Rugby Club Issue 49 | Page 68

BRIDGNORTH BRIDGNORTH Bridgnorth Rugby Club are based on Bridge Street in Shropshire and their first team currently competes in the Midlands 2 West (North) league. They are led by the team of President Alun Stoll and Chairman Pete Parkes and the club has made a considerable amount of progress under their guidance. Their first team has made a flying start to the current league campaign, having managed to win all 3 of their opening fixtures. This sees them sitting at the top of the table with 15 points on the board. There is a real confidence amongst the players that they have the ability to make the top spot their own and it will certainly be interesting to see how they are able to get on. As long as they retain their current group of players and perhaps make one or two quality additions they will be there or there about come the end of the season. One of the highlights of their early season performances has been the attacking brand of rugby that they have managed to produce. This has been reflected by the fact that they have racked up 115 points at a rate of nearly 40 per game. Their style of play has not had a negative effect on the defensive side of things either as they have given away a miserly 14 points. This is thanks to the fact that they have some superb individual defenders and have worked hard during the off-season to make sure they function as a unit. Bridgnorth is not a club to focus solely upon their senior section however as they also have a number of youth sides in place. These teams look to provide youngsters from the local area with an opportunity to play the game in a safe and enjoyable environment. It is important for any side that is looking to be successful over a sustained period of time to be able to produce their own talent and this is an area that they appear to have covered. It will certainly be interesting to see how their juniors a re able to progress over the coming years. 68 ISSUE 49 In order to ensure that their youngsters are able to enjoy a smooth transition into the senior game Bridgnorth also run a number of additional sides. This allows them to give players experience of adult level rugby even if they are not yet considered ready for first team action which can be an important step in the development process. Another benefit of having so many sides is that it allows the first XV to benefit from far greater strength in depth. If they are ever left short on numbers through injury or work commitments they have the option of calling players up with a limited amount of disruption. Bridgnorth have begun the season in scintillating form and appear to be well set up for a successful future. Everyone at Rugby Club Magazine would like to wish them the best of luck for the rest of the campaign. “They have some superb individual defenders and have worked hard during the off-season to make sure they function as a unit.”