Eccles RFC are proud of their reputation of producing Home Grown players.
From humble beginnings on the banks of the ship canal, our club survived two world wars and has now thrived to over 300 registered, active players and 16 teams for Minis, Juniors, Girls, Ladies, Colts and Men. The green pitches of Gorton Street are full every weekend, our floodlit 3G training pitch is in use almost night of the week, our DofE award programme has earned national recognition and our coaching standards are second to none. But has our effort and investment in Junior rugby paid off? Well, we're certainly doing something right.
Last season, our Senior Colts won their divisional championship title and lifted the Lancashire and Cheshire Colts League Senior Plate, but more importantly for the club, 11 of them made their senior debut in the Navy and White hoops and 30 more former colts names could be found across our weekly team sheets. Our Junior programme regularly produces talented young players and last year we were delighted to see eight Eccles lads wear the red rose of Lancashire. Boys are not the whole story either, as our Mens and Ladies sections share the same belief and commitment to player propagation. Last season, no less than six players from our U18 Girls team were selected for the county and the future looks bright for the Ladies with several former Juniors graduating to play their senior rugby at Eccles.
So how do we manage to cultivate and retain such a rich harvest of talented youth, year after year? Well, it’s a path we committed to some time ago. ‘Home Grown’ is in our veins and roots. Many players that flourish here as youths, remain here as adults to continue the good work. It’s no surprise that several members of our club committee began their association with Eccles RFC as colts players themselves, many decades ago.
With over 120 years of history behind us, Eccles RFC are a resilient, ambitious, progressive, inclusive community club, run by dedicated volunteers and we welcome support from organisations who share our ambition, principles and passion. If you’d like to know more about sponsorship opportunities please drop us a line at sponsorship@ecclesrfc.org.uk
If you’d like to know more about how we develop our players and our plans for future growth please email info@ecclesrfc.org.uk or contact our Director of Rugby Sam Simpson on 07935 403171.
