Club Spotlight
Andover Get Active
Andover’s first ‘Get Active’ Sports Fair held in Vigo Road Park and the Guildhall saw demonstrations and taster sessions of rugby and the RFU’s mobile exhibition unit forming the basis of Andover Rugby Club’s stand.
Rugby activities included an inflatable bungee run and kicking cage. Members of the club’s Youth Academy were trained by London Irish Community Coach, Ben Thurlow, and the club’s senior players staged a demonstration tag match, inviting youngsters to get involved, with the match finishing with teams of nearly 30-a-side. BBC Sports presenter Mike Bushell was seen trying to launch himself down the RFU’s bungee run for the BBC Breakfast cameras.
Darlington Building Girls’ Tournament
Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club recently attracted a record number of teams for their North East Girls’ 7s rugby tournament. Teams from Mowden Park, Morpeth, Percy Park, Tynedale, Cockermouth, Workington and Carlisle competed in the tournament which, for the third successive year, was sponsored by Darlington Building Society.
Chris Webb, Manager of Mowden Park girls’ teams and organiser of the tournament said, “All the girls displayed remarkable tenacity and skill, providing some very entertaining rugby for the crowd of spectators. It was a hugely enjoyable day. I was delighted that Mowden girls won the cup, beating Tynedale in a hard-fought final and that one of our players, Rosie Fong, was named player of the tournament. The Plate was won by Percy Park and Cockermouth girls were awarded the Fair Play Trophy.”
David Copland, Marketing and Communications Manager at Darlington Building Society said, “The Society appreciates the importance of grass roots sport in the region. The standard of rugby at the 7s tournament was very high and we are very pleased to be associated with the development of girls’ rugby.”
Old Elthamians Cup Runs Over
Following a very successful Easter tour to Biarritz, Old Elthamians U18s embarked on their last competitive games at Sheppy RFC in the Kent Rugby 7s.
The boys, defending the cup they won last year, secured a couple of good wins against Westcombe Park and Beckenham before progressing into a semi-final with Sittingbourne.
After a close call of 14-12, they met a sporting Canterbury side in the final who defeated Beckenham on the toss of a coin after a 12-12 draw in the other semi. OEs dominated the final to lift the cup for the fifth time in six years.
The cup was presented to Old Elthamians captain Jack Berry by Kent Junior Rugby Chairman David Clent. Coach Ian Johns and his staff Jeremy Smith and Gerry Ronan cracked open the Champagne for the last time to bring the curtain down on a successful six years of junior rugby with the boys.
53 Beers
The Annual Peterborough Rugby Beer Festival went down a treat recently. With 53 different beers on offer and a complete programme of rugby matches and live music from local bands, the real ale drinkers made their way through over 3,500 pints.
The event was sponsored by Peterborough’s local radio station 106.8 Lite FM, Oakham Ales and printing.com and funds raised went to the Royal National Institute of the Blind.
GIRL POWER
When Old Northamptonians Under 9s arrived at Twickenham for the finals day of theGullivers Sports Travel competition, they were the only team with a girl playing.
Jasmine Boatswain of Northampton plays in the front row for the ONs Under 9s, lining up with James Grayson, son of England and Northampton star Paul Grayson. She took up rugby this season but has already proved herself to her fellow players. William Robins, the ONs Under 9s’ scrum half, says, “Jasmine is definitely one of our better players. She is very strong and brave. I wouldn’t like to be tackled by her!”
Rod Boatswain, Jasmine’s dad, says, “She has loved rugby since she started playing. I am proud of her enthusiasm and playing at Twickenham is just desserts for a long, hard and productive season.”
Kevin McGovern, head coach of the Under 9s, adds, “Jasmine has played with a lot of commitment this season. I am grateful to our sponsors, Hoar Marshall, for providing us with the backing to go to Twickenham and Jasmine’s development is testament to the ONs’ policy of encouraging all to play.”
Seamus Hoar, a Director with Hoar Marshall, legal headhunters, says, “Our focus on excellence is in line with the approach the ONs Under 9s have taken this season. We are delighted to be their official sponsor.”
Pictured from left to right are: Dominic McGovern, Jasmine Boatswain, Dieter Cabassi-Kempa.
Captain Sam
By Julia Hutton, RFU South West Press Officer
For most youngsters, rugby is second nature but 11-year-old Sam Wishart, from Frome RFC has overcome a massive hurdle to play. Sam may have Cone-Dystrophy, a very rare condition which impacts on his sight in a number of ways, but he is now playing contact rugby, captaining Frome Under 11s and winning awards.
The youngster from Bradford on Avon has impressed friends and family with his ability and determination. Quite an achievement considering he has photophobia which means he has to wear dark glasses or goggles to play rugby. He also has nystagmus which means that his eyes shake and he can see no colour at all. Looking towards a source of light reduces his vision further and it is only very dark tinted contact lenses which make actually playing rugby less painful.
Andy Wishart, Sam’s father, said, “Sam used to pull blankets over his face and became distressed in daylight as a baby. His eyes began to shake at about two months old. We did the rounds of medical expertise to unravel his condition and we now have an idea of his condition but we can’t claim to know exactly what he sees.”
Sam started playing rugby in the garden at home with his dad and his elder brother Tom. His first introduction to rugby tuition was with Paul Lovatt, the schools’ liaison officer at Frome RFC, first at Rode Primary and then at Freshford CE Primary.
Andy added: “We were certainly nervous about Sam playing full contact rugby. When his big brother Tom joined Frome RFC Under 11s, we spent many Sundays on the touchline practising passing with Sam, and were very impressed by the quality and the spirit of the coaching provided by the club.”
Sam started training with the Under 10s and it was only weeks before he was playing for the team. This year, as an Under 11s player, Sam has been elected team captain by the squad and the boys are going from strength to strength with the most recent highlight winning the Shield at the Hayle Mini Rugby tournament in Cornwall.
Said Andy, “The encouragement and skill of the coaches at Frome RFC cannot be overestimated and the care and passion that they have shown in supporting Sam’s ambition to play competitive rugby has been outstanding. We can’t thank them enough, especially Under 10s coach Trish Withey, who has been a rock in her support for Sam over the last two seasons.”
Touchline is delighted to award the magnum of Bollinger Champagne to Sam’s coach, Trish Withey, for her care of him over the past two years. Congratulations Trish - enjoy the bubbly!
Crawley fat boys
The Crawley RFC ‘Fatboy Sevens’ tournament is aimed at the older, less athletic players. Points are deducted for teams fielding players under 35 and tipping the scales at less than 16 stone, those with more years under their belts and more pounds gain extra points. Fancy dress helps to reduce handicaps imposed on the lighter teams.
The event has been running since 2004 to raise funds for the charity CHASE and this year 28 teams took part, with some great comedy moments from weigh in to elimination.
There were a couple of serious entries, two of them contesting the final played using a giant sized ball. The winners were “Pentasia (Living the Dream) Seven”. The way to the finals saw the genuine Fatboys start with 50 points against the likes of “Transvestites R US” and “Eamon’s LadyLads” but one large side threw their semi-final and let the LadyLads in to take the Jug, the draw of the bar outshining dreams of becoming rugby legends
An “Inflatable Fatty” in Sumo suit had a brave 75 metre run to the posts after his suit was ripped off, leaving only a leopard skin thong protecting his dignity and the opposition refusing to tackle him. Bribes were openly accepted all day from teams wishing to lower their handicaps. Sutton Hags took their negative disadvantage into a winning place with a small bribe of £2,500 to which opponents FatsCray were unable to respond.
Two hog roasts were devoured and a charity auction ended the day with some great items donated by BurgessWilliams, GB Airways, Monarch Airways, London Wasps, Legal & General, Brighton & Hove Albion and many others. Well in excess of £6,000 was handed to CHASE and thanks went to the lads of Sutton for their pre-event fundraising.
Madam President
Members of Newark Rugby Club have elected their first woman president in Mrs Jacki Hunter as part of a new committee structure at the club. Mrs Hunter was appointed alongside another first for the club in the election of a chairman to run the executive committee in Mr Chris Waddington. Five years ago, she was made the first woman life member while continuing to be the assistant secretary.
The election of a woman president is still rare in rugby clubs and Newark Vice president Peter Spawton revealed how women members had struggled for recognition in the first half of the club’s 89-year existence. “It is amazing how the club has developed and progressed in the 53 years since I first became a member. It is particularly pleasing to note how much of a contribution the ladies make to the organisation. When I first joined they were not even allowed into the clubroom on a training evening.”
Now there is a senior women’s XV and an increasing number of girls playing in the younger age groups, while Claire Hodnett has become a senior referee and has recently officiated at U19 women’s internationals. Mrs Hunter follows her late husband, Ken, in taking on the presidency. A member of the club for more than 40 years, she was previously the bar chairman and in charge of catering. The Hunters’ biggest contribution to the club was overseeing the improvements to the Kelham Road clubhouse in the mid-1980s, the extension being named Hunters’ Hobby.
Club members heard at the annual meeting that work on new floodlights, costing some £40,000, for the 1st XV pitch had started and should be fully installed by September. The club is contributing 50% of the cost having gained a grant from the Rugby Football Union’s community fund.
Monsoon Sevens
The second Ledbury RFC charity 7s was a great success despite monsoon conditions, with a somewhat damp RFU President, Bob Rogers, there to present the awards. With the £5,000 first prize attracting teams of full time professional players from England and Wales, all games were eagerly contested. There was also a women’s competition.
The main competition brought semi-finals of The Public School Wanderers v the Army and Bridgend v Hartpury. The Wanders, with players from the Welsh regional sides of The Ospreys and The Blues, won through, with Bridgend gaining victory over Hartpury. The Wanders won 36-12, with the plate won 15-12 by Apache versus Ledbury. The women’s competition was won by Clifton.
FIRST FOR CAMP HILL WOMEN
By Paul Bolton
Camp Hill’s women recently became the first female side to be voted Club of the Year by the Greater Birmingham RFU.
Camp Hill’s award, presented at Greater Birmingham’s recent annual dinner at the Eaton Hotel in Edgbaston, was recognition of their achievement in winning promotion to the Rugby Football Union for Women’s Championship North 1 for the first time by winning Midlands One for three years running and losing only one game in the process. Other Greater Birmingham certificates of achievement were presented to Lordswood Dixonians for winning promotion to Midlands Three West (North) and to Solihull for winning the North Midlands Cup for the first time.
Tewkesbury Comes to Bridgewater
Bridgwater & Albion RFC have appointed Mike Tewkesbury Director of Rugby/Head Coach for the coming season. Currently Director of Rugby at UL Bohemian RFC, Limerick, Mike has had a successful coaching career with the Irish club and before that with Bracknell RFC and Reading RFC. A former player at Loughborough College, London Irish and Middlesex, Mike has also coached the London Irish 1st XV and at the New Zealand Rugby Academy.
Sevens Success
By Tony Simpson
Castleford RUFC U13s
Castleford RUFC Under 13 Sevens provided not only another triumph for the host club, but also a major success for all concerned, including their guests from Lock Lane ARL club, who adapted impressively to reach the final. The high standard of play was maintained throughout by other teams from Wetherby, Wath, Barnsley and Huddersfield to ensure that this inaugural event will be back on the agenda.
Middlesbrough Make It
A tired but happy Boro at Sheffield Tigers the day they knew that promotion was all but theirs. There were still more league games to go but the points difference was such that they couldn’t be caught - and they were not, remaining unbeaten right until the end of the season.
Cranleigh set new World Record for Harry
Cranleigh’s youth teams set two new Guinness World Records for tackling at this season’s Harry Watts Cha11enge Festival. The club’s U13s had set the record of making 1,979 tackles in an hour in February 2005 but the mark was passed twice at the Wildwood Lane ground recently.
First this year’s U15s eclipsed their own mark with a staggering 2,170 - only to be overtaken by the U14s moments later with a total of 2,280. The record feat raised funds for the Wooden Spoon charity in memory of Harry, an U16 player at the club who died in a car crash in May last year.
His parents Anthony and Marianne Watts challenged the clubs’ mini and junior teams to raise £11,000 for charity in his memory - the figure chosen because of the number 11 worn by the left winger on the field. Harry’s former team-mates and friends rallied round to hit the £11,000 target by Christmas and the money secured has now topped the £30,000 mark. The Festival was followed by a fundraising Big Walk that started on May 19 at Goodwood, where fundraisers covered either 15km or 60km routes, and the Watts family were hoping to announce a final total of around £40,000.
To add a contribution to the fund, please visit www.justgiving.com/harrywattscha11enge. All the money raised is donated to the Wooden Spoon Society, with the funds used to benefit locally disabled or disadvantaged children in carefully selected local projects.
Seghill All Rounder
By Patricia Heard, Seghill Juniors Press Officer
Not only has Craig Embleton, a 16-year-old prop forward, been a stalwart of the Seghill Juniors side this season as a prolific try scorer - including five tries in the last three matches - he has also successfully passed his Level 1 refereeing qualification. On top of this, with fellow Seghill Juniors Adam Glennie, Andy McLean and Nick Heard, he has also completed the RFU Introduction to Coaching course, which was held at Newcastle Falcon’s Kingston Park ground.
Emmerson for Fylde
By Tony Simpson
New Fylde Director of Coaching, Matt Emmerson
Fylde Rugby Club has appointed Matt Emmerson, 35, to the new position of Director of Coaching.
First Team Coaching Co-ordinator at Doncaster and Head Coach at Harrogate RFC, Emmerson played with England Universities, New South Wales Suburbs, Newcastle Falcons and in the Premiership, until 1999, with West Hartlepool. He then switched to coaching, initially as Player/Coach at York RFC and Head Coach at the Northallerton and Billingham clubs. In 2004/5, he joined Valley Rugby Club in the Hong Kong Premiership for a season as Head Coach before becoming Academy Director of Rugby at Doncaster RFC. He became First Team Coaching Co-ordinator in 2006 before joining Harrogate as Head Coach in July 2006. He has a RFU Level Three Coaching qualification.
Emmerson said: “I’m excited to be working alongside the coaches and players of this famous old club. I intend to help it develop to be a centre of excellence relevant to the modern era.”
