LONDON IRISH Rugby Football Club are on the look-out for families in the Sunbury-on-Thames area who are willing and able to accommodate their young players.
The players are all aged between 16 and 18 and are part of the club’s AASE (Achieving Academic and Sporting Excellence) programme, which was set up to help youths excel in rugby as well the classroom.
Housing is required from Monday to Friday, with the youths spending approximately 10 hours per week at the club, completing their studies at St Paul's Catholic College in Sunbury the rest of the week.
Families will receive £115 per week to subsidise the cost of three meals per day, while the players will return to their families at weekends, with most coming from the Hampshire and Berkshire regions.
“They’re all good kids who have been in our system for a long time, so we know they’re decent lads,” said James Lightfoot-Brown, London Irish Junior Academy Coach.
“The way it normally works is that they’ll go and stay with a family who simply have a spare room. Southampton Rugby Club use this method and have been very successful with it.
“Rather than just sticking them altogether somewhere, if you put them with a family they feel a lot more at home and a lot of them tend to stay in touch, which is nice.”
- Anyone interested can email [email protected] or call 07983981651.
