SIX months after a gas explosion tore through their building causing devastation, members of Chelmsford Rugby Club gathered together to officially reopen their clubhouse.
The incident in March this year, which occurred when a gas cylinder malfunctioned in the club's kitchen, left the clubhouse in Timsons Lane in ruins and its members lucky to be alive.
But after a £200,000 refurbishment, completed just in time for the new rugby season, the building was reopened at a ceremony on Saturday by former England woman's rugby captain Catherine Spencer.
Club president Andy Green, one of 40 lunch guests evacuated from the building after the incident, said: "That explosion did a hell of a lot of damage; it shook the foundations of this building shattering windows, and causing cracks in the walls. The bar and kitchen were completely unusable."
The incident had left chef Alan Thornton, who had been cooking meals for the vice-president's lunch, suffering from burns and facial injuries after he was forced to crawl to safety in semi-consciousness.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and, complete with thermal-imaging cameras, spent nearly an hour cooling the three cylinders in the kitchen.
"It's just lucky nobody was more seriously injured. We had played the last game of the season when it happened but we had to be ready for the start of the new one, so there was a difficult deadline to meet. We managed it just in time," said Andy.
"I've only been to the club once before just after the explosion and to see it now it's clear they must have had to work really hard," said women's rugby star Catherine, who has 64 England caps.
"It seems like a really nice club, so it's great to be asked here today."
With a quick cut of the ribbon alongside long-serving member Robin Smylie the launch was official – the third re-opening of the building in just five years after the construction of the building in 2008, and a further extension in 2010.
Kicking off the new season with a friendly against Tabard rugby club, the Chelmsford Ladies first team took to the pitch in front of their brand new clubhouse in the afternoon.
Player Ali Ewers said: "We know how hard people have been working over the summer to get the building finished. It's great."
