Cockermouth
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Graham Wilson has had a long and
positive association with Cockermouth
Rugby Club as a player and long-term
sponsor. He recently told Rugby Club
Magazine, “I went along to the club
with friends when the ground was at
Laithwaite Close and played mini rugby
which continued into my secondary
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school and then on to senior rugby.
My main playing position was prop
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forward, a position my son Josh was to
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take on when he joined the club.
“Unfortunately, a knee injury put an end
to my playing days and a back problem
to my sons, however I’ve always kept a
close connection with my friends at the
club and attend the matches regularly.
The excellent hospitality events like
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EXTERNAL
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the ladies day at Cockermouth are
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second to none which my wife Kessi
and I thoroughly enjoy. The past few
T. 01900 828355 E. [email protected] W. www.gawilsonplasterers.co.uk
years the lads have been playing some
Unit 17, Derwent Mills Commercial Park, Cockermouth, CA13 0HT
excellent fast-moving rugby under the
tutelage of Chris Wright and this has
continued into this season leaving a very exciting end game over the next few months.
“I’ve never lost touch with my rugby mates over the years and always found we have stood by each other which is perhaps the essence
of rugby union. Cockermouth Rugby Club is a great example within our local community and myself, Kessi, Josh and staff at G A Wilson
Plasterers would like to wish everyone at the club all the very best of continued success for the remainder of the 2020 Campaign!”
“I started at Cockermouth RUFC when I was ten years
old and played through the club’s pathway up to first team
rugby. At 19 years of age after fantastic coaching and
getting as far as the England U19 trials for the 1999 U20s
World Cup I left for Sale Sharks Academy in 2000. At 16
I also started my coaching career coaching the club’s U14
side for three years. I came back to the club in 2014 in the
clubs head coach position.
The most challenging part of the role is trying to progress
players in the very limited time we have with them, the
facilities we currently have to hand and trying to implement
all the great ideas we have as a coaching team. The most
rewarding part of the role is seeing players who have
progressed though the club’s impressive player pathway
move into senior rugby and continue their progress in a
squad which is 90% based on home grown players. The
second part is enjoying the times in games when all the
players are playing at the top of their games and playing
expansive rugby with high skill levels, enjoying being part of
the team and playing with smiles on their faces. As a club
we were delighted to see young prop Adam Brough play for
Cumbria last season, winning the County Championships
at Twickenham in June.
The club is “buzzing” at the moment, we have the
strongest volunteer base we have had for a long time, a
very strong coaching pathway and excellent teams at every
age group. Our profile in the community is growing all the
time and at senior level we have had the best investment
from local companies in terms of kit sponsorship and match
day sponsorship we have seen.
24 Issue 89
This season is proving to be another great season with
the senior team staying at the top of the Cumbria League 1
for the majority of the season, continuing their progression
to play expansive rugby, our second team has fielded
a number of debutantes and completed every fixture,
enjoying their rugby along the way. Our youth teams and
girls teams have really brought into the age grade rugby
and Quilters Kids First programme and keep going from
strength to strength.
We are working hard to prepare the best we can for
every game. A major part of this is facility development at
the club and alongside a local business we hope to develop
a gym and multi-use games area to increase our training
provision for club members and the community. For the first
team promotion to Level 7 is a possibility and we would
embrace the opportunity for our young squad to play higher
level rugby whilst their time allows. We hope the second
team continues to have great numbers and compete in
Cumbria League 2. We hope our strong coaching group
across the whole club continues to grow and learn which
in turn will ensure our player numbers continue to increase
and enjoy rugby.
The last five years have laid really strong foundations for
the future and over the next five years we hope to build on
these by ensuring the club is a place to be in Cockermouth
for rugby and physical fitness, support all the people within
the club to enjoy what they do and reach their potential and
lastly to ensure we keep having a forward looking purpose
to be the best we can be.”
Chris Wright