Henley helping themselves
Henley RFC has a fantastic new 4G pitch, Invesco Turf, which has been installed for the 2020-21 season, a great community asset to serve the club for years to come.
With the need to replace their old pitch, work took place on the Tiger Turf project during lockdown and the club has said a big thank you to all who contributed by buying raffle tickets and making donations.
“It’s obviously been a difficult few months for everyone, but we’ve used this time to be as proactive as we possibly can,” said the club’s commercial manager, Alistair Beynon. “The new 4G pitch has been on the cards for some time, but we couldn’t be happier with how Invesco Turf has been received by the local community. We have a fantastic clubhouse, the best venue in Henley for social distancing, and we’re very much gearing up to the 2020/21 season.”
On the banks of the River Thames, the club is a big part of its community and emerging from the coronavirus, while Henley Royal Regatta was cancelled for the first time in its 181 year history, apart from during the World Wars.
The rugby club is determined to remain sustainable and took advantage of an RFU loan and a local business grant. The onsite Menza Café & Bar reopened earlier this month and, with plenty of indoor and outside space and rigorous social distancing, has been doing good business, adding income for the club. The club is also very grateful to have local business sponsors.
The younger players are back at socially distanced training and during lockdown were involved in ball passing challenges, while the men’s and women’s Hawks players were dancing for Henley Lockdown Fest where all money raised went to NHS Charities and Riverside Counselling Service.
Their moves featured in a video for ‘Bring Happiness Home’, written by Adam Isaac especially for the festival. You can check the song and video out here. Clearly, the rugby skills far outweigh their dancefloor moves!
Men’s and women’s team players also engaged with younger players online to keep them motivated and outstanding rugby skills were on show from Sam from the U14s, who looks a certainty for the First XV in the future.
Regular lockdown quizzes for senior players and their families had a fancy dress theme and gave a chance to catch up with team mates, which they hope to do at Dry Leas soon, the Friday Club volunteers having turned out to get the club and grounds ready for a return to rugby.
