Rugby Club Issue 57 | Page 25

wimbledon Wimbledon Wimbledon RFC celebrates 150th Anniversary in style When Wimbledon realized its 150th anniversary or sesquicentennial as they like to call it in SW20 was coming up fast they thought what shall we do to mark the occasion? Well they are a rugby club so it didn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to come up with the idea we’ll play rugby and have a party or two or three. So they kicked off proceedings with a huge New Year’s Eve bash and haven’t really stopped. The partying hasn’t affected their rugby unless its positively as they have continued success at all levels with their minis doing well across the board, two youth players getting international caps in the shape of Dylan Morris (England Counties) and Alex Kane (Ireland Snr 7s) and their U18s winning Surrey Division 1. The crowning glory was of course their 1st team, who had been coached all season by internationals Nick Easter and Tim Payne gaining promotion to National Division 3. So when it came to the end of the season and their 150th to boot they had a lot to celebrate and certainly did so. On May the 9th literally hundreds of players and supporters spent the day celebrating rugby and the clubs longevity and current success. The day kicked off with several mini rugby games with the club doing well against visitors from Old Ruts and Richmond. The first recorded game for Wimbledon was against Richmond so they had to get them on somewhere. The children were also entertained by a huge inflatable assault course, a children’s farm and a bucking rugby ball. The stars of the mini section were also presented with their awards by Nick Easter and there were cameras flashing to record the event from many proud Mum’s and Dad’s. Next on the agenda was great display of youth Rugby but eventually the youngsters allowed the adults to get on the pitch. The entertainment went up a gear at this point as the ever growing and successful Wimbledon ladies team, who incidentally were also celebrating their 25th anniversary took to the field. Not one but two Wimbledon ladies teams graced Barham Road one side being made up of the current ladies side, dubbed ‘the Wannabees’ took on a team of past stars of the side who were, perhaps harshly dubbed ‘the Hasbeens’. Both teams were quite visibly having a great time even if www.sportip.biz 25