Rugby clubs are a staple of towns across Wales, they’re a great source of exercise for the players, and of course, a great source of fun and games for those watching, especially after a game. With so many issues falling on clubs across Wales, we’re at Waunarlwydd RFC finding out why lottery funding is so important to our local game.
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00:00 Without grassroots you wouldn't have the World Cup. You wouldn't have players out there who
00:07 have started their trade on venues like this. With the help of clubs like this and all the
00:15 money and funding that that needs and takes, yeah, there wouldn't be a national site.
00:21 Rugby clubs are woven into the fabric of small towns across Wales. Especially in some areas
00:25 like West Wales and the Valleys, rugby is one of the main focal points to a town and
00:30 the clubs are at the centre of it.
00:33 How important grassroots is rugby essentially to the game as a whole. Not only that but
00:40 how clubs are part of the community. Traditionally you had the church chapel and the rugby club
00:45 in a lot of Wales rallies and rugby is competing these days. It's competing with other sports,
00:50 it's competing with the entertainment industry. So to be able to give kids, young adults a
00:57 place to play rugby, which obviously that's why I'm here and a bit biased, is great and
01:04 obviously that's being supported by the National Lottery in Monaloe.
01:08 Getting involved in sport is great for children's health but more than that it helps build relationships
01:13 and communities for young people and can make them feel a part of something.
01:18 A base of sport as well, because obviously not many people, not a lot of people go all
01:25 the way through to professional level, but to give a base of sport, being active, particularly
01:30 within the communities, is something you probably look back on when you get a bit older and
01:35 realise how hard it is to cater for kids of a vast age range, particularly in one sport
01:42 let alone a plethora of opportunities.
01:46 It's a huge family. It helps build character, builds relationships and friends and it's
01:55 been part of my life for all my life and a lot of people like me as well.
01:59 Yeah, very much so and a lot of places, the clubs will have a lot of kids from the schools
02:05 etc. So a lot of those friendship bonds and social skills will have been developed but
02:14 obviously it's new friendships, it's opposition, it's competing, being challenged, sticking
02:20 to a formal training plan, all these sort of things that equip people not only for school
02:26 but life and whatever they go into in the future.
02:30 It's giving them something to aspire to. Some will make it, some won't and as a club we
02:35 welcome the opportunity to push them but they all will enjoy it. We've got guys playing
02:39 out here that have played 45, 46, still playing first team rugby. They've been playing here
02:46 30 years, 40 years. It's a way of life. It really is good.
02:51 So with plenty of added struggles for rugby clubs across Wales, not least the cost of
02:55 living crisis, funding is essential if we want to see the most Welsh of past times survive
03:00 and thrive in the future.
03:02 James Peach Watkins, Local TV.
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