It’s said that the first 100 days of a new political leader’s time in power, can go a long way to shaping their tenure.

Think Thatcher, Blair, Obama, Trump… they’ve all come in, hit the ground running and stamped their mark on Government, albeit with varying levels of success.

Andy Bayliss is no politician, of course, but the new chairperson of Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club’s minis and juniors has certainly brought with him a stack of fresh ideas since taking over in the summer.

He is determined to build on the success of his predecessors and grow the vibrant youth section at the club.

“Last season we had 284 youngsters registered to play rugby,” Bayliss told The Local Answer. “I want to make that 300 – that’s only 16 more kids and all the signs are that we will achieve that target”.

“And if we do, that will be awesome, tremendous – 300 kids benefiting from the core values of rugby and making friends.”

It’s not just about quantity, of course, quality is very much a byword on Bayliss’ watch.

“At Stow we’ve taken on the RFU’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship and we’ve added fun and friendship,” he said.

“We want to build a safe environment for children and be somewhere where the youngsters want to come. It’s about rugby first, but we want to create an environment of constant excitement.

“The friends you make at rugby are friends for life.”

“Our philosophy is to ensure we give all kids the opportunity to develop, by fostering a safe environment for having fun, learning and building their confidence; and to encourage them to progress from mini and junior rugby to play the full, 15-a-side game.”

And within that framework, Bayliss, who has a son and a daughter, wants to encourage more girls to take up the sport.

“One of my ambitions is for more girls to play rugby,” Bayliss added. “The girls can play with the boys up to under 12s – we’ve got three in the under 7s and five in the under 8s – but not so many when it comes to the older age groups.

“The under 13s and under 15s girls train together on Tuesday evenings at the club under floodlights, and at the moment we’ve only got around six to eight who come regularly for training, so that’s something we’re looking to change.”

One of the ways that they are looking to bring about that change is to work closely with the schools in the area via the RFU community officer Ben Smith, and spread the good word about all things girls’ rugby.

“We hosted a one-day funday rugby festival of rugby at the club in September,” enthused Bayliss. “We had 24 teams from 14 schools take part, totalling 184 kids. It was for years 3 and 4 and Hartpury College supplied 12 young referees.”

“It was a great day, with trophies being awarded for fair play. It was a day which saw all the youngsters playing rugby with the right core values.”

It’s not all about getting youngsters to the club’s ground in Oddington Road either, Bayliss is just as keen for the club to go out and about and press the flesh in the schools.

“We’re asking if our coaches can go into schools and help coach rugby,” Bayliss said. “Can we get involved in after-school clubs and help schools to establish a safe rugby environment?

“Coaching is a volunteer role at Stow and we are lucky to have so many dedicated coaches across all age groups, giving up their time each weekend throughout the rugby season.

“By establishing a coaching academy – a dedicated team of none age group related coaches who can assist training sessions alongside age group coaches in specific areas of rugby – we can improve the essential skills of passing, tackling, hooking, lineout, kicking. The academy will also create a library of skill zones to share among the coaching community, developing the coaches and therefore the standard of rugby across the age groups.”

That culture of a safe rugby environment that Bayliss talks about applies both on the pitch and off it too.

On the pitch, Stow have reformed a Colts team Bayliss explained: “It’s a big step up from under-16s to 2nd XV rugby. It’s very physical in the adult game. By having a Colts team we can protect our younger players and the RFU are trying to take it one step further by extending Colts rugby up to under-21s.

“It’s inevitable that we will lose players to other sports and activities throughout the course of the M&Js, but some minis and junior players will continue through rugby to become full 15-a-side players. Therefore an increased number of players in the early years will benefit the club as a whole and giving the opportunity to once again have a full senior section, with first, second and third teams. So it is vital we help grow the M&Js section to encourage new players across the age groups, while nurturing the players we have today for tomorrow.”

Bayliss says that Stow’s location close to the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border means that they will have no problem finding fixtures for the Colts and he is also hoping that the formation of the new team will help to bring all sections of the club closer together.

“How we make one club is one of my big interests,” said Bayliss. “At the moment there is a senior section as well as a minis and juniors section, with a full complement of age groups, including the Colts.

“There are two sections of the club but with both sides wanting to bring it all together, we are looking at efforts to encourage this combined club approach.”

While Bayliss knows patience is the key to achieving a one-club culture, he nonetheless will continue to pour his heart and soul into making the youth section the best it can possibly be.

“As we see costs escalate across the board, it is making it more difficult to find economical solutions for rugby tours, which puts players at risk of not benefiting from what is a key milestone in any young rugby player’s development and enjoyment of rugby,” said Bayliss. “By creating a tour fundraising committee, all players will benefit from a combined force of resource to assist with fund raising towards tour funding, ensuring we make rugby tours ‘open to all’.

“And with over 280 players across several age groups we are by far the greatest user of the facilities at the club, and therefore the greatest burden on the need to continuously maintain the great facilities we have here at Stow. It is this that has led me to launch the 1879 Club, a private lottery with a monthly contribution from 1879 Club registered members with monthly draws equalling 50 per cent of the lottery fund, and using the remaining 50 per cent to help assist club maintenance projects.”

And he’s happy to get his hands dirty on the playing side as well, coaching the under 8s every Sunday morning – a team his son Max plays for.

Bayliss himself played a decent level age group rugby at Stourbridge and Bromsgrove, as well as with the Midlands and Schools county team, before a shoulder injury cut short his playing career just as he was preparing to move into the adult game.

He didn’t return to the game until Max was old enough to get involved – a break of some 25 years – but he’s certainly making up for lost time.

“I want to put something back into rugby,” he explained, “and this season I’ve introduced a new mascot for the minis and juniors.”

“He’s called Spike. He’s a unicorn and he will become a big part of our PR push when we go out into schools, scout groups and dealing with the media.”

”He’s based on Stow’s heritage because the clubs badge shows a unicorn. When the team were first formed in 1879 they used to meet in the Unicorn pub post match.”

“Rugby is and always will be a social sport,” added Bayliss. “I believe this is one of the greatest aspects of rugby and one that has kept me interested in the sport since the age of four, over 40 years.

“It’s this that steers me towards twinning Stow’s minis and juniors with other rugby clubs’ M&Js sections, both home and abroad, where we can benefit from a dedicated tour destination, exhibition matches, shared resources, inter-club challenges, and rugby friends for life. The benefits are plenty!”