ECCLES JUNIORS A warm welcome to Eccles RFC! The Rugby World Cup AND our season is finally underway! Most age groups within the Mini and Junior Section have, by now, played their first games either in the early season Cup comps or friendly games in preparation for forthcoming fixtures. I was fortunate enough to watch our U16s last Sunday versus Bolton in their Lancs Cup game in which they came out victorious following some fine rugby from both sides without any quarters given or taken! My point here is, the majority of the U16s are made up of boys who I’ve watched come up through the age groups to develop into the young men they are now, on the brink of adult rugby… how old does this make feel! This is indicative of the club ethos of nurturing our ‘Home grown Talent’ in producing and retaining players to make the club the thriving and popular set-up you see today. The analogy of ‘Grass Roots’ sports has never been more imperative than it is today as we have seen recently, as established clubs are having to resort to amalgamating age groups or worse still, folding a particular age group due to a lack of players/members. At Eccles, we take an enormous amount of pride when we witness the kids from ‘yesterday’ turning out for the seniors or Colts, yet as I write, we too are also experiencing the curse of limited player numbers down the lower age ranges, and particularly the U7’s – U9’s. Having just opened our fully refurbished artificial training area (please feel free to take a good look!), we offer facilities most clubs can only aspire to. No muddy kit for the mums (or Dads!) to wash now, and a safe enclosed playing area for the kids to run around in! To compliment this, the club house is also looking magnificent to offer further creature comforts during the long winter months, where the kids can enjoy their free hot dogs and chips after their games! So, come on down… you may even enjoy it! Paul Fleming Eccles RFC Mini and Junior Chair 1897
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