Ospreys' Ifan Phillips surprises young fan raising money for rugby player's prosthetic leg

  • Video report by ITV Wales journalist Hannah Thomas

A Welsh rugby player, who recently lost his leg after a motorbike accident, has surprised a young fan raising money to get the Ospreys player a prosthetic leg.

Ifan Phillips sustained life-changing injuries in December and had to have his leg amputated.

A crowdfunding page was then set up to support the 25-year-old. This has already amassed nearly £80,000 and ten-year-old Callum Powell wanted to make sure he could contribute too.

Callum completed a sponsored 5k run on Sunday (January 30), raising more than £2,500 towards Ifan's fund. The day was made even more special with Ifan waiting for Callum at the finish line, to thank him in person.

Ifan Phillips was at the finish line to give Callum a trophy and medal.

Speaking after completing the challenge, Callum said it was amazing seeing Ifan at the 5k mark.

He said: "It was a brilliant feeling coming in with Ifan and Josh there with the medal and the trophy. So I feel very happy that I've done it for Ifan."

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Callum is a big Ospreys fan and would often go down to the stadium tunnel at the end of a match to meet the players.

"I was really upset when my mum told me about the accident Ifan was in," said Callum.

"I go to the Ospreys matches quite a lot. I go down to the tunnel at the end of the matches and Ifan was one of the players who would always have a chat with me. So I thought if my family and friends could donate, I would raise a bit of money for him."

Callum said Ifan was one of the Osprey players who would always take time to talk to fans after a match.

Ifan presented Callum with a trophy and medal at the end of his run, thanking him for his efforts.

The rugby star said he felt very moved when he heard about what Callum was doing for him.

He said: "It was very touching when I heard that Callum was going to run a 5k. He's such a young lad, it's brilliant to be thinking outside the box and trying to raise money for myself.

"It was really touching when I first heard it and I'm really glad that I could be here to see him cross the finish line.

"It was always nice to see Callum at the end of the games and have a chat with him and it's brilliant to have him run this 5k and raise this money."

Ifan said it was great to be able to cheer on Callum as he made it over the 5k mark.

A Wales Under-20 international, Ifan made 40 appearances for the Ospreys after making his debut in 2017. He is the son of former Wales and Neath hooker Kevin Phillips.

At the end of last year, he revealed the full extent of his injuries after colliding with another motorcycle in Swansea on December 5.