Club Spotlight
Southend Awards 50 Years Ties
Neil Harding, Chairman
50 year members with Southend President, Dick Collie
At their lunch before the DINGS CRUSADERS National League 2 match four more Southend members received special ties, joining the existing 46 club stalwarts, with another half a dozen members reaching the milestone shortly Jeremy Harding, Colin Craiggy, David Dilley and Tim Quinlan celebrated their award with seven members of the side who beat Old Westcliffians 5-0 on the 14th November 1959 and longest serving member Dai Gash.
Feltham fighting back from fire damage
Hugh Godwin
Feltham Rugby Club are appealing for help as they attempt to “come back stronger” from a run of bad luck off the field which is in contrast to the good season their 1st XV is enjoying in the Middlesex Merit Tables. Feltham run two regular XVs and an occasional veterans’ team, but their happy existence at Hanworth Air Park a couple of miles down the road from Twickenham Stadium has been disrupted twice in recent months. In August the changing rooms they rented from Hounslow Council were gutted by fire after they were ram-raided by joyriders and set alight. Having borrowed a portable changing room to keep on playing, Feltham then had their clubhouse attacked by arsonists, who set a fire in the kitchen which damaged fixtures, fittings and club memorabilia. “We are appealing from help from anyone locally who would like to support the club, whether financially or by donating replacement memorabilia such as plaques and ties,” said Frank Parslow, the Feltham RFC president. “The clubhouse has been our home for more than 30 years, and in our previous guise as Old Twickenhamians we go back to the 1940s. We believe the structure of the clubhouse is sound but there is heat and smoke damage, and we are still working through to see how much can be salvaged. It destroyed a lot of stuff including old photos and those are history and memories we will never get back. The insurance claim on Feltham’s clubhouse is progressing and Parslow expects the various renovations to take around six months. “There is no power in the building because there was damage to the wiring, so the Royal Naval Club around the corner have kindly allowed us to use their bar and kitchen. And Hanworth Villa Football Club are kindly loaning us use of showers while we wait for electricity to be supplied to our temporary changing rooms. The worry is that we might lose some players when, rugby-wise, we are actually having a good season, with the firsts currently second in their division.” But Parslow promised: “We’re slowly sorting ourselves out and we’ll come out the other side and be stronger for it. Any help our fellow clubs or rugby supporters can offer will be gratefully accepted.” For more on Feltham RFC and how to help, contact Frank Parslow, frank.parslow@onetel.net
High Aspirations at Stourbridge
Dave Garratt, Press Officer, Stourbridge RFC
Stourbridge Ladies, occupying top spot in West Midlands League 2 at the time of writing, had a terrific start to the season with four wins out of four; no mean achievement with their first game was as recently as February 2008 and in only their second season of league rugby. Recruitment began in the autumn of 2007, the job falling to Stourbridge regulars Hannah Walker, Vicki Waterfield and Bill Webb. By December 2007 they had just six registered players but by the close season this figure had risen to an impressive 30. Coaching and mentoring duties were performed by Bill Webb, Colin Harris, Chris Rowbottom, Rich Ellis and Mike Aimes. Sunday 24th February 2008 saw the first ever game for a senior ladies side at Stourbridge. A large and enthusiastic Stourton Park crowd saw them run in five tries to record a 25-0 victory over local rivals Dudley Kingswinford. The Ladies have never looked back. Could they already have a place in the record books? Steph Waterfield was a founder member of Stourbridge Ladies and has played in several matches including the DK game in February. At 65 years young she is the oldest registered member of the squad. By the end of their first season they had played five friendlies, recording three wins and a draw, gained RFUW affiliation, and been accepted into National Challenge West Midlands League 2 for the 2008-09 season. The first league season proved a tough and physical awakening but the team stayed strong, with captain Katie Yeats leading the way. Katie won the inaugural Player of the Season Award as captain and top try scorer. With excellent support from the coaching staff The Ladies finished fourth, truly establishing themselves in the league system. This season, under captain Helen Simmonds, and with a coaching staff of Bill Webb, Colin Harris and Mick Aimes, they got off to a flying start and are hoping to offer a serious promotion challenge. Manager Vicky Waterfield says, “We have an enthusiastic group of players and are always looking for new recruits. We are fully involved in Regional County Rugby with five players having represented North Midlands”. From those first tentative steps the future of ladies rugby looks to be in safe hands at Stourbridge, with high aspirations for the future.
Stocksbridge Strip for Funds
Stocksbridge Rugby Club, playing in Yorkshire 5 North, have joined the goose-pimpled band stripping off in a fund raising 2010 Calendar. They are aiming to raise £40,000 to add to the support from the RFU to build new changing rooms. This will replace the current building – parts of which were originally bits of Bolsterstone Castle and date from 1291! They are also involved with the BBC ‘Tree O’Clock’ World Record attempt to plant over 1 million trees all over Britain in an hour on 5th December. Sponsored by the Woodland Trust and the Sheffield City Council Community Forestry Service, they were planting 500 saplings around their new pitches in the first phase of a long-term ecological plan for the area. They’ll make a windbreak and help with the drainage and Stocksbridge’s bid to be a carbon-neutral club.
Saracens Amateurs re-lighting the fire
Hugh Godwin
The inauguration of Saracens Amateurs’ floodlights at their Bramley Road ground is the latest step in the club’s revitalisation. The professional Saracens sent their 2nd XV, the Storm, for a match against Northampton under the £45,000 new lights, funded jointly by the RFU, Sport England, the local London Borough of Enfield and the amateur club. Senior amateur rugby at Bramley Road had “effectively evaporated” after the sport went open in 1995, according to Colin Veitch, Saracens Amateurs’ Director of Coaching. “The new professional squad took over the clubhouse, leaving the amateur community section of the club to run its junior and women’s sections on a Sunday,” said Veitch. “The preservation of the 120-plus years of amateur men’s rugby at Saracens was left in the hands of the Saracens Scimitars, our veterans’ side, who continued to play friendlies.” Eventually the professionals moved out but the Saracens Amateurs kept a foot in the door at Bramley Road. Veitch’s Under 18s had a successful tour of Australia in 2002, drawing support from the club committee to form a Colts U19 side. The Scimitars entered the Merit Table structure giving a pathway for young players and Saracens Amateurs joined Herts/Middlesex 3 in 2005-06, winning the league at the first attempt. They won Herts/Middlesex 2 the following season and the club now feels ready to gain promotion from Herts/Middlesex 1 after two seasons of near-misses. The Bramley Road bar has been spruced up and an annual ’Saracens Reunited’ 10s Tournament allows former junior players to team up with their old age group team mates, tying in with the RFU’s Play On campaign. “This has really helped us retain contacts with our players who return to play post-gap years or studies at college,” said Veitch. “Our U19 Colts provide an excellent bridge for our emerging Juniors, strengthened by our partnership with Southgate College’s ’Centre of Rugby Excellence’ programme. We have delighted many of our loyal club members by activating famous old Saracens team names from the past – both the Saracens 2nd XV ’Crusaders’ and the 3rd XV ’Infidels’ are fielding teams every weekend and we have established a strong coaching and support staff line up.” With Saracens professionals’ Chief Executive Edward Griffiths hinting at more 2nd XV matches and chairman Nigel Wray among a crowd of several hundred watching the Storm v Northampton match, close links seem assured in the future.
