Since its establishment in 1933, Strathmore Rugby Club has aimed to support its community both through sport and through engagement, ensuring that Rugby is a “sport for everyone” within Forfar and Angus. With an ambition to secure its position as one of Scotland’s foremost rugby clubs, the committee continually strives to grow and evolve the club, investing and reaching out to every sector of its community.
Within the Angus Glens, which form the backdrop to the rugby pitches, are a landscape of sporting estates which support the rural communities of Angus from which many players and supporters, young and old helm from. Therefore, a partnership exists between Strathmore Rugby Club and the Angus Glens Moorland Group, which seeks to support these estates and those rural communities, and connect them to the wider rugby community.
The initiative created is called ‘Game for the Game’, a formal Corporate Membership sponsored by Angus Glens Moorland Group (AGMG). The campaign sees the provision of game meat from local estates served as part of the menu on hospitality days throughout the rugby season. Working in partnership with the club caterer, a selection of recipes were adopted that showcased game meat as a delicious and versatile protein. The events educated people on the nutritional and sustainable qualities of game meat, whilst simultaneously sharing the story of local sporting estates and their value to Angus and wider Scotland.
Launched on 12 August 2023, the first season of ‘Game for the Game’ was a resounding success with menus including venison, pheasant, partridge, duck and salmon being thoroughly enjoyed across the club. Excitingly, AGMG have committed to a second season allowing the story to be told on a wider platform.
AGMG also committed to providing enough game for players meals served after home fixtures. This sponsorship allowed the club to invest in its players. The generosity of the AGMG sponsorship also provided for a Thursday night dinner club. An informal meal in the clubhouse for players after training which supported the club’s social group. Pheasant pittas and venison stew were among the team’s favourites.
Keith Robertson, Head of Senior Rugby, took the story of this collaboration forward to Holyrood making statements directly to ministers in support of the contribution of sporting estates to their communities.
The Corporate Membership offers benefits on both sides with gamekeepers being offered the use of club facilities, discounted physiotherapy sessions, promotion on pitch and in publications, and tickets to join the club at hospitality events. On the last day of the season, eight tweed-clad gamekeepers visited the club to share their story and receive a personal vote of thanks from club members for their contributions.
The club has seen an increase in kids and adults coming to the club from the estates, with a number of young players joining the Strathie Sharks Junior rugby club and benefiting from the teamwork and camaraderie of the game. The club are excited by the potential to further expand ‘Game for the Game’ in the 2024/25 season, hoping for greater success on and off the pitch for all contributors.