Rugby Club Issue 72 | Page 8

Vale of Lune FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Vale of Lune RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB After a solid 2016/17 campaign, Vale of Lune RUFC has already turned its attention towards strengthening for the future. Rugby Club Magazine recently caught up with Chairman Paul McLaren-Dorrington to find out more about their efforts to progress. Involvement He told us, “I started as a mini junior, and then became Junior club captain, played colts and then I moved away for 10 years. When I returned I played senior rugby for one year and then became chairman, a role which I have held for the past three seasons The most challenging part of my role but probably the most rewarding as well is implementing change. We have modernised the clubhouse, built a new stand and improved the playing facilities with most of the work being carried out by volunteers which we rely heavily upon on.” Present “The mood at the club is generally very optimistic; we finished 5th in North West One this year and we are really on a recruitment drive at the moment to bring in new players as we really want to go for promotion next season. The season started slowly, but the year really gathered momentum towards the start of November and in the second half of the season we played a lot of fast paced, attacking rugby which is what we want to continue into next season. We struggled with injuries throughout the season and used upwards of 100 players across the four senior teams which shows we have great strength in depth. Player recruitment is a big focus for us over the summer and we would 8 Issue 72 like to develop the clubhouse further as we need to modernise our kitchen facilities along with further bar refurbishment.” Youth “Youth rugby is really important to us here. We have over 300 registered mini and Juniors and we run two very successful mini and junior tournaments. We are working