The Vale of Glamorgan club have built two brand new changing rooms, each equipped with showers and a room for match officials, adding to the excellent facilities already in place. It means the club, which has a thriving junior section of over 200 registered players, can now cater for the huge demand.
With its expanded junior base and a number of senior teams, it’s a big move forward for the SWALEC League Four South East side who had found their previous facilities were unable to cope with the numbers they were attracting.
WRU Board Members Roy Giddings and Russell Howell were in attendance at the opening.
Lynn Thomas, Cowbridge club Chairman, said: “It’s a delight to be able to officially open our new changing rooms this evening.
“We’ve had great support from the WRU in assisting with the cost of this project as well as working hard throughout all sections of the club to make this viable.
“It’s great to finally see the project come to fruition and I’m sure it will only benefit the club long into the future.”
Club Secretary Alun Griffiths said: “The club has grown enormously in recent years and it’s been great to see so many junior players come in.
“That area has gone from strength to strength but what it did mean was that the previous facilities we had could not sustain those large numbers of players.
“But now we have four large changing rooms with plenty of room which is brilliant news for the club as a whole.”
Daniel Williams, Chairman of the Junior Section at Cowbridge, said: “We have 255 registered children at the club which is one of the largest Junior sections in Wales.
“We are always trying to expand our player base but you have to have the facilities to support that.
“Now we’ve got that and the size of our junior section played a huge role in the grant. Overall, things are going well for Cowbridge as a club.”
Chris Ower, WRU Rugby Development Manager for the Blues region, said: “It’s vital the WRU continues to support its grassroots clubs and this is a great example of that.
“Cowbridge play a vital role in the development of young talent in the Blues region, Lloyd Williams is obviously an example of a local boy who has gone on to play at the highest level by representing Wales.
“This new facility will only encourage more young players in the area to take up the game.”
For more information on WRU Club funding, please contact either Nicola Smith (NSmith@wru.co.uk) or Chris Munroe (cmunroe@wru.co.uk).
