Early May sees England rugby legends Lewis Moody, Martin Corry, Neil Back and Maggie Alphonsi join Scotland’s Al Kellock and Mike Blair, and Wales’ Tom Shanklin and Stephen Jones as members of the The Rugby Force.
These iconic player ambassadors team-up to offer their own personal advice and support to boost the British game’s grassroots support programme centring on the NatWest RugbyForce weekend celebration.
Now in its fifth year, the weekend event (which takes place on 24 and 25 June), is the focal point of the ongoing community rugby initiative run in partnership between NatWest and England Rugby.
The programme aims to help clubs across the country attract new members and fpor these local organisations to become stronger and more sustainable businesses.
The iconic retired rugby stars will support the scheme by offering their specific knowledge and personal expertise to help their chosen clubs reach their development goals.
These are structured in four key areas: Lewis Moody is supporting junior rugby, Maggie Alphonsi is helping her own club grow their women’s team, Martin Corry is providing business development support to clubs and Neil Back is iving coaching support to develop coaching best practice to benefit the whole club’s coaching structure.
The launch event itself was promoted by a supporting ‘NatWest Rugby Force 2017’ video.
The film was initially posted on 28 April and amplified via England Rugby’s other social platforms such as Twitter,
Could an England Rugby legend help YOUR club? Find out more about this amazing opportunity with #NatWestRugbyForce: https://t.co/bjTVyXMMhU pic.twitter.com/o0cv62u3D4
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) April 29, 2017
and Facebook.
It was actually first shown at the NatWest RugbyForce launch event.
Speaking at the launch of NatWest RugbyForce, Neil Back said
“I’m really excited to be a coaching ambassador for this year’s NatWest RugbyForce programme,” said Back at the launch event.
“I would have loved my junior club to be presented with this kind of opportunity and I’m keen to pass on my experience to help a club improve the quality of their coaching.”
Maggie Alphonsi added: “I’m proud to be part of NatWest RugbyForce this year to help grow and develop women’s rugby at a wining club. Women’s rugby in England has gone from strength to strength and I’m committed to help raise awareness of the game among women and increase participation at the grassroots level.”
As this year’s programme kicks into gear, clubs are inviting to enter a competition to win a chance for a member of The Rugby Force to join their own NatWest RugbyForce weekend celebration.
Clubs simply need to register at the programme’s digital hub at www.englandrugby.com/natwestrugbyforce by 11.59pm on 14th May.
Activative Comment:
NatWest RugbyForce is a nationwide programme in partnership with England Rugby that helps grassroots rugby clubs up and down the country to attract new members and become more sustainable for the future.
The programme’s twin focuses are on legacy and sustainability.
This year’s campaign follows on from the previous promotional campaign for the programme led by a film called ‘Legends Lair’.
This helped ensure the 2016 campaign was a major success with more than 600 clubs across England alone taking part in the NatWest RugbyForce DIY weekend.
Clubs that register before the deadline receive toolkits, support packages and a chance to attend a NatWest RugbyForce workshop.
Last year’s iteration of the initiative also saw 60 pitch maintenance packages including a visit from Twickenham’s Head Groundsman Keith Kent, or one of his team of pitch advisers as well as a grant of £2,000.
The NatWest brand took over supporting the programme from the original RBS-monickered Rugby Force programme (see case study).
Links:
Natwest Rugby Force:
www.englandrugby.com/natwestrugbyforce.
England Rugby:
https://www.youtube.com/user/officialRFUTV
https://twitter.com/EnglandRugby
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEnglandRugby/
https://www.instagram.com/englandrugby/
