RUGBY players in Suffolk swapped 15-a-side for 15 minutes of fame after they were asked to appear in a television commercial.

RUGBY players in Suffolk swapped 15-a-side for 15 minutes of fame after they were asked to appear in a television commercial.

The chance to appear on screen came about after a former Thurston Rugby Club player working for an estate agency in Bury St Edmunds recommended his old haunt as a set location.

The advertisement was filmed for the Team Association of Estate Agents, a national network of independent businesses with more than 80 branches in East Anglia.

Prominent roles in the film were filled by Thurston players Pete Melvin, Lincoln Brown and Kevin Murdoch. But some of their colleagues have been left kicking themselves after they lost out on their chance to appear on television because they were in Newcastle on a club outing.

Mr Murdoch, a first team player who appeared in the advert, said: “It was quite amusing. I was one of the 'goodies' in the commercial.

“I got quite a lot of stick after the advert first aired - about an hour's worth of text messages.

“I'm actually quite impressed with the advert, it is much better than I thought it would be. I thought it might be a bit cheesy but it is actually really quite good. It took about nine hours to film.”

The advert, first screened last Monday night during an episode of Emmerdale, was filmed at the club's ground in Robinson Field using a mix of club and West Suffolk College players.

Describing the commercial's plot Claire Smith, of Earls Colne-based Percival and Company, part of the Team network, said: “It starts off with one guy on his own facing a group of big ugly rugby players.

“He gets pushed over by them and then all of the others from our team rush onto the field and score a try.”