Olympic gold rower Mark Hunter was the guest of honour at the Hammersmith & Fulham RFC awards dinner and dance on Saturday.

In fact, Hunter, who partnered Zac Purchase to lightweight sculls gold in 2008 and silver at London 2012, was more familiar with the surrounds than players from the Hurlingham Park club.

Held at the Thames Rowing Club on the Putney embankment, the theme of the night was the extraordinary growth of the 30-year-old club that sports six senior sides, the best in Middlesex, and attracts up to 300 juniors at training and weekend games.

The man who was there at the club’s inception and recently elected to the RFU main board, Chris Cuthbertson, was presented with a special award for three decades of dedicated service.