The old adage that ‘success breeds success’, is as true in sport as it is in business. As a successful business Farmers & Mercantile believes in supporting the stand-out achievements of certain deserving clubs local to its offices.
A few miles south-west of the Ludlow office is Luctonians RFC who in 2010 won a hard fought promotion to National League 2 North, Farmers & Mercantile are keen supporters. We know that growth and success is a product of the support you receive, with Farmers and Mercantile transforming from a small business to a nationwide company out of the loyalty of its clients. It is a loyalty that we do not take for granted and our support of Luctonians also gives opportunity for us to say thank you to our customers.
The club, rather than struggling in its new league flourished to finish 9th overall, and many Saturdays of great rugby were witnessed by both the company and our clients who were invited throughout the year.
This year has also seen the club start strongly with Luctonians currently in 5th place in the league. Saturday 11th February saw Farmers and Mercantile entertain several clients on their table at the Clubs annual sponsors dinner. Representing the company were Paul Aston-Evans and Alec Bond who were joined by local farmers Geoff and Anita Bright and their two sons Sam and Will. From a little further afield came clients Janet, Ted and Robert Jones who farm in Nesscliffe, Shropshire and run Rob Jones Tractor Hire.
The meal was a lovely pork roast, carved expertly at the table by Ted Jones and was greatly enjoyed by all. The after dinner speeches included the usual light hearted Rugby stories and jokes from the Luctionians President and an informative but highly entertaining guide to the symptoms of prostate cancer by consultant urologist David Baxter-Smith . The club is a great supporter in the fight against the disease and even opens its doors as a drop in centre for blood tests.
Despite the cold weather and every other game in the league being cancelled, Luctonains had kept their pitch from freezing with a fleece and were more than prepared to meet visitors Nuneaton RFC. In glorious winter sunshine the match kicked off, with Luctonians stealing an early try in the first 3 minutes which was confidently converted. Luctonians maintained the tempo, finishing the first half with a commanding 21-3 lead. The second half was finished off with two more converted tries for a confident 35-3 victory.
Coming back into the warm our party enjoyed more of the hospitality indoors whilst watching the televised Italy Vs England, many amongst us agreeing that the quality of the rugby had been better outside. In all the day had been a fantastic success for club and sponsor with everyone agreeing that it had been a Saturday afternoon to remember.