RFU Top Brass inDevon on a Fact-Finding Tour of Local Clubs

May 8, 2007, 11:54 am

Martyn Thomas, the chairman of the Rugby Football Union, will lead the RFU’s top brass on a fact-finding tour of the South West this weekend in a bid to learn about the challenges facing grassroots clubs in the region.And Thomas hopes the tour will help to dismiss the notion that RFU officials spend too much time locked away from the realities of local rugby in finely furnished Twickenham offices.

“The purpose of the visits is to give us the opportunity of meeting members of the union locally to talk to them at first hand about the game and the RFU,” said Thomas.

“It’s important that the dialogue takes place and we want to hear from them how we can improve what we do, and about the difficulties and successes they are experiencing at the grass-roots of the game.

“It’s also an opportunity for us to get out and visit community clubs. This idea that we sit in some ivory tower in London is a myth that I want to dispel. We’ve always held these roadshows but previously I always felt we were talking at people. This time we will be all ears.”

RFU chief executive Francis Baron, community rugby chairman John Owen and community rugby director Andrew Scoular will accompany Thomas on the three day tour, which begins tonight at Ivybridge RFC (7.30) with a question and answer session, open to all.

The party visit Tavistock and Newton Abbot rugby clubs tomorrow to discuss facility developments before heading to Exmouth RFC on Sunday to watch youth and junior fixtures.

Thomas believes that many small clubs in the South West would benefit from a cash injection to improve ground facilities.

“We’re trying to visit every county on this fact-finding mission,” he said.

“We’ve been on about 12 of these events so far and the message we’re getting is that there’s not enough money in the sport to provide the facilities that people today expect at the grassroots. These are crucial things like clubhouses and floodlights. Floodlights are a boon to a rugby club because they enable teams to organise all sorts of rugby matches anytime of the week.

“I think we have to get people away from the traditional idea that rugby should be played on Saturday afternoons for adults and on Sunday mornings for juniors.

“So helping clubs afford floodlights helps with that. We’ve got a whole department at Twickenham who look at what kind of grants are available for clubs.”

This article was taken from: Express & Echo