Dear Friends of Naas RFC,
For some of you it may be a long time since you played, coached and supported Naas RFC. For others you may have been involved with Naas Rugby in some capacity until relatively recent times. The legacy that you helped to create over the years has ensured that Naas RFC has developed consistently as a successful and thriving community based club.
It is a testament to you and everyone involved over the years who played their part in ensuring that we are now competing in Division 1B of the All Ireland League and also, in the Energia Leinster Community Series Conference A with the rescheduled rugby calendar due to Covid-19. The foundation of this club’s existence has always been built upon the wide variety of members and supporters who selflessly contributed down through the years.
We are happy to report that we now consistently pit ourselves against some of the biggest and best rugby teams in the country. Recently we played Terenure College RFC and Naas won this game 19 – 12. This was also the first game we streamed live on the web directly from Forenaughts. Some of the other teams we compete against in this Conference include Clontarf, Lansdowne, Dublin University, UCD, St. Mary’s, Old Wesley and Old Belvedere.
In order to compete at all levels we need to constantly develop the strength of playing numbers within the club. Each Senior player carries the honour of representing all the various playing levels below them and all those members that came before them to the best of their abilities. Our Youths, Minis, Ladies, Girls and Mixed Abilities section stands as one of the largest currently in Irish rugby. We now have in excess of 600 playing members enjoying their rugby within this branch of the club. Our ladies and girls numbers are rapidly growing with each season and it is a key area that we hope to develop even further. In essence we have the full package in Naas and proudly commit ourselves to being a sporting home for everyone in the community each year without fail.
As you can imagine to progress a club of this size takes a considerable amount of volunteers, coaches, referees and key administrators. Underlying this effort is ensuring that the club’s finances continue to operate effectively.
This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were faced with the decision of cancelling our main fundraising event, the annual Business Lunch. A tremendous amount of volunteer time and effort goes into organising this event each season. This year we expected over 400 people to attend and enjoy a talk from guest speaker, Nigel Owens and other specially invited guests. This cancellation has compounded the lack of revenue normally expected from gate receipts, pre-match lunches and other associated match day events. Unfortunately, our in-house family events such as The Chase, Strictly Come Dancing and The Cube cannot take place for the foreseeable future.
We know throughout your previous time in the club that you have sacrificed much to ensure that we prospered both on and off the field. We also appreciate that you and your families have likely struggled in recent times sacrificing in many other ways as the country fights to come through this pandemic. In short, our club now also needs some help in order to function through this difficult period.
We are asking as a result of the financial pressure bearing down on all sporting clubs, if you, our Past Members, would consider re-joining Naas RFC on a renewed membership basis to ensure that the successful structures we have in place survive the current restrictions. Alternatively, if you are involved in business or you are in a position to sponsor the club in some way, we have many other potential sponsorship options available. We also hope that you and your families can reconnect with the club once again, particularly when it is deemed safe to do so. You will receive the same warm welcome and the same continual support network of old friends & comrades down at Forenaughts.
For info we now have a Clubzap App which you can download for free from the app store on your phone or personal computer. This has all the up to date club news, match day info, results, fixtures, club lotto and general club information.
Lastly, we really appreciate your support at this difficult time. Thanks for taking the time to read this and we hope you can connect once again with Naas RFC in some way.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine
Naas RFC Executive Committee
