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Although the North Midlands has never been best known for its rugby union Longton rugby club Longton Rugby Club are making great strides to change things.

Longton have the grand ambition to turn the area from a rugby backwater into a home for a new centre of excellence based at Trentham Lakes. With the backing of the Stoke on Trent City Council they're hoping to become a focus for young people in the area who are keen on the sport. It also provides Longton with a move away from their dilapidated facilities at Roughcote Lane and the possibility of a better set up for players and supporters alike.

Thanks to a small group of people

In short and to give you some background and at the danger of sounding a little 'big headed'Ìý - I think the main reason for the Longton initiative in rugby in the area and the reasons behind the move to Trentham Lakes is basically down to the ambition, vision and innovation of a small no. of people at Longton led by our current president Martin Hamer.Ìý

This has been an 8 year programme which at times has been quite tortuous, too much detail to go into here, and isn't there yet but fortunately for us we found a willing and able partner in Stoke-on-Trent council to help facilitate this rather ambitious project.

Longton has outgrown it's home

The second reason is that quite simply Longton, long ago, out grew its current facilities at Roughcote Lane which is now severely restricting the development of not only the senior squads but also, and probably more critically, the Junior academy setup.Ìý

Longton was one of the first clubs in the area to purchase its own club and pitches in the mid-70's but to be honest not much has changed since in the core facilities.Ìý In comparison the club who were pretty much just an average local rugby side in the 70-80's has steadily grown in stature on the back of the National League structure introduced by the RFU in the back end of the 80's to reach a position where we are within in the top 60 clubs in the country from a playing standards perspective.Ìý

This was achieved almost exclusively with the persistence and development of players from within the club and area. As a result we find the current club facilities woefully inadequate for our current position both in terms of players and supporters alike.

Other clubs in Staffordshire and Cheshire

The Staffordshire and South Cheshire region has around eleven major rugby clubs all performing in various leagues.

Three of the high flying teams are Burton on Trent and Stoke and Stafford rugby clubs who are all presiding in Midland League 2 west.

Other clubs in the area are Cannock , Crewe and Nantwich, Lichfield, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Trentham and Uttoxeter .

Getting involved with Rugby Union

If you'd like to get involved in rugby union it's never too late to start. Clubs are very welcoming and often have a number of teams playing to different standards. For more information on rugby in Staffordshire go to the website - www.staffsrugbyunionltd.co.uk or click on the link below.

If you're looking for a particular rugby club or want to find the closest one to where you live whether to play, coach, join the back room staff or just support then a full list of all the clubs in Staffordshire is what you require - click on the link below.

If you live in Cheshire then go to the Sports Link website below.