Basking in the warm spring sunshine, Weybridge Vandals welcomed back its members to the club to enjoy a much needed, socially distanced, ‘Family’ reunion in the clubs expansive riverside grounds.
First up was the inaugural ‘Inner Warrior’ Ladies Rugby session held alongside the regular Senior Training Session. Following an incentive from the RFU to promote the Ladies game, Vandals hopes that this will build to a popular and successful addition to sporting activities at Vandals
The afternoon continued with an interclub touch Rugby tournament. 12 teams took part, 9 from Vandals and three guest sides, DEL United and Enigma 1 and 2. Split into two pools of 6 each side played each other in their respective pools and matches were of 10 minutes duration. The format was touch rugby with the players going to ground on the second touch to simulate a tackle. Spectators were treated to some fine Rugby from the players whose handling offloading and putting a colleague into space was of a high calibre.
In line with the rest of the nation members of Weybridge vandals RFC respectfully held one minute silence at 3:00 PM in memory of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. It was a stirring and moving scene as players and spectators in all areas of the club stood still for that short time, before returning to the rugby action and a family tournament
Each of the Vandals teams included players from different sections of the club, from boys in the under 14 age group to the veterans, or the Golden Oldies as they were affectionately known. Sprinkled through the teams were also a few Vandals Cricketers, upping their fitness for the coming season.
Further to the earlier Ladies Rugby session, a number of women and girls of all ages from the Vandals Netball Section, together with some of their bolder friends, also joined in with the varied and mixed groups. As the irrepressible President Kevin Keaney pointed out it was special to see the under 14s playing with senior Rugby members and hoping that they and the ladies had enjoyed the experience.
Four games were played at the same time on 2 pitches using a half pitch for each game, and on the conclusion of the pool games, two winners emerged, Enigma won pool A and a team captain by Vandals 1st 15 skipper, Harry Reed, from pool B. Both these teams were worthy of their place in the final, where they produced some exhilarating rugby with a hatful of tries, with the boys from Enigma fully deserving their success as final winners.
Handing out the medals to the finalists for their well earned efforts, President Kevin also gave praise to the referees, Stuart Gulliver and Simon Marshall, and thanked Secretary Stuart Howkins for his efficiency in keeping the scoring charts up to date.
After this successful inaugural and highly enjoyable club day Vandals look forward to their Inter club tournament this coming Saturday the 24th of April featuring up to 16 teams from clubs across Surrey.

John Farrow...