Recruitment, all year round
Whether you've never played, or you've played for years,
you're welcome at Crawley RFC.
No experience needed. No kit needed. No commitment beyond turning up once and seeing how you feel.
You don't need to have played.
Half of our senior squad picked the game up as adults. Some had never seen a match before they came down. We coach from zero. We teach the tackle. We share a pint at the end.
You don't need anything except trainers, gum shield (we can lend you one), and a willingness to turn up. Kit appears. So do friends.
If you'd rather just watch first, that's also fine. The clubhouse is open. The bar is reasonable. Nobody will ask you anything you'd rather not answer.
What to expect at training.
You'll arrive ten minutes before the start. Someone will spot you, introduce themselves, and walk you to the changing rooms. You'll do a warm-up that the rest of the squad already knows; nobody minds that you don't. The session will be drills, then a game scenario, then a stretch. You'll be sore the next day in places you didn't know existed.
Afterwards everyone heads up to the bar. You're welcome to come up, you're welcome to leave. Most people stay for one.
When to come.
There's no perfect week to start, so it may as well be this one. The seniors are under the floodlights on Tuesday and Thursday evenings; Sunday mornings belong to the kids, the coffee, and somebody's dog. Pick the night that fits your life — or just the first one you can make. The hardest part is the walk from the car park. Everything after that takes care of itself.
Bring your kid (and we'll bring ours).
Sunday morning at the club is parents with coffee, kids running in different directions, and someone's dog. Mini and junior age groups go from four years old through to U16. Mixed teams up to U12, then split.
No prior interest in rugby is required, theirs or yours. A lot of our parents had never thought about the sport until they brought their kid down. Now they know everyone's names.
Children with ADHD, sensory needs, or who have struggled to find their place elsewhere are particularly welcome. We have coaches who get it.
What happens afterwards.
Most Saturdays the bar fills up at about half past five. Family groups, partners, kids running around behind the pool table, the senior squad slowly arriving from the pitch. Sundays it's coffee and bacon rolls.
You don't have to drink. We have soft drinks, decent coffee, and the kitchen does fresh-cooked burgers and chips. You can come straight from training, come with a partner, come without ever having played a game. Nobody will mind.
From people who joined.
“I'd lived in town nineteen years and I knew no-one. My son's friend got him into the club, and a season later I knew half the bar.”
“I'd never played. Another player taught me to tackle in a Tuesday session. Now I play every Saturday.”
“His school report said he was uncoordinated and on the edge of every friendship group. At the club he found his tribe.”
Being part of a club is good for your head.
We're not therapists. But we are people, and we'd like to be your people. Adults who moved to the area and never met anyone, parents who want their kid to belong somewhere, people who'd like a reason to be out of the house on a Saturday: all of you, welcome.
Right then.
Come along Tuesday or Thursday.
Seven o'clock. Walk in. Someone will find you.