FRIENDSHIP and success over 70 seasons will be celebrated at Malvern Rugby Club.

From humble beginnings in July 1934, the club has grown to become a successful community favourite.

To mark the occasion the club is holding a summer fun day for people of all ages at its Spring Lane ground on Saturday, July 2, from 1.20pm to 6pm.

Organiser John Barker said it would bring the 70th season to a fitting close.

"We've had a good season and it's good to finish with something for the community," he said.

Money raised will help pay for additional changing rooms and equipment and large toys for young spectators.

Malvern Rugby Club is an amateur club and supports three or four senior teams, plus the Malvern Angels ladies' team. Its youth development section has 200 members - boys and girls who are coached or play at the club most weekends.

The club was founded when 24 men met at Lyttelton School, now Lyttelton Well, on Wednesday, July 4, 1934. A report of the meeting in the Malvern News records that the annual subscription was 7s 6d, club jerseys would have red and navy hoops and matches would be played at Lower Howsell Road.

In the first season, Malvern played 24 games, winning nine, drawing three and losing 12.

Bill Lock, 89, joined the club in the 1935-36 season. Now its oldest member, he still attends matches.

He recalled the primitive conditions at the club's first ground in Lower Howsell Road, where players got changed at home or on the sidelines and had post-match baths at the Bakery Inn.

The improving standard of rugby is the biggest change he has seen over the years.

"The best thing about the club is the way it mixes play out on the field with the ability to create good feeling at social functions," he said.

On May, 1994, almost 60 years after the founding meeting, the club played at Twickenham in the Rugby Football Union's Junior Cup Final, where they beat Old Hamptonians 8-6.

The club progressed up the leagues, winning the North Midlands Cup in 2002. This season, it finished runner-up in the Midlands West 2 League, winning 18, drawing one and losing three out of 22 matches.

Club member John Barker said: "This is a huge step up, not only in the success rate but in the standard of rugby being played at Malvern."

The club's summer fun day promises a packed programme, including ladies and men's skittles competitions. Teams of four should call Tony Brook on 07885 841553. Young tag rugby players will be giving demonstrations and Malvern Archers are running have-a-go sessions.

A children's mini jeep circuit, Morgan car rides, bouncy castle, fire engine tour, real ale tasting and barbecue are among the other attractions. Admission is £1 adults, 50p children, free for under-sixes.