Festive greetings to all members, players and your families. We hope you had a wonderful Xmas and are looking forward to a new decade as we start 2020.

Our traditional Christmas Training saw a great variety of coaching costumes with Coach Oli being our first ever Xmas tree. Some of our best singing in the clubhouse and a big thank you to Santa’s helpers for preparing the Grotto.

The Seniors and Academy followed up with a social after Wednesday training. Training was wet and cold building an appetite for the swift demolition of 20 pizzas. The evening was such a success it will become a monthly event to continue the growing bond between Academy and Senior players. Many of our Academy started in the minis and have completed their first decade of rugby at the Bridge. First team skipper, Lee Roberts, is determined that like him, they continue to represent the club for the next 10 years.

RUGBY

The 2019 season started with a Memorial game to celebrate the life of Jamie Blake Thomas who played minis and youth and sadly passed this summer. Jamie’s youth teammates, rallied by Matt Jenner and Ash Powell, formed the Jamie Blake Thomas All Stars to play our seniors side. It was a huge sign of respect to see players travel from afar to raise money for Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). A Guard of Honour made up of minis players set the tone for a spirited and enjoyable game where the All Stars finished strong and celebrated into the early hours after presenting a signed shirt to Jamie’s family.

It has been a tough couple of months for the seniors, hit by injuries and away fixtures being a challenge for players with family commitments. There have been some strong performances at home, the last being a convincing win v Maidstone. Players return in January and our aim is to fulfil all fixtures in 2020.

Nick Horner has been working closely with the Seniors to develop a strategy for rugby which can be followed by the club as a whole. This is ready to be shared with coaches for input and will then be launched as part of the club 3-year plan. An important start has been to see seniors actively involved in Academy and Youth training, which the players really value.

The Youth teams play in Sussex Leagues and all have secured wins against some tough opposition. Please make every effort to support home matches as players appreciate the encouragement. An early heads up is U14 v Llandaff North on Saturday 7th March as we host last year’s touring side from Wales and then watch the England V Wales game.

Minis coaching teams are in place for every age group and good numbers give us a healthy base to build upon. Paul Cooper will continue his ‘Coach the Coach’ training sessions and all are welcome to join these – rugby experience is not essential. Unfortunately, the weather has resulted in 3 festivals being cancelled meaning players missed out on much needed game time. Friendlies were arranged to fill this gap and we shall endeavour to put more joint training sessions into the diary.

Congratulations to the U11’s who played in a curtain raiser at Tunbridge Wells and were successful in winning 3 from 3 V 2 TW sides and one from Tonbridge Juddians.

Look out for a further curtain raiser at home before our home fixture V Leigh on 1st February.

CLUB MANAGEMENT

The ‘handover’ has taken longer than anticipated but we are almost there. The EGM is planned to take place on Monday 3rd February 2020 with formal notices coming out shortly.

Many thanks to Matt Rees who has continued to assist managing the finances throughout this period whilst bank mandates have been processed.

After the initial task of taking on the continued management of the facilities and rugby, the new team have taken the opportunity to review the processes and controls. This has included:

• Pitchero upgraded to give greater functionality and less adverts
• The club website domain now owned by the club
• All club management having consistent club email addresses e.g. chairman@edenbridgerugby.co.uk
• New locks on corridor keys for stricter control of access
• Subscriptions and registration forms now received from the majority of the club membership
• Communication now more efficient via Pitchero with contact details updated
• A physical kit shop presence in the club house for sizing and bulk ordering

We are delighted to confirm that Lee Roberts and Matt Morton Smith have agreed to join the board. Lee, as Seniors Captain, will work closely with Nick on rugby and also be responsible for the club’s Social media profile and events. Matt has worked hard on sponsorship and has prepared a suite of packages which are available on request by emailing sponsorship@edenbridgerugby.co.uk.

IMPORTANT DATES

5th Jan 1000-1200 hrs Minis and Youth Training
7th Jan 1830-2000 hrs U12/14/15 Training
8th Jan 1900-2030 hrs Academy and Seniors Training
11th Jan 1400 hrs Seniors V Folkestone (Home)
15/16th Jan 1900-2200 hrs First Aid Course
22/23rd Jan 1900-2200 hrs First Aid Course
25th Jan 0900-1600 hrs First Aid Course
1st Feb 1430 hrs Seniors V Leigh (plus minis curtain raiser)
6th Feb 1900-2200 hrs Play it Safe

I am sure you will join me in thanking all of the volunteers who work hard for the club as we enter an exciting time for Edenbridge RFC.

We look forward to seeing you all for training to blow away the Xmas cobwebs and making 2020 a year to remember.

Best wishes, Gareth, Mark, John, Nick, Lee, Blair and Matt.