Nottingham Rugby Club have launched a fundraising appeal after severe flooding left their Lady Bay stadium, pitch and clubhouse under water. The 147-year-old club is located on a floodplain just south of the River Trent which means the damage incurred is not covered by its insurance. As a result, they are asking for £50,000 in aid.
“We’re calling on the local rugby community to support us through these unprecedented times for the club,” read a statement shared on the crowdfunding platform JustGiving.
Almost £6,000 had been raised by Monday evening with leading English clubs, including Saracens and Leicester Tigers, spreading the appeal on social media.
“Obviously it’s been a trying time as you can imagine but it’s been fantastic to see the rugby community come together and support us,” said Dave Ross, Nottingham’s head coach. “The camaraderie between the Premiership and the Championship is real. The Prem Cup means we play each other – we played Saracens at StoneX [Stadium] not long ago – but the big clubs also know the importance of the Championship as their young players cut their teeth here.”
In recent years the England players Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Will Stuart and Ollie Chessum had spells developing their talents at Nottingham.
This weekend’s fixture against London Scottish has been postponed but Ross believes the Archers will be ready to host the British Army in a friendly on 26 January. And thanks to partnerships with Nottingham Trent University, as well as the University of Nottingham, training has been uninterrupted as Ross prepares his team for an away trip to Cornish Pirates next week.
“We can live with this,” Ross said. “It’s not ideal, but we’re cracking on. And everyone has mucked in. The players all had their wellies on earlier and were getting involved trying to help as they could. But we’re off to training this evening so it’s business almost as usual.
“There are so many good people at the club who care about the community. So many volunteers have helped and the work to get us going again hasn’t stopped. But mother nature is a beast sometimes.”
Ross could not say how, or even if, the Rugby Football Union might help and the club had not yet responded to requests for an official comment.
