Hard Work Pays Off For Paisley

Two Glasgow Warriors stars were on hand in Paisley as the final stages of three years of hard work by Paisley RFC were unveiled to club members.Scotland centre Graeme Morrison and flanker Chris Fusaro visited the club as they flicked the switch on their newly installed floodlights, and revealed the new playing strips for the club’s junior section.Under the Scottish Government’s CashBack scheme, local rugby clubs with a track record in growing the game at junior, youth and adult levels were able to apply for awards of up to _50,000 to invest in new or upgrading existing facilities, with priority given to projects that benefit primarily young people._ The fund is administered by SportScotland while through the Cashback for Rugby Facilities Fund, 31 club projects shared _1.25 million of investmentPaisley RFC were successful in applying for nearly _49,000 meaning they could refurbish showers and floodlights and install new drainage for their pitches.The club still faced a shortfall but members raised a staggering _15,000.Gordon Carswell, Paisley RFC President, said: ‘this has been a massive effort over 3 seasons by all our club members from micros, through minis, under-18 to our senior teams, and has made a real difference to our club. Our under-18 team were able to play fixtures through October when most rugby in the west was waterlogged._ The Glasgow under-17 team are using Paisley as their training camp through March this year, and the Scotland Women’s team have also enquired about using our facilities for training.’the club has ambitions to expand it’s changing facilities with en-suite showering pods, which will assist Lindsey Smith and Chris Reid, our Regional Development Officer’s expand the women’s game in the Paisley areaNeil Carrie, Partnership and Projects Manager at Scottish Rugby, said: Paisley RFC is exactly the type of club which the CashBack fund was intended to support. They play a prominent role in their community, working closely with local development officer Lindsey Smith and with the local CashBack-funded School of Rugby at Paisley Grammar.’this project is helping the club accommodate more young people and providing them with a better rugby experience,.100 young players came along tonight to mark the unveiling of these facilities and I am sure many more will benefit over the coming months and years. Congratulations and thanks to Paisley RFC for all their efforts.