Firstly Congratulations to the 3 Cup Winners of recent weeks. A week ago the U15’s won the Bowl Cup Final beating Trafford 31-12; yesterday The Junior Colts beat Bolton 31-23 in the Shield final to compliment the winning of the Group C League and the U16’s then beat Ashton in their rearranged plate Cup Final 47-15. These results compliment the U12’s & U13’s performances in their own competitions. Clearly the junior section has had a great year and we only hope the flow of these youngsters continues to break through into the senior sides in the months and years ahead. Congratulations to the lads who have been picked for County and other Representation. Next season Blackburn could well have a junior and senior Colts side – something no other NW side can match. Thanks and congratulations to all the coaches and support team at M&Y and Colts.

On the senior side whilst we can’t match the silverware above all three sides improved and built on the previous season. At First XV level we welcomed back Luke Cunningham and he was joined by captain Phil Baines and Tom Lavelle who shored up the backs and forwards respectively and added hugely to the coaching team. Fitness and decision making improved resulting in a mid-table very respectable 7th position. We performed strongly against the top four taking points off everyone other than the unbeaten Kirkby Lonsdale but didn’t quite keep the intensity up against some of the lower teams. Clearly we can be well in the top group in the league but with Manchester, Stockport, Waterloo, Carlisle & Douglas being the new additions to the league via promotion or relegation it isn’t going to get any easier!! What was great to see, this season was the “blooding” of a number of teenagers and the growth of the senior squad allowing the interaction between the 1st’s and 2nd’s.

The 2nd’s ended the season in 5th position, again not far off the promotion places and a couple more wins could have seen them push up there but with a number of 1st XV injuries the results & position are very respectable. The same can be said of the 3rd XV who also finished 5th but on the same number of points as 3rd & 4th. Under Killian’s captaincy in recent years, firstly the Third team are again at the heart of the Club, playing some great Rugby and attracting more and more to play each year. Congratulations to all the senior sides for a strong consistent season and thank you to Phil, James and Killian for leading from the front and of course to Dino, Wayne, Bully (welcome back !) for the management and delivery of quality rugby throughout.

Finally a further thank you to all the unsung heroes behind the scenes be it the physio team, or to the likes of Tom , Barry , Graham, Nick, Andy (& many more) who all do fantastic work to make it all happen.

Off the pitch matters moved forward to. During the season two long standing servants of the Club moved on to new pastures. Phil Isherwood who had been at the Club for near on 17 years in various guises but predominantly in charge of Grounds and a huge part of the reason why our pitches are as good as they are and Esther Holden who again had been with the Club for a good decade and who had looked after the Catering & Bar in that period. The Club is extremely grateful for all that both had done over the years, it wishes them both well it their new endeavours. Chris Ham stepped in to replace Phil and has done an excellent job keeping up the work Phil had done for so long and Dave Newman decided a career change was on the cards and has picked up the Ramsgreave Kitchen and met the challenge and opportunity with both hands. Thanks to Chris & David and we wish them well as we plan & move through the Summer and look forward to the 2017/18 season – thanks also to Nikki Stephenson for helping out across the winter months. We were also v lucky to discover Michael Evans had some time on his hands and willing to devote some it to the Club – allowing a range of key jobs on the buildings and around the grounds to be attended to at long last. Finally at the heart of everything was Denise Newman who whilst is there to look after the Club’s finances, pretty much deals with anything and everything, without a word of complaint – what a star. We are however working hard to ensure a more balanced set of responsibilities can be in place v soon to help….promise Denise!

The Club however is just Bricks and Mortar without its Members. I’m delighted to say your support throughout the season home and away has been great; lunches, events, meetings have all be superbly attended. Equally our sponsors have continued to support the Club in many ways and it great to have such a diverse range of support and whether it’s a Board or a table for lunch or a prize at a long lunch - on behalf of the Club thank you so much. Very few people who are invited down to Ramsgreave for lunch or a Dinner leave without having a good time. If you can think of anyone who would like to join the Club or possibly sponsor it in some capacity please invite them down. May I thank at this juncture, Past President David Morris for all his hard work over countless years in encouraging and looking after our sponsors and indeed for the thankless task of the Gate rota! These are tasks others will do next season but on behalf of the Club, David, thank you very much indeed. Last weekend we hosted the 4th Blackburn Beer Festival raising funds for the fantastic Blackburn Youth Zone. Another great event raising nearly £26k for this local charity and having quite a bit of fun along the way. Thanks to all for a hard but great weekend.

In terms of the future, The Club voted overwhelmingly to stay at Ramsgreave and work is well underway to narrow the options that we have down so that realistic proposals can come back to Members through the Summer and at the September AGM. Equally the structure on the how the Club will operate is being examined so that a Business Plan that can shape any changes we as a Club, might decide to make, can be delivered – watch this space….

On a sad note we lost a number of long standing members/supporters during the year. Our continued thoughts and best wishes are with the families of Roger & Molly Farley; Jeff Bradshaw; Graham McKendry; Les Smith; Peter Atherton and Ellie Norkett

Finally whilst the rugby might be over for a few months can I remind you that;
a) We hope to have a Sportsman’s Dinner on July 7th - final details to follow very shortly
b) The Club will be open for Breakfast and showing the Lion Test’s in June / July
c) The 2017/18 is our 140th season – a range of merchandise from jumpers/scarves/beanies/tankards/wine boxes etc. can be ordered via the Club to mark & celebrate this landmark season
e) The Club is available for bookings of any nature – please recommend us to your families / friends / boss / neighbours

Final Thanks to all the Committee – it’s been a busy, hard but enjoyable year – everyone’s input has been great & much appreciated. We hope you all have a great Summer look forward to seeing as many as can make it to the events above otherwise in September

Best wishes
Paul Westhead
Chairman