Proud Sponsors of SMRUFC
Formed in 1963, Sheffield Medics Rugby Union Football Club (SMRUFC) was the first rugby club to be founded at Sheffield University. Today SMRUFC is a participant in Yorkshire Rugby and the National Medical School competition (NAMS).
The club accommodates 50 members made up of 2 weekly teams (a 1st XV and 2nd XV), supported by a 3rd XV development squad. SMRUFC 1st XV play at a skilled, competitive level competing in the Yorkshire 3 league in addition to the NAMS competition. The club’s membership includes both current and former members with representative honours at both county and premiership academy level.
With alumni who have reached the highest levels of the game, SMRUFC is as proud of their alumni as it is of their reputation for being open to students of all abilities and courses of study. The club encourages individuals who have never picked up a rugby ball or those who are not familiar with the laws of the game to join. From its beginnings formed by medical students almost six decades ago, today SMRUFC has expanded to host a wide range of players and personalities from diverse academic backgrounds and fields of study.
The genesis of SMRUFC, formed with medics in mind, has seen the club count scores of its current and former playing roster as frontline NHS staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With senior players on hospital placements during an extraordinary year for the NHS, and the younger years players faced with the unique challenges and changes to study methodology, the club has responded to the altered dynamics of supporting member and community wellbeing.
Over 7 days in April 2020, members of the club collectively ran the distance from Gilbert Bain hospital in the Shetland Isles to West Cornwall hospital – the most northern to most southern NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom. The success of this fundraiser exceeded the club’s greatest expectations, with participants covering two and a half times the planned distance and raising over £6500 for Sheffield Hospitals Charity, in excess of three times the original goal. September saw the club exclusively utilise social media for first-year player recruitment, in-line with government restrictions on social interaction. Recognising the wellbeing challenges among their student members, a buddy system was developed between senior and first year players and weekly, virtual social events established. Like so many valuable and tight-knit community-based organisations, the pandemic has shown that the difficulty of the situation outside the club has only improved the comradery and motivation within.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has reached into most aspects of everyday life, community sport has been significantly impacted by health restrictions. Over the coming months the club and committee aspire to both return to normal activity and utilise their developed experience from the pandemic to continue to benefit members and the community at large. There is palpable excitement across the entire club at getting back onto the pitch and reclaiming an element of student life that has been disrupted across the last year.
The club rely on sponsors whose contributions make SMRUFC’s on and off-field activities possible. Sponsorships contribute to pitch hire, equipment, match kit and facility development.
Omnia Property Group is a proud sponsor of Sheffield Medics RUFC. Omnia is passionate about supporting community organisations at a grassroots level and is committed to its ongoing support of groups like SMRUFC. Student groups and organisations are vital to ensuring the vitality of both the student populace and the broader community. Omnia Property Group, one of the UK’s leading provider of student accommodation, recognises our responsibility to make meaningful contributions to Britain’s students and organisations that promote and sustain their wellbeing.
For more information on SMRUFC or to enquire about joining, please contact Oli ogwellesley1@sheffield.ac.uk