England legends Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Tindall paid a visit to Maidstone Rugby Club this week.
It is one of the great things in the ethos of rugby that its biggest names in the sport remain grounded and very much connected to the grassroots of the game; and this week’s visit to Maidstone Rugby by two of the biggest names in the sport in Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Tindall was no exception.
Arriving at the club just before 6 0-clock to a large contingent of the club’s youth section, they were immediately into action with the obligatory photos and autographs before getting down to a Q&A session that had been run as a competition in conjunction with sponsors Hospitality Finder to select the winning questions from each age group.
The great thing about young people is they ask some really great and somewhat different questions to an adult audience and there was a broad range of topics to tax Lawrence and Mike’s knowledge and advice for young players.
A short pause for breath after yet more autographs and photos and it was out onto the training pitch where in excess of 120 players were involved in various sessions.
From the 1st XV through to the Veterans XV, the Ladies XV and the U17s, Lawrence and Mike got fully involved with all of the groups, either participating or interjecting where they felt they could add most value.
Having spent some time with everyone at the club, Lawrence Dallaglio was delighted to have been give the chance to come and give something back to the local community:
“I think it’s only right as former players that we give our time to see if we can inspire the next generation.”
“For me, learning my trade, it was important to have role models and if we can get more boys and girls playing rugby, that’s fantastic.”
For Mike Tindall, the evening was a big success and he paid tribute to Maidstone Rugby Club and Hospitality Finder for putting on such a great event:
“It’s so nice to be afforded the opportunity to come along to clubs such as this and see the talent that’s out there.”
“I started playing rugby in my school, but it’s clubs like these that are the lifeblood of most communities and we should champion the great work they do.”
The evening was then rounded off with another Q&A in the bar before a shirt presentation to sponsors Hospitality Finder brought the evening to a conclusion.
All in all, a great grassroots rugby evening with participation across the whole club and thanks must go to sponsors Hospitality Finder for facilitating the event and to Lawrence and Mike for giving their time.