Stourbridge Rugby are excited to announce a new Community Rugby Department for the Club which will deliver a wide range of sports projects and supply quality sports coaching to schools and organisations in the local area and beyond, working with Sports in Schools who specialise in the formation and operating of community departments for sporting clubs and businesses.

Sports in Schools work with many professional and semi-professional rugby clubs across the country and the time is right to join together to really engage with the community of Stourbridge and beyond. With over 300 schools education establishments within a 10 mile radius of the club, there is a fantastic opportunity to build stronger links within the community, deliver high quality sports provision and provide sustained support to the next generation of rugby players who could one day represent the club as a player, supporter or volunteer. It also provides the main body of the club with a sustainable income to support further projects.

The department - which will be headed by current Stourbridge Rugby player Chad Thorne - has been established following close work between the Club and Sports in Schools Ltd. Speaking about the appointment, Stourbridge Rugby Chairman Robin Edwards said: “We have been looking at how to promote rugby locally by engaging with schools and the wider community. To reach out and make the sport accessible we recognised the advantages in developing a community department within the Club and after detailed discussions we have decided to work with Matt Price and his team at Sports in Schools. SiS bring a wealth of skills and experience and their guidance combined with our contacts and enthusiasm will provide exciting new opportunities for the future of our Club.”

Robin continued, “We are delighted to launch the Community Department and we would welcome any contact with local schools, colleges or individual coaches wanting to know more about what we can provide.”

Matt Price, Managing Director of Sports in Schools Ltd. added: “Sports in Schools are delighted to be working with Stourbridge Rugby on community initiatives. It has been a really good process to get to this stage with some great people behind it. We are starting with a ready-made Head of Community in Chad Thorne who I have previously worked with and will do wonders for the department at the Club. We have already secured engagement with local schools through our ‘Reading & Rugby’ project and gained further education links. A community department is now a major part of a rugby club’s operational activity and we are delighted to be working on behalf of the Club.”

If you would like to know more about what exactly Stourbridge Rugby Community can offer you, your school or organisation, please phone 01384 395000 or email chad.thorne@sportsinschools.co.uk for further information.