Some golden oldies from Gloucester’s glorious past will be digging out their gumshields for a special charity match at the Prince of Wales Stadium tomorrow.

Scrum-half Laurie Beck will captain the Gloucester Cherry Pickers when they play Zac France’s Cheltenham Barbarians in a match that will raise funds for Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice and the RFU Injured Players Foundation.

That 24-year-old Zac is playing rugby at all is little short of a miracle after he sustained a serious spinal injury while playing rugby league a couple of years ago.

“I was tackled and landed on my neck,” he said. “It was a really serious injury and I was told I would never play rugby again.”

So how has he managed to beat the odds and play the game he loves again?

“Needs must,” he said. “I think it was one of those things I had to do. I was never going to be told ‘no’.”

Such has been the success of his comeback that he played eight or nine games in the centre for Stow-on-the-Wold’s 2nd XV before the end of the season and has felt no ill-effects.

So, was he apprehensive for that first game?

“I was more nervous about dropping the ball the first time it was passed to me,” he chuckled.

Fortunately, he didn’t and he lasted the full 80 minutes. He also capped his return by scoring a try although it wasn’t enough to earn Stow victory.

He is hoping to get another 80 minutes under his belt tomorrow although he knows that won’t be easy.

“Have you seen who’s lining up against in me in the centre,” he laughed, “it’s only Terry Fanolua.”

The Samoan-born powerhouse is 42 now but back in the day was one of the Kingsholm faithful’s kingpins as he racked up more than 220 appearances for Gloucester in a career that lasted from 1996 to 2005.

He will be joined in the Cherry Pickers’ team tomorrow by other such luminaries as Adam Eustace and Rob Fidler, while Zac’s team will include the likes of Matthew Hurdle of Old Cryptians and Cheltenham Saracens’ James Butler.

Zac, who is Cheltenham born and bred, hopes to raise upwards of £1,000 tomorrow for two causes that are very close to his heart.

“My old rugby coach Martin Roddy was diagnosed with a brain tumour seven months ago and he has been very well cared for as a day patient at Sue Ryder,” he said. “And the Injured Players Foundation does lots of good work for people who suffer bad injuries like me.”

Zac, who worked in insurance before his injury, is still signed off work. A dual code rugby player, he is going to bypass the rugby league season to make sure he is fit and firing for the start of the rugby union campaign when he intends to play for either former club Old Patesians or Smiths.

It won’t be a summer completely free from rugby however. Zac is a keen 7s player and intends taking a Cheltenham Barbarians squad to compete in a tournament at Exeter in the middle of July.

He has just played in a top tournament at Basingstoke where he turned out for a team called the Flair Bears.

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 2.30pm and tickets are £5.