Market Rasen
and Louth
in the Midlands squad and he has now been given
a 2 year contract with Leicester Tigers Academy.
The club has forged links with Leicester Tigers
allowing them to stage a coaching week at the
club during the summer for the past three years
and this season becoming a venue for one of their
regional centres of excellence, where the club
gives them access to the facilities in their quest
for developing potential elite players from the
surrounding area.
Facilities
Last June, the club undertook a major
refurbishment of the clubhouse, which had not
changed since the club moved to its current
Willingham Road location in the early eighties,
with the assistance of an RFU grant. Also last year
solar panels were installed on the clubhouse roof
with the club enjoying the benefits this season
and the investment expected to be repaid within
the next seven to eight years.
The club will be taking part in the NatWest
Rugby Force scheme in June having already
been guaranteed assistance with the possibility
of a further award. The next major project is a
Sefton
floodlight improvement scheme to light up a
second pitch to cater for the demands of both
the juniors and seniors where the current single
floodlit pitch is in operation four nights a week.
Fund-raising
RaseIt is the name of the club’s fund raising
activity, which is run by a small sub-committee
who this year have arranged a Burns Night dinner
dance, a quiz night and a race night amongst
other things to add to club funds. The club will be
holding its RaseIt ball at Market Rasen Racecourse
in May, which is expected to make a significant
contribution to club funds.
Tradition
We regard ourselves as a traditional old fashioned
rugby club with no payments or inducements
made to players. There are regular court sessions
with outrageous fines and punishments issued by
judge in chief Ollie Cole. The club is also renowned
for its version of human skittles, which has given
huge amusement to visiting sides and is talked
about throughout the Midlands.
Sefton
They are led by the team of Chairman Bill Jones
and President Alan Coleman and are looking to
progress under their guidance.
Their first team put together a solid campaign
this time around, managing to win 13 and lose 13
of their 26 matches. This saw them finish in a safe
mid table position with 61 points on the board
which should provide them with a good platform
to build from ahead of next season.
So long as they are able to retain their current
group of players and perhaps make one or
two quality additions then they should be able
to claim a higher league position. There is a
confidence amongst the players that this will be
something that they are able to achieve.
Sefton is not a club that focuses solely upon
their senior section however and they also have a
number of youth sides in place. These teams look
to provide young players from the local area with
an opportunity to play the game in a safe and
enjoyable environment.
It is important for any club to be able to produce
their own talent, particularly in the current
financial climate and it will be a major boost for
the first team if they can rely on quality coming
through the ranks. It will certainly be exciting to
watch to see how Sefton’s youngsters are able to
develop over the coming years.
In order to help them make the sometimes
difficult transition into the senior game Sefton
also run additional teams. This allows them to
provide players with experience of adult level
rugby even if they are not yet considered ready for
first team action.
Another advantage of having more than one
side is that allows the first team to benefit from
far greater strength in depth. If they are ever
left short on numbers through injury or work
commitments then they can call players up with a
limited amount of disruption.
Sefton is a great example of a well-run
establishment that plays an important role in
their local community, particularly in relation
to the development of young players. Hopefully
they will be able to keep up the good work that
72
ISSUE 45
Sefton RUFC is based on Thornhead Lane off
Leyfield Road in Liverpool and they currently
compete in the South Lancs and Cheshire 1
League.
they have been doing for many years to come and
Rugby Club Magazine would like to wish them the
best of luck.
NORTH
LIVERPOOL
CONSTRUCTION LTD
Proud
to sponsor
Sefton RUFC
Junior team
1A Cedar Road, Aintree,
Liverpool L9 9AD.
Telephone: 0151 5301848.
Email: [email protected]
www.rugbyclub.biz
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