Abu Dhabi rugby enthusiasts were treated to a feast of nostalgia and anecdotes as World Cup excitement reached fever pitch with former stars Tom Shanklin and John Bentley in town for an evening of entertainment.

Former Wales centre Shanklin earned 70 caps for the Dragons, scoring 20 tries during a decade of international action.

Bentley, meanwhile, played both codes and was memorably a part of the successful British & Irish Lions touring side that beat South Africa in 1997.

Both entertained the crowd with opinions and stories shared at The Club in Abu Dhabi this past week.

“It was a really good night and everyone had a fabulous evening,” said David Byrnes, events and sponsorship manager at The Club.

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“Tom and John are two very different characters and were very entertaining, talking about a bit of everything to do with rugby. 

“Both of them predicted an Australia win over New Zealand in the World Cup final, which I don’t suppose they’ll thank me for mentioning.

“Both of them spoke about the referee Craig Joubert running off the field following the controversial end to the Scotland versus Australia quarter-final, saying that he shouldn’t have done that, and both of them picked Japan’s brilliant win over South Africa as their highlight from the tournament.

“Stuart Lancaster’s future was also on the agenda as was Tom’s views on a successful World Cup for Wales, taking into account the injuries they suffered both during and prior to it.”

The evening was the latest in a series of former stars appearing at the capital city venue, with former Welsh dual code star Scott Gibbs and All Blacks flanker Josh Kronfeld featuring on the eve of the World Cup.