This Thursday evening we welcome our NatWest RugbyForce ambassador Lewis Moody back to Avenue Street for the third time this year. I know a few of you will be wondering how this came about and what was the thinking behind the programme of events that we arranged.

NatWest RugbyForce is a grassroots partnership between NatWest and England Rugby which aims to help clubs attract new members and become more sustainable businesses. This year focused on legacy and sustainability with the aims to help clubs maintain their on and off field facilities, continue to drive revenue and develop marketing activity to convert the casual visitors into players, volunteers and club members. Over 650 clubs applied to the programme and the successful ones received a grant which we decided would be used to help tidy the club up and help improve our kerb appeal.

What we didn’t realise was that for the first time ever, clubs that registered for NatWest RugbyForce were automatically entered into a competition where they could win Will Greenwood or Lewis Moody to join their club as an honorary board member for an entire year. With over 650 clubs entering we never for one minute thought that our bid would be judged as the standout application across the North of England and were more than a little bit surprised when we were announced as the winners.

This commitment from the England rugby icons goes way beyond the usual level of involvement in the grassroots game and sees Lewis become ingrained in the Bolton Rugby Club.

The brief was varied and included offering advice both on and off the pitch, to attending AGMs, club events and advising on how to maximise their facilities, the honorary board members literally immersed themselves in their new clubs.

The first event was back in June when Lewis was introduced to the club and some its volunteers, we discussed our journey to date and what plans we had for the club and it was clear from that first meeting that Mad Dog was here not just to tick a box, far from it and his experience at grass roots level where he started playing at age five was going to be of immense value. To his credit Lewis donned some overalls and helped some of our volunteers paint one of the changing rooms before doing a meet and greet before doing the honours of cutting the ground ahead of the new shed project.

The next visit was planned for September and coincided with our Junior Open Day that Eraina and her team orchestrated so well. It was a fantastic showcase of what is so good about grass roots rugby and Lewis was a fantastic ambassador for our sport, he helped out with coaching for all the junior sides that were lucky enough to be at home. Later he did the official opening of the shed and organised touch rugby sessions but what stood out was how at ease he was with all the players, coaches and families, without doubt a real stand up guy.

This Thursday (3rd November) sees Lewis come up to take a coaches workshop and the idea is to train our trainers into delivering first class sessions that are fit for purpose, interesting and fun. It will be biased to the open age and older age groups but there will be something in it for all our coaches are encouraged to come and learn from a real icon of our game. The session is from 7pm - 9pm out on the training area.

We wanted Lewis to help with fundraising so his final appearance will be next March at the annual Sportsman’s dinner at Bolton School. His presence will ensure the event is a sell out and having a speaker who knows the very heartbeat of Bolton Rugby Club will mean we are able to bring in vital additional funding that is needed if we are to continue to offer best of class facilities to all our members. If anyone is interested in attending this event please contact one of the committee before tickets go on sale to the wider Bolton community.

I hope this has helped explain why the legend world cup winner, Lewis has chosen to spend so much time at Bolton.

Mark Brocklehurst

Club Chairman