Move Like A Pro

The month of Movember may be over, but the movement doesn’t stop for Premiership Rugby fans and players. Hot on the heels of Premiership Rugby’s Movember drive, where players, staff and fans alike raised more than £41,000 for the charity, Premiership Rugby and the Movember Foundation have launched a new programme to encourage men to get fitter and look after their health.

From April, ‘Move Like A Pro’ will offer rugby fans the opportunity to take part in a free 12-week physical activity programme online, or at their local Premiership Rugby club in sessions run by clubs’ training staff.

Premiership Rugby’s community and corporate social responsibility director, Wayne Morris (pictured), insists the scheme will flourish thanks to the contributions of all 12 clubs to date.

“We are building on some of the fantastic work that individual clubs have done in the past including the successful RU-FIT model developed by the University of Glasgow and run at Sale Sharks. We’re delighted to be able to roll it out across the whole league,” he said. “We’re really excited because of the potential of Move Like A Pro to get men moving and really change the face of men’s health.

“There’s a rising obesity problem across England and we believe that Move Like A Pro will be a really powerful first step to getting fans more active, through the power of Premiership Rugby clubs to draw men in and help them live healthier, happier lives.”

To ensure everyone can get involved, the Move Like A Pro website will be open to all Premiership Rugby fans to sign up. They will be able to follow the weekly exercise plans and find tasty recipes developed by Premiership Rugby clubs at www.MoveLikeAPro.co.uk.

“Move Like A Pro will be an online resource for men to get more active, alongside healthy eating advice and tips and tricks on the website, featuring a different Premiership Rugby club each week,” Morris added. “We’re hoping to roll it out across all 12 Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs into the new season, so from September onwards.”

Sarah Coghlan, County Director UK at Movember Foundation, says this is just the beginning of a flourishing partnership with Premiership Rugby.

“Premiership Rugby and Movember have a longstanding history; players and fans alike are as passionate about Movember and its causes as they are about rugby and have raised lots of funds and awareness for men’s health over the years,” she said.

“As the UK’s top rugby division and one of the most highly regarded in the world, Premiership Rugby represents the perfect partner for Movember, to inspire a legacy of long-term change across the rugby fan community.

“We wanted to make the relationship official last year as Movember launched its MOVE campaign, and feel it’s a match made in heaven, as together we want to get rugby fans moving and affect positive change on the health of rugby fans.”