Thornbury RFC World Cup Review

World Cup Visit One Of The Greatest Days In Thornbury RFC History.

Thursday the 22nd of April saw the visit to Thornbury RFC of the William Webb Ellis trophy. The World Cup is on a three-month celebration tour of the UK to mark England’s World Cup victory in Australia in 2003.

On Thursday morning the mood at the club was tense, with the threat of bad weather casting a shadow over the whole event. With just hours to go before the arrival of the trophy the decision was made to lay sand on the first team pitch in case of a down pour. Many members of the club had taken the day off work to help in the preparations for this historic visit.

As the day wore on the event started to take shape with the arrival of fair ground ride and catering units at the club.

By 4pm everything was in place with all the volunteers in position for the arrival of the public on the first bus at 4:15pm.

When the public started to arrive they had the opportunity to watch a Tag Rugby demonstration from school children from local South Gloucestershire schools. The tournament had been organised by the council in conjunction with Filton College who provided newly qualified P.E. teachers to coach the event.

Over 120 children took part in the competition with teams of 9players being made up from the 3 players sent from each of the separate schools.

After the Tag Rugby Tournament the children had the chance to have their faces painted by the award winning face painters from Cats Whiskers. Another unique demonstration was the folding of paper Thornbury Broncos rugby shirts by local origami expert Jason Neal, who was swamped by the demand.

By five o’clock a huge crowd had started to gather outside the Chase De Vere Marquee where the World cup was to go on public display. At 5:30pm the two vehicles from Activate arrived with the Webb Ellis Trophy on board and excitement started to grow from all the children waiting patiently outside.

Finally the stage and backdrop were complete and the glistening gold trophy was put on it plinth inside a clear protective box for all to see.

The organising of the group photographs was now under way, starting with the First Aiders Becky Fare and Leanne Sarney having the honour of the first picture taken. One by one each junior age group lined up for their moment of glory with the stunning trophy.

When all the Broncos photographs were complete it was the turn of the senior squads and club officials to have a picture with Webb Ellis Trophy.

With many local dignitaries and sponsors also having a picture taken with the cup, time for individual photos was very limited. At quarter to seven the public were allowed into the marquee to view the cup with a long queue of people stretching out the marquee and across the first team pitch.

Whilst all this was going on five members of the Bristol Shoguns arrived at the club to make the whole day even more memorable for all the local children. One of the players from Bristol was Wayne Thompson who started his playing career with the club.

Excitement grew to fever pitch with the arrival of our guest of honour Trevor Woodman, Gloucester RFC and England prop forward. Trevor was taken to meet the sponsors and VIP’s before having official photographs taken with the trophy.

Before leaving the club Trevor was kind enough to sign his autograph on Rugby Balls and shirts for the public giving everyone a chance to meet the rugby legend. A nice moment was when Trevor met Mike Spence a local school governor who represented England’s Para- Olympic Rugby team in the 2000 games in Sydney.

Throughout the evening a steady stream of local people were arriving aboard the park and ride bus service organised by the club. An estimate of well over 2000 people attended the Rugby Club during the evening.

The trophy finally departed the club for its next venue at 8.15pm leaving many local children and adults with memories they will remember for the rest of their lives.

To round the day off a party continued late on into the evening with local group “The Canny Band “ entertaining guests who did not have to leave straight away.

The whole event was made possible by club volunteers , and equipment donated by N.A.B. Equipment Hire , J&D Electrical Contractors, Terra Nitrogen UK, sponsorship from Chase de Vere and KF Concepts to name just a few.

This was the crowning moment in the career of the junior section chairman Mr Stuart Gilbraith and his wife Zoe. Both of them have been connected with the club for over seven years and have done sterling work for the local children at the club. Stuart is standing down as chairman at the next AGM and will be replaced by Laurence Jenkins. On behalf of everyone attending this historic event I would like to thank Stuart for working so hard to organise what can only be described at one of the greatest events in the clubs history and an event that everyone in Thornbury can be proud of.

Ends

Darren Fare (Events Press Officer)

Tel: - 01454 416917 or 07931 982712

E-mail: - dazfare@blueyonder.co.uk