SWINDON Rugby Club scrum-half Jimmer Courtney has been handed a £3,500 boost to help him fight back from a debilitating illness.

Courtney, who was struck down with Guillain-Barre Syndrome earlier this year, will be able to receive the specialist treatment he needs after a club auction raised the sum.

Lots at the weekend auction included a rugby ball signed by Heineken Cup champions Wasps, Wales and British Lions shirts and tickets to Swindon Town and Northampton Saints matches.

Around 160 people packed into the Greenbridge Road clubhouse on the night, where the auction, raffle and ticket sales swelled the fund to around £3,500, with Courtney's family also there to offer their thanks.

Organiser Kevin Logan said: "Jimmer was looking for specialist treatment, which would have cost about £600 to £800, but now he could have that several times over.

"It was a fantastic sum and a very popular event.''

At last month's club dinner, around £400 was raised for a Guillain-Barre Syndrome charity.

The condition, which affects the immune and nervous system, left Courtney on a ventilator at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, although he is now slowly on the mend.

JOHN Crozier has joined the Calne coaching team as they prepare for the new Dorset & Wilts Division 1 season.

Crozier, who played for the London Irish club, joins Alan Matthews and will assist in coaching the backs.