Rugby Club Issue 79 | Page 73

Trojans manage to get some of the Academy to play senior Rugby before they go off to University but even that is difficult as our Academy has historically been strong and done very well in both local and national competitions. With that kind of success at Academy level it can be difficult to tempt them into Senior Rugby.” Community “We are very definitely a community club. Simply by having such a large quantity of youngsters, male and female, experiencing the joys and the culture of sportsmanship that Rugby brings just has to be beneficial not only to them but also others they come into contact with at School and elsewhere. We are a totally Amateur club and the whole ethos around the club is one of taking pride in our club, our players and our teams at whatever level. Within social media we have taken to using #proudtobeatrojan as our rallying cry.” Challenges/Ambitions “I think the biggest challenge will be keeping the lower Senior sides going. Locally many clubs struggle with numbers in the lower sides and the problem seems to be getting steadily worse with, some weeks, five out of six matches cancelled or postponed in the lower merit tables. Like many other clubs our lower teams wouldn’t exist without the dedication of some of our elder statesmen, turning out week after week (as an aside a few weeks ago our third team played with a front row – yes just the three – whose ages added up to 171! And we won the game). When that generation finally retires I fear there will be a major hiatus. By and large our ambition is to do more of the same. We want to keep our teams at the level they are at or higher (definitely not lower!) and to continue to provide Sunday morning rugby for as many young people as we can fit in the space we have. We do hope to have more space in the next few years so I suppose we want to fill that too.” “My father, Chris, used to play for the club as a tighthead prop and my nephew, Jack, now plays in the colts as a hooker. I got the opportunity to work for them in 2007 as a medic and started sponsoring the club in November of 2017. Solent Sports Injury Clinic It is a fantastic club with a friendly atmosphere running through the ages and I hope that they can continue to succeed to the best of their abilities.” • Back pain • Neck pain • Headaches and Migraines • Whiplash associated disorders • Extremity joint conditions • Adhesive capsulitis • Tennis elbow • Planter fascilitis • Osteoarthritis of the hip and knee Suzi Le Voi, Solent Sports Injury Clinic 170 Portsmouth Road, Lee-On-The-Solent. PO13 9AE Solent Sports Injury Clinic is a fully integrated and multidisciplinary clinic offering the diagnosis, therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation of all sports and non sports related injuries. We have many years of experience treating a wide variety of conditions including Tel: 023 9255 3302 www.solentsportsinjuryclinic.co.uk Proud Sponsors of Trojans RFC www.rugbyclubmag.com 73