Chippenham Redbacks putting bite into West Country footy
The Chippenham Redbacks were formed in November 2007 by England Dragonslayers Head Coach Rob Fielder helping to found the club over the past few months. Chippenham is a town of around 30,000 inhabitants located within about 30km of both Swindon and Bristol, with many of the Swindon Devils originally recruited by Fielder from this area - including six Dragonslayers representatives and the vice-captain of the Welsh Red Dragons.
Fielder says, "the Chippenham Redbacks are here to provide an opportunity for players in the local area much more access to the sport. More of my students and rugby colleagues are interested with it being a local team.
The Redbacks want to give the local kids a chance to train, and play when they are old enough, with a target of getting an under 16 team going around 2011.
We ran an art competition in local schools to design the jumper and logo. We have a 7-man committee set up and have secured Chippenham Rugby Club as our excellent playing venue.
With many of the Southern League Championship 2009 squad unavailable, 2010 poses an interesting challenge for the Redbacks as they try to challenge the South coast clubs once again.