Aimed at 16 – 35 year olds, ‘Go Play’ has the national target of attracting 6,000 new players in to the sport.  This could be people who are completely new to rugby, or those returning to play after a break from the game.

The campaign is tied into the Rugby World Cup, which starts in September, and will see rugby clubs from across our region promoting the sport in various ways.

At Olney, the plans are to run a number of social events around World Cup games, and step publicity up a gear to promote the sport.

Amongst the busy programme at Olney Rugby Club is:

-         An “Old girls” social day on 4 August aimed at female rugby players

-         An informal touch/tag rugby competition for senior players coming back into the game

-         A ‘Tour de France’ cycle ride around local pubs ahead of the England v France game on 18 August

-         A BBQ and presentation on the senior tour to South Africa before the England v South Africa game on 14 September

-         ‘Ladies Day’ – a new idea with a pre-match reception for wives and girlfriends of players, to encourage them to support the rugby club

-         Promotional items distributed far and wide, including at Odeon cinemas that are showing the World Cup games and Go Play advertisements.

-         A new player introduction pack to the club to help people familiarise themselves with Olney.

The national campaign will also see cinema advertising and a new text facility, where prospective players can text their postcode to 64411 and receive back details of their nearest clubs.  A new website has also been launched to support the campaign at www.rfu.com/goplayrugby

Pre-season training has now started at Olney Rugby Club and everyone is welcome to join in, no matter what their level of experience.  With four senior teams, ladies and girls and a great junior set up, there is something for everyone at Olney.