Regardless of what the remainder of the season holds for London Welsh, a few weeks on a warm golden beach might seem the ideal way for Ed Jackson to unwind at the end of a long and arduous season.

That isn’t quite what the number eight has in mind, although it certainly promises to be hot.

Next May, Ed will embark on a ten-day trek covering 100 miles through the Borneo rain forest to raise money for the Tom Maynard Trust - his best friend at school who was killed tragically in June of this year.

The Tom Maynard Trust was set up to help young disadvantaged sportspeople and boasts Andrew Flintoff among its patrons. Flintoff has already taken part in a Cardiff to London bike ride and a legends sports dinner is planned for March.

Tom and Ed met as 12-year-olds at a scholarship day at Millfield School, in Bath. They ended up sharing the same room for the next six years.

A hugely talented cricketer with Surrey, Tom was at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, on May 30 to watch Ed and his London Welsh team-mates clinch the Championship title with victory over the Cornish Pirates.

Tom died on June 18 at the age of just 23. Ed was a pallbearer and spoke at his friend's funeral at Llandaff Cathedral.

“We were mates from day one,” said Ed. “Obviously it was a shock; I still struggle to believe it now.

“However, life goes on and I know he wouldn’t want me to be moping around feeling sorry for myself, although I’m not sure he would have expected diving head first into the rainforest would be on the agenda.”

The trek will involve the group having to literally hack their way through the jungle from village to village, as well as sleeping rough. There are easier ways to fundraise, but Ed didn’t want it to be easy.

“I liked the idea of going to Borneo - I wanted to go somewhere that’s as remote as possible and do something that people hadn’t really done before,” he said.

“I wanted to do something different, so I thought what sounds like the craziest idea?

“I decided this was what we were going to do and then informed everyone else, with mixed responses. The amount of different jabs we’ve got to get put some people off, and it’s renowned for the amount of leeches out there.

“I’ve done hiking before, but nothing like this. Not ten days through the rain forest.”

It’s hardly the ideal way of resting the limbs at the end of the club’s debut season in the Aviva Premiership.

“I think I’d rather do it straight off the back of the season as my mind set will still be in exercise mode, rather than going on holiday for a few weeks first. Hopefully there’ll be some time for resting the limbs after that,” said Ed.

And what does he think Tom would make of it all? “I think he’d find it hilarious, the thought of some of the characters going on the trip being stuck in the jungle for ten days would definitely get a smile out of him,” he added.

“Tom would have been up for this kind of challenge, although he probably would have insisted on a mid-week break in a hotel!

“It was an easy decision for us to do something like this when it’s for a cause that we’re so passionate about.

“I’m sure we’ll come up with lots of other crazy ideas, but they’ll have to be pretty mad to beat this one. I just hope I’m back alive ready for the start of pre-season training!”

To sponsor Ed Jackon’s Borneo trek for the Tom Maynard Trust go to www.justgiving.com/maynard55