Chester Rugby Club is a sports club at the heart of its community.
Whether it’s the men’s or women’s teams competing in their respective leagues, the 600 or more minis and juniors who come along to Sunday morning training or one of many social events, the Hare Lane ground is rarely quiet.
The success on and off the field is down to the tireless endeavours of a small group of committed volunteers, ably led by chairman Dave Maloney.
Dave, who steps down at the end of this season, has led from the front for eight years.
During that time, significant progress has been made to make the club what it is today.
On the rugby front, the 1st XV has held its place in the fourth tier of English club rugby, ably led by head coach Jan Van Deventer, whose arrival came soon after Dave took the reins.
There are two further men’s teams with around 25 of the players turning out each Saturday across the three teams having come through the club’s junior ranks.
As Dave says: “The future of the club depends on the quality of our junior programme. You can’t buy success.”
Another growth area during Dave’s time at the helm has been women’s rugby. The club fields one women’s XV and the squad continues to attract new players all the time.
One of Dave’s proudest achievements is the junior pathway at the club.
He says: “We want as many kids as possible to come and experience rugby at our club and part of our success is about how many of them go on to play senior rugby. While we’d love them all to carry on playing at Chester, it doesn’t matter if they end up playing in London, Birmingham or the Pacific Islands. What matters is that they have taken a love of the game into their adult life.”
The club’s success would also not have been possible without the loyal support of sponsors. Among them are Cullimore Dutton, Boodles, Baxter Group, Ceres Construction Group, Maltby’s and Weetwood Ales. Halliwell Jones is another long-term partner.
Matchday hospitality, overseen by caterers Dougherty & Allen, and hiring out the rugby club as a venue are other important revenue generators.
All of which has been invaluable in enabling the club to progress some key infrastructure projects, most notably the installation of its artificial pitch in 2018 and, more recently, new car parking facilities.
The artificial pitch was a genuine game-changer, allowing players of all ages to train and play in all weather conditions.
Looking to the future, Dave says: “The burning ambition is to secure level 3 rugby for our men’s 1st XV, but we want to be able to stay there and not be a yo-yo side that goes up and down from one season to the next. This will require further investment as well as continuing to develop our own homegrown talent.
“We also want to continue developing our women’s offering and maintain the strength of our minis and junior rugby section.”
The club also takes the wellbeing of its players seriously. This includes supporting the work of the Looseheadz Foundation, a charity that works to ensure that the issue of mental health is front and centre in every rugby club.
Gemma Morton, a volunteer communications officer and junior organiser at Chester RUFC, leads on this initiative. Through Gemma’s work, Chester was selected as a beacon club by Looseheadz.
For more information about Chester RUFC, visit the link below.
