Community sponsored the Sandal RUFC mini Rugby Festival which took place on 14 October in Wakefield. The event was extremely successful and was well attended by members, families and branch officials from Corus Aldwarke. Leeds Carnegie premiership club strongly supported the occasion and ex-British Lions and Great Britain Rugby League Winger John Bentley was also in attendance.
Andrew Wilkinson, who is a Community member and Manufacturing Manager at Corus Engineering Steels, was instrumental in organising the event. Andrew became involved in the club when his 5 year old son recently (and controversially!) switched allegiance from football to rugby, encouraged by Andrew’s friend and Sandal under 7’s coach Miles Berry.
Miles said: “The mini and junior section exists to offer children from all social backgrounds me the opportunity to learn and play the game of rugby union to high standards in safety and in the spirit of good sportsmanship.” Andrew’s son joined Sandal under 7’s a few months ago, and Andrew has already become treasurer for the age group after becoming enthused by both the club and the sport.
The festival attracted more than 1,300 6-12 year olds, and included teams from all over the country. The event was organised into age groups from under 7’s to under 16’s, with 10 teams in every group. Despite being a newly formed team Sandal under 7’s only narrowly missed out on a place in the final!
Andrew commented: “This has been my first festival and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. It’s great to see so many people attending from all over the country and the tournament was played in a fantastic spirit. I’m looking forward to taking the club out into the community and attending other festivals. We may be developing the next Jonny Wilkinson!”