grandson and spend some quality time with him.
Tom, Oli and their dad MarkThe Christie is world renowned Credit: Supplied/TECU Consulting UK (via Flickr)
Explaining that he wanted to carry out some fundraising ever since his dad was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in January 2021, he said that “COVID-19 and a new-born son meant time soon got away from [him]” and his dad tragically passed aged 66 following a stroke and cardiac arrests.
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Having already signed up to do a charity run in Cardiff with some of his mates, Tom thought, “Why not go beyond this and make it a proper challenge and do something that I know my dad would be proud of and in places that would mean something to him and me.”
With that in mind, he has now gone from doing 13.1 miles with a group of friends to now signing up for half-marathons in France, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, as well as one final homecoming run at the Manchester Half-Marathon to round off a whopping 126.5 kilometres.
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In true Six Nations fashion as well, he went on to add, “Hopefully I’ll be enjoying a pint of Guinness after each race as a tribute to my dad.” You’re going to smash it Tom and we’ll be cheersing one up to your dad as well, don’t you worry.
His playing days back in Bolton might be behind him, but Thomas is taking his training seriously ahead of his first half-marathon in Paris on Sunday, 3 March and we can’t wait to welcome him home for the city centre run here in Manchester on Sunday, 13 October.
He’ll also have brother Oli joining him for the Manc run and as well as arranging a celebration in the city afterwards to toast their victory and their dad’s memory, they’re also hoping to raise over £6,000 (there’s a theme here) for the charity, having already surpassed £4.3k. Amazing.
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Thomas signed off by saying: “The Christie is a truly exceptional facility that provided my dad with the care and support needed to initially beat cancer and later during its unfortunate return. My Dad’s sister Deborah was also treated there and they gave her some extra time to enable her to see me get married.
“She unfortunately died from a brain tumour a few years ago but was always a part of our lives growing up as a doting Auntie. So, The Christie really means a lot to our family and, hopefully, I can raise as much money as possible to support the cause.”
You can donate to Thomas’ JustGiving HERE and do your bit to help spur him whilst donating to the worthiest of causes. And if you’re still looking for where to watch the Six Nations in Manchester this year, don’t worry, you’re in the right place.
Tesco are introducing ‘VAR-style’ self-checkouts in the UK
Danny Jones
Many people think VAR has already gone too far and want it gone from football full stop, and we’re here to tell you that you’re a fool; your hopes are in vain, and the technology is only going to become more common as time goes on. Sorry.
So much so, in fact, that Tesco look are bringing in their own virtual referee into self-checkout systems in shops. You could say the ‘game’s gone…’
Of course, we’re being a bit flippant here, but if you have seen ‘VAR’ and ‘Tesco‘, you’re not seeing things: this is genuinely a thing that is being rolled out here in the UK, with video footage of the supermarket chain’s next self-checkout technology going viral online.
Thought you’d got away with sneaking an extra little something in the bag without paying? Think again.
— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) May 28, 2025
We’ll admit, this was the first time we’d come across the technology, but as it turns out, the updated self-checkout service has been in place for a while.
Similar VAR checkouts have already been installed at other retailers, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, although some reports claim that while stores capture footage of shoppers to check if they’ve scanned all of their items, it is thought that not all of these self-service tills show a playback when an error is detected.
Although this particular speculation has sparked some uproar and debate online, many have quite rightly pointed out that CCTV records your movement in any given shop.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that aside from the obvious memes and people poking fun at the new system, many on social media have shared some pretty strong opinions on the matter.
Not that it matters much – it’s likely this will soon become increasingly the norm, with the likes of Sainsbury’s having already introduced barriers which require customers to scan their receipt in order to leave at branches such as the site on Regent Road Retail Park over in Salford.
As yet, it’s unclear how many of these new self-service tills are in operation and whether they are limited to larger supermarket locations of their Express convenience stores, but don’t be surprised if you come across one.
Put simply, if a barcode isn’t registered before being put on the scale and/or set aside to be packed away, the Tesco till will read: “The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”
Addressing these new VAR-style checkouts in an official statement, a company spokesperson said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers.
“We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”
What do you make of the new Tesco and their new VAR self-checkout technology?
Ruben Amorim reacts as Manchester United are booed off after Malaysia friendly
Danny Jones
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has delivered a fairly brutal response after his club were booed off by supporters during a friendly in Malaysia.
The Red Devils recently embarked on a post-season tour following a calamitous 2024/25 campaign, both domestically and continentally, with that limp loss in the Europa League final, but have already resumed what has become alarmingly normal service with yet another defeat.
Finding themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur – a squad comprised of various talents from around the region who had never played together before and were only founded as an actual team back in 2014 – it was all far from clean slates and fresh starts.
In the wake of the shock result, Man United were booed off by the Malaysian and other international fans inside the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, which saw more than 70,000 in attendance.
It’s the end and that’s it. Man United got boo’ed by the fans after the final whistle.
They got beaten by non-full team Asean All-Star who just trained together as a group few days before the match. pic.twitter.com/fBxnMiZPN8
For context, the ASEAN All-Stars had only trained together for the first time just days before the game itself, but the de facto exhibition outfit still managed to break the deadlock in the 71st minute against a United side that rarely looked like scoring.
All that being said, Amorim had some choice words for his own players in his post-match duties after their first post-season tour fixture, insisting that while he always remains accountable, those out on the pitch perhaps received somewhat of a deserved reckoning too.
He began by stating, “I’m always guilty of the performance of the team, no matter what. [I have been responsible] since the first day”, but went on to argue: “The boos from the fans, I think it something that we need, maybe.”
Citing that the Old Trafford faithful and die-hard away fans have always been loyal and supportive despite frustration in the league, he suggested that “maybe they will change the way they behave” following this latest reality check.
Despite adding that he has seen reasons for optimism in performances against Man City and Liverpool, for instance, where he felt he saw “belief” and seeds of what’s to come, he’s made very few excuses for the poor displays up to now.
United face the Hong Kong national team in their next friendly on Friday, 29 May, and it’s fair to say anything less than a win would be beyond bad for the predictably unpredictable Premier League club.
You can see his full post-match press conference down below.
Danny Jones -
1st February 2024 
