Rugby Revival: Derwent Park Rangers Shine in Style Thanks to ‘Play It Forward’ Boost

By Sports Correspondent

Derwent Park Rangers rugby league club in West Cumbria are celebrating a milestone moment after receiving vital support from broadband provider Fibrus.

The club in Workington recently took part in the prestigious Rhinos Challenge at Butlin’s Skegness - one of the country’s largest junior rugby festivals hosted by Leeds Rhinos. 

Thanks to a funding grant from the Fibrus Play It Forward programme, the team was able to travel in style, fully kitted out in new club T-shirts.

Club secretary Vicki MacDonald said it was a proud day for Rangers whose youngsters, aged four to 11, had never taken part in the tournament before.

“I'd noticed Play It Forward, a funding grant from Fibrus, advertised so I applied, and they awarded us some vital funding,” she said. “We used it for our T-shirts for The Rhinos Challenge. 

“It made a lot of difference because, Workington, is in a deprived area. There isn't a lot of money, and we didn't have a lot of money as a club to provide funding.

"It made us really proud, and our players actually grew that weekend because they were playing in front of people that they didn't know.

"It made us more of a club. All these other clubs have been before. We haven't. And because we all look the same in our T-shirts, it gave us a bit more pride."

Linda McMillan, Chief People Officer at Fibrus, said:

“We are committed to playing a role in improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people, so investing in local communities is important to us. Our Play It Forward Fund is just one way we do this. 

“I’m delighted to see a new batch of clubs benefitting from the Fund’s second year in Cumbria, including the Derwent Park Rangers. We had a fantastic response this year, and we are excited to see how our funding helps the clubs we’re supporting in Cumbria. Sports and clubs are at the heart of the communities where we operate, and we want to support these communities as widely as we can.”

Rangers were revived as a club in late 2023 by local rugby stalwart Vince McNicholas who asked Vicki to be club secretary.

Having begun with four players and three volunteers, they now have nearly 70 players and around 20 volunteers.

They train once a week and take part in the West Cumbria Primary Youth and Junior League at weekends while spreading the word about rugby league in local schools.

The club welcomes both boys and girls of any ability and Vicki said from the outset she wanted it to be as inclusive as possible.

"We wanted it to be - I know it sounds a bit corny - a family, a big group, all mixing together.

"My thing was sport when I was younger. I wasn't very good academically. So, I knew that I survived because of rugby and sport. So, I wanted to do that, I wanted to be fully inclusive, and do all the courses that were needed to help children integrate who didn't feel as though they fitted in."

Derwent Park Rangers also benefit from the help of Workington Town RLFC, who have offered the team use of their facilities free of charge while the club continues to grow.

“Workington Town RLFC is our base at the moment. They've been very generous, and they're not charging us anything. We didn't have a place to go,” Vicki said. 

“We train there, and we play our home games from there. The kids that come from away teams - they come and it's like, wow, we're at Town.”

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