RETURN TO RUGBY BRINGS 4,000 FORMER PLAYERS BACK INTO THE GAME
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Loading...- Return to Rugby attracts 4,000 players back to rugby one year on from Rugby World Cup final
- 190 new men’s teams launched across the country this season
One year on from the Rugby World Cup 2015 final the tournament’s legacy continues to inspire, with 190 new men’s teams launched this season, in large part due to the success of England Rugby’s Return to Rugby programme.
This year’s Return to Rugby follows on from last year’s Sport England-funded inaugural programme which saw 2,500 people sign up for sessions and 800 go on to play regular, competitive rugby after being reintroduced back into the game.
Return to Rugby offers former players a light reintroduction back into the game, with a strong focus on the social side of rugby, allowing attendees to move at their own page and refresh their basic skills within a relaxed and fun environment. Each session is tailored to suit a range of goals, whether people wish to play socially with low commitment, get back into competitive playing or simply up their fitness.
Since launching during Rugby World Cup 2015, Return to Rugby has attracted 4,000 returning rugby players back to rugby, attending sessions at their local clubs.
England Rugby’s ambition is to get 5,000 players participating in Return to Rugby sessions across the country by the end of the season. Since launching on August 18, 100 rugby clubs nationwide have been offering weekly training sessions for returning recruits through the programme.
Steve Grainger, Rugby Development Director, England Rugby, said “Our ambition with the programme was to use the excitement of the tournament to inspire people, particularly 18-24 year old men, to round up their friends, pick up a rugby ball at their local club and get back in the game. Now in its second year, we’ve doubled the number of participating clubs to 100 and aim to double our playing numbers, which we are well on our way to achieving.”
“So far we’ve seen some great examples of rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, sportsmanship and enjoyment being put into practice, with clubs embracing returning members into their rugby families and growing the quality of their club as a result. This for me, is what the legacy of the Rugby World Cup is all about.”
Return to Rugby has had a positive impact on clubs across England, boosting their playing numbers, strengthening their existing teams and enabling them to create new teams as a result of the influx of returning players.
Plymouth Argaum RFC, now in its second year of the programme, has not only secured 34 returning members through Return to Rugby but they have also unearthed a new coach, Chris Mills.
Mills has spent most of his life playing rugby including while serving in the Navy as well as for clubs across the country. When he heard that his local club Argaum were holding Return to Rugby sessions, he decided to get involved – this time as a coach. The programme has proved a huge success at the club, much down to the passion and enthusiasm of Mills who is now aiming to continue on his coaching journey by taking his coaching qualifications.
Return to Rugby has had similar success for the Aylesford Bulls and Crawley RFC, with 30 Return to Rugby players at Aylesbury Bulls, nine of whom have now made an appearance for the third team, and 45 players attending one Return to Rugby session at Crawley RFC. Crawley RFC’s ambition is to transition players over to the senior squad to help push for promotion.
Elsewhere, Chiswick RFC’s sessions have proved so popular that they were able to field a 4th XV this season, made up almost entirely of returning players, while Stourbridge RFC even managed to encourage a local father, Dickie Jeavons-Fellows, to get back into the game, joining his two sons on the pitch for a game against Wolverhampton RUFC – of which all three scored tries.
Dickie says his return is proof others can get back into the sport. “Our team that day featured a player who was 18 and someone who was 62 so it proves that rugby is for everyone.”
To sign up for Return to Rugby sessions in your area, click HERE.
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