ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster combined business with pleasure on Sunday when he officially opened a new £340,000 clubhouse redevelopment at Malton & Norton Rugby Union Club.

Stuart also got the chance to watch his son, Dan, take part in an inter-club coaching and training session at the same venue.

He said he was delighted to see the changes that have been achieved with support from the Rugby Football Union and other agencies.

“When this kind of development is driven by the success of the junior section, it’s all the more satisfying, especially for the club volunteers who are obviously doing a great job for the club and the community,” he said.

The new clubhouse work has provided four en-suite rooms and also created space to extend the kitchen area, comprising five new rooms in all, with a referees changing room included in the scheme, all of which have been built to the latest RFU/Sport England specifications.

The funding package has included a Rugby Football Union grant of £85,000 and a Rugby Football Foundation loan of £100,000. Sport England have supported the project by contributing £50,000 from the “Inspired Facilities” Olympic Legacy fund and local backing has come from Ryedale District Council with £25,000 and The Earl Fitzwilliam Charitable Trust with £2,000.

A successful, expanding junior section has been the catalyst for the redevelopment and to ensure that the junior element are prominent in the opening celebrations, the programme contained a special practice session involving Malton & Norton U12s and West Park Leeds U12s, as well as a host of other activities involving young boys and girls.

“We consider that an inter-club coaching get-together typified exactly why the club was in need of the new facility and best represented the value we place in that section of the club,” said David Asquith, Malton & Norton mini and junior chairman.

“We had all mini age groups training, an East Yorkshire girls cluster development session, an Under 16 Yorkshire Cup fixture and both junior and senior colts playing at the club on the day – just to prove the need for the new facilities.”