Havant RFC chairman: We want to show that very English wartime spirit during coronavirus crisis

Havant RFC are exploring ways they can provide support to the wider community during the coronavirus crisis.
Flashback - Havant RFC chairman Jon Mangnall, second right, pictired in 2012 with (from left) James Read, Will Knight, Alistair Gibson, Joel Knight and Rob ElsmoreFlashback - Havant RFC chairman Jon Mangnall, second right, pictired in 2012 with (from left) James Read, Will Knight, Alistair Gibson, Joel Knight and Rob Elsmore
Flashback - Havant RFC chairman Jon Mangnall, second right, pictired in 2012 with (from left) James Read, Will Knight, Alistair Gibson, Joel Knight and Rob Elsmore

Chairman Jon Mangnall and committee members are trying to come up with ideas on how they may be able to help elderly members and the general public.

The club held a meeting via video link last Thursday in a bid to discuss ways they might be able to generate income at their Hooks Lane facility.

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But Mangnall is more concerned about offering club services to help the community come through the Covid-19 epidemic.

And he has no doubt all involved with the 'tight-knit club' would have no hesitation to step forward and offer their support for those that need it most.

‘As a rugby club, we’ve been going for nearly 70 years now,' he said.

‘We’ve also got lots of members that are older, so we’re reaching out for them.

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’We’re looking out for them, but also the rest of the community.

‘A lot of the players, there are some great people and they want to do something.

‘Everyone is going to be bored witless at weekends.

‘Some people may not be able to go to work, so there will be people with time on their hands.

‘I think at that point we’ll get out and show that very English wartime spirit and see what we can do.

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‘We’re a very tight-knit club and many of us have been friends for years.

‘We’re all on the same page and we are what we are.

‘As we go forward we may try to understand what opportunities there are for a place like ours.

'It is a big lump of space, we’ve got a car park, we don’t know what is going to happen.

‘Will people need places to go and collect food from?

‘I don’t know, we’ll see.'

These unprecedented times are a real cause for concern for sports clubs and businesses in the UK.

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However, Mangnall is optimistic Havant - and others around the country - can come through this most testing of periods.

‘We’re a members club so we’re talking about people paying fees a little bit earlier for next year,' added the Havant chairman.

‘We have patrons and that sort of stuff.

‘We’re reasonably well funded.

‘But we’ve got to be very careful because we don’t know how long it’s going to last.

‘We would have had probably one of our busiest months coming up of the season.

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‘With three games on the brink of promotion, those could have been significant income days for us.

‘Where we had the clubhouse renovated, we had quite a lot of functions and weddings so all of that brings revenue.

‘The staff are not going to be there and we’ll shut down all of the services we don’t need for the day-to-day running costs that we won’t be occurring.

‘If we can monetise the facility and do some good for the community, we’ll look at options there.'

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