With East London Rugby Club’s season in full swing, it is not only on-field where the club has been making major strides.
Treasurer Deborah Bird has been involved with the club for over a decade, with seven of those years being as treasurer, but her entrance was not as many would expect.
“Well I have been involved with the club for getting on ten years, I got involved really by fluke as my husband knew the then chairman and mentioned that I had gained a love of rugby during the Six Nations whilst he was away camping in Gibraltar. So, I came along to the club and thought well this is quite a nice place, I then got asked to get involved to help the treasurer as my background was in Banking, “she said.
“Birdy” as Deborah is affectionately known around the club clearly made an impact and her initial efforts did not get unnoticed by the board who knew they needed her expertise on a full-time basis.
“I then went away travelling in India and whilst I was away got voted in as the next treasurer! I have been doing that since 2013 and last AGM I was voted in as the Vice Chair as well. It’s very interesting as I have never played rugby myself and probably won’t at this rate but it gives me real pleasure to be a part of a club that feels like a family and seeing the pleasure that the boys and girls get from playing the game and the team spirit is brilliant.”
Battling Through Tough Times
Over the past year alongside her incredible commitment to the club Bird has been battling cancer. Despite this she has carried out her duties at the club with her usual energy and zest for the game. Bird is quick to point out that her work with the club is never a chore and has found support from the people she has given so much to over the past decade.
“On a personal note I have had a pretty rubbish year and without this club I don’t think that I would be where I am today. So, it’s all about the support that I give and the support that I get.” She said.
A More Inclusive Environment For Women
I can get that; it does really feel as though more so than any club I have been too that there is a real family atmosphere. Speaking about her story with the club, Bird spoke about the lack of ladies in her position in Rugby.
“It is quite interesting; I mean you’d like to think there are more women in my position because there are women on the board for World Rugby and of course we have the Vixens Ladies team here. It’s great but you are right there aren’t too many women on committees at clubs at this level. I went to a club only recently and I have to say there was almost a sharp intake of breath when I walked into the pre-match dinner because I was the only woman! It was quite funny to have people apologise for swearing, I found it quite alien,”
Bird did say that despite the current lack of women throughout the league she does see the wheels of change turning.
“I do think that more women will get involved, on our committee two of our ladies serve on the committee. I think it is just one of those things where in years past it has been one of those male dominated areas but it’s not so now and it’s beginning to change and that is good to see.”
Club Expansion
It is not just off the pitch where East London is gathering momentum with the Vixens team gathering great momentum, “it’s great to see more and more ladies coming to the club, there are about thirty plus players who come to train which is really good! There wasn’t that many when I first joined so that is growing all of the time.”
It is not just the Vixens that have been making their presence felt at the club, East London Rugby now plays host to a number of teams including the Kings Cross Steelers, East London University and Queen Mary University.
With all of this activity the argument has been made that East London Rugby Club is the heart of rugby in the area.
“I think it probably is, but it is interesting where this club is it’s quite unique in the sense that we don’t have what a lot of other clubs have. We don’t have the family and friends that come and support with the maintenance of the club such as the cooking and cleaning. We have to get people in to do it, so it doesn’t have the typical sort of local club logistics going around it,”
“There are certainly other clubs in east London but we do seem to get a lot of people passing by, since I have been here I have seen a huge turnover of players, we do have people who have been around for years and years so when you are part of this club you tend to stay, unless you have to leave for reasons that you have no control over. But it is great to see that we get lots of people from overseas joining and they are usually young, and they have got friends who have been in the UK and we tend to get referrals for when they want to play rugby.”
Not known as a hot bed of rugby, East London Rugby Club has done incredibly well to not only survive but strive as a pillar of the local community.
“It is a bit tucked away in West Ham which is obviously a big football area with West Ham United, this ground is actually where West Ham used to play years ago. So, I think we are getting more well known, we know have 3-4 teams plus the ladies so its growing. The one area we are looking to grow is the youth aspect as we said before we haven’t got that family aspect just yet, so we are looking to grow that pathway.”
With Bird and her husband Gary alongside the rest of the East London committee there is no doubt that the club will continue to go from strength to strength and with the results on the pitch already reflecting the work that is being done off the pitch East London is certainly the place to be for any aspiring players in the area.
