Grassroots rugby union clubs across six east of England counties have been given the chance to revamp their facilities by winning £5,000 worth of building materials.

Travis Perkins has teamed up with Northampton Saints to launch a campaign marking 25 years as partners of the current Gallagher PREM leaders.

Any grassroots clubs from Northampton Saints’ designated community region – which covers Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and north Essex – are invited to apply for the prize.

There will be two £5,000 donations of materials up for grabs, while the winning clubs will also be invited to send one of their junior age group teams to a special training session at the High Performance Centre at Franklin’s Gardens attended by three Saints first-team stars and the Club’s community coaching team.

Alison Wong, Group Head of Marketing at Travis Perkins, explained: “We are delighted to be partnering with Northampton Saints on this fantastic prize which could prove transformative for a grassroots rugby club.

“So many people of all ages get so much enjoyment from being involved in grassroots rugby clubs but, like all sports, funding can be difficult to secure for improvements to facilities.

“We always seek opportunities to support the local communities in which we operate and the 25th anniversary of our partnership with Northampton Saints provides us with an ideal opportunity to do that.

“A donation of £5,000 worth of materials can go a long way to making a long-term difference to a club - whether it be improvements to the clubhouse, changing rooms or any other areas which may need a refresh - and we look forward to reviewing the entries we receive.

“The chance to rub shoulders with some of the Northampton Saints stars in a specially arranged training session is another fantastic element to the prize and will offer a junior team from each of our successful clubs an unforgettable experience.”

The building materials will be supplied by Travis Perkins which has more than 500 branches nationwide. 

Ulundi Makhanya, Director of Commercial Partnerships for Northampton Saints, added: “Travis Perkins has been – and remain – a fantastic and long-standing supporter of the Club and we are delighted to mark the 25th anniversary of our partnership with this brilliant competition.

“We have dozens of grassroots clubs within our community region and I know every single one of them would love to win this prize, not only to create a lasting impact to their facilities, but also to provide one of their junior teams with the chance to train with three of our players and utilise the fantastic High Performance Centre.”