Nottingham Rugby is pleased to be able to announce that it is hosting all of the newly-revamped Nottinghamshire Schools Finals Days from U12 – U16 level in 2020 during February and March.

The hosting of the finals shows the support in school rugby locally which has been driven by Nick Cairns from West Bridgford School and the East Midlands Education Trust.

Steve Smith, Chief Operating Officer of Nottingham Rugby, said: “Nick has been brilliant over the past couple of years and has revamped the schools programme and we are pleased to be able to support his work throughout the county to drive more schools to play rugby.  Our community team and some of our professional players, as part of two of our community programmes sponsored by The Cassidy Group and Hall-Fast Industrial Supplies have been out and coached in over twenty secondary schools this academic year, to help grow the game locally.”

Nottingham Rugby has also been working to support the growth of the female game through the Roadgas Women and Girls programme, recently playing host to an event run by local RFU staff, to specifically target and support those coaching the female game at all levels.

The club will also be hosting its annual celebration of female rugby on Saturday 14th March, with over 200 players expected from clubs throughout the Midlands attending with tickets provided by programme sponsor Roadgas. If your club’s women and / or girls teams are interested in being involved in the day please contact steve.smith@nottinghamrugby.co.uk for more information.

Steve Smith said: “We are exceptionally proud of our community programmes which offer rugby opportunities to over 15,000 young people throughout Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas each year, whilst also supporting local coaches, the most recent of which attracted over 80 coaches from all over the region.

“The impact of these three programmes and many more that we run have supported the areas growth in the game for a number of years now.”

Malk Hall the owner of Hall-Fast the clubs oldest community sponsor said: “We have loved working with the club’s exceptional community delivery team which also utilises professional players to add a bit of a wow factor for children and adults alike.

“We’ve been working with Fountaindale Special School for over 8 years now, where the children have complex physical and sensory needs, giving them a brilliant experience of rugby through movement skills and hand eye coordination.

“I am also exceptionally proud of the clubs National award-winning Little Ruggers project which is now delivered in eight different clubs and community venues and in one case has helped Bingham Rugby Club establish a whole new mini-junior section with over 120 children taking part on a weekly basis. The club does a huge amount in the Nottinghamshire Community and wider and my wife Rachel and I are exceptionally proud to be part of this.

“We did offer this amazing programme to be rolled our Nationally but unfortunately there wasn’t a desire to grow the game for children and adults at this level – despite the lack of support we have seen whole mini junior sections formed and adults returning to the game and would be happy to support any club wanting to develop its programme for 2-5 year olds and are in discussions with an RFU Council member about rolling this out throughout Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire.”

Nottingham Rugby has also been recognised for its support of the award-winning dementia programme which is a partnership of local professional sports clubs, ‘Forget Me Notts’. Forget Me Notts is a project which uses sport as a vehicle for reminiscence and interaction between people with dementia, their carers and those experiencing isolation and loneliness.

Sessions are held all across Nottingham, and at Lady Bay, with the venue itself providing an ideal catalyst for people to discuss their sporting memories in a supportive and welcoming environment.