Dear Club Members and families

It’s been a difficult 2 years for all of us, including playing and watching the sport we love. Thankfully, we are now coming out of the pandemic and slowly returning to a ‘new normal’.

As we go into summer l am very positive about the 22/23 season (our 144th) and I believe this is felt across the entire Club. With the Ayres Fest returning shortly this weekend (7 teams lined up and 800+ players, members and visitors expected to attend), the Bournemouth 7’s 25/26 June, Summer Ball on 2 July and training resuming on 5 July, it’s going to be a great way to end the season and look to the new.

A quick look at the season just gone… Luckily, in September we were ‘in between’ lockdowns. The Ayres Fest was fantastic, helped by the glorious weather and we also had great weather for the first few 1st, 2nd XV and the Ladies games, with great support from the side lines (and outside bar!)! We then had a tough time again over Christmas with Covid and games being cancelled, but the season finished a with some great results in the last few weeks and some brilliant post-match evenings (including karaoke!) and lunches during the season. The recent Players Dinner, Ladies Awards Dinner and End of Season Reunion Dinner, with guest speaker English International and British Lion (and good Loughton boy) Jeff Probyn, were great fun.

On the playing side, the season provided a mix of results, with a number of 1st XV games lost in the final quarter, but also delivering some great wins over some better teams in the league. The Ladies, in their 3rd season and with their inspirational captain and v capt Donna and Rosie, were brilliant as they continue to develop team spirit, camaraderie, skills and recruiting new players, again winning some crucial games. Both TC and T Bone were also key in maintaining the commitment and spirit in the 2nd and 3rd XV’s, despite often having to give up players to higher teams. On Sundays, the minis have been fully committed, having fun and winning some great games and tournaments!

The 1st VX did us proud… Despite difficulties in player availability, recruitment and retention, their resolve, spirit and commitment has been fantastic, and I believe will only get better. The disappointing departure of Tim Matthews, the 1st XV captain, halfway through a season was actually a positive in hindsight, allowing a new captain to come forward, and what a great captain he is turning out to be – Alfie, with an excellent v capt Laurie! And even though we continue to face problems with recruiting and retaining players, Ollie, Smugsy and Robbo are doing a fantastic job in managing this. I also think the new league structure for the 1st XV and the Middlesex Merit Table the A XV will be good for the Club.

Operationally we have also had to face, and are still facing, key issues – the loss of kitchen staff (again), Nick stepping back from the Bar managers role, lack of volunteers to help on match days and during the week, with cleaning, maintenance…. but stalwart members like John Wain, Anita Cook, Paul Donnelly, Andy Carrol, Simon Finch, Alison Parrish, Melanie Green, Andrea Fearne, et al, continue to give their undivided commitment. As in any Club there are many people to thank and this is no exception, with new members taking up roles for the first time, so a big thank you to all the members who contribute in every way they can.

Finally, on behalf of our great Club, I want to offer congratulations to Ian ‘Swin’ Swindale and John Ross, in their 65th seasons, and to players across all teams who have won representative honours this season.

I look forward very much to sharing time with you all in this upcoming season, watching some great rugby and enjoying a few drinks and continued friendships.

Thank you!
Iain
President, EURFC