In October 2024 Hearts & Balls Charitable Trust launched an initiative, in association with Scottish Rugby and backed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), for all rugby clubs in Scotland to have access to at least one defibrillator and the provision of CPR training.

Hearts & Balls have been working closely with Dr. Karen Barclay and Steven Turnbull at Scottish Rugby to fund 35 new defibrillators for clubs, while four further clubs will receive grants to cover replacement batteries, pads or an external cabinet. This has been facilitated by an investment of £33,000 from Hearts + Balls, from donations received in 2024.

Corstorphine Cougars are very grateful to Hearts & Balls for the kind donation that we hope we never have to use! Our device has been placed near the front door in the main bar area.

It was also great to have Dr Karen Barclay along to deliver some defib training for the new device to some of our bar staff and key members of the club.

Hearts + Balls was conceived in 1999 when a player from the Lismore Rugby Club in Edinburgh suffered a serious spinal injury that left him paralysed.

Having run a highly successful appeal, Lismore decided to widen its support to cover other players impacted by serious injury or illness. Thus, Hearts + Balls came into being with the aim of ‘helping rugby help its own’.

Since its beginnings in 1999, it has donated in the region of £700,000 to rugby players and their families.

If you'd like to donate to this very worthy cause visit them at https://heartsandballs.org.uk/