whitton
lions
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Whitton Lions
W
hitton Lions RFC is a club committed to playing an important role in their local community providing people
of all abilities with a chance to play the game. Chairman Gareth Elliott took the time to give us an insight
into the approach of the club and the good work that they have been carrying out lately.
He told us, “Whitton Lions was created by myself and my best
friend, Aidan Potts, following a brief discussion while at the
local pub. We both wanted to play rugby but were nervous
about joining an established club as we had not donned
our boots since our school days.
“Following up on this idea we kicked around a ball
in the local park and managed to attract a couple
of intrigued locals. At the same time we had been
joining local Quins supporters who often met on
a Thursday night with the intention of entering
the Fat Bloke Sevens social tournament in
Reading.
“Numbers had dwindled and due to my
role as a local Councillor I was aware of a
local playing field that was underutilised and
seemed perfect for a group of lads looking to
cobble together a social rugby team. With a
ground secured and the Fat Blokes to play in
we formed the Whitton Lions RFC and thanks
to our player/sponsor, Blossoms Health, we had
our first shirts produced.
“The club set out from the very beginning to be a
central part of the community. Whitton, even though
it is the closest town to Twickenam Stadium (located
on Whitton Road) did not have a rugby team. I was also
certain that there were several local people in a similar position
wanting to give rugby a go but nervous about how to go about
it due to age, skill level or simply not really contemplated it.
“Today I am happy to say that well over 90% of our players
are within walking distance of the ground, all our sponsors
are local businesses (including the local Pub, the Prince Albert,
which has become our second home).
“Every year the club enters the local St George’s Day parade
and even competes in the local dragon boat race. Even our club
colours have local significance being the colours of the Royal
School of Military Music, based at Kneller Hall in Whitton.
“The mood is high, especially following our highest league
success finishing fourth and reaching the play-offs. It is also
World Cup Year so we are looking forward to making the
most of it. We are also planning a packed summer returning to
the Fat Bloke 7s and organising our first tour – not to mention
opening a Saturday programme of touch rugby.
“This season was our most successful yet. We finished
fourth and made the play offs. We also attracted our largest
membership yet and I am proud to say that the development
of our players has proved successful with one of our players,
Dean Oliver, securing a contract at London Scottish.
“We are planning our first tour and will be returning to our
roots by entering the Fat Bloke Sevens. We are also competing
in the local Dragon Boat Race and are currently competing in
the O2 Touch Rugby Tournament in Richmond.
8 Issue 57