CRIEFF AIMING TO BENEFIT
FROM GLENTURRET DISTILLERY
PARTNERSHIP
ituated in the heart of Highland
Perthshire, Crieff and Strathearn
Rugby Club is a family friendly club
with the community at its core. Founded in
1972 the club offers rugby to players aged
four and above running numerous minis
teams and a 1XV that currently compete in
the Caledonia Midlands Division 3.
Like many other rural clubs, Crieff have
experienced the challenges of falling playing
numbers but the great local spirit within the
club continues to drive them on. Having
recently completed a full refurbishment of
their clubhouse facilities they are hoping to
reach further into the community to not only
survive but to thrive.
Facilities Convenor Duncan Murchie
has been pivotal in the recent ongoing
development of the club.
He said: “To try to increase awareness to
the wider community and increase member
numbers, we have recently invested around
£50K, developing the facilities and bringing
them up to a high standard of finish to
encourage the use of the facilities all year
round, not just during the rugby playing
season, by the wider community.
“Visiting teams inevitably are jealous of
our venue! We boast two excellent, flat
pitches. Our large decking area in front of
our clubhouse looks west to the Trossachs.
Inside our clubhouse we have been
investing over the last few years and now
have a comfortable, warm, well equipped
function suite and bar. The facility is
available for club functions or to rent to the
community for parties or business meetings
in a lovely quiet, rural setting.
“As we look forward to the rest of 2019, we
plan to build on the development of the
facility through the addition of upgraded
kitchen facilities and then in phase two,
introduction of changing booth facilities for
the sports players using the club.”
Having a high-quality function room and bar
has allowed them to engage with other local
sports clubs and community groups and the
hope is that this collaboration can boost not
only the rugby club but Crieff as a whole.
Although new challenges spring up daily,
newly elected Club President Trystan Powell
is keen to highlight the numerous positive
areas within the club
Trystan added: “The rugby club hosts
several great events throughout the year
and we plan to hold many more. This is not
only to develop links between ourselves
and the community, but also encourage
participation in sport and promote an active
lifestyle. In April we host our annual 7s
tournament with teams travelling from all
over the county to take part. We incorporate
a large social element to the tournament
with the focus on fun and our inclusive
culture.
“Our mini’s tournament is also a significant
event in our club calendar as we host
hundreds of young players ages 4-12 to
celebrate the game of rugby. Our most
recent tournament was the largest yet with
over 800 people in attendance and we
hope to build on this number in the coming
years. During the offseason we host a Beer
and Gin festival bringing together local food
and drink companies to promote what our
local area has to offer and raise awareness
of our fantastic new space available to the
community.
In keeping with this new club ethos instilled
by past president Gary Couser, they are
now looking to move away from traditionally
intrinsic projects that rugby clubs are often
guilty of.
“In order to expand rugby in the local
area, we have previously employed Rugby
Development Officers who travel around
our local primary and secondary school
to deliver rugby as part of their sporting
curriculum,” Trystan said, while adding: “A
new coach at the club, Megan Powell has
also highlighted her intentions to start a
women’s team which is also great news.”Andrew O’Neill has recently taken on the
role of sponsorship and marketing within the
club and has emphasised the need for clubs
to positively promote themselves within both
the rugby community and local community.
“Social media is playing an ever-increasing
role in the way we look to promote
ourselves within the town. It allows us to
reach different demographics that we feel
can benefit from an increased knowledge
of the club and really highlights all the good
we’ve got going on here.S
108 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • ISSUE 116 2019
RUGBY WORLD CUP - POOL GUIDE