Originally the opportunity to play rugby used to be a privilege reserved for the wealthy and only those in private schools. Today rugby is played by millions of children and adults at community rugby clubs across the UK.

Rugby is a sport for all – all sizes, all sexes, all cultures but there are still barriers to taking part and RugbyBootBank aims to remove just one of those small barriers – the cost of a pair of boots.

In 2020 in the UK 14.5 million people were defined by the UK government* as living in poverty.  With families unable to meet basic household costs and rugby clubs struggling to field teams amid financial crisis every little we can do to help people play rugby makes sense.

Not only does RugbyBootBank help ensure rugby remains a sport for all it also helps to protect the environment. Today’s boots are manufactured to such a high standard players are able to get many seasons out of their trusted boots. Growing feet and sadly retirement often means boot life is not always maximized.

RugbyBootBank started in the back of a car with donated, outgrown and lost / unclaimed kit and boots handed to founder and rugby coach Matt Mitchell. Matt became known for being the first port of call for parents to contact when on the hunt for lost property and a provider of free second hand training kit, “I used to carry a bag of second hand kit around with me and would help players avoid the cost of new kit.   The cost of a new pair of boots was often spared and could be used in the clubhouse instead of the high street”.

Matt was not on his own; for years club and community rugby coaches have been well known to do whatever they can: to keep people playing, to put out a team every week, to share the joy of playing rugby and to inspire the next generation of rugby players.  The vision of RugbyBootBank was a shared bank of boots for anyone, from any club to have access to a free second hand pair of boots to help them play rugby at any club anywhere in the UK.

In 2020 RugbyBootBank® was founded to ensure second hand boots could be made available, free of charge, to anyone needing boots to play club rugby anywhere in England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
As previously loved boots disintegrate, or as children’s feet grow, a new pair can be expensive and unaffordable for
some families. It is a credit to manufacturers that nowadays boots last a lot longer; sadly, many boots with good
playing time left in them are discarded. RugbyBootBank® is passionate about helping people play rugby and
protecting the environment from unwanted waste. We collect and distribute boots to players in the UK offering a
free collection and delivery service.