WINNINGTON Park have taken the decision to make watching senior rugby at Burrows Hill a cost-free activity.

The North Two West club held its AGM last week and from September onwards a new dawn of free rugby will begin.

Winnington have endured a gradual slide from the past glories of the mid-90s to fighting relegation at level six in the regional leagues.

“We want to get more people through the gates,” explained Park spokesman John Pickering. “We took a decision to cut entry prices for those wanting to watch rugby at Burrows Hill on a Saturday afternoon”.

Park, who have kept Mark Warr as head coach, Will Burgess as first XV skipper, Mark Patterson as club captain and reappointed Richard Elliott as chairman, have flirted with relegation for the past two seasons but last year reignited hopes that the club is turning a corner.

A new-found confidence in the club’s youth policy towards the end of last season saw Park’s potential realised as heavy losses became victories, including an unheard of 90-point victory at Vagabonds on the Isle of Man.

Spectators taking advantage of Park’s ambitious no-charge initiative will hope that the open-running rugby witnessed last year will be served up again this campaign.

Training for the senior sides started last month and with three or four new faces added to the squad, Park are slowly building towards the big kick-off in September.

“We want to do better than last year certainly,” added Pickering. “We put some really good performances in and if we can start as we finished, then hopefully we can consolidate our place in the league and see where we go.

“We have got to be realistic about things, we are not looking for promotion, but having said that, if we are there or thereabouts then we’ll definitely go for it.”