Issue 6
August 2011
Vice Presidents’ Secretary’s Report
Greetings to all members and I hope you have had a good summer – it was back in April if you can remember that far back!
Since the last Welwynformed back in March 2011, the 1st XV won the Hertfordshire Presidents’ Tankard, the middle tier County Cup Competition. To my knowledge this is the first time that Welwyn 1st XV have won silverware in 15 a side competition and we should be very proud of this achievement after two very difficult seasons. Sadly Heather and I missed the final as we were returning from a trip to Australia to visit Rachel. We just managed to get news of Ben Ofori’s match winning try as we were boarding the plane at Kuala Lumpur! The 3rd XV also had an outstanding season winning both their League and Cup competitions.
As for the coming season, I attended the warm up game against Datchworth on Saturday and was very encouraged by the number of talented young players, some new to the club and some products of the Junior Section. If this standard of play can be continued, we should be in for a most entertaining and successful season. I hope to see as many Vice Presidents on the touch line as possible – the Chairman has included in her report the arrangements for the early games of the season.
Heather has also advised that in an attempt to keep costs down and move into the modern era, paper copies of the Fixture Handbook will only be available to those who specifically ask for them. I will send you an electronic copy in due course but all information is available on the website anyway.
There are a number of improvements to the clubhouse in progress and these need to be financed from our own resources which are traditionally low after a quiet summer. Your early payment of subscriptions would therefore be greatly appreciated as ever. May I remind you that any donations over and above the £30 subscription qualify for Gift Aid which enables the club to claim back a further 28p in the pound. If you have not filled in a Gift Aid form, please do so. All forms for the payment of subscriptions are attached. If you no longer wish to be a member of the club, please let me know and I will amend my records accordingly.
Best wishes for the new season
Mark Elliott
Vice Presidents’ Secretary
07836 728804
President’s Report
The new season is almost upon us; it always seems like a long time since the last season ended but we have a friendly at home to Huntingdon on Sep 3rd and the season proper starts on the 10th with a trip to Imperial Medicals.
It is actually a great relief to me that we are still in London 2NW. Because of the vagaries of promotion and relegation and the fact that here are different numbers of Clubs in London 1 North and London 2NW and NE it transpired that London 2NW had 13 teams and London 2NE only 11 and it looked like it was between ourselves and Stevenage Town to move across. The decision is based on total mileages to the other Clubs and, by my calculations; we were 40 miles less than Stevenage, which meant we would be moving. It came as a great surprise when it was announced that Hampstead were the team to transfer. It would have been quite nice to visit some new clubs but I am sure that no one was relishing trips to Ipswich, Beccles and Lowestoft in the middle of winter!
As it has turned out we welcome Old Haberdashers, Stevenage Town, Fullerians and Tabard into London 2NW and say farewell to Hammersmith and Fulham, London New Zealand, West London and Hampstead.
We have lost a few of our first teamers, Wayne Child is off to Bishop’s Stortford, Richard Stokes to Stevenage Town and Rob James has retired but there are several newcomers including players from Sri Lanka and Dubai (actually the latter is from Birmingham but has been playing for Dubai Exiles)
I am sure that everyone will join me in wishing all the Welwyn teams, Minis, Juniors, Seniors and Girls every success in the coming season; I for one cannot wait for it to start!
Malcolm Tucker
Club President
Chairman’s Report
The season is fast approaching and I am relieved to report that we will still be playing in London NW2 (there was a chance of getting moved across to NE2 as there are too many teams in NW2 but fortunately for us Hampstead were chosen for the level transfer as otherwise we would have been visiting clubs in Beccles, Lowestoft, Canvey Island and various other venues far afield!). Our first three away games are up in London and thereafter the worst journey we have is half an hour away.
There was a friendly fixture against Datchworth on 20th August where several players got the opportunity to play some competitive rugby after weeks of training. Another friendly fixture is scheduled for 3rd September at home against Huntingdon. Our first league match is away at Grasshoppers on 10th September and make sure you book your place for the first pre match lunch before our game at home against Stevenage Town RFC. Please contact me at or on 01707 324617 if you would like to attend this lunch (lunches will be £10 for two courses as last season). There will not be a lunch before every home game this season, so other dates to note in your diary are:
Saturday 1st October 2011
Saturday 12th November 2011
Saturday 7th January 2011
Saturday 28th January 2012
Saturday 18th February 2012
Saturday 10th March 2012
Saturday 31st March 2012 (VPs’ lunch).
We have spent a lot of money on the pitches and they are looking in good shape for the coming season. Thanks to Pies for grappling with the watering system during the dry spell that we had earlier in the year and for giving the newly sown grass seed a fighting chance!
In order to cut down on costs, we have produced an electronic version of the handbook this season and this will be issued in the near future. All the information can also be found on our website (www.welwynrugby.co.uk) - many thanks to Gary Peterkin for the hard work that he put in to creating this new website.
I had hoped to have work done to the ceiling in the clubhouse and new LED lights installed before the season started but unfortunately the recent heavy rain has revealed some leaks in the roof so these works will have to wait until the roof is repaired before they can take place. Our large TV finally blew its last fuse but I am pleased to announce that we have two new 60” flat screen TVs in the club together with a smaller 42” TV and an even smaller 15” TV to go behind the bar so that the bar staff can get to watch the internationals/World Cup games instead of seeing everyone else’s backs! Sincere thanks to Brian Thomas who donated £750 from his beard shaving exploits towards one of the large TVs and to Kevin Smith for brokering such a fantastic deal on the rest of the equipment (including recessed speakers and a new cordless microphone system). Thanks again to Gary Peterkin and Rod Faircloth for getting all the new equipment installed and working! We intend to use the smaller 42” TV for club announcements and sponsorship.
The club will be showing the following World Cup matches:
Saturday 10th September / 9.30am / Argentina v EnglandSunday 11th September / 9.30am / South Africa v Wales
Sunday 18th September / 7.00am / England v Georgia
Saturday 24th September / 7.00am / England v Romania
Saturday 1st October / 8.30am / England v Scotland
Saturday 8th October / 6.00am / Winner Pool C v Runner up Pool D
Saturday 8th October / 8.30am / Winner Pool B v Runner up Pool A
Sunday 9th October / 6.00am / Winner Pool D v Runner up Pool C
Sunday 9th October / 8.30am / Winner Pool A v Runner up Pool B
Saturday 15th October / 9.00am / Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
Sunday 16th October / 9.00am / Winner QF3 v Winner QF4
Sunday 23rd October / 9.00am / World Cup Final
Bacon rolls will be on sale before the matches and at half time and the bar will, of course, be open. Thanks in advance to all the volunteers who are helping make this possible.
Bank Holiday Saturday (27th August) sees the club host a Caribbean Extravaganza organised by Oli and Ian Davies. Entry is £10 for adults and free for children and entertainment comes from the Carlos Y Salsa Viva band who are internationally famous and have played at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Bar and at Glastonbury. This is your chance to try your hand at salsa and to sample a range of Afro-Cuban food and drinks. There is entertainment including a bouncy castle for kids as well. The event starts at 2.00pm and continues until 9.30pm so please come and support the club if you can.
When funds allow, future projects for the club include essential works to the roof, the removal of the old calorifier in the cleaner’s room and the plumbing in of a new one in the boiler room and relaying of the car park which is deteriorating at a rapid rate.
The physiotherapist practice that used to utilise the first aid room during daytime hours have left but we are pleased to welcome The Osteopathic Rehabilitation Centre Welwyn Garden City to the club who have refurbished the room and who will be open for business in the next couple of weeks (Tel 01707 327135 Email , Website www.welwyn-osteopaths.co.uk).
For those of you who were not aware, Jim Dale passed away in July and a few club members made the trip down to Hampshire for his funeral. Jim played his last game of rugby for Welwyn when he was 74 years old before he retired down to his family home near Petersfield.
I hope that you have all summered well and that you are looking forward to an exciting season of rugby both at Handside Playing Fields and on the TV! I look forward to seeing you on the touchline during the season.
Heather Elliott
Chairman
07870 414975
New Website
Gary Peterkin is to be thanked for the enormous amount of work he has put into the new website, which I’m sure you will agree is a great improvement. By simply visiting the site at www.welwynrugby.co.uk and registering your e-mail address you can be automatically informed on club news and events, weekly match reports, comment on club forums and even post your own photos and contributions - simply click member sign up and follow the instructions to become part of the Welwyn RFC web community!!
Girls’ Section
The success of our Girls’ Section over the last few seasons has been recognized at international level. The England Women’s U20 team which played South Africa in July is listed below and all players highlighted in red have played for Welwyn RFC. Congratulations to them all and to their various coaches over the years.
England Women's U20
15 Rachel Roberts (Gloucester Reds, Gloucestershire, North)
14 Georgia Peedle (Worcester, Hertfordshire, London & SE)
13 Amy Wilson Hardy (Bristol, Sussex, South West)
12 Natasha Jones (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)
11 Lucy Demaine (Bristol, Devon, South West)
10 Emily Scott (Thurrock, Essex, London & South East),
9 Charlotte Keane (Worcester, South West)
1 Millie Fuggles (Old Albanian Saints, Leicestershire, Midlands),
2 Charlotte Notman (Newquay Hornets (Queen Bees), Cornwall, South West),
3 Sarah George (Bristol, Devon, South West)
4 Ellie Gatlin (Rochford Hundred, Essex, London & South East),
5 Abbie Scott (Keswick, Cumbria,North)
6 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens, Hertfordshire, London & South East)
7 Megan Oaten (Thornbury, Dorset & Wilts, South West)
8 Poppy Cleall (Bristol, Hampshire, South West)
Replacements:
16 Geri Thomas (Old Albanian Saints, Hertfordshire, London & SE),
17 Mica Evans (Exeter Saracens, Devon, South West),
18 Harriet Mills (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)
19 Alex Matthews (London Irish, Surrey, London & SE)
20 Fiona Davidson (Richmond, Surrey, London & South East),
21 Amber Reed (Bristol, Somerset/Devon, South West),
22 Rebecca Hughes (Bristol, Somerset, South West),
Welwyn Under 17s – 2010-11 - a season to be proud of
For the coaches of the Welwyn under 17s, the highlight of the season was not winning division two unbeaten on the back of promotion from division three. Nor was it beating the winners of division one. It wasn’t the B squad coming second in division four having started the season in division five. It wasn’t giving all 30 tourists equal playing time in the win over the Portuguese national champions. Nor was it narrowly losing to the impressive Portugal national side. The major success was getting 49 registered boys turning out to play in two squads every Sunday and keeping boys participating in rugby at an age when they normally drop out and when other clubs have folded.
The season, as touched on above, was a great success. The B team came second in the Herts Middlesex division 4, winning 7 out of their 8 league games as well beating a number of the areas A teams. The B team selection policy is one of “inclusivity” where all of the boys get to enjoy an equal amount of game time. This clearly has it pros and cons, however the coaches believe that this was one of the reasons that so many of the players have continued to be committed to the game.