Machynlleth
Present Community
“The atmosphere is pretty positive at the moment
after a good campaign last year, a few new players have
already joined the club in the off season and there is a
strong team spirit building within the squad.
Last season was positive, we missed out on promotion
by two points which came down to bonus points rather
than results. The previous few years have been a struggle
with playing numbers so it was great to finish the season
on time without having to postpone any games because
of lack of players, we also had a great tour to Yarnbury
Rugby Club in Leeds and had a great time with a great
team.
The main plan this year is to build the squad and play
all of our games, if we build on the foundation of last
season we could be pushing for promotion again this
year!” “We are very much a community club, the clubhouse
is used by four local pool teams and is used for family
functions, it’s also very family friendly with my children
joining almost as soon as they were born! We work
closely with the local football club as well where we
share facilities (Changing rooms and pitches) when we
have tournaments such as our 7 a side tournament on
the 3rd August, and their youth football tournament in
May.”
Youth
“Youth rugby is really important, and we have
struggled to get youngsters into the club over the past
few years. We are restarting mini rugby again in the
summer with youngsters up to U16 level and could
look to develop a youth side if there is enough interest.
Without getting the kids interested and involved all
clubs will struggle within a few years and we are no
different to a lot of clubs in that regard.”
Challenges/Ambitions
“Participation in sport generally is a really big
challenge, and encouraging people to play the sport will
be increasingly difficult. We need to attract new players
as the older generation we have start to retire. Another
challenge is the financial cost of playing in a league which
involves a lot of travel, and all the costs of running a club
are increasing all the time.
The main ambitions for the club is to have a
sustainable position in terms of playing numbers, and
having children involved in playing the sport locally.
We are aiming for promotion to Division 2 of the North
Wales League, but the most important part is having
people in the club playing the sport we all love.”
Mark Roberts has had a long
association with Machynlleth
RFC. He told Rugby Club
Magazine, “I used to train
with the youth in my younger
days and at school played 2nd
row. My twin brother Anthony
played for Machynlleth RFC
and hopefully with the current
development of a youth system
we will see my boys Dylan who
is 9 and Iestyn who is 7 pull
on the Machynlleth jersey. It’s
unlikely that their sister Abigail
will play as she has other
interests but I suppose you
never know.
The Town is very glad to
have the rugby club as a focal
point and I’m sure the feeling
is mutual from the club’s
perspective. The club has a
great bunch of hard-working members who ensure its smooth running and of course the rugby itself provides a great
service to the local area.
It’s great to hear about the development of a youth setup to ensure the club’s future. I have sponsored the club for
many years now, firstly with my previous company before I sold the business for ten years and over the past six years
with my current business Mid Wales Removals. It’s always nice to give something back. I would like to wish everyone
at Machynlleth Rugby Club the very best of continued success for many seasons to come!”
www.rugbyclubmag.com
31