The efforts of rugby clubs nationwide, which are making a big difference by supporting those in their communities who need help, have been applauded by England Head Coach Eddie Jones. He sent a thank you message about community rugby’s values of respect and discipline and named a few of the great examples evident right now.
Avonmouth Ladies rugby heroes
Avonmouth Old Boys Ladies have made a real difference in their community, delivering hundreds of hampers, food boxes and even flowers to those shielding, the vulnerable and those on the frontline in the pandemic.
They initially started by setting and sorting the hampers in one player’s living room but the operation spread quickly and now they are operating out of a local community hall. The leaders of the group include a care worker and home schooling mums. The whole community is benefitting from their efforts.
The vulnerable who are shielding at home, care homes and NHS hospital staff, local services like the fire brigade, are among those being provided with regular hampers of basic supplies and food boxes and club Vice Chairman Grant Britton says:
“This is now like a military operation, it’s impressive and the community are grateful for all their efforts with thank you messages being sent in continuously on social media platforms. Rugby is very much a sport that helps wherever it can and this team is helping the entire community. We are very proud of what they have achieved.”
Yorkshire support
Senior players at Ilkley RFC in West Yorkshire came up with a plan to organise various activities for club members and friends during lockdown to keep them connected, active and in good spirits, while raising funds for the NHS.
They’ve stayed in regular contact through various forms of social media, the highlight being a weekly quiz night via video conference, members taking turns to create and host the quiz. This has helped underscore the importance of the rugby club as a community and a supportive network. They have also reached out to the local community to stress that the club is there to help wherever it’s needed.
With a number of personal trainers and strength & conditioning coaches in the club, there’s been free advice and programmes for people at home and fundraising activities around exercise. And for a fun element they added a team sing along and a toilet roll challenge feature on their Facebook page. A JustGiving page had a £1,000 initial target for the NHS but, having passed £3,000, a new £4,000 target has been set, their 'Run 5, Donate 5, Nominate 5' challenge increasing money raised.
As a team over Bank Holiday Friday they wanted to run 200 miles, the equivalent of the coast-to-coast trail, before meeting up on a video conference call for a celebratory drink afterwards. Regular updates were posted throughout the day and people got involved right across the club, clocking up 315.6 miles in total and raising more than £1,000 in a day for the NHS - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ilkley-rfc
To Twickenham & beyond
Gateshead RFC recently fought lockdown weight gain and worked on their fitness while doing some fantastic fundraising for their local foodbank.
Adult players, those from the youth section and other club members completed a three-day event which raised funds for The Gateshead Food Bank. They either ran, walked or cycled the distance from the club to Twickenham, then hugely exceeded the 550 mileage and £500 donations challenge. The 200 taking part actually raised more than £5,000 and clocked more than 3000 miles, so the mileage to and from Twickenham, Murrayfield, The Millenium, The Aviva and Stade de France.
“The player group have been keeping in touch virtually, and the coaches have been setting fitness challenges each week to keep them engaged and try and keep a level of fitness during this strange period we’re all in,” said Chairman of Rugby Paul Cooper.
“The suggestion to combine one of the challenges with raising money for charity came from the group, then we expanded it to include the whole club, including our youth section and members. It’s been fantastic and it’s great it has helped the local foodbank so much at a time when it is most needed.”
Manchester Magic
Didsbury Toc H RFC, on the north bank of the River Mersey, has been busy helping out with collections for foodbanks across South Manchester.
Their men’s and women’s team players have also been volunteering at local foodbanks which are helping to feed over 5,000 people a week. They donated alcohol gel and masks, sourced through their Vets and old boys, to the local care homes and hospitals in need of sanitiser.
Fliers distributed around the area have brought requests for shopping or pharmacy collections carried out by volunteers from across the club. And on top of all this, fundraisers for the NHS and local foodbanks have included virtual poker nights, grand nationals and some sponsored head shaving action.
Rugby values in Somerset
Maybe it was the Somerset air, but when Burnham on Sea RFC’s Vice Chairman, Tim Piper, set a challenge this month for his club’s players of cumulative walking, running, rowing or cycling 1000 kilometres to raise £1,000 for the local hospital they decided to exceed all his expectations.
‘The Stags Challenge’ gathered so much momentum that over 140 minis, juniors, parents, players and committee members took part, tracking the distance either through their normal outdoor socially distant exercise or on rowing and cycling machines. Crashing through the original target, they racked up 2000km and raised £3,500. This went to the hospital dementia unit where they are working hard to ensure patients remain safe during this lockdown period.
“I was amazed at the enormous effort put in and the total raised for a tremendously worthwhile cause,” said Tim. “It showed the values of rugby and of our club and I am very proud of everyone who took part or donated.”
Sussex club thank key workers
East Grinstead Rugby Club in West Sussex launched their One Ball – Pass it On challenge to keep rugby spirits lifted and thank all the heroes helping during the coronavirus pandemic.
Offering his support, Tom Mitchell, England Sevens captain said: "There are so many heroic NHS and key workers who continue to put themselves at risk every day to try and keep us safe, to keep us healthy and happy during these incredibly challenging times. From every rugby family from around the world, we want to say a massive thank you.”
The club wanted to see how far one ball could travel and it certainly did, around rugby clubs within the UK and also rugby families from across the waters including Jersey, Guernsey and Ireland.
Andy Poole, East Grinstead RFC President said: “We would like to thank everyone who got involved and were delighted with the videos sent through, we just wish we could have used them all. A special thank you to film maker, Mike Rumsey, Rumsey Films and the always supportive Tom Mitchell.” Watch the video here.
