GO PLAY RUGBY ON TARGET TO RECRUIT 6,000 NEW PLAYERS
The RFU's Go Play Rugby campaign is on target to bring more than 6,000 adult players back into the game this season.
More than 700 clubs and 140 universities and colleges are taking part in the most sophisticated recruitment initiative ever run by a single sport in England.
And while England have been battling their way into the final of the Rugby World Cup in Paris, the grassroots game back home has been seizing the chance to build on the sport’s sky-high profile.
"All the feedback we've been receiving from clubs indicates that we're on course to meet our target of bringing 6,000 players into the game, which would represent a six per cent increase in adult participation in rugby," said the RFU's campaign leader Andy Lees.
"Thousands of volunteers have run hundreds of recruitment events throughout the country and the imagination and dedication they have brought to the campaign will make a lasting impact on all levels of the game.
“It’s a fantastic achievement and the campaign isn’t finished yet.”
Go Play Rugby, launched at the England training camp in the build up to the Rugby World Cup this summer, is designed to reach out to potential players and equip clubs with the resources to recruit them. So far:
Two million of our target audience have watched Go Play Rugby advertising in cinemas
300 radio and TV stations with an audience of more than 36m have covered the campaign.
20,000 people have searched for places to play on the www.goplayrugby.com website or texted their postcode to 64411 to find their nearest club.
1.6 million resources – including business cards, beermats and posters – have been distributed to club teams around the country
300 Go Play Rugby events have taken place, ranging from beach rugby tournaments to World Cup parties
