“Hi all and sorry for the delay in a formal introduction. A lot of you probably know me but for those of you who don’t I have had a long association with the club starting out as a mini rugby player in the mid 80s following in the footsteps of my dad (John) and uncle (Simon) and playing through until work and family commitments took me away when I was around 21, before returning to enjoy my rugby twilight in my early 30s.

I have held a number of positions on the committee over the past 10 years or so, helping out with sponsorship before taking over as chair of rugby for 7 years. Volunteering with the club has been a hugely rewarding experience so when I was asked if I would be interested in stepping up to take the reins from Richard (Wiggy) I felt was my duty to do so. The club is a complicated beast but it operates with a single purpose to engage men and women and children of all ages and abilities in sport primarily Rugby and Netball but through our association with other clubs we also cover Frisbee, Football, rowing and others. If you think you might have some time to spare or skills to share and yearn for the warm glow that only volunteering can bring then please do get in touch

Tom Chandler”

GMS There was a problem with the RFU (GMS) system last week and it appears that In-Touch was not transmitted on Wednesday. I tried it again on Thursday and it appears to have been successful. If you have any trouble receiving it, let me know and you will always find it on the club website.

The season opened with a home fixture against Evesham and with lots of players injured or unavailable, we took the field with only 5 of the 15 players who played at Evesham at the end of last season - 3 if you count significant positional switches! Nevertheless, spirits were high and tries from Rich McKowen and Kofi Miller put us in front after 20 minutes and we spent the rest of the first half defending brilliantly to snuff out a come-back. There was more defending to do in the second half as Evesham raised their game, but we moved the ball well when we got it and added 2 more tries to keep in front and see out a 26-12 win. (see John Warner’s full report on the website)

New recruit Ben Edwards made his debut at hooker and fellow recruits Charlie Main and Oli Rogers, who transferred with him from Old Leamingtonians in the close-season, all played well and they will be hoping to travel back across the hedge this week as we take on Old Leamingtonians in the second round of matches. OLs got off to a good start with a 36-22 win at Bromsgrove 2 on Saturday. We scored a double over our noisy neighbours last season following a win apiece the season before. The overall win/loss record is 25-8 in our favour

Kevin Batchelor is unable to continue as touch judge for the 1st XV due to work commitments, so we are looking for someone to take over from him. We need someone who attends or is able to attend most first team games, home and away. If you can help please get in touch with me at the email below or contact Alex Carroll direct.

The Seconds started their season with a game at Barkers Butts and due to the first team shuffle were short of players and took only 11. Barkers had 29 and lent us a few but we came second by 43-12 with Josh Tockley and Victor Lazarov scoring our tries. The Seconds do not have a game on Saturday.

The Colts also played Barkers Butts, in this case at Moorefields, and as usual our Coventry rivals were a very strong side. They penned us back from the start but we defended well before they eventually pulled away to win by 43-12. We kept on going and scored tries ourselves through Tom Holland and Finn Cassidy and the game was a good deal closer than the score suggests. The Colts are playing at Kenilworth on Friday night – kick-off at 7.30.

On Sunday the U15 team is away at Alcester and the other age groups are training and registering

We were pleased to receive a visit from ex-first team Centre Jamie Cook on Saturday after 30 years since he played here at Centre in our outstanding team of the early 90s, before moving away and joining the army. It seems that he combined his army and rugby careers together very successfully rising to the rank of Brigadier, becoming Chairman of the Army Rugby Union, who he represents on the RFU Council, and in 2020 he was appointed to the full Board of the RFU. He has also received an OBE for his services to the game. It was good to see James and we hope he keeps in contact

Left Behind! Although we are only a week into the season, we have already become a bit of a dumping ground. The two-legged members have strewn a load of kit around the changing rooms, including 12 pairs of boots. We will be issuing guidance on how we attempt to dispose of this if it is not claimed. The four- legged members seem to be about in increasing in numbers and in recent weeks have left dumps of their unwanted excrement on the field, including on the pitches where players (seniors, juniors and minis) are expected to play. This is both unpleasant and unsafe, so anyone bringing dogs to the ground is asked to keep them under control, pick up their dumps and challenge anyone not complying.

The first VP lunch is planned for next week - 21 September, prior to the Alcester game. If you want to come, please get in touch with Derren_Nisbet@hotmail.com.

I have some spare tickets for the autumn games against Australia (at £114 and £96)and a few for South Africa (at £96).Get in touch if interested. I have secured our Six Nations allocation and these will be on offer shortly

Annual Subscriptions for 2024-25 are now due. Details of the categories of membership, the rates that apply and how you can pay, are set on the sheet attached. The rates are mostly unchanged. Separate arrangements apply to mini and junior membership which are being dealt with through the pre-season registration process. We also have new categoties – for the new Ladies and Veterans teams.

There are several ways to pay including credit card (over the bar) or by cheque but we would prefer you to pay by standing order (monthly or annually) which you can set up using Internet or mobile Banking. The club details are – sort code 16-23-15, account 11851701, reference “annual subs”.

Phil McGaffin has taken over as Membership Secretary and he will be doing an audit of who has paid and will knock on your door if you appear to have lapsed. If you already pay by Standing Order, you don’t need to do anything unless you haven’t updated it in line with changes in the subscription rates. Please check the amount you are paying and increase it if appropriate and make an additional payment to cover the difference between what you have paid and the correct amount. If your membership category has changed (e.g. Colt/Student to Senior Player; retired player to VP; or Mini and Junior parent to VP/Social) adjust your payment and please confirm the change by email

Senior Rugby Playing Members - single payment of £250, or £25 per month
Student - single payment of £50
Colts - single payment of £100
Vice Presidents - single payment of £100, or £10 per month
Social Members - single payment of £60
Ladies - £100
Veterans - £100

johnlizlyons@btopenworld.com