Juniors at the three of the Island’s rugby clubs will be broadening their match experience thanks to Scottish Widows which is sponsoring a tour to the Isle of Man by teams from Keighley Rugby Union Football Club.
The fixtures will see Keighley’s under-12s, under-14s and under-16s play against teams from King William’s College, Douglas Rugby Club and Ramsey Rugby Club on Saturday April 13th and Sunday April 14th.
Keighley’s junior fixtures secretary Graham Field said he first mooted the idea of a tour in a meeting with former juniors player Darren Ideson, now a teacher at Ramsey Grammar School. Keighley’s under-12’s coach Steve Welch explained: ‘We have a thriving junior section and originally it was just the under-12s coming, but when the under-14s and under-16s realised we would be coming to the Isle of Man, they were keen to take part as well.’
Scottish Widows will be funding the cost of minibuses transporting the visiting teams around the Island during their stay.
The company’s Isle of Man managing director Juan Clarke said: ‘Scottish Widows has long supported junior sporting endeavour, notably sponsoring the Island’s national tag rugby tournament for a number of years and the Peel Golf Club junior championship since 1998.
‘We were therefore particularly pleased to support this tour as young players here rarely have an opportunity to travel to fixtures off-Island. This tour will be of great benefit to the host and visiting teams, exposing young players to different environments and developing not only their playing but also their social skills. From a wider perspective it’s about promoting the positive aspects of the family of rugby: discipline, teamwork, respect, the game’s essential inclusiveness and, of course, sportsmanship in general. The Isle of Man has a long tradition of welcoming visitors to its shores so I am confident the Keighley players will have a memorable time here. I wish them and our teams good luck for what promises to be a great weekend of rugby.’
Photo - Keighley RUFC junior members keyed up to come to the Isle of Man.
