Mitcham & Carshalton Rugby Club has gone from strength to strength over the last year or so, and it was a pleasure to meet the players and visit the Clubhouse yesterday to see all the progress they've made.
With a local history dating back to the 1930s, Mitcham & Carshalton RUFC is a jewel in our local sporting crown, and it was clear from my visit on Tuesday that their energy and determination is going to carry them far. Under the Chairmanship of Keir Waller, the club has seen its membership explode from single figures a couple of seasons ago to around 50 players, and the Clubhouse is undergoing a through programme of modernisation and expansion.
The new changing rooms and squad facilities are well underway, with separate facilities for the different club teams as well as for Home and Away. The bar (which serves Signal Beer on tap from one of our fantastic local breweries) is cheap and cheerful, exactly as a rugby bar should be, and the Clubhouse itself is warm and welcoming, with memorabilia and history stretching back over the last 90 years or so. The real exciting new development is the progress being made on the new beer garden at the back, complete with BBQ pit, which will look incredible once finished - all the works and efforts going in are being made by the players themselves, and it will be a fantastic asset for the next season.
Obviously COVID-19 has had an impact on Mitcham & Carshalton's ability to train and play over the last few months, and I have been following the changes to the guidance closely as well as lobbying Ministers to do everything they can to allow community sport - such as rugby - to return as quickly as is possible whilst still being safe. I am pleased that the RFU has developed a "Return to Rugby Road Map", as well as detailed guidance, which sets out what local clubs can and can't do, and I look forward to a return to fixtures in the coming weeks and months.
After Keir had shown me round the exciting work at the Clubhouse, we went out onto the pitch (based in Poulter Park just off Peterborough Road in Carshalton) to watch the training session and speak to the players. The club maintains its own floodlit pitch in the Park, allowing them to play across the year, and also has use of several other pitches for training and games across the park. It was great to see the energy and enthusiasm from everyone who had turned up on a Tuesday evening to practice and, talking with some of the team, it was obvious how important sport was for them - both physically and mentally - as we come out of lockdown. I was really pleased to hear that the numbers continue to grow, and that there were young players joining the training sessions who had never played rugby before. The club has a truly inclusive feel about it, and one that encourages players of all ages and all abilities to get involved.
Mitcham & Carshalton RUFC have great plans for the future, and are partnering up with the South London Stags - London’s newest and fastest growing gay & inclusive rugby club - to expand their player base and widen the participation rates across the area. Rugby has always been an inclusive sport, and I'm pleased to see Mitcham & Carshalton working with the Stags to continue that tradition and encourage young gay men to take part in the sport. Also in the works is the development of a Women's Rugby Team, which will be great news for local young women wanting to get back onto the pitch, and will further strengthen the club over the next few years.
Anyone wanting to find out more about Mitcham & Carshalton Rugby Club can do so via their website, and I would absolutely encourage anyone thinking about playing - whether getting back into it, looking for a new club, or with no experience whatsoever - to get in touch with them and give them a try.
I'm certainly looking forward to coming down again once fixtures restart and watching them win (they're the winners of Surrey Foundation League 2020; Surrey 4 Chairman's Shield 2020; Surrey Rugby T.R.E.D.S. Award 2020; the Mastercard Community Award 2019, to name but a few!), and - watch this space - Keir may yet encourage me to strap my old boots on and join them for a training session in the future!
Thank you so much for having me, and I wish Keir and the whole team the very best for the upcoming season!