The Goulburn Rugby Union Club held its annual fundraiser on Saturday night, and the event was headlined by the presence of Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins as the keynote speaker.
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Event organiser and club senior vice president Jackson Reardon said that he had booked Cummins to attend in March this year, and by early August it had been completely sold out.
“There was 250 people upstairs at the Workers and they couldn’t fit anyone else up there,” Reardon said.
“We hoped to get 200 people there, so to sell out was awesome. I think part of that was Nick, but the event itself was really good too.”
The proceeds from the event will be put towards a number of projects that the club is working on, including the development of a second field at Poidevin Oval and improving the water supply to the fields.
The event also featured an auction to decide which table Cummins would sit at during the lunch.
“That raised $2,000 dollars and that’s going to Can Assist Goulburn,” Reardon confirmed.
Although Cummins ran late on the day, Reardon said that the 2018 Bachelor star was in good form when he arrived.
“It went really well, Nick was fantastic,” he said.
“He was a great keynote speaker … there was time for him to meet some of our juniors.
“The table that bought him to have lunch, I think they were really happy with how it all went.
“He’s a very personable guy, [and] it all went really well.”
Part of the reason that Cummins drew such eager crowds, Reardon said, is that he appeals to a broader spectrum than just rugby fans, and he said that the club will continue to target speakers with similarly widespread fanbases in future years.
“We’re thinking we might even … try and get two speakers,” Reardon said.
“Cater to the girls and guys, the rugby fans and the people who aren’t so into rugby.
“I think that’s why this is so good, Nick attracted people outside of rugby.”
Cummins, who played for the Western Force in his Super Rugby career, shot to fame thanks to a series of unique and ear-catching analogies in pre and post-match interviews.
Indeed, the “Honey Badger” moniker was first explained by Cummins during a 2014 interview following Western Force’s victory over the Highlanders, in which he said that he was impressed by the tenacity of a honey badger during a documentary, in which the animal was embroiled in a fight against a lion and won.
Following the success of the event, Reardon also thanked the Goulburn Workers Club for its support of the club and the ease with which it allowed the fundraiser to run on Saturday.
