Youth rugby players from Aylesbury Rugby Football Club will receive sponsored shirts for their year of playing the contact version of the sport.

The 31 players in the rugby club’s Under 9s team (who consist of Year 4 students) have new personalised kits to wear for tournaments, fixtures and training, thanks to a £1,000 donation from Vistry Thames Valley.

The housebuilder is creating new properties in Aylesbury under its Bovis Homes and Linden Homes brands at Orchard Green in the new Kingsbrook neighbourhood.

Paul Andrews, Youth Chairman at Aylesbury Rugby, said: “Rugby is a very underfunded and non-commercialised sport, and the children’s kits have to be durable for all of the rough-and-tumble contact element involved in the game.

“Thanks to Vistry’s sponsorship, each Under 9s player will receive a sponsored game shirt personalised with their name and the club on the back, their initials on the sleeves and the sponsor logos on the front.

“They will be able to wear their shirts with pride at rugby festivals, fixtures with other rugby clubs, and during their twice-weekly training sessions.

“The shirts are very durable and stretchy and so will last a good few years until they grow out of them.

“They will then be able to keep them as a great memento from their early years of rugby.”