GBWR’s January Club of the Month is the ever-resilient RGC 1404.
RGC 1404 has had considerable growth within the last few years, from having to rely on import players and uniting with other teams to now thriving with new players who have helped elevate the club and now climbing the league.
We caught up with Mark Baines, RGC 1404 club coach, to hear more about the club’s rise in recent years.
Originally know as the North Wales Dragons, the club was set up by Lee ‘Weegy’ Davies and James Price around 2003. The initial team was Jason Roberts, Roy Humphreys, Mark Fosbrook, James Price, Matt Sullivan, and Weegy Davies. Unfortunately, RGC’s high pointer Mark ‘Fossy’ Fosbrook who played for GB at the time was outclassed from a 3.5 to 4.0 which resulted in his retirement from the sport. Sadly, this also had a knock-on effect on RGC who struggled to recruit another high-point player. Tragically the club also lost two players to ill health – Kevin Williams, in 2011, and Alan Evans, in 2014.
During this time there was only one GBWR national league with eight teams in Division One. As the club struggled to recruit a high pointer, they had to depend on importing Jonathan Hivernat for several years until he was no longer able to come and the club was low on funding. The club finished fifth out of eight in 2015 and after this formed an alliance with Liverpool Lions in 2016 with Martin Beddis as their high pointer. As a new team they had to start in the newly formed Division Three – the team won the league that year and moved up to Division Two.
In 2018, Josh ‘Fudge’ Tudge slotted into the team as their high pointer. The team managed to win the league that year and gain entry back into Division One. After the success of building a strong team and moving up the league, RGC were faced with yet again another challenge when they lost valuable players Kieran Flynn and Dan Kellet as they pursued further experience with different clubs.
In 2019, they brought in another import player, Emilio Moes, and managed a fifth place finish in the Premiership. Success was on the horizon again when they competed in the National League North competition and with the help of a high-point talent transfer, George Rogers, they managed to win the league in 2022. Unfortunately, in 2023 Tony Stackhouse retired and Tom Baines took a year away from wheelchair rugby, and without the possibility of a talent transfer they had insufficient players to enter a team into the league.
Now with the help of Dave Roberts from the WRU, the club managed to recruit new players which included two juniors, William Rees and Jac Sheehan. They have at last found an elusive high pointer in Jac (3.0) and with that extra boost they are back in the national league competiting in Division Two.
RGC demonstrate the positive impact junior players can have within a club. Jamie Higgins, GBWR Junior Programme Development Officer, also added:
“The National Junior Programme has engaged several players since its relaunch in February, but the participation of Jac and William from RGC has been extremely beneficial for the club and highlights how the inclusion of junior players can change things for the better. Jac and William were both able to be seen training and playing alongside other junior players by attending national sessions and allowed for Fit to Play assessments to be completed in a controlled environment.
“Being able to deliver these Fit to Play assessments through national monthly sessions allows players to be assessed for suitability to train and play in a senior environment and for it to be completed in a timely manner. This allowed RGC to commit to submitting a team in the National League Division Two this season. Jac and William’s inclusion within this team highlights the benefits of engaging junior players in clubs. They have both been instrumental in the team’s success throughout the season, helping secure top position on both weekends one and two of the league. If you consider a few months before, the club was unable to commit to submitting a team due to insufficient players, it further highlights that inclusion of junior players can give a club to back its competitive edge.
“I believe that the inclusion of both Jac and William as players at RGC actively confirms and proves that junior players are going to be the lifeline of clubs and support continued growth.”
Well done RGC, we look forward to seeing how the club and team progress over the next year.
If you would like to find out more information on how to get involved in a club, contact our Club Development Team at clubs@gbwr.org.uk.
