"FROM small acorns grow great oak trees" is the mantra of a rugby club in Pilgrims Hatch which is on the cusp of setting up its first youth section.
Old Brentwoods Rugby Football Club is on the up and is now seeking wannabe Wilkinsons and promising Pienaars.
Last year, the 43-year-old club's first team won promotion into the London leagues and next season they'll be setting up their fourth adult side.
On March 30, the club, which has around 200 members, will be opening its Ashwells Road ground to the public in a bid to attract youngsters aged seven and above into the fold.
Father-of-three Simon Peace is in charge of Project Acorn, an initiative aimed at having both boys and girls playing friendlies and festival matches for the club from September.
New figures from the Rugby Football Union have revealed that only three out of every 45 children that take up the sport from the age of seven continue playing into adulthood.
Mr Peace, a 45-year-old landscape gardener who has played full back for Old Brentwoods for the past 15 years, aims to keep people enjoying rugby at the club from the age of six to 46.
He said: "It's a wonderful team game and the social side is completely different to any other sport.
"It's one of those sports where you develop into a team and you cannot function unless everyone on the pitch is doing their job, so you really become a close group.
"Most importantly, I've just had the greatest fun with it over the years.
"I do, however, believe strongly in the core values of rugby – there are five of them, namely teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship.
"These will be key to the youth section here as they will help all our players develop into responsible young adults."
Up to the U8 team (ages seven or eight), the game is non-contact and uses a tag system, from under nine onwards more physical aspects of the game like tackling and scrums are introduced.
Other differences are that children play on a smaller pitch with less players per team and up until U12 (aged 11 or 12) mixed-sex teams are allowed to play.
Mr Peace added: "Rugby is more than a sport, it is an opportunity.
"An opportunity to develop, not only as a player but as a person, to socialise, to travel, to meet and to feel confident about yourself, to be part of a team where everyone counts and makes a difference, rugby is a game where everyone in the team is integral to that team."
Old Brentwood has Criminal Records Bureau-checked officials and separate changing rooms for boys and girls.
The open day, which will give parents and children the opportunity to check out the club's facilities, chat with officials and join in fun activities, will run from 11am until 1.30pm.
For more information, call 01277 374 070 or email simonpeace@obrfc.org