The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Rugby: 80 minutes that last a lifetime
A CLUB IS MORE THAN ITS FIRST XV, IT’S A VIBRANT COMMUNITY TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Annan Rugby Club is at the heart of the Dumfries and Galloway town and is on the up with membership rising all the time. And the hard working volunteers at Violetbank have helped the club thrive.
The club, whose first XV now play in BT West League Division One having been crowned champions of West Two last year, have also been helped in recent months with £1000 support from Royal Bank of Scotland RugbyForce.
Since 2009 Royal Bank of Scotland RugbyForce has delivered both financial and practical support for many clubs throughout Scotland. The programme gives a number of hardworking clubs financial awards to help them improve facilities and grow the game.
As part of the package Al Kellock, the former Scotland cap, joined Annan’s board for a year and they have been able to tap into both his rugby and business knowledge.
Gary Coupland, who used to play for the club and is now vicepresident, said: “Things around the club have been on an upward trajectory for a while now and the Royal Bank of Scotland RugbyForce award has certainly helped with that.
“A few years ago we recognised that to sustain a vibrant club we had to open ourselves up to the wider community more and we went about doing that by having taster sessions for youngsters and also holding social events for potential new members.”
This approach worked well. He added: “What was great was that a lot of the people who became involved were totally new to the sport. A lot of them were keen to take on some jobs to help the club run smoothly.
“A rugby club is not all about just getting a senior first XV on the pitch each Saturday; it is about a Ladies section, a youth sectionandoffthefieldevents.All three of those things have grown greatly of late and it is exciting to be a part of.”
Secretary of the club, Fiona Latimer, was a newcomer to the sport a few years ago, but she is very actively involved at Annan now.
She added: “Getting involved with the club has been really interestingfor me. What I have enjoyed so much is that everyone mucks in and comes together to make the club as good as it can be.
“Everybody is so welcoming too and I would always encourage new people from the local area to come down and get involved.”
Kellock, who has been impressed by the enthusiasm shown at Annan, said: “I have enjoyed liaising with the board members at Annan and they are a great example of how a grassroots rugby club should be run.