Gordon League RFC Want To Make History in Papa Johns Men’s Community Cup
The Gloucestershire club's head coach Jake McMahon wants to see his club feature on Twickenham Stadium’s 2023 fixture list.
Gordon League RFC host local rivals Dursley this Saturday. They are among the other teams at this level playing local fixtures in the inaugural Papa Johns Men’s Community Cup before travelling further afield to take on opponents in different regions as winners progress through the competition.
McMahon’s family played for Gordon League in 1980s, stories of their exploits are still told in the clubhouse and the new generation are keen to emulate them.
McMahon said: “Back in the day, my dad and uncle played for Gordon League in what used to be called the John Player Cup - it was like the FA Cup in football. Stories from those days when they used to play in the 80s are still getting talked about at the rugby club, like when Peter Winterbottom as the England captain played against some of the players’ clubs.
"Decades on, they’re still talking about those semi-finals and near finals. Hopefully this year we can get to the finals and 30 or 40 years from now the guys will be talking about us getting to Twickenham. For clubs it could be really historic."
McMahon coached fellow Counties 2 Tribute Gloucestershire North side Old Cryptians to successive National Cup semi-finals before returning to Gordon League. The head coach knows the effect a successful cup run can have on the club and the surrounding community.
McMahon said: "Every week a cup competition gathers momentum - you get more people watching, more coach trips away, more people supporting, and the energy and the buzz just gets bigger. You can really feel it.
"And it pretty much becomes the talk of the city, especially in Gloucester. We've got 16 clubs in a 10-mile radius, so it's just constantly rugby, rugby, rugby when the national cup runs are on and if we can get on a bit of a roll, it will unite the village and the club and we can't wait."
The ultimate prize, a final showdown at Twickenham would be the icing on the cake after a rollercoaster ride pitting themselves against rugby clubs from across the nation.
McMahon said: "It's not very often local amateur clubs get a chance to take their club to Twickenham. So obviously that would just be brilliant to get the club buzzing and earn some really good revenue. As much as we would like the big coach trips to Devon or London, we're also really looking forward to welcoming other teams to Hempsted Lane and showing our club off and getting the whole village down to support us."
