Reading Abbey: It means everything
Reading Abbey is a club at the heart of its community. Despite not having a home fixture, the club was bustling with families enjoying face painting, bouncy castles, guess the score competitions and hours upon hours of children practising passing and kicking for the uprights, all against the backdrop of Jack Willis making his World Cup debut against Chile.
Not only did Jack Willis play for Reading Abbey while he was a junior, so did his brother, Tom, and their dad, Steve, who made over 150 appearances for the club’s first team.
“I certainly wouldn’t have got to this point if it wasn’t for Abbey making me fall in love with the game. I remember watching my dad play from the age of about two or three up at Abbey.” said Jack.
Said 1st XV player and U12s girls’ coach, Sam Hallet: “Jack’s always been the loveliest lad. I’ve got brilliant memories of him. He’s a really good lad, an absolute grafter as you can probably imagine. Him and his brother Tom, they always come back to the club whenever they can.”
A true community
As well as the pride that the members have when talking about "their boys", the pride for their club is plain whoever you speak to.
“The word community is thrown around a lot, but I truly believe that is right for Abbey. It’s a whole group of people from very different backgrounds all coming together, all wanting to either play rugby or for their kids to play rugby and to just grow as people.” said Anthony Griffiths, Colts team manager.
“We are very much a community club; we live for the community. We don’t have big stands and we don’t have big budgets, but we are very much open to anybody and everybody. Whether you’ve been here for 20 years or whether it’s your first time, we will welcome you in exactly the same way. Everybody involved is incredibly proud of this club and they give up hours and hours of service to watch the kids running around, running free, kicking balls around. That’s what’s really important to us.” said club chairman, Sam Wallis Robinson.
The Abbey family
There were loud cheers for each of England’s 11 tries against Chile, but the most passionate came for Willis’ try, just before the full-time whistle.
As Charles Andrew, who is one of those long-standing volunteers who helps with everything and anything at the club, said: ““Abbey has always been a family club. You’ve got your own family and then you’ve got the Abbey family.”
To Reading Abbey, watching one of that family in the Rugby World Cup, their club and their rugby means everything.
