Welcome to the November addition of Chair’s corner. Another busy month full of successful Rugby at DVRFC across all our sections and I am pleased to say the Youth Academy numbers continue to grow, keeping our admin teams busier than ever!

The Social team executed another successful event at our first ever Christmas market, with 22 stalls from local business and a fantastic live band courtesy of Help the Heroes, we are certainly ready for the Big S’s arrival. I hope to see as many of you as possible over the coming weeks, including at our Family xmas party on 17th and our huge club day on 18th December – we will officially be opening our facility with Jeremy Kite from DBC, our three Senior squads will be participating in a triple header and we will be rounding the night off with Christmas carols sung by our very own Barry De Jager before we break for the Christmas period.

See below for more exciting updates throughout our teams.

Youth Academy:
All sections of our Youth Academy continue to make us proud with several big wins, but also games that have taught us great lessons in order to improve our game:
November has been very busy for our U16s boys, who have played 3 games this month. The lads have now won 3 and lost 3 and continue to build on their team week on week. Their most recent win was a well fought win against Sittingbourne on Sunday. They play Old Colfeians on Friday – come down and experience their skills under the lights, good luck lads!! The U15's boys also experienced their first solo game against Gillingham Anchorians and secured a convincing victory.
3rd December saw our fantastic U15s youth Roses play at home for the first time this season, and what a homecoming they had. They played a FNL quad tournament which was a roaring success not just for this forever improving team but it also put Girls Rugby at Dartford Rugby club well and truly on the map – massive thanks to their manager Kerrie Von Der Hagen for organising this fantastic event which received lots of great feedback from all those involved. The Crimson Roses also continue to dominate their league, they are currently unbeaten and sit comfortable at the top of the table – keep it up girls!!! Look out for the U13s Roses who will be clustering with OCs for game time at the Beckenham tournament in the coming weeks. Good Luck girls!
U14s boys – Another 3 games & 3 wins for our 14's against established opposition. Also, 8 of the squad was nominated for the Saracens/Kent DPP talent pathway. The squad numbers are now over 25 and close to fielding 2 teams. Amazing.
Senior Roses

Unfortunately our Senior Roses have not played as many games as they should have done this month due to their opposition postponing or conceding for various reasons. However, the one game they did play secured them an away win against Aylesford in what was a game that required them to uphold our core values more than ever and they pushed through adversity to obtain a convincing win. This team continue to go from strength to strength and we are even prouder to confirm our 2nd Ladies team will be making their debut against OGs on Sunday 12th December, make sure you get to the Lodge to show your support to our development squad.
Senior Men

The Senior Men's first team have maintained their undefeated record at the Lodge, and currently sit at 3rd in Kent 2, separated from 2nd placed Sittingbourne only by points difference. This strong position is thanks, primarily, to improved game management which has led to a winning record of 7-1, with a huge recent home win against an unbeaten Sittingbourne RFC. We move into phase 3 of our season in a strong position to be able to challenge for a top two placing going into the Christmas break, we are very much looking forward to the two remaining games of this year; Greenwich (A) and OGs (H)
Over the last month the 2nd XV, having struggled early in this phase to field a team thanks to a wave of early season injuries to their backs, we’re back on track with a star studded - albeit slightly condensed - side, who went away to take on a tough Old Colfeians. Despite a close loss it is hoped that this will be a momentum changer and that the week off to heal prior to the hugely anticipated triple header on 18th December will bring more faces back to training to put their hands up and prepare to end the year with a strong performance under the lights at the Lodge.

Volunteer Spotlight
October’s volunteer spotlight is on our team of Managers; Brian ‘Smudge’ Castleton (1st XV), Ian ‘Crofty’ Croft (2nd XV), Rebecca ‘Tapps’ Tappenden and Beth McDonald (Roses), Kerrie Von Der Hagen (Youth Roses) and Tony Gains (U15s/U16s boys). These guys are the glue between our players and our coaching teams. From checking player availability (regularly a headache), liaising with the opposition, organising and checking kit, sourcing fixtures and securing refs, match day preparation of changing rooms and just ensuring everything goes smoothly so our teams can focus on their Rugby – these guys do it all and its rarely known how time consuming and often frustrating this role is. Team, thanks for your consistent dedication to your teams and the Club, match days wouldn’t go ahead without you and from ExCom down to each player, we truly appreciate everything you do to ensure that we play the sport we all love to play and watch.

DVRFC Star Player of the month
This month’s start player of the month goes to not one, but four youth academy players… Rosie and Mimi Castleton, Camilla Mailey and Emily Johncock. These quartet put the rest of the club to shame as they are regularly seen with litter pickers and bin bags picking up the litter that the rest of us leave around the facility. These four, use their own initiative to litter pick and to improve our community environment. Girls, thank you for going above and beyond to ensure that our home is tidy and litter free, we admire your attitude and dedication to ensure that the litter is picked up, you consistently provide a lesson to us all that we should be mindful of the rubbish we leave behind. We are proud you are one of us, don’t ever change.

Until next month – enjoy the Christmas festivities in a safe and fun way ..
Onwards & upwards!!
Sophie Warren
Dartford Rugby Chair