Thursday 28 June 2007

Rugby to promote Rugby


I have just returned from the annual meeting & summer lunch of Rugby Tourism which was held at the Rugby Lions’ ground at Webb Ellis Road. One of the guest speakers was Richard Cockerill, former Dunchurch & Harris Schoolboy, former Rugby Lions, Leicester & England hooker. Richard showed a quick grasp of the challenge and opportunity for the promotion of Rugby as a tourism destination by telling us how when new international players come to Leicester, one of the first questions they ask is how far away is the home of the game and also of the interest he received as a player on an overseas tour when people learnt that he grew up in Rugby. There are few places in the world that have given their name to an international sport and I am sure that there is a great deal more we could be doing to use this in the promotion of our town.
Richard finished his speech with a clean-ish joke for a Rugby player, which left some very respectable people hoping to hear his other material some time in the future!