Kingswood Rugby Club’s first team have secured promotion with a 29-19 win against title rivals Dings Crusaders.
Promotion as champions – watched by a record 600 supporters – marks a huge turnaround for the side after they finished bottom of the league just two years earlier.
It also comes as the club prepares to celebrate its platinum jubilee and a solid foundation for success at all levels.
The commitment of players and volunteers was rewarded on April 21 when the “blues and poos” were one of four teams from across the country selected to take part in a tournament on the hallowed turf of Twickenham.
This was part of the Rugby Football Union’s ‘Play Together Stay Together’ initiative for teams prioritising the transition and retention of players into adult rugby.
Kingswood Rugby Club chairman Ian Starr told the Voice that supporting and keeping young players was important to the club.
“We have some players who have been with us for ten to 15 years,” he said. “Eight or nine of our first team squad came through our junior teams. Other players have joined in the last few years. There is a strong community atmosphere.”
‘The Big K’ runs teams for boys and girls of all ages as well as a first XV, second XV and veterans team. It also has walking rugby, sessions for neurodivergent players and runs a mental health group.
The club, based at Grimsbury Road playing fields, has about 550 members. Some have been with the club for more than 30 years. Volunteers of all ages support the club’s activities.
Work is under way to improve the changing rooms thanks to fundraising efforts that brought in £100,000, which was matched by funding from the RFU.
The start of the 2024-25 season is the club’s 70th anniversary, which will be marked by a 70-mile sponsored walk on the Monarch’s Way.
Champions! Rugby club future’s bright
