The club that wouldn't die are celebrating as St Brendan's mark 80 years of rugby in Bristol

St Brendan's Old Boys celebrate their 80th anniversary this year but the club's very existence was in doubt in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Rated as one of six best clubs in Bristol 30 years ago, when they even played matches against an International XV and a South West XV, Brendan's went from having four to five regular teams to just 12 players on their books.

The club had fallen on hard times. Players who retired were not replaced and funds were not invested in their clubhouse or changing rooms.

Brendan's called emergency general meetings three-times and each time voted against folding.

Chairman Chris Groves said: "It means an awful lot to the club to have reached this particular goal. We are in such a good position financially and we have a lot to be thankful for in the throughput of players and coaches.

"The numbers have gone up dramatically over the last five years but 15 – 20 years ago we had a blip with finances and we had players, in fact a whole mini & junior section, going off to different clubs.

"The last 20 years, particularly the last 15 years, have been a struggle. To get to this point now and have 80 years of St Brendan's Old Boys looking at perhaps promotion, having formed a second team, which is the first time we've done this in 10 years, the prospects look very good."

But things were not so rosy 15 years ago and the club's president Mike Rafter, the former Bristol, Gloucestershire and England flanker, believes the resurrection is down to two individuals, Groves and secretary Richard Kolanko.

Rafter said: "St Brendan's were turning up with these two guys (Groves and Kolanko) at the forefront of 12 or 13 men to fulfil a fixture and they kept going.

"Instead of just packing it in or throwing in the towel they persevered, borrowed players from the opposition for matches. They just went from game to game.

"Lesser individuals would have turned their back on it and walked away. Thankfully for the club, Richard and Chris persevered and kept chivvying people along. We're now celebrating 80 years, which we wouldn't have even thought of."

But, while the club has languished in the bottom Gloucestershire division for most of the time following the introduction of leagues in 1987, Brendan's youth set-up is one of the best in the area.

The juniors, re-established by Kolanko 16 years ago, boast more than 300 children, who actually attend church in their maroon and gold hooped shirts before playing rugby later on a Sunday.

The club have seen Anthony Kolanko, Dan Ford, James Honeyfield, Andrew Swann, Simon Chilcott – the original batch to play for the juniors – come through and bolster the senior ranks.

On March 29, the club's Peter Pullin tournament will be staged with more than 1,000 players aged from seven to 12, and spectators set to converge on the University of Bristol's sport complex at Coombe Dingle.

Brendan's started life in Coombe Dingle, before a spell in Whitchurch and then many years in Filton. Nowadays, the club uses the Dirty Duck pub in Westbury-on-Trym as a clubhouse and rent pitches from the University.

Rather than owning a ground, Groves and Kolanko can see the benefit of paying to play in Coombe Dingle. Kolanko said: "I was bar manager for the last few years at Filton and every week I'd make two trips to Makro.

"When we decided to go for bottled beer I was always on the look out for special offers so we could maximise our profit.

"Once we got away from the barrelled beer, profits turned around quite rapidly. We had a standing order of around £400 that had to be paid every month – not just through the rugby season – for gas, electric and water.

"You had to turn over a hell of a lot to get that profit. The 35 players on Saturdays might have one drink and that would be it but on the Sunday that was where most of the money was coming from.

"We kept subs to a minimum. It would be nice to run your own bar and have catering but it is a great relief to me not having to run the bar, make sure there is sufficient drink and also a sufficient float behind the bar."

Groves added: "There's nothing like having your own clubhouse but clubs rely on the same people to look after the place, to run it and do all the necessary behind the scene work. Moving to Coombe Dingle allowed us to concentrate on the rugby and get the throughput of players.

"We are very lucky, we haven't just gone in and relied on paying rent we are part of fantastic facility. It has everything there for the club.

"It is also about how we are perceived in the area and this is the catchment area we want to be in. It's right in the centre of where families are and where the club is going to do best."