Macclesfield Rugby Club celebrates its 150th year at the heart of the community. By Janet Reeder
If the game of Rugby Union conjures up an image of tough guys covered in mud facing everything that can be flung at them then you haven’t been down to your local rugby club lately.
While that kind of action on the pitch still happens, Macclesfield Rugby Club has become a thriving venue, welcoming players, party goers and more.
It’s been 150 years since the 8th Cheshire Rifle Volunteers brought the game to Macclesfield and rugby enthusiast JW Thorp won the accolade “Father of Macclesfield Rugby” before becoming president of the RFU. Since then, the club has been transformed into a community hub albeit one with the game very much at its heart.
Now you are as likely to see boys and girls playing together in the under 11s Mini team, as you are watching burly men scoring tries for their town. Or maybe a gathering of Slimming World clients, or people enjoying the club’s big Christmas lunch on Dec 14th.
One of the flourishing areas of the club is the women’s team which had an incredible 2023/2024 season with a 100% win rate against competitors in the Inner Warrior group. In fact, the 2024/2025 season will be the first time Macc Rugby Club will have a women’s team playing league rugby.
This has presented a challenge for the club, which prides itself upon fostering talent from an early age.
Andy Appleyard General Manager of Macclesfield Rugby Club explains: “In the last three years we have established a women’s section and last year they were really successful and now are in an official league and going from strength to strength. The question is, how do we maintain that? So obviously there’s a big focus on girls rugby to hopefully drive them through the system and into the women’s team.
“We are currently trying to develop our girl’s section and have a few girls on our books, but it is definitely an area we are focusing on.”
Andy, a former RFU development coach, admits that rugby has always been a difficult game to promote when faced with the enormous popularity of football but once people get into it, they find themselves hooked.
“The boys youth side is really popular, and it does help that we have King’s on our doorstep which is quite an established rugby school,” he says.
“There has been a strong relationship between the school and the club for a long time. And there’s some great work being done in the other local schools as well. Tristran Wood has been working voluntarily with the local schools and delivering rugby and putting on competitions here so we’ve seen quite a few boys who wouldn’t normally pay rugby take part. The idea is to obviously get those lads playing for the club. That’s a programme that has been working really well and we hope we can build on Tristran’s good work moving on.
“Ultimately we want to get as many people as possible playing rugby in the town and then seeing the young people hopefully transferring into the senior sections.”
There are currently three men’s senior teams at Macclesfield, the first and second team, with the first playing semi-professional rugby at level four since their promotion from Regional 1 North West 1 to National 2 West, the second team play in Division 1 of the Northern Merit Leagues, then they have a third team which is more of a social affair but still playing good competitive rugby.
“Anyone can pitch up and play for the thirds. They are in a league, so it is competitive but its full of good local lads who like to play rugby and just enjoy themselves. It’s really popular and all about having a good time.”
There’s also a walking rugby team at the club, aimed at those who enjoy the sport but whose mobility isn’t what is used to be.
“It’s mainly made up of people new to the game, mums and dads from the mini and youth section and ex-players who can’t do the contact rugby anymore,” explains Andy.
“So, they turn up on Thursday at seven O’ clock and they play an adapted game of walking rugby which I am told is really fun.”
The club has also spawned some standout players including Macc lad Tommy Taylor who plays for Sale Sharks.
“He was coaching with us last year and helped the first team to their promotion” reveals Andy.
“And we’ve also got a few young lads who have recently represented England under 18s Olly Davies and Toby Wilson. Stars in the making,”
The 150th anniversary has been a fantastic chance to highlight what an asset the club is to the community, not only through its sports programmes but as a brilliant location.
The clubhouse which nestles picturesquely at Park Priory lane on the Macclesfield/Prestbury border is a destination venue which is open to the public whether they want to hold a party, function, wedding, or just feel like grabbing a swift pint at the bar. You can book the venue by contacting: venue@maccrugby.co.uk
1st Team Saturday Fixtures are very popular as the rugby attracts many to support the town, usually every other week kicking off at 3pm.
“We do have other sports here,” adds Andy.
“We have a football team based here, UK lacrosse playing and lots of other activities going on. There are numerous birthday parties, weddings and meetings and we are quite versatile about what we are doing. We want to be a community hub. We are very proud of the rugby and that’s always going to be at the heart of it but, we are passionate about having great connections in the community and it being a place where people can come and enjoy themselves.”
“We pride ourselves on being a strong family environment especially during daytimes. Upstairs the main room is made to be a blank canvas so when people have events, they can put their own stamp on it.
“The venue side of the club has got much better, but we still have our Spiral Lounge, a quality space for the community to just come and have a pint, the lounge has a rugby related sports bar type feel to it with some massive HD screens for the perfect sports viewing. We are definitely open to the public and if anything, we want more people from the community coming along.”
Another important aspect of the 150th anniversary has been the fundraising side. The club has been selling wall tiles so that people can have their names inscribed on the wall “for another 150 years,” they had a successful Oktoberfest which raised a substantial amount of money and there have been several rugby-related events devised by each team designed to raise much-needed cash, all events can be seen of the rugby club website.
The money says Andy will go to improve the pitches as that is the fairest way to ensure that every team benefits. And of course they have lots of support from the community.
“Our main sponsor is Money Guru who have been very supportive for over 6 seasons, but we also have a number of key sponsors” says Andy.
“There are lots of good people who are linked to the club some way. We do have some great external connections as well. It is really important we have those sponsors as we couldn’t operate in the way we do without them. Their help and support go a long way, and we really appreciate it.”
If you or your child is interested in having a go at rugby, contact the relevant person below:
• For Mini & Youth rugby, please email: nicky.griffin@maccrugby.co.uk
• For Senior Rugby, please email: matt.coleridge@maccrugby.co.uk
• If you’re interested in supporting the club please email: robert.oliver@maccrugby.co.uk
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