Aylestone St James
Aylestone St James
RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
It would be fair to say that Aylestone St James
RFC has not had the easiest times in recent
years due to issues with their facilities off the
field but with those problems now looking
to be resolved the club is in a strong position
to move forwards. Rugby Club Magazine
recently caught up with their Treasurer
Richard Hickson to find out more about the
club’s plans for the future.
Richard told us, “I’ve been involved with the club since 1966;
My father was a president, my grandfather played and my
great grandfather was a founder member so it runs in the
family. My son is 2nd team captain and plays for the first team
so I feel sorry for my Grandson really! It has always been a
family club and children have followed fathers into the team.
Not so long ago sixteen players in the team had fathers who
had also been involved.”
“In 2010, we had an oil spillage and had to move away for two
years. By the time we came back we had lost the women’s and
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youth sections and then when we came back the roof started
moving so it hasn’t been easy for us in recent years. We’ve had
some very generous donations and I’d like to make a special
mention to Hinckley Rugby Club who donated £500 which
was quite amazing really
“The atmosphere is quite positive at the moment and now we
have hopefully sorted the roof issue we should be able to move
on and are excited for the rest of 2019. We have two senior
teams and are on the cusp of a third team which is excellent,
especially compared to other clubs in the area.
“A lot of the players that we attract have never played rugby
before and want to try it out. We work hard to uphold the
traditional rugby values and always have a good time off the
field as well as playing good rugby on it.
“As a rugby club we have been up and down in the leagues
and we’re in a lower league at present. Everyone is enjoying
their rugby though and that is our main priority and if we
climb the leagues as a result of that that will be a nice bonus.
“To continue to grow we now need to establish our third team
and junior section which we are looking to do over the coming
years. We have a loan to pay back for the roof which will take
time so that will need to be managed carefully but we’re in a
good position to cover that.
“Our aim over the coming years is to make sure that we have a
long-term sustainable future. We are focused on enjoying our
rugby and we have a very good set of volunteers here who
have worked hard to come through the difficulties we have
faced so we now have an excellent platform from which to
build for the future.”
“My dad played for the club for forty-one years from 1972
to 2013 and I started playing at 21, still taking part in
the occasional game as a fly-half. My dad, Bob Angell, is
still heavily involved with the club as social secretary and
organizes meals for some of the players before games.
I own a gym and have sponsored the club for the past
four years. They are a good bunch of lads at the club and I
encourage them to work hard, get to training and with that
effort success will follow.”
Andy Angell, Angell Fitness
www.rugbyclubmag.com
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