Rugby Club ISSUE 86 | Page 92

Irvine FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Irvine RUGBY CLUB Irvine Rugby Club does a terrific job of providing people in their community with an opportunity to play the game in a safe and enjoyable environment. Rugby Club Magazine recently caught up with their President Allan Wilson to find out how they have been getting along lately. He told us, “I have been at Irvine since I left school 47 years ago. At that time, it was an FP club and I just wanted to keep playing rugby with my mates from school. I am the president of the club and with that there is a lot of different challenges, such as sponsorship, getting new players, a strong youth programme and a working committee to help me along the way.” “The rewards are seeing the smile on the kids’ faces when they come off the pitch even after they lose. Also seeing a thriving club spirit and the senior players putting their all into training and the games that they play. “The mood at the club is mostly upbeat with a few cloudy parts. Both senior sides are doing really well in their respective leagues with the 1st XV sitting 5th in 92 Issue 86 West 1, that is as high as we can achieve this season and the 2nd XV sitting 2nd in Reserve West 2. We are a very ambitious club and want to play at the highest level we can so we are now working on building the squads for next season and hope for promotion for both teams. “The youth section is very important to Irvine as the future 1st XV players and maybe a future Scotland player in the making. We only have mini rugby at the present time but we are very active in the local schools coaching rugby and the rugby culture to the kids. We have a vision to have a full youth section that is teams from p1 to u18 within the next 5/6 years at the club. “We have some kids at s1/2 that we have loaned to local clubs so as they can get game time until we have a team for them to play for. When the players are old