On Saturday 19th an impressive a hundred and sixty nine Tigers players and their families descended on Franklins Gardens for a packed day of rugby and fun.
As part of our recent affiliation to Northampton Saints we were invited to be their club of the match. The day involved a coaching session from the club, followed by an official signed shirt presentation and then forming the guard of honour to welcome the teams onto the pitch. As we arrived at the Gardens the heavens opened, but not to be deterred sixty minis and youth tigers took to the training pitches for their session. Showing the true grit and determination that our Tigers are renowned for they all had a great time in the rain and worked hard.
Once we had all dried out Ely Tigers were presented to all the Saints fans in the village. Club captain Lewis Ludlam was on hand to make the presentation of the signed shirt and was kind enough to take lots of photos and sign autographs for our Tiger cubs.
As the presentation was made the sun broke through the clouds and we suddenly thought we were in for a bright spring afternoon. Alas the sunshine did not last long, but this did not take the shine off the afternoon. Just before kick off forty of our finest took to the pitch to take part in the Guard of Honour, forming an impressive tunnel of black and gold. Speaking as parents as well as a coach it was a very proud moment for us all seeing them represent our club.
Ely Tigers is a great family club from root to branch and this was evident as we had players from 6-16 and then parents, grandparents and aunties and uncles all coming along to share the day with us. In what was a hard fought game in which the conditions played their part, Saints narrowly lost out. So congratulations go to Sale in what was a hard fought game. As the final whistle blew it gave our Tigers the opportunity to meet the players, something that wouldn’t be possible in other sports. Hopefully this spurs them on to work even harder and one day we will see an Ely Tiger running out for the 1st XV.
In speaking to the Saints team after the match they were so impressed with our players and support. Through our affiliation they are about to start a rugby programme at City of Ely College and we are looking to roll this out to further schools in the coming year. So if you are a local school that would be keen please contact our ambassador Chris Holmes at elytigerssaints@gmail.com for further information.
Luke and the team at Saints mentioned how impressive our reach into the community is and that they can see Ely is a rugby city. This is through all the hard work of our players, parents, volunteers and supporters.
So a massive thanks goes out to you all, we wouldn’t be who we are without you. As a community we are greater than the sum of all our parts, so long may this continue.
Please watch this space for further Saints/Tigers matches and coaching sessions at the club.
Press release from Ely Tigers Rugby Club
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