Richmondshire RFC on top of the town
Richmondshire RFC based in beautiful North Yorkshire at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales lies on top of a hill with views over the iconic castle and market town of Richmond.
Their clubhouse was rebuilt in 2013, with modern facilities next to their two grass pitches and the numbers were growing nicely with rugby being introduced for women and girls and an adult women’s team competing for the first time in the Inner Warrior League. Age grade numbers continue to grow thanks to volunteers from the club coaching in local schools.
So far, so fine but after the pandemic and caught up with modern lifestyles and the many demands on people’s time, the adult men were drifting away. Christmas saw little to celebrate as numbers dropped and the club could only field one side. That brought the demise of the social fixtures but as the season progressed the first team were struggling and losing their league matches in Durham and Northumberland 3.
It was clearly time to discover what the players really wanted, and feedback was that league matches did not match many players’ needs. The club made the big decision of leaving the league.
Initially this cost them players wanting competitive rugby but players who wanted to play more social rugby began to return. The corner was turned when those returning to play a social game outnumbered those leaving.
That was the time to rebuild with a focus on attracting a diverse group of players. Club volunteers focused on bringing as many people to the club as possible no matter their age, whether they were new to rugby or had been out of the game for a while.
They ran a return to rugby session linked to the autumn internationals offering a free taster session and then a chance to watch the games on the clubhouse screen. This gave a flavour of matchday life at Richmondshire RFC. As a result of this taster, they won England Rugby’s game day coverage prize of picking a home fixture to be broadcast live on England Rugby’s online platforms with squad announcements, player interviews and a live broadcast of the game.
The club have chosen their fixture on 1st April against Darlington to be the game covered and are promoting the event and creating a buzz around the club which is helping to bring new people in and old members back.
With a big increase now in their adult male player numbers, the Tees Valley Social League has provided them with competitive fixtures but also the flexibility to pick when and who they play. They have picked up friendlies against sides outside the league to offer more competitive rugby and help attract players who want that back to the club.
Next season they will be entering the Yorkshire Leagues, at Yorkshire 4, while continuing to build on the great atmosphere at the club- but they won’t be forgetting that offering players a game that fits their lives and commitments was where the rebuilding began.
