Play rugby for Bingham

“I made some great friends playing rugby for Bingham RUFC” Chris Heathcote (veteran player)

New players are always welcome at Bingham RUFC and now is the best time to start playing.

The club is gearing up for the new season with pre-season training at 7pm on Tuesday evenings at the clubhouse on Brendon Grove, Bingham. The players are eagerly awaiting their first friendly against Newark on Saturday 2nd September and they welcome any players, new or old, to come down and get involved.

When we spoke to club captain, Lee Fretwell he said: "Bingham Rugby Club is an inclusive family oriented club where anyone is welcome to come down and play". When asked whether Bingham can replicate the success of the mid-2010's, Lee said: "we had a great team spirit and some really excellent players in the 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons and since then we've lost a lot of players due to age, injuries and people leaving the area to go to University or for work. We've got a great team of lads playing for the club again and we're looking to build on the solid foundations of the 2016/17 season this year". However, with a relatively small catchment and several rival clubs in the area, it has been difficult to attract players to the club. "Anyone who would like to play rugby has an opportunity to play week in week out for Bingham as we look to build on our core squad to develop strength and depth", Lee says.

With local schools not playing rugby as frequently as in the past, the supply of new players to replace some of their 'ageing players', who are nearing the end of their playing careers, has become increasingly challenging.

However, Club Secretary, Chris Packer, is not resting on his laurels: "The club is in a strong financial position and we are looking to invest in club facilities and develop the Bingham players of the future. This can be seen through the Little Ruggers initiative which the club kicked off in the 2016/17 season". Little Ruggers has been a great success for the club with in excess of 70 four to seven year old children playing tag rugby at the club every Sunday morning. The club hopes that this will start to reignite interest in rugby within the area and help cement the club's future. "Anyone with children who want to play rugby, or who want to help out on the volunteering side of things, are encouraged to get in touch with us.".

As a local club in a small town, Bingham RUFC members are keen supporters of the local community. The clubhouse is being used by community groups most evenings of the week and the team regularly get involved to support community events within Bingham such as the town fair and beer festival.

If you would like to play rugby for Bingham RUFC, or volunteer - please do get in touch via our web form or Facebook Page. Alternatively simply pop down one Tuesday evening (seniors) or Sunday morning (Little Ruggers) and join the fun!

Senior games are played on Saturday afternoons (see our 2017/18 fixture list) with a full bar available for home games - please feel free to come down and cheer the lads on.

Updated 00:50 - 2 Sep 2019 by Chris Packer