Hunter and the boys recently returned from a series of misadventures in Cardiff for the over-35 Golden Oldies Rugby Festival held in August. 

They received the trophy for the best dressed team in the festival’s opening and closing festivals, and there had been 120 teams, Hunter said. 

They also helped break the record for being in the world’s largest rugby scrum on August 24. BBC said 1297 people broke the record in Cardiff.

The record was short lived. Guinness World Records said that 1565 participants were in a scrum in Japan on September 11. 

The Ugly Mongrels played three games of rugby; two against the Welsh and the other against Argentinians. 

“We were all pretty sore and wounded after the game,” Hunter said. 

“The teams played a hard sort of game, it was all in good fun and good spirit.” 

Hunter said that wherever the team went in Cardiff, which seemed to have a lot of pubs, they found other Golden Oldies players.

 “We all have that in common, where we’re all drinkers with a rugby problem,” he said. 

Hunter said they are already saving for the next Golden Oldies Festival, a biennial event which alternates between being held in the northern and southern hemispheres. 

The 2018 festival is to be held in Christchurch. It will be the Ugly Mongrels’ sixth festival. 

The Ugly Mongrels resume their training on Friday nights at the Mount Isa Rugby Union grounds. Training begins 6.30pm. 

“We’re actually trying to build enough numbers have a few games...(and) start having a game before the (local) grand final,” Hunter said. 

“And Veterans Rugby Qld wants to bring two teams here for a mini-tournament in 2018. 

“That gives us plenty of time to build numbers.” 

The Ugly Mongrels has close to 15 players but tends to run short due to shift work and players being out of town. “It’s hard to consistently get bodies turning up.”