So much has been happening behind the scenes at Medway this summer and we’ve all been enjoying a few pre-season friendly games just to get us back into the swing of things.

Our 1st XV starts the League fixtures today, 2nd September when we face Old Alleynians. New Coach Ricky Reeves, along with his coaching team Jay Jenkins and James Pearce, have been preparing the team all summer. S&C Coach Mike Melford has been putting them through their paces, with some additional work with the guys at Sisu gym, introducing them to some brutal Crossfit sessions. They are in the best condition and with strong performances against Tunbridge Wells and Stowmarket and are itching to get on with the season.

Antony “Rusty” Clement takes over as Captain following Tom Beaumont’s retirement from 1t XV rugby. Rusty is a natural leader and is looking confident in his role.

We have a couple of weeks to wait until our first home game of the season when we play Gravesend RFC on the 16th September. We will be welcoming our Vice Presidents and our sponsors to join us for a pre match lunch on the day and we look forward to seeing you all there.

The 16th September is also the date when the league fixtures start for the Extra 1st XV, Development squad and Crusaders. The women also start their campaign on 17th September. They all have a few pre-season friendly matches in the lead up so we’ll keep you posted on those fixtures on the website and social media.

A big thank you to Lee Bruin as he stands down as Senior Fixtures liaison. An ex-senior player, Lee has undertaken the role for over 10 years. We wish Lee all the best and we’ll keep your seat warm for when you return.

Age Grade Rugby – Minis, Youth & Girls
It’s back to school and back to rugby for our Minis, Youth and Girls teams. Many have been training during the summer to prepare them with the new tackle laws which come into play. The RFU have been hosting a number of courses for our coaches to ensure the clubs are all prepared for the new laws.

Over the summer British Lion, Andy Powell hosted a 3 week rugby camp with over 50 children attending each week across 3 weeks. He also led a Coach the Coaches session focusing on Back Row work. The session was well received, and the coaches were very impressed with the technical information. Andy has become a fan of Medway RFC and I’m sure he will be back again soon.

Across the summer a number of our players have been playing representative rugby.
Lewis Young are representing Saracens U18
Richie Ajuzie has joined Lewis Young in the Saracens academy U18.
Will Jones in Saracens academy U17.

Congratulations also to the boys who have represented Kent U16 over the last year;
Frankie Danton, Todd Johns, Will Jones, Ryan Ratcliffe, Charlie Stanton, Teddy Timms & Cheyne West.
And to Colts players who represented Kent U17
Richie Ajuzie , Dee Magege, Bailey Bunker, JJ Little, Jamie Ford, Tom Carney & Jude Creavan

Congratulations to Medway Girls - Izzy Kuhn, Kaci Cornell and Sienna Stickings who have all been selected for the England RFU Centre of excellence player pathway.
Congratulations to the 7 girls selected from Medway U16 to represent Kent for the 2023/24 season:
Tatiyanh Samuels, Niamh Bunce, Leyla Carrillo McCallen, Molly Duffy, Teagan Febery, Chessie Freeman & Ruby Prenter

At the end of last season there were over 500 players across the mini, youth and girls sections at Medway RFC. It’s incredible how the club has grown over last 20 years since I signed my two sons up at under 5.
Thank you to the Chairs of each section, the team coaches, managers, first aiders and volunteers, who ensure that Age grade rugby runs smoothly, that all the safeguarding protocols are met and that all the players receive quality coaching.

Pitchero
Thanks to the coaches and managers for moving over to Pitchero for your team management. It’s never easy to change and adjust to new systems, so we really do appreciate it. Our aim to use the website as our main focus for communication and to compliment that with our social media. Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and hopefully TikTok soon...

Age Grade Training
Minis
Wednesday Training
Under 9s and 10s - 6 – 7pm
Under 11s - 6:30-7.30pm

Sunday
9.30 – 10.30am

Youth Training
Wednesday Training
Under 12s, 13s and 14s – 7- 8pm
Under 15s and 16s - 7:30 - 9pm

Sunday
11am – 1pm

Girls
Tuesdays 6 - 7.25pm
Sundays 1 - 2.45pm

The Cannons
Our mixed ability team is returning to training on 9th September. If you would like to get involved please contact Kate Kuhn.

Membership
Please remember to renew your membership on GMS, to avoid any disruption to your membership card.
At the AGM we agreed to increase the fees for 23/34, which is the first time since before Covid.
Our running costs have seen an increase but every penny we make at the club is reinvested into the club.

Speak up
Should you have any suggestions or if you feel you need to discuss an issue at the club, please do contact anyone on the exec committee, who you feel will best handle your issue.
All the contact details are on the website.

Social Events
This season we have been planning a full programme of events, which will be on the website soon.
The popular charity Ladies Lunch fundraiser for breast cancer awareness, has nearly sold out so please be quick if you are planning to get a ticket.

Tickets are available for the Comedy Night on 17th November.

This season will see the return of our Summer Ball on 31st May. More details will follow.
As always we’re packing a lot into the season.

Maths School partnership
The Maths school has invited Medway Rugby Club to formalise a partnership.
We have always worked closely, so it’s nice that we can continue to work together, mutually supporting the coaching across both club and School.
We will host a couple of Floodlit matches and we will also have access to the facilities especially for the festivals, which gives us the much-needed space.

Kings School Partnership
Again we continue to work with the Kings school. Using the Alps as additional pitches on a Sunday.
We are planning a joint training session with the U9 (Year 4), so watch out for more details on this.
Again we will host a couple of fixtures.
Friday 25th August saw the return of the Old Roffensian v Development squad, for the 3rd year. Old Roffensians retained the cup 19-14. Thanks to Mark Snoswell, Paul Medhurst, Gary Crittenden and Gordon Stone, who helped to ensure the fixture went ahead.

Touch Rugby
A massive thank you to Martin Rose and Philippa Williams who ran our most successful summer of Touch Rugby. I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures but the RFU were so impressed they sent a team down to video us. The Rugby Trainer Ben Jones also came to see what the fuss was about. There’s some great content on his TikTok account. Make sure you take a look.

Changes to Executive Committee.
Hannah Nickalls is our new Treasurer
Ann Hepper is now Membership secretary and will continue to support the treasurer with all the accounts processing.
Gemma Duncan has taken over as Women’s Chair.
Welcome, one & all.

Finally, we wish luck to all who take part in the Men’s Rugby World Cup in France this Autumn. We will show many of the matches in our Clubhouse, do keep an eye on our website www.mrfc.net & our socials. Like the record-breaking women’s rugby world cup 2021 (played in 2022) that smashed all previous attendance, engagement and viewing records, we are also providing a strong platform for our game to reach and inspire the next generation of players & supporters at Medway Rugby Club.

I’m looking forward to seeing you & meeting you again soon.

Tracy Bullock
Club Chair.