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run three senior teams , colts and all age groups from under 6 to under 18 .
We have a £ 1.3million clubhouse and great facilities , so the club is in a reasonably healthy position as we emerge from the pandemic . Not so positive about the reduction in support that the RFU are able to provide to grass roots clubs in these difficult times . We fully acknowledge that all organisations have to deal with the fall-out from the pandemic and trust the RFU can get back on top of things quickly .
WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVES IN MANAGING SO MANY PEOPLE AND GROUPS AT YOUR CLUB ? On the positive side we have a great set of volunteers ( poster sent previously ) who help run the club and we create a very welcoming environment for all visitors . It is sometimes difficult to keep everyone informed of what is going on in such a large organisation and also ensure that everyone keeps aligned to the central mission and values ( see publications : Parents Charter and player development booklet ).
We continue to strive to understand the needs of our members and our volunteers and use that knowledge to help provide a positive experience for all . We employ very few people , mainly bar staff and a clubhouse manager . The club is run ostensibly by an army of volunteers . Leadership of the club is generally an aging population and succession planning will become increasingly important as we continue to make progress .
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUCCESSFUL PLAYER CONNECTIONS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH OR PLAYED FOR THE CLUB OVER THE YEARS ? We have eight ( photos available at our website www . rwbrfc . club / information / club-alumni ): 1 . David Parker , Full-back for England U18 club side .
2 . Mike Baxter , England 16 ’ s and 18 ’ s . Bath Academy player then contracted to Premiership squad . Played for Scotland in the Dubai International 7 ’ s .
3 . Pippa Crews , Pippa played in New Zealand for a year , toured Australia as a member of England ladies tag team in 2001 . Member of England ’ s Ladies 44-player squad for the 2007 6-Nations . Currently playing for Worcester . 4 . Chris Patterson , England 18 ’ s , Chris played for
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Gloucester Academy and Development XV and is a current senior player at Royal Wootton Bassett . 5 . Elliot Read , Filton College ( Bristol Rugby ), Dings Crusaders , Leicester Tigers Academy , Moseley , Coventry .
6 . Karl Brant , Played England U16 ’ s and U18 ’ s . Karl had some success at college rugby with Filton before playing with Chippenham and then returning to Bassett .
7 . Jonny May , Professional rugby player for Gloucester in Premiership Rugby and for the England national side ; between 2009 – 17 he played 121 games for Gloucester . Following a brief spell at Leicester Tigers he is now back with Gloucester .
8 . Gareth Evans . Gareth made 85 senior appearances for Gloucester , the Cherry and Whites , since his debut in the Aviva Premiership , against Worcester in 2011 , aged just 19 . In 2018 he signed a new contract with Ospreys , and he now plays for Leicester Tigers . 9 . Nick Warren – Maltese
International
WHY DO YOU FEEL SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE A SPECIAL FONDNESS FOR RWBRFC ? We are a genuine local community club . We have set out to be the best amateur rugby club we can be , both on and off the pitch . All our players work hard to play their best rugby and stick together to enjoy a great social life . We are an embracing and inclusive club where all members are valued . Our first XV is made up of mainly players who have graduated from our youth programme .
We have persistently promoted the concept of
Founders Shirt Presentation
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DO YOU HAVE JUNIOR AND SENIOR COACHING PHILOSOPHY AT THE CLUB ? We certainly do . We have a strong coaching leadership team , ably spearheaded by Alan Low , our Director of Rugby . Alan states that RWB RFC has long been focused on creating an environment for all of our players that is active , purposeful , enjoyable and safe where all players may develop to the best of their ability . We wanted to adopt a long term player development model as a template to retain and
volunteering and the values and spirit of rugby football , i . e . TEAMWORK - RESPECT - ENJOYMENT - DISCIPLINE - SPORTSMANSHIP
HOW WOULD YOU SAY THE YEAR HAS GONE FOR THE CLUB SO FAR ON AND OFF THE PITCH ? It is our Golden Jubilee season – 50 years of our Club . Off the pitch we have a few celebratory events planned and things have got off to a successful start . We have held three successful and well attended events to date this season : 1 . Saturday 11th September We held a Golden Jubilee Rugby Festival . We had our McCue Cup game followed by our first home match of the season versus Camborne . There was a fair ground on site , x3 live bands and various attractions provided by the local REME Battalion stationed at Lyneham . ( The McCue Cup is played every year between an RWB RFC Presidents ’ XV and REME . It is to commemorate Corporal James McCue , a REME soldier who was repatriated through RWB during the
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develop young players and encourage their continued participation in rugby through to adulthood .
We want to provide coaches with a structure within which they feel comfortable in developing the whole player both on and off the field . We strive to place the needs of the child first and encourage an environment where winning matches is not the overriding ‘ measure ’ of success that brings the player back to play each week . Throughout our age groups we have always promoted a greater emphasis on performance rather than results .
Gulf War ). We had circa 1000 visitors on the day . 2 . Saturday 25th September a Vice-Presidents lunch to precede our home match versus Exeter University . This was a special lunch as 6 of the original 13 founding members were represented , five in person and one son of a recently deceased member . They were presented with match day shirts carrying the names of all the founding members . The shirts were presented to the founders by the current first XV players playing in their position .
3 . Saturday 9th October Sponsors Buffet to precede our home match versus Hornets . This was attended by a number of local businesses who support our club financially – a small thank you for their continued support .
4 . Saturday 30th October Memorial lunch to precede our home match versus Okehampton . One of our loyal Vice-Presidents sadly passed away earlier this year and a special lunch was held to celebrate his contribution to the club over the years .
CONTINUED ...
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