West Norfolk
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West Norfolk
RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB
Darren Clarke first joined West Norfolk RUFC in the early 1990’s when he moved to the area
from the Midlands. Originally, he joined as a social player to meet new people but managed
to work his way through the lower teams and had some successful seasons in the 1st team,
eventually becoming club captain. After gaining some senior coaching experience in the mid-
2000’s he has mainly been involved in youth coaching for the last eight years. It was a great
honour to be asked to become head coach for this season.
The coaching challenges at grass roots level are
working with such a wide range of ages and abilities.
It is important to keep the training sessions fun and
enjoyable for all which isn’t always easy on a cold, wet
Tuesday night. We have a great coaching team on board
this year and having different voices certainly keeps
things more interesting. The rewards come from seeing
all players progressing their games but most importantly
enjoying playing rugby at all levels and developing
friendships that will last a lifetime.
There is a fantastic buzz around the club now both on
and off the pitch. The 1st team are getting the plaudits
for their success but more importantly we have grown
the whole of the senior playing section. Competition for
places is as strong as it has been for several years. We
have had several new players turn up during the season
wanting to get involved and a number of former players
have returned to the club. We have a fantastic ladies
squad and our mini and youth section is going from
strength to strength.
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Having started 1st team pre-season games in August,
it was a great achievement to get to Christmas with a
100% record. We have played some fantastic rugby and
there is a real togetherness throughout the whole squad.
We have now made it to mid-February and are still
undefeated. We have secured places in the group final
of the Senior Vase and the semi-final of the Norfolk Cup.
Our 2nd team have seen massively improved
numbers participating and have already played more
fixtures this season than the whole of last season, and
they too have won most of their games and have also
earned a place in the semi-final of the Norfolk Plate.
We will continue to follow the same philosophy
of training hard and playing hard but most of all the
emphasis will be on appreciating the whole rugby
experience. Although we have league titles and cups
to play for in 2020, we will not burden ourselves with
targets. If we follow our principles, then results will
look after themselves. The second half of the season will
undoubtedly be harder than the first but win, lose or