A Force for good as Widnes welcome news of special weekend
WITH a return to action on the field still some way off, Widnes RUFC were delighted to hear the announcement from the Rugby Football Union about the return of the ever-popular NatWest Rugby Force weekend.
This long-standing initiative was set-up a number of years ago to support community rugby clubs by offering financial support to both tidy up and improve their facilities.
For obvious reasons, the event will take place slightly later than usual this year on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September.
The NatWest Rugby Force Weekend provides the perfect opportunity to call on Club volunteers to help get their facilities in great shape, and to welcome back the community as they work towards a return to action on the field.
Over the years, the Wids have benefited from this initiative on a number of occasions with the money being used to help kick-start a number of varying projects; from small, general tidy-ups, to major refurbishment works of their Concert Room and Lounge areas which have helped them to develop and maintain some of the best playing and social facilities around.
This year, NatWest is offering more help to support the rugby community with grants of around £500 each, with clubs invited to register their interest and pledging to get involved.
All volunteers are provided with a NatWest Rugby Force tee-shirt to wear in recognition of their hard work, whilst banners and posters will be on show around the club to recognise and celebrate the event.
As far as a return to action on the field is concerned, there was a slight hint of some good news as the RFU announced that rugby in England can move to level C in the Return to Rugby Road Map.
They have asked that all clubs exercise caution and adhere to all social distancing rules particularly in those areas under new tighter measures. Whilst there are some further hurdles still to overcome, the direction continues to move forward in a positive manner with the sport now having almost reached the half-way point in the sevenpoint plan and a return to full contact play.
Although, it still doesn’t yet mean a return to competitive action, it does allow non-contact training and touch rugby training up to a maximum of 20 players.
The remaining steps of D, E, and F, involves low and medium risk training activities with restricted numbers, followed by low, medium and increased risk training activities involving a full squad progression to full contact match training, before a final return to match preparation and playing.