Your chance to be our Team of the Month

It’s been a chilly start to 2022 for many of us. But as winter starts to bite, here’s something to bring a warming glow – the chance to be named Rugby World’s Team of the Month and win a load of baselayers for your players.

That’s right, each winning side will not only appear in the magazine but also receive 20 Zerofit Heatrub Move baselayers (pictured below) – worth £800! A perfect prize to combat the cold that comes with a rugby season.

Each month we select a team from the amateur game that has a story to tell. It could be an impressive sequence of results or even just an exceptional one-off performance. It could be for something achieved off the pitch, such as charity work or a community project.

There are any number of reasons why you might have something to share with Rugby World readers. Our first three winners this season illustrate that.

Northampton Old Scouts U13 took the award for their inclusive approach. With some clubs in the area unable to form a team in the age group, coach Chris Hillery invited players at a loose end to train and play with his own team – until such time a player’s host club was able to field a side itself.

“If it means one or two players can keep their boots on I think that’s great,” Hillery told us. “There’s a real loyalty to clubs, people are passionate about the badge they wear on their chest. But we’ve got to make it easier for them to wear a different shirt or we’re going to see people leave the game.”

Kingswood Walking Rugby Club were our next winners. They’re doing sterling service providing healthy activity for older people in the Bristol region.

“People come at it with different expectations,” says Chris Darch, a regular player there. “It’s mainly the social side, it’s also exercise, and in some cases it’s to remember how we used to play – but at a very slow pace now. We have some lads from a local care home and they are gaining in confidence because of walking rugby. It’s the focus of their lives in a way.”

Kingswood Walking Rugby Club are enhancing people’s lives socially and physically (Pete Ricketts)

Camelot Colts, the youth team of Hemel Hempstead RUFC, are our latest winners. Dave Martin has coached the boys since they were five years old and the team is now punching above its weight in Division One rugby.

“This is our last year of rugby before the boys go off to university or apprenticeships or jobs,” he says. “It’s been a nice journey and it’s going to be quite emotional when it ends. The club is proud of the boys because it’s 20 years since the colts were last in Division One.”

You can read more about Camelot Colts in the February 2022 issue of Rugby World.

We’re now looking for our next Rugby World Team of the Month. The award is open to any amateur club anywhere, and that includes school teams.

So if you think your side deserves the accolade, not to mention a heap of baselayers to keep you warm in training, just email alan.pearey@futurenet.com with some brief details. Please include a photo, whether a team picture or match action.

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