History
On the day that England won the World Cup in 2003 Luctonians launched the Sun Valley Rugby Project. It’s aim was to take rugby into the schools of North Herefordshire and beyond. Thanks to the generous support of Sun Valley Foods (later Cargill), Principal Sponsor and Bengry Motors, the club were able to fund a full time coach to introduce 1000s of young people to the game and in turn create exit routes to all clubs in the County.
As a part of the programme, the club hosts an annual Tag Rugby Fest each season, and in 2008 the festival set an official Guinness World record for the largest schools tournament of its kind.
Avara Foods Community Coaching Programme
Moving to the present day and the Avara Foods (previously Cargill) Community Coaching Programme, has now been ongoing at Luctonians for over 20 years. This programme has introduced thousands of children to various forms of rugby, from tag, to touch, to the full version of the game. We have undertaken sessions in primary and secondary schools, colleges and independent schools across Herefordshire and Shropshire and into Worcestershire and Powys.
The programme has benefited the schools by increasing the quality of coaching that their pupils receive and increasing numbers of children undertaking physical activity, and as a club we have benefited from the increased numbers of players then joining our mini and junior rugby ranks.
As a club we are a thriving multi-sports club, and therefore our community coaching programme reflects this. The Avara Foods Community Coaching Programme delivers coaching across a variety of different sports including the following:
Football • Cricket • Athletics • Netball • Dance • Multi-skills • Rounders
Tagfest Testimony
What a brilliant day! I just wanted to thank you for organising such a fantastic event. It was incredibly well put together and, most importantly, so inclusive — it was wonderful to see so many children actively involved in sport and having a great time.
Events like this truly make a difference and leave a lasting impact.
Our qualified coaches delivered wide and varied sports provision across 24 different schools in the last school year and in so doing doubled the hours of coaching provided to children across the local community from the previous year.
Join Us?
With a programme growing at the rate it is, we are always looking out for new coaches, so if you are a qualified coach looking for employment or a school looking to increase your sporting provision just click the envelope to contact our Programme Coordinator, Sarah Lamonby.
The Sinclair Defender Schools Series
Luctonians are delighted to have partnered up with The Sinclair Group, on a community partnership which will focus on supporting the enhancement of our youth sport offerings.
A major part of this project is the setup of a new Year 7 Schools competition which will be hosted at Mortimer Park through the Autumn term. The Sinclair Defender Schools Series, will see both boys and girls sides from five of our local secondary schools take part in regular competition at the club on a Tuesday afternoon.
The competition provides an outlet for local children to get a competitive rugby opportunity and is an essential part of trying to grow the game in rural North Herefordshire, with many pupils getting their first-ever taste of the sport.
