March 11, 2008

When Calday Grange School Under 15s started casting around for sponsorship to help balance the books and make sure they were smartly turned out for special events like the Daily Mail Cup and a trip to Italy, they were hoping that some kindly parents might chip in to ease the burden.

But when they run out at Broadstreet RFC on Sunday (March 16, 1pm) to face Wimbledon College in the Semi-final of the Daily Mail Under 15 Vase, the name emblazoned across their shirts will be that of one of their players.

For ‘James Elliott Motors’, the firm that has come to the aid of the school, is a commercial interest created by a member of the team, prop forward and junior entrepreneur James Lynch.

He first revealed his eye for a commercial opportunity when he was given £50 by his parents to buy some new football boots. That gesture proved to be ill timed in that before he could make a purchase, he had been dropped from the team.

Football boots were not required; capital for an alternative project was available; a car was purchased for renovation and a business was launched.

Now, after sales of over 70 vehicles, young Lynch’s sideline is sufficiently lucrative for him to step in when news of the sponsorship requirement reached him.

"One of his team-mates jokingly suggested that James might be someone to approach. His first reaction was positive, but I said that he should go away and think carefully about it, have a word with his parents and then make a decision." says Master-in-Charge Paul Miller.

"He came back and said he wanted to do it and to be honest, it was something we really needed because the appeal hadn’t really been that successful."

James’s gesture presented the team with a double bonus, for the retail talents of the lad have had not compromised the selection process in any way. "He’s a really nice lad and a very good rugby player. You have to know what you’re looking for and watch him closely to see the substantial amount of quality work he gets through. Because he’s not one of the flair players in the team his work can easily go unnoticed. He’s a quiet sort of lad who doesn’t make a fuss."

James’ early season support did not end there. Calday Grange’s Daily Mail Vase success led them unexpectedly into another financial crisis in that they were scheduled to leave for a rugby trip to Venice on Sunday, never thinking at the time the trip was organised that they would be one step from a Twickenham outing and taking on King’s College, Wimbledon in Coventry on the day they were heading for Italy.

"Obviously we had to change our travel plans, which cost us £1,500, but James again came to our aid and helped defray the costs. It’s like having a big name sponsor. I didn’t even have to ask – he just came forward and said ‘I think I can help you with this’."

Commercial return, of course, will only be maximised if the team can make it to Twickenham, so how does coach Miller rate his side?

"We were county winners last season and we were confident we could get through the first few rounds of the Cup," says Miller: "But we played local rivals Birkenhead on the second round in a game that is always evenly balanced. We lost 15-13, but we blew some really good scoring chances by wasting clear overlaps and poor decision making. We felt really bad that we’d played so badly and agreed that we had to make amends by doing well in the Vase.

"In contrast, when we beat Birkdale 36-5 in the Vase Quarter-Final we were really hot and played some good stuff. It could have been a bigger margin and if we can stay on song and repeat that sort of performance, we’ll be hard to beat."

And if they manage that and clinch a final spot at Twickenham on Wednesday, April 2, keep an eye out for James Elliott Motors and the teenager who has struck another blow for the much-maligned ‘Front-row Union’.