Tracie Elleker, the Ward's play coordinator, said:
"It was great to see the players take time out to visit the children. Some of the children are quite poorly and it was great to see many of them lift a smile when they saw some of their sporting heroes. It gave them a real boost."
The players all clubbed together, and bought an array of Christmas presents which they were delighted to hand over to the happy children.
James Simpson-Daniel, a father himself, was one of the players who was first to volunteer for the visit, and he spoke afterwards of how much it means.
"I've done the hospital visits before, and it's an amazing experience. Some of these kids are actually quite poorly, and it's amazing to see the strength and courage they display.
"It's quite a humbling experience for myself and the other players to go in there and hand over our presents. My little boy is 2 years old and I catch myself grumbling sometimes when he's not sleeping well. A visit likes this puts it all into perspective.
"To see the smiles on their faces when we go in and spend some time with them, it's a very moving thing and we're delighted that we can lift their spirits in this way when they're going through such a difficult time."
