Helsby’s big ambitions
Essentially a village rugby club ten miles from Chester, Helsby RFC operates out of a multi-sports club which began life as the sports and social club of a former factory in the village.
Last April, a £5m clubhouse opened its doors after a 15-year project as part of housing development on the former factory site. The sports club worked closely with the Chester West and Cheshire County Council, section 106 agreements facilitating the clubhouse project. With Helsby Parish Council contributing £100,000 and a marginal increase on council tax over more than a decade before its opening, the clubhouse was created for the local community and is home to rugby, football, tennis running and other clubs.
The sports club is managed by a volunteer board of six directors, the chairman is a former chairman of Helsby RUFC, the sporting director is currently the rugby club’s chairman, and the operations director is treasurer of Helsby RUFC.
The rugby club serves Helsby, the larger neighbouring village of Frodsham and other nearby villages, and a recent visitor, out on the road to hear the voice of the community game, was RFU CEO Bill Sweeney, who was impressed by the “ambitious club.”
Passionate, knowledgeable & committed volunteers
“They have done a great job negotiating the various strands of funding to build a modern multi-sport facility with rugby at the core,” he said. “And now they are focused on bringing more players into the game and developing a women’s team. It was a pleasure to listen to such a passionate, knowledgeable and committed group of volunteers.”
Before the new sports club was built, the rugby club saw a significant fall in junior playing numbers caused by lacklustre facilities and pitches at a distance from the main clubhouse. This left Helsby with just a single age group team – now their U13s.
But they are addressing this situation and with the impressive new building and bar and balcony overlooking the rugby-compliant astro pitch, they’ve gained some 50 players in younger age groups and are still building numbers at U6 to U11. They have also almost doubled the size of their U13s player base to nearly 30 players, strengthening the squad significantly as they make the transition in the coming years to Colts and senior rugby. Importantly, they have also gained seven new coaches.”
Build it and they will come
Says Chris Johnson Chairman of Helsby RUFC: “It’s like the old saying ‘If you build it they will come’. We have the new centre and are now building numbers with the aim of offering rugby to all, from toddlers to 70+ members of our walking rugby. Out of our 65 new young players a dozen are girls and our coach Andy Wheeler’s daughter Grace is a great role model for them. We plan to pilot women’s rugby on the 3G but building numbers of older girls and women will take time, maybe 18 months.”
Junior coach and Safeguarding Officer, Andy and daughter, Grace, coach the U8 to U11s and are at the forefront as the club the club aims to establish an U13s girls’ team and pilot open age women’s rugby later this year. Andy and Grace are both involved also at nearby Chester RUFC, where Grace plays for the U18s team.
Thursday evenings are a hive of activity on the astro, with a mix of minis and juniors, and a walking rugby group established in October following a pilot run by Sale Sharks. Now at least 20 players are there every week. Initially aimed at past players of over-50 it’s proved to be really popular with all – from juniors whose big brothers are training with the U13s at the same time, to their mums and dads and also the original target audience. One of the new recruits is Ray Tabern who played for Leigh, Fylde and Lancashire and also represented the North West Counties and the North of England against Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s, before embarking on a career in rugby league for Leigh through the 1980s.
Once the U13s have to move to play matches on one of the two grass pitches used by the club’s two men’s XVs, they will have a five or six minute walk and, having rationalised a bunch of portacabins through Rugby Force seven years ago, there are plans to improve this still further. The aim is to provide a pavilion incorporating toilets, changing facilities, somewhere for serving food and a bar. This will serve on men’s match days and when the minis are playing tournaments. The main sports club will still cater for major events and anything happening on the astro, while the grass pitches area is a focus for possibly providing a running track and archery, which in turn will help funding overall.
The growth in young players has come thanks to both the new facilities and also proactive recruitment, the club hosting an annual tag rugby tournament for local junior school pupils from Years three to six. They also promote rugby and the club at community events like summer festivals and open days. Their inflatable rugby offering was quite an investment but is a big hit which they hope will pay dividends in player numbers
With plans for rugby tots and touch rugby in the summer, and their fine new home, Helsby has built it and they will undoubtedly come.
