December 2007. Issue 97

Club Spotlight

Grand draw boost for RU club coffers

Tony Simpson

Rugby Union clubs across the country can expect a welcome boost to their funds to launch 2008 in positive fashion if they support an annual New Year initiative from the RFU. The Rugby Football Union’s Grand Draw kicks off in January, so those clubs who have not been able to put in place all the logistics for a successful Christmas raffle of their own can join an initiative that has already raised over £1 million for participating clubs. Key to success for clubs, who can enter free of charge and free from any organisational activity in terms of setting up the draw, is that all the hard work is done by the RFU organising committee, but clubs receive 90% of the revenue they generate through ticket sales as a tax-free donation from the Rugby Football Union Draw Society. In the four years the Draw has been running, the sum received by the clubs who have participated has reached £1,002,000, with last year’s Draw raising over £385,000 and providing over £346,000 to share between 673 clubs. Lucky for some, 13 clubs raised £2,500 or more and another 92 over £1,000. The highest amount raised was £7,550! Some clubs organise their own draws and raffles at Christmas, putting together a prize list and printing and paying for tickets. This is not the case with the RFU Grand Draw - everything is provided free and even the postage is pre-paid. A superb prize list is being put together with over 40 prizes and a total value of over £40,000. All clubs need to do is organise to sell the £1 tickets - a task made very easy with such a superb prize list. All clubs in membership of the RFU will automatically be sent details by post during the week starting January 14, 2008 and there are four months to sell the tickets before the Draw takes place in mid-May 2008

Hull Rugby team's new name

Hull RUFC’s Second XV has taken on a new name to mark a new sponsorship deal with Vulcan Windows of Hull. The city’s premier rugby union club has renamed the team the ‘Hull Vulcans’. The sponsorship agreement is another coup for the club, which announced the renewed commitment of its main sponsor Beal Homes in September and revealed last month that it had secured £100K for youth rugby development. Vulcan Windows employs around 200 people in the city and says Managing Director Dave Walker, a former rugby league professional who played for Hull KR, “As a local, family-owned business we’re keen to support amateur sport in Hull and are delighted to be associated with Hull RUFC especially at this time with their forthcoming move to the impressive facilities at the YPI ground.” Along with its sponsorship of the Hull Vulcans, Vulcan Windows has also pledged its support for the club by providing the club’s scoreboard, contributing towards the First XV kit and supporting the club’s annual dinner. Vulcan Windows, one of the largest suppliers of replacement and new build windows in the Yorkshire region, also sponsors other local amateur sports teams and events.

Aidan can spot the scoring chances

Tony Simpson

Berwick RUFC teenager Aidan Innes may have a visual impairment which involves him attending the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, but the 17-year-old certainly has 20/20 vision when it comes to spotting a try-scoring chance with the club's Colts XV - the young wingman has already scored three tries this season. “I have to wear special contact lenses,” said Aidan: “And although I can just about see the end of the pitch I can’t see what’s happening there and I can only see the ball when it’s about twenty yards away.” Aidan has been playing at the club for about eighteen months now and got involved when one of his friends noticed what a fast sprinter he was and suggested he played for the club’s Under 16 XV. “Basically I’m very short sighted and colour blind but I hope to go to Heriot Watt University to study sports science and I would like to continue my rugby there.” he says.  Aidan comes from Prior Park in Tweedmouth and attended St Cuthbert’s First school and has older and younger brothers attending the High School and Tweedmouth Middle School. Andy Frost, the Berwick Colts team manager said: “Aidan is a much respected member of the team and is especially admired by us all for his efforts and is an inspiration to the others. His dedication on the pitch has brought its rewards through his tries this season.” 

All go for Gosforth

Tony Simpson

RFU Chairman Martyn Thomas and chairman of Club England, John Spencer, were on duty to cut the ribbon of the new head-quarters of Gosforth RFC and the Northumberland County administration last month (November) The arrival of the new state-of-the-art pitch at Druid Park has not attracted universal approval among clubs in the North East, but there is no doubt that the ‘ayes’ definitely have a substantial majority and are growing by the week as the new facility wins new friends at every turn. Another batch of admirers  were added to the growing list as Northumberland U18s and their counterparts from neighbouring Durham provided the match entertainment to decorate the formal proceedings.Only a couple of lads from each team had previously played at the ground, but having had just over an hour to warm up on this high tech pitch, players from both sides seemed quite content that the unfamiliar surface held no surprises. With World Cup official Dave Pearson taking the whistle for this prestigious game, Northumberland clearly relished conditions which contributed to a free-flowing game and finished 31-3 winners to retain the Watt-Davy Trophy, presented by Dave Thompson, who made the Druid Park ground available to Gosforth.

Fylde strengthen development team

Tony Simpson

Lancashire U18s Forwards Coach & Nottingham open-side flanker Dave Wilks is joining Fylde as Rugby Development Manager and will be playing for the club. Dave (28) has had a distinguished playing career at Nottingham, Orrell, Manchester & Leeds and has represented England Counties. He’s also known to a number of the Fylde players as he was one of the Lancashire touring party that visited Canada in June. He takes up the position of Rugby Development Manager working alongside Director of Rugby Matt Emmerson and Academy Manager Alan Holmes. Dave will have particular responsibility for Colts rugby and will, like Matt and Alan, also be contributing to community initiatives more generally. The club’s community programme is sponsored for three years by Sportsmatch and major commercial sponsor Bryant Homes. Matt Emmerson said: “Dave is a go ahead young coach with a very good understanding of the Lancashire youth rugby scene. He’s also played at National One and England representative level so will bring that experience to his coaching and playing at the Woodlands.” Dave Wilks said: “I’m joining Fylde at a really exciting time for the club and I am looking forward to helping the club reach its aspirations.”

New sports partnerships for Solihull

Damson Parkway is set to play host to a new sports partnership to be formed by Solihull Moors Football Club and Birmingham & Solihull Rugby Football Club. The proposed ‘Solihull Sports Partnership’ will be part of a ground sharing deal between Birmingham & Solihull and Solihull Moors. The ground will be managed independently and provide a platform for a wide range of sporting benefits for not only the clubs involved, but also local schools and the community at large, coaching football and rugby in both the North and South of Solihull. The deal when confirmed will include a multi million pound investment into improving the current Damson Park facility and the sporting infrastructure in Solihull. Pertemps Bees have been looking for an alternative ground for some time and Bees’ Director, Kieran Leahy said, “Ground sharing between clubs is increasingly more common and the partnership with Solihull Moors is a perfect fit for the aspirations of both clubs” Stuart Potts, president of North Midlands RFU and the newly-elected representative on the RFU Council, said: “We fully support any initiative that encourages the development of rugby in North Midlands. We hope that their proposed community development and educational programmes will help to foster interest in rugby in Solihull and beyond. “We also hope that the Damson Park ground share will provide a facility which will help Pertemps Bees achieve their on-field ambitions and to enjoy financial stability.” Solihull Moors’ Vice Chairman and principal sponsor, Ian Childs, said “This is great news for the long term sustainability of both clubs and for sport in general in Solihull.”

Dodderers spread the word in Gloucestershire

Julia Hutton

Rugby in Gloucestershire is continuing to thrive and it’s not just for the young, but the young at heart, The Dodderers Touch Rugby Football Club, first set up in 2003 on the day that England were crowned Rugby World Cup Champions, is a rugby club for mature rugby lovers. Rather than get muddy and bruised, they play touch rugby. Members range from 12 to 58 years old, though most are at the upper end of the scale, and after starting off with just eight members the Dodderers can now boast 50 like-minded rugby lovers playing every Sunday morning from 8am. They also compete in an annual tournament and this year entered teams into the Three Counties Tournament and a touch league at Plock Court. In the not too distant future they hope to become an RFU and GRFU affiliated club and as well as seeking funding for their own pitch and lock-up store they are contemplating spreading the word of touch rugby by organising a tournament for local clubs next year. “Our ethos is that while we play very seriously and competitively, we certainly don’t take ourselves seriously,” said John Simonett, the Dodderers’ club secretary and webmaster. “We play for fun, fitness and friendship, and have an open arms policy that welcomes anyone and everyone, young or old, with experience of the game or not. “We chose the name Dodderers to sum up the fact most are former players and hence past it, and each year we have built on the concept, so what started as a spoof has now become a very established club.” Dodderers TRFC have also come up with some creative marketing and publicity ideas. Each year the club has tried to take the concept on further, from designing a logo based on the road sign warning of ‘Old Folks Crossing’ to putting this on their home and away strip, designing club ties, blazer badge and a website. Simonett added: “We are now well over four years down the road and the concept, while still tongue in cheek, is very much established. Our model is one that could easily be replicated and would encourage many people into the game or back into the game. Touch rugby offers the opportunity to retain the love of participation in rugby game and all it has to offer in terms of camaraderie and fitness, long after the body has had enough of the contact version.” For more information, visit www.dodderers.co.u

Historic Milestone

Tony Simpson

Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger may remain the most celebrated guests to have stayed at the world-famous Adelphi Hotel, but the Liverpool landmark added another important milestone to its proud sporting heritage recently when it was the venue for the 150th anniversary of the Liverpool Rugby Union Football Club. More than 300 past and present players and members of Liverpool St Helens and the former Liverpool and St Helens rugby union clubs gathered to commemorate an historic day in the annals of the oldest open rugby club in the world, formed on December 19, 1857 when Liverpool lad Frank Albert Mather invited his friend from Rugby School, Richard Sykes, to bring a team to play at Spekefields, Wavertree. It is reported that around 50 players took part, many of them members of Liverpool Cricket Club, with the game being played as “Rugby versus the World” due to the large numbers of players from Rugby School. Sykes went on to help form the Manchester Club in 1860, thereby giving Liverpool their first known opponents, the first recorded result being in 1867/8 when Liverpool beat Manchester at Manchester by one goal to nil. That historic link with Manchester RUFC was acknowledged at the 150th celebration when Maurice Parker, Immediate Past President of Lancashire and a stalwart of the Manchester Club, responded to the toast on behalf of the guests. The club’s contribution to England rugby was also reflected by the presence of former internationals from four different decades in Martin Regan, Fran Cotton, Kevin Simms and LSH President Ray French, who underlined his status as one of rugby’s finest ambassadors by adding the icing to a fine celebration cake with his closing address having arrived hot-foot from a Rugby League International TV commentary assignment in Wigan.

Ground Renamed for Bob

COVENTRY rugby club Barkers’ Butts RFC is renaming its ground after a stalwart who died earlier this year. The club in Pickford Grange Lane, Eastern Green, is laying a memorial stone and renaming the ground The Bob Coward Memorial Ground in honour of Bob Coward. The former Warwickshire RFU president died in February, aged 85 and the renaming event took place at the ground last month (November). Kath Marriott, committee member at the club, said: “It is our thank you to a man who gave his life to youth and sport for many decades.

Royal Flush

Ron Anderson was presented to her Majesty the Queen earlier this year when she made him a Member of the British Empire. His long association with rugby started at a rugby playing school, before three seasons in the RAF where the only vacancy at the time was hooker, and like any keen sportsman he was prepared to play anywhere. On demob he joined Percy Park in Tynemouth and became an open-side flanker. A motor accident put an end to his playing days but when a change of job took Ron to the Midlands he quickly got involved at Handswoth RUFC. where his roles have included club coach, Chairman of the Selection Committee, for 15 years, a Life Member, a Trustee and eventually President. He was also a member of North Midlands Referees’ Society and a member of Staffordshire Disciplinary Committee. Ron has also been involved in ensuring that players at Handsworth RUFC are flushed with success, thanks to a grant of £26,319 from Biffaward, a multi-million pound landfill tax fund which benefits environmental and community projects throughout the UK.. The grant is to install a pumped foul water system from the clubhouse to a manhole at the top of the club’s ground. For as long as the club has been on the Birmingham Road ground all surplus water has gone to a cess pit. Now, as a result of the grant from Biffaward, all the foul water from the showers and drains will be pumped up the hill to a Severn Trent manhole. The result is a more hygienic sewer system and enormous savings in the cost of emptying the cess pit on a weekly basis. Handsworth RUFC, which has three senior sides and six mini age groups, also supports activities such as a crèche, karate club, archery club and a wheelers club together with a bonfire night for the Great Barr Scout Troop. Martin Bettington, Biffaward’s Chairman, said “A surprising number of community buildings lack basic services which we often take for granted. Biffaward is pleased to be able to support Handsworth RUFC in this work, which will greatly increase the drainage capacity – meaning that more people can use the clubhouse and take part in sport.” For more information about Biffaward, see www.biffaward.org or call 01636 67000

Novices make lightning progress

Swaffham Under 15 girls provide 50% of Eastern Counties Girls U15 squad and with nine of Swaffham players selected, it’s no mean achievement given that most were not even playing rugby last season. The club decided that a few girls who had played mixed mini rugby needed a chance to develop in the sport and after a recruitment drive to bolster the U15 age group the girls have made rapid progress.

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