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Vickery: Get down your local club and get stuck in!
by Simon Mills
England's management and players have paid tribute to the thousands of volunteers breathing new life into the grassroots game back home.
In the run-up to their Rugby World Cup semi-final against France, England captain Phil Vickery and head coach Brian Ashton sent their own message of support to the clubs and colleges taking part in the Go Play Rugby recruitment drive.
The RFU set out to bring 6,000 adults back into rugby with a sophisticated media and marketing campaign backed up by thousands of trained volunteers armed with recruitment materials.
More than 700 clubs and 150 universities and colleges are taking part and are set to exceed the 6,000 player target - with many clubs able to field entire new teams as a result.
England head coach Ashton said: "Most of England’s players started out with their local clubs and schools and rugby is booming back home. Ultimately, it’s the grassroots clubs that feed our National Academy and our 14 Regional Academies.
"Many of the England squad have supported the RFU’s Go Play Rugby campaign this season and it’s great that we’re able to bring in more than 6,000 new or returning adult players.
"That’s a tremendous tribute to all the hard work put in by thousands of volunteers and we all know that for England to be strong at the top level we need a strong grassroots game."
England captain Vickery started out playing for Bude and Redruth in Cornwall as a teenager before moving to Gloucester and then on to London Wasps.
He joined other England players this summer in filming messages of support for the campaign's launch and taking part in a 'longest pass' viral that fans can join in by uploading video clips to the UCAS website for students www.yougofurther.com
Vickery said: "We're delighted to be able to support the Go Play Rugby campaign that's bringing all these players back into the game.
"No matter what level you play at you're part of one big rugby family and it's great to know that family's getting bigger and bigger.
"Rugby's a fantastic game for everyone and I'd like to thank all those volunteers whose hard work is making Go Play Rugby such a success.
"For those who are thinking about trying it there's never been a better time. Get down to your local club and get stuck in!"
Go Play Rugby is the biggest recruitment campaign ever mounted by a single sport in England using sophisticated methods to target 16-30 year-olds.
Since its launch at Bath this summer, more than 300 Go Play Rugby recruitment events have take place around the country ranging from beach rugby tournaments to World Cup parties.
• Two million of the target audience have watched Go Play Rugby advertising in cinemas
• 300 radio and TV stations with an audience of more than 36 million have covered the campaign.
• 20,000 people have searched for places to play on the www.goplayrugby.com website or texted their postcode to 64411 to find their nearest club.
• 1.6m resources – including business cards, beermats and posters – have been distributed to club recruiters around the country
Go Play Rugby is a £1million campaign, supported through a £500,000 grant from the National Sports Foundation that backs up investment of £300,000 from the Rugby Football Foundation and £200,000 from Go Play Rugby sponsors the Chelsea Building Society. England Rugby sponsors O2 are also supporting the project.
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Go Play Rugby success in Lancashire
Rugby Union in Greater Manchester and North Lancashire has receive a massive boost as a result of the Rugby Football Union’s Go Play Rugby recruitment campaign launched to coincide with the recent Rugby World Cup.
Already nine clubs from Greater Manchester have reported a combined total of 181 new or returning adult players, with a number of clubs being able to launch new teams as a result of the programme. In North Lancashire, seven of the 12 clubs who have been involved have already reported the arrival of 161 new players and both areas are expecting to enhance those figures.
The RFU’s £1million campaign, funded by the National Sports Foundation with the support of commercial sponsors Chelsea Building Society and O2 and involving more than 700 clubs and 130 universities and colleges nationwide, aimed to bring 6,000 players – the equivalent of 400 new teams – back to the game.
At a Go Play Rugby progress report meeting involving nine clubs from Greater Manchester, the picture painted following the campaign and other club recruitment policies was very rosy.
Statistics showed that that Didsbury Toc H had recruited 25 new or returning players, Rochdale 31, Heaton Moor 15, North Manchester 7, Bolton 14, Leigh 22, Burnage 27, Oldham 20 and Wigan 18.
Tarleton, with a spectacular increase in membership of 39 new players, have led the North Lancashire charge, with Chorley 15, Colne & Nelson 27, Tarleton 39, Preston Grasshoppers 38 (20 of which where women), Southport 14, Burnley 13 and Fleetwood 15 all adding significantly to their playing numbers.
There are numerous examples of good practice in the way so many people have been drawn to the game, but the common theme was that the campaign had stimulated the clubs to get out and recruit rather than accept the status quo.
Tarleton are a good example of what can be achieved. They used the RFU publicity material and linked it to some of their own imaginative creations based on a theme linked to the area’s market garden environment and instigated an effective local campaign which resulted in 39 new players arriving at the club. Their best recruitment venue was one pub in Croston where they recruited 8 new players, two of whom have subsequently become the leading try scorers.
Not that the 'GPR' has been the only initiative in place to bring new players into the game. Helsby RUFC have an Awards for All bid to continue to support a Community Rugby Coach ready for submission, while a party from the RFU Development team, led by the RFU Funding & Facilities Officer Ted Mitchell have been on a fact-finding trip to Cumbria to establish the current state of play in the county.
Old Bedians have started their first ever Under 12s team and are now competing on a regular basis, while Didsbury, who are looking at a ground purchase possibility, are now hosting Manchester Metropolitan University development squads with a view to recruitment.
Old Bedians and Birkenhead Park have achieved Seal of Approval status to enhance their position in the youth rugby sector, while Bolton have submitted two funding applications to maintain their excellent momentum of recent years. All of which suggests that the 2007 Rugby World Cup really has helped to put a spring in the step of rugby union in Lancashire.
December 15, 2007
