Biggest bid will get all seven World Cup winners

David Higgins of Duco Events, with the rare rugby jersey. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Rugby enthusiasts have a rare opportunity to bid for a rare signed jersey, but the winner of the Trade Me auction will probably have to dig deep.

One of only 25 shirts bearing the autographs of the captains of the seven teams that have won the Rugby World Cup is being sold to raise money for Hospice Waikato.

On Trade Me yesterday, the jersey had reached $3280 after 28 bids, and the page had been viewed nearly 6500 times.

The jersey's owner is David Higgins, founder of Duco - the company behind Saturday night's Fight For Life celebrity charity boxing event in Hamilton, featuring fighters including Millie Elder-Holmes and ex-All Black Carlos Spencer.

Mr Higgins said all money raised by the event - minus the million-dollar-plus cost of organising it - would go to Hospice Waikato, and the sale of the jersey would contribute.

"They'll get a six-figure donation as well as the publicity, so it's a win-win."

He said the idea to create the jerseys came from former Australian captain John Eales.

"In 2011, around Rugby World Cup, I organised a banquet with Sir Richard Branson and ... we were brainstorming ideas to maximise fundraising," he said.

After the banquet, Mr Higgins commissioned former All Black Andy Haden to create the jersey, which is made up of four different colours with each quarter representing a winning team - yellow for Australia, green for South Africa, white for England and black for New Zealand.

Haden gathered captains' signatures in 2011, while they were in New Zealand for that year's cup tournament.

"There were only a handful produced and I ended up with a couple myself, so I'm including it in this Fight For Life auction for Hospice Waikato."

Other jerseys had sold for more than $7000 each, Mr Higgins said, so he was hoping the bidding war would continue until the auction's closed on Sunday.

"It's great the reserve's been met - it's a rare and special piece."

Signatures

• 1987 David Kirk - New Zealand
• 1991 Nick Farr-Jones - Australia
• 1995 Francois Pienaar - South Africa
• 1999 John Eales - Australia
• 2003 Martin Johnson - England
• 2007 John Smit - South Africa
• 2011 Richie McCaw - New Zealand.