Founder and Chairman of Whitton Lions RFC, Whitton’s first and only rugby club, is to step down.
Councillor Gareth Elliott is not only hanging up his boots, but handing over the reins of the club he started to the club’s most successful Captain, Dan Saxby.
The club, formally established in October 2011, began their first ever competitive season with a 43-0 defeat to Belsize Park at Old Latymerians Sports Ground, now Whitton Park Sports Club, but have since gone from strength to strength culminating in league promotion to Middlesex Merit Table Five last season.
Elliott said: “It’s been a real privilege to set up, run and play for the club. What we set out to do was not only to bring rugby to Whitton, which despite being in the shadow of England’s rugby HQ didn’t have its own team, but to create a club with an atmosphere that supports people of all abilities and which the local community can be proud of.“I think we have achieved that having secured funding from the RFU and several local businesses in Whitton High Street keen to be associated with what we do. It makes me hugely proud to see our shirt hanging in those establishments.
Elliott adds: “The club now has firm roots from which to grow and flourish. I’d like to thank my committee members for their time and support in helping us to reach this point and I wish them well as they take the club forward.”
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