Prebbleton give clubrooms a facelift in exciting year for the Royals

Awarded a Bunnings Rugby Assist grant at the end of last year, Prebbleton Rugby Club have set about giving their clubrooms a much-needed facelift in what is shaping up to be an exciting year for the club.

With the Prebbleton Senior Girls side becoming a staple at the club and the Premier Women’s side returning for the first time in 20 years, the decision was made by the club to upgrade their existing facilities. The work undertaken by Hayden Garbutt and the Prebbleton volunteers has seen an upgrade to the bathroom facilities, painting of the building and roof, as well as an upgrade to the bench seating around the club.

“We put in the application to do a big facelift to the club in preparation for the return of the Women’s team, and we’ve managed to do a couple of things with the money since.” said Garbutt. “The big part of that was making the women’s facilities much more presentable for our new side, as well as making the rest of the club more welcoming for our community.”

That work has helped create an exciting environment for the club, with the return of the women’s team this season seen as an exciting step forward for the club

following several successful seasons with the Senior Girls side.

“We’re extremely grateful to Bunnings and New Zealand Rugby for opening up this fund. We’ve stretched the $10k and it’s helped us tick off a number of things we had wanted to do, with the help of a great team of volunteers that care about the club.” Garbutt said.

Michaela Marson, Bunnings Riccarton Complex Manager, said, “Our team has really enjoyed helping the club to find the materials they needed to upgrade their facilities, and giving them a helping hand where we could. We wish them all the best for the rugby season ahead.”

It’s created a great environment at the club this season. “A lot of people have been commenting about how good the club looks on Saturday and Sunday, saying it now looks really good, so it’s going to help us keep growing the club. For the women’s side, it’s been really well received by the new players to the club and it’s been a great way to make them feel welcome at the club.” said Garbutt.

There’s no doubt the side will feel more than welcome this weekend with club day scheduled for Prebbleton Domain, with the facilities set to be put to the test on a day of celebration for Prebbleton.