THE Bumble Bees, Bradford & Bingley's mixed ability rugby union team, play the first match of a very important year today.

They face Baildon and Skipton in a mini-tournament at Jenny Lane (1pm) in what will be their initial outing of an eight-month period that will climax with the second International Mixed Ability Rugby World Tournament (IMART) in Spain.

The Bumbles, who are a team with learning disabilities, were formed in 2009 at the behest of college student Anthony Brooke, who wanted to play rugby but was not satisfied with the tag or touch forms of the sport.

He wanted the full-contact version and from that little acorn, with support from Rugby Football Union regional development officer Hamish Pratt and Bradford & Bingley RUFC's then chairman Peter Harrison, the Bumbles – who now have RFU backing – are well on the way to becoming a mighty oak.

Yet it is not just the Bumbles who have grown in those eight years. They have helped to spread the word about mixed ability rugby via their Inclusion in Rugby classes, aided by International Mixed Ability Sports (IMAS), so that other clubs in England have taken up the baton.

Dan Cookson, who both plays for and coaches the Bumbles, said: "Five teams from England are going to Spain to play in the World Tournament and we helped to set up three of them – Halifax Magpies, Letchworth Bravehearts and, from Worcester, Winnie's Warriors."

The ones who escaped the helping hand of the Bumbles are Shropshire Stags.

Other countries who will be entering teams for the tournament in the Basque capital Vitoria-Gasteiz are Wales (via Llanelli Warriors), Scotland (The Clan) and Ireland (Sunday Wells Rebels).

All three clubs are old foes of the Bumbles, with the Irish defeating them 26-19 in a thrilling final at the inaugural World Tournament at Bradford & Bingley in August 2015.

Cookson said: "Another ten minutes and I think we would have won. But what happens off the field is just as important as what happens on it – to see the players develop socially."

Now the fund-raising starts for Spain, with Cookson adding: "We have accommodation pencilled in over there for 30 players but there may be additional accommodation needed for some extra players."

The Bumble Bees, who have won national recognition via an England Rugby Club Accreditation award, are now a registered charity and have new trustees in Bradford & Bingley RUFC immediate past president Roger Carrington and Hayley Collis, wife of long-serving Bumbles player Andy. They will be at the heart of the fund-raising effort for Spain.

But while spreading the gospel is vital, Cookson is only too aware that there is work to be done nearer to home.

He said: "When the team first started, there were only two or three players, but now we have 44 players registered and we had 15 or 16 down at our last training session who will form the bulk of the side for today's tournament.

"We also want the Bumbles to be seen as much a regular part of the club as the first team, second team or third team.

"Bradford & Bingley Rugby Club are proud of us but we need to be playing more regularly, particularly at home.

"We realise that some months we might only be playing once but ideally some other months we might be playing three times.

"We are still getting new people involved in the team – such as Cameron Smith, who scored a try on his debut last Wednesday against the Yorkshire Referees' Society."

Also bagging tries in the 41-38 defeat against the referees were Lee Hainsworth, Ahsan Sakandar, Leon Taylor, Stephen 'Rhino' Rhodes and Darrel Wilson, with Rhodes (2), Taylor and Hainsworth landing conversions.

On the mark with tries for the whistlers were Owen Taylor (2), who was in the dock for jug avoidance by putting a potential hat-trick effort on the five-metre line, Hanson Haigh, Michael Hurdley, Nick Leadbeater, Sam Hunter and Dan Woods.

The referees, who are sending a team out to Vitoria-Gasteiz as well, have also made a significant contribution to the second Mixed Ability Rugby guide via Mike Dickinson and Steve Richings, which is due out this month.