Wales Rugby League have been awarded a Community Appreciation Award for their work leading up to the recent Wales v Ireland fixture at The Gnoll in Neath.

The award, that was presented by Edwina Hart, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science, was given to celebrate Wales Rugby League being a Bridgend Community Business Timebanking Champion.

Timebanking is a unique scheme which rewards volunteer work in the community, where a volunteer can collect time credits which can be exchanged for rewards. Wales Rugby League have established an ongoing working partnership with “Creation”, a charity who are dedicated to building a better future through entertainment, education and enterprise, and volunteers of that charity were able to exchange time credits for tickets to the Wales v Ireland international, which boosted the crowd by over 400.

Mark Jones, Wales Rugby League’s National Development Manager said: “Wales Rugby League are delighted to be involved with Creation and their work in the community, we understand the benefits of a strong community ethos and will continue to grow the community game in Wales. The Wales v Ireland match was a great spectacle and I would like to thank all the volunteers who attended, as well as the community Irish dancers who brought a little bit of Ireland to the proceedings.”

Wales Rugby League will continue to support this excellent scheme.