Tondu RFC looking to a bright future without debt
AFTER 20 years of financial struggle, Tondu Rugby Football Club is debt free and looking forward to a bright future.
With the instalment of a new club chairman, Graham Thomas and his wife Jo Thomas, the club’s finances have been turned around.
Former club captain and businessman Graham has increased the funding which now pays the running costs of the clubhouse, which released the funding they could spend on playing the sport.
Since the takeover, Tondu have paid off a £28,500 mortgage on the club.
However, things have not always been this way for the village rugby team.
In 1995, the club upgraded their playing field from the centre of the village to the much larger fire station at the end of Pandy Road.
But the move to a professional status attracted players from outside the village as they would be paid to play, which meant families were no long- er attending the club’s matches.
Revenue was lost, and similar to many village Welsh rugby clubs, Tondu suffered as a result of professional rugby.
In 2003, the chairmen John Smithson and Neil Saunders considered closing the club.
During this time, the entire first team were attracted to clubs outside of the area.
Tondu RFC had run out of money and funding was about to stop.
The club couldn’t offer to pay the team any more, so it was left to the second-string team to battle for the club’s existence.
Tondu also has a number of vice presidents, who have brought former players back to the club to play.
All of this, along with a business approach and a new charge, has caused the mini and junior sections to thrive and has created a vibrant atmosphere on the field and inside the club.