Coventry Rugby Club, founded in 1874, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. From its inception, it quickly became a major force in English rugby, fielding internationals from the turn of the 19th century, captains of England rugby and a number of British and Irish Lions - perhaps the most famous being David Duckham and Fran Cotton.
In the mid 1970s, the club boasted eleven England Internationals amongst its player ranks and won the national cup in its first two years of existence.
“Cov” had a dip in fortunes at the time when professionalism was coming into being but, under the chairmanship of Jon Sharp it has, in more recent years, seen a renaissance, climbing back into the Championship and achieving consecutive 3rd place finishes in the last two years. At the time of writing, the club is in top place in the league, being the only club to have secured maximum points from its matches so far this season.
Jon Sharp’s aim is quite clear “We are targeting an improvement on last year’s third place finish. We have a fantastic coaching set up and a highly talented group of players. We have a strong contingent of young and local talent, accompanied by players with a wealth of experience and we know that there is huge potential within this group to carry us onwards and upwards. This year, for the first time in some years, there is the tantilising opportunity of promotion to the Premiership through a two legged play off. We know that the cards are still stacked against non Premiership clubs but we believe that Coventry deserves a place at the top table with our history, our progress on and off the field and the support that is self evident”
Indeed, Coventry has the highest support in the Championship and in a strong year of growth last year added 1100 supporters to its average gate – the highest growth rate in English rugby. “Why would the powers that be not want us in the Premiership if they really want to grow English rugby? We have the potential to become a major force in rugby. We are developing the stadium to meet Premiership entry criteria with a focus on community provision and financial sustainability and will be continuing to build on our progress both on and off the field. Coventry, Warwickshire and the West Midlands deserve top class sport and the support is clearly there to sustain one of the historic local sports clubs in the top flight”
In this year of the 150th anniversary, Coventry Rugby Foundation, a fully independent registered charity working hand in glove with Coventry Rugby, is aiming to raise the funds through an anniversary appeal to significantly increase the work it does in the local community. The Foundation works to transform lives through the power of sport. It works with people from all walks of life regardless of physical ability, age, gender, ethnicity or socio economic background.
Project 500, one of its landmark projects, addresses the significant need for youngsters (aged 4-14), particularly those who suffer deprivation, to have a safe place to come in the school holidays. At the Butts Park Arena they are able to experience all sorts of different sports and activities, have wholesome food and take away a family food hamper for a week, along with menus to help prepare healthy meals at home.
John Edwards, chair of the Foundation comments “I’ve been most impressed by the work that the Foundation does since I joined earlier in the year. We believe that sport can be a catalyst for huge positive change in peoples’ lives - young or older - not just through the well known physical and mental health benefits, but also the opportunities in life that it can bring. It’s sad that there are so many who need a lift in life but we are determined to work with Coventry Rugby and do as much as we can to create opportunity and change lives for the better”.
If you’d like to know more about Coventry Rugby Foundation, visit:
https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/community/coventry-rugby-foundation/
If you feel your business may be able to support the Foundation’s work, please e mail John Edwards at jedwards@coventryrugby.co.uk