Rugby Star Visits Stockton To Encourage Volunteering

15 March 2014, 08:57 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

British and Irish Lions rugby union star Geoff Parling's visiting Stockton Rugby Club, where his career started, to encourage people to get involved in the sport.

Geoff is part of the sports volunteering charity Join In's new campaign to search for more volunteers to get involved in grassroots sport.

Geoff is from Stockton and started playing at Stockton Rugby Club, being coached by some of the volunteers there.

He then joined the Newcastle Falcons before moving to the Leicester Tigers. 

He was selected for the England Senior Squad in January 2012 and played in the first and second test matches against Australia in 2013 for the British and Irish Lions. 

Stockton Rugby Club is now short of volunteer coaches, particularly for the junior teams and need more volunteers so that they don't have to turn away the Geoff Parlings of tomorrow.

He'll be at the rugby club from 10:30am today coaching the Under 13 and 14s, ahead of England's RBS Six Nations final game against Italy at 12:30pm.

Nationally, Join In are looking to sign up 250 volunteers in the UK to get involved in sport in the community and use their local knowledge and contacts to help build lasting links with sports clubs, groups and potential volunteers.

The charity is the sports volunteering charity created out of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to increase local sports volunteering opportunities and help grow community sport.