THERE was a special celebration at Bromsgrove Rugby Club on Saturday when a set of tailor-made gates crafted back in 1955 took pride of place again at Finstall Park.
The club’s president at the time was George Whewell who was also chairman of Bromsgrove Guild which created the gates. Beautifully crafted, they have the Boars’ badge on top of each gate and the letters ‘BRFC’. The Guild is also famous for crafting the Buckingham Palace gates and the Liver Bird statues in Liverpool.
The gates were renovated and rehung in memory of Philip Amphlett, who served the club for more than 70 years. He died in 2021 and had been the club’s fixture secretary, chairman and president, as well as playing for the first team.
Picture by Tristan Harris. Copyright Bullivant Media Group Ltd.
At Saturday’s event Phil’s wife Anne cut the ribbon and their son Richard Amphlett and grandson George Amphlett – who is also the club captain – were also present.
Anne’s father John Huins also played for Bromsgrove RFC in the 1900s. He went on to play for Moseley RFC, along with the North Midlands and Barbarians. And he had trials for the England national team.
The gates were removed when the entrance was extended and have been in storage ever since.
Current Bromsgrove RFC President David Wellington said: “Nobody has made a greater contribution to this club than Philip Amphlett and his family.
“It is great to be able to continue his legacy in this way.”
Picture by Tristan Harris. Copyright Bullivant Media Group Ltd.
Anne added: “Philip would have been very proud.
“It’s nice to have kept the gates and to have them back where they belong.”
And Richard said: “It’s a very special day – it shows Bromsgrove is a great family and community club.
“My dad spent a lot of his life down here and would have loved this today.
“He also got to see George play for the club he loved before he died which was nice.”
Double celebration
Grant funding for Bromsgrove RFC has enabled the clubhouse to be extended and provided a boost for women’s rugby.
Two self-contained changing rooms led to the club launching women’s and girls sections last year.
The Galts – the women’s main team – has gone from having no players to 30 in less than 12 months. Among them is Danielle Jordan-Taft who plays for the national Jamaican side.
The women started playing non-contact rugby. They now play full contact matches all over the Midlands.
The junior girls – five to 17-year-olds – are also thriving, playing semi-contact rugby and there is a women’s academy.
Martin Lakeman, captain of the ‘Crusaders’ veterans team, said: “Every game is a learning curve.”
He added England winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year had led to increased interest with numbers growing every week.
“A lot of the girls bring their friends to come and watch and they often think: ‘I’ll give that a go’ and it leads to more players trying it out and joining.
“We don’t quite have a girls team yet – that is the next step. They train together in the week and with the boys of the same age range at the weekend.”
In total with all the teams, Bromsgrove Rugby Club has more than 600 players.
Visit: bromsgroverfc.com for more on the club.
