Most capped England player

On Sunday 31st January, Jason Leonard.....

who won 114 caps for England and 5 caps for the British & Irish Lions will be spending the day a Keswick Rugby Club. The event will feature during this years 6 Nations matches which begin in February. Keswick was chosen to receive special assistance through this launch event by the RBS RugbyForce panel in recognition of the club’s fighting spirit, shown over the past five years after suffering from severe flooding in 2005 and 2009. The RBS RugbyForce panel and the RFU further identified Keswick RUFC as a club that showed strong willingness to overcome adversity. On Sunday, RBS RugbyForce will bring together club players, members and volunteers from the local area to carry out work at the club. Improvements will mainly focus on clearance work following the recent floods, various painting jobs and generally giving the club a spring clean.

Jason will also be running a coaching session for Keswick’s Youth players and holding a Question & Answer Session in the Clubhouse. Keswick Rugby Club have been selected to launch this years start of the  RBS 6 Nations Charity - Rugby Force. Jason, who’se nickname is “'The Fun Bus',” will be helping volunteers continue the clear up of the Rugby Club after the November floods. Local dignitaries attending the special event include Keswick Town Mayor Andrew Lysser, local MP Tony Cunningham and Cumbria RFU representative Roger Hackney.

The Mini’s and Under 12’s will be playing Windermere, the Under 14’s play Upper Eden and the Under 17 play Ryton from Tyneside in the Tri County Championships.

Comments:

Bruce Cook, RBS Sponsorship Manager, said: “Keswick RUFC have shown their resolve and fighting spirit by responding to the damage of floods twice in the past five years. With that in mind, the RFU and the RBS RugbyForce panel saw them as very deserving of this grant, and we couldn’t agree more. If the other participating RugbyForce clubs show the spirit of Keswick, the results will be fantastic.”

Jason Leonard, RBS RugbyForce ambassador: “I am very much looking forward to visiting Keswick RUFC and meeting everyone involved in the club. I’ve seen what RugbyForce can do for a club and I’m confident this will really give Keswick a fresh start.”

John Owen, President of the RFU said: “RBS has been a tremendous supporter of rugby for a long time and this is another example of how they really look to make a difference. It’s also especially pleasing that a club from my own county should be chosen to launch the project. Keswick have had more than their fair share of renovating down the years as a result of flooding and it is superb that they should be chosen to get a bit of extra help.”

Richard Atkinson, Keswick RFC Chairman said '“it is a great compliment to the club and the town to be used to promote Rugby Force and the presence of Jason will give huge encouragement for our many youth players”. Jason will also be able to watch many of the Keswick youth teams in action as it'’s a very busy rugby day with lots of matches'.

David Etherden, Special Projects Manager, Keswick RFC added: “We’ve seen how helpful the RBS programme was for many clubs last season and we are thrilled and extremely grateful that the panel and the RFU have acknowledged the tough times we have suffered in the past five years.”

Please come along and take part in this prestigious event as well as watching Keswick's younger players in action. From 10.00 am.