The 125-year-old rugby club is struggling to pay its energy bills amid the cost-of-living crisis
LLANDAFF North RFC has raised £4,000 in donations after appealing to their local community to help ‘save’ the club – but there is more to do.
The cost-of-living crisis and the legacy of COVID have left the club at the heart of the community struggling to make ends meet.
The clubhouse hasn’t been attracting as many customers as in previous years, meaning they find it hard to make enough money to cover their expenses.
To compound that issue, the club’s senior teams mainly consist of players who grew up in the Llandaff North area but, due to the prices of houses where they grew up, some of these players have had to move elsewhere. This means many of the North’s players now drive to and from fixtures, leaving them less likely to have a drink in the bar.
The players came up with the idea for November’s fundraising appeal, which asked ‘friends of the rugby club’ to donate a minimum of £10 to try and “save” the club.
“Unfortunately, the commercial reality of life is such that the extraordinary gas and electric costs are straining our finances to the limit,” said the appeal.
“By working collectively we can ease the current pressures and each and every one of us can rekindle the North feel-good factor.”
The club set a target of getting 1,000 ‘friends of the club’ to donate. So far, Llandaff North RFC has received more than £4,000 in donations.
Jeff Cruise, the current Club Secretary and First-Team Coach, says the money donated will go a long-way to shaping the club’s future.
“The donations have essentially helped us keep the doors open,” he said.
“It’s given us some time and breathing space to engage with our members and come up with some new plans and strategies that can help us sustain our great club.”
The club has plans to try and make their clubhouse more energy efficient by fitting solar panels and are hopeful the upcoming Six Nations games will boost the bar’s coffers.
For the beginning of the tournament this weekend, the North are hosting Liberton RFC in their annual fixture with the Scottish side. The 53rd annual match between the two teams will kick-off at 1pm on Saturday.
The club hopes to see the community come together on Saturday for both their own fixture and to watch the Welsh national team kick-off their Six Nations campaign at home to Scotland at 4.45pm in the evening.
Following the fixture, there will be family fun, music and entertainment in the clubhouse.
