Spreading the gospel of union
THE core team game of rugby football has developed in the community, more so, than any other team game during the past 10 years.
Long gone are the days when it was the preserve of grammar school educated boys. The old boys clubs started back in the mid-nineteenth century, but it was another hundred years before community rugby took hold, with the game expanding across the wider social spectrum. The real seachange, in the development of community rugby, occurred in 1969, when two Huddersfield rugby dads pioneered the formation of mini-rugby.
Today its appeal is evident at Macclesfield Rugby Club, with hundreds of boys, girls, mums dads and even granddads enjoying the game.
It’s a huge sporting and social family, from boys and girls under the age of six to walking rugby, with no upper age limit. The social benefits are manyfold: keeping fit and healthy, providing a leisure recreation and creating a social facility for communal use.
How does it help our young folk? The Rugby Club provides a careful and structured pathway for young people to have fun, get healthy exercise and learn life skills.
It hasn’t happened overnight, our learning has come from the early days in 1971, with now 380 members from 5 to 18 years of age. To make it happen 80 volunteers give their time week in week out, to organise, provide first aid, or just to be on hand to help out.
It’s a Kids First coaching philosophy, coaching the whole player.
Core skills are developed in games; with the Rugby Union Core Values being part of all rugby at MRUFC (Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship).
The young players get to take part in a sport they love, enjoying physical activity with their friends followed by the social interaction (mainly nuggets and chips!) in the Clubhouse afterwards.
The route creates a Player Pathway from U6 to senior rugby; from U13 to
U18 (Junior Rugby) players start to link with the senior teams; match day shadowing where three players will “shadow” the 1st XV coaches and help warm up with the first team. Colts (U17/U18) will often train with the senior sides and start to play senior rugby from 17 upwards, 18 for front row positions.
This season four colts stepped up to play 1st XV rugby, and several others playing 2nd, 3rd and 4th XV senior rugby.
This careful pathway, that builds strength and fitness along with respect, discipline and sportsmanship, works on all kinds of levels: for health, general wellbeing and as preparation for life-skills; as well as creating the best opportunity for young players to begin to achieve their sporting ambitions.
On the latter point it has been vividly evident this season, with at times at least three quarters of the 1st team being made up of ex Macclesfield mini and junior players.
It’s from these strong foundations that our community sport grows, both in the highly competitive 1st and 2nd team squads, to the non-less competitive but more social 3rd and 4th team squads.
And there’s always room for more players/ teams returning to play our great game; forty years ago the Club turned out 6 or 7 teams every Saturday.
The camaraderie built amongst players, over many years of playing together, and on tours creates a bond that is hard to break and you will see it in abundance at the Club, in many different ways.
The latest, this season, has been the formation of ‘Walking Rugby’. Inspiring many to start chucking the egg shaped ball around again, as well as new people coming into the game. They can’t wait to get at it again!
The other rugby players, just as eager to get back to Priory Park are the ladies of the Ladies Development squad, champing on their gum-shields.
Their story has started, but as yet is in its infancy and deserves a column in its own right – to follow!