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Chairman’s View of 2018/19 Season
Andrew McGregor-Andrew21 May 2019 - 07:00
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That is what we, as a community rugby club, should be about, “Rugby for All”.
Chairman’s View of 2018/19 Season
As we come to the end of my first season as Chairman of Wrexham Rugby Club I thought I would share my views and thoughts on the past year. For me, the most pleasing aspect of the club is the quality of the rugby we play across the club form the Cubs up to the 1st XV. We have shown that you can be successful whilst entertaining. It has been gratifying to see so many old friends returning to watch rugby at Bryn Estyn Road. This is in no small part due to the quality of coaching by Alan Jenkins and his team of coaches. The 1st XV nearly managed to win promotion back to Division 1 and perhaps with a little more luck would have done so. The 2nd XV snatched the 2nd Team League Trophy away from Ruthin with a Bonus point win in their final game of the season. It is so good to see the Dean Griffiths Memorial Trophy returning to Dean’s own home club. The Youth team had a very successful 1st half of the season finishing in the top half of the table.
Our Mini and Junior sections continue to go from strength to strength. In the Junior Section, the Under 16s won the North East Wales Plate whilst the Under 14s were overall North Wales Champions with victory over Llangefni in the final held at Bangor. The Under 15s and 13s also had very successful seasons and perhaps next season will bring home more silverware. The Minis have achieved considerable success across the board against our traditional rivals and further afield. I am hoping that we will continue to develop our own senior players of the future as well as for RGC and other more Senior Clubs. Again, I feel our teams of coaches should be applauded for their skills and commitment to the cause across the age groups. As a club, we have invested thousands of pounds in coach education each year and are seeing the benefits coming through the playing ranks. Many parents have worked tirelessly to support their squads through various fundraising and sponsorship events.
This year’s Annual Anglo-Welsh Festival saw more than 100 Mini teams from all over the United Kingdom enjoying our hospitality both on and off the pitches. Many thanks to Denzil and his band of helpers for staging such a successful event and putting our club on the rugby map of clubs to visit. Many new contacts have been made for future fixtures and tours as our visitors realise the quality of our rugby and hospitality sets the standards for others to emulate. Two personal highlights for me saw the return of our Veterans and Ladies section to Bryn Estyn Road. For me, they are the final two pieces in the jigsaw that sees us offer a quality rugby experience for all ages regardless of previous experience! That is what we, as a community rugby club, should be about, “Rugby for All”.
Sadly during the season, we lost one of our club stalwarts, Nigel Fletcher or "Fletch". He was a great servant to the club as a player, team manager, committee member, groundsman and secretary for many years. He will be missed by us at Wrexham Rugby Club and by the wider rugby community in North Wales. The board wished to recognise his valuable contribution to the club by inaugurating a new club trophy in his memory for the “Club Volunteer of the Year” to be presented for the first time at the annual end of season dinner. Our volunteers are our lifeblood, without them, we could not function as a club.
Although we are nearing the end of the season we are already looking forward to next year. If we just congratulate ourselves without constantly looking to improve we will actually slide backwards. We are setting ourselves short term and long term targets. On the playing side promotion to Division, One must be our aim, the 2nd XV may well be in the National Leagues for the first time (subject to WRU approval). Successful Youth, Junior and Mini Sections are a must going forward, as is the success of Wrexham’s Valkyries Female Rugby Hub.
Planning is at an early stage, but it is envisaged that the Veterans, ex-players and supporters form the backbone of a new section, the ‘1925 Club’ as we build up to the club’s centenary in 2025. We are planning a busy calendar of social events for the coming season. It is hoped this will provide further sponsorship and fundraising opportunities to build our club’s profile and reputation.
We are ambitious but realistic with our aims, but it does come at a cost. We have turned a financial corner but if we are to continue to be successful then we need to increase our income. Whilst we are extremely grateful to our existing sponsors and supporters, we can always do with more!
Many thanks to all who have contributed to our successful season and hopefully to success that is yet to come.
Finally, a personal thanks to the members of the Club Board for their continued hard work and support.
Gareth Lewis
Chairman
As we come to the end of my first season as Chairman of Wrexham Rugby Club I thought I would share my views and thoughts on the past year. For me, the most pleasing aspect of the club is the quality of the rugby we play across the club form the Cubs up to the 1st XV. We have shown that you can be successful whilst entertaining. It has been gratifying to see so many old friends returning to watch rugby at Bryn Estyn Road. This is in no small part due to the quality of coaching by Alan Jenkins and his team of coaches. The 1st XV nearly managed to win promotion back to Division 1 and perhaps with a little more luck would have done so. The 2nd XV snatched the 2nd Team League Trophy away from Ruthin with a Bonus point win in their final game of the season. It is so good to see the Dean Griffiths Memorial Trophy returning to Dean’s own home club. The Youth team had a very successful 1st half of the season finishing in the top half of the table.
Our Mini and Junior sections continue to go from strength to strength. In the Junior Section, the Under 16s won the North East Wales Plate whilst the Under 14s were overall North Wales Champions with victory over Llangefni in the final held at Bangor. The Under 15s and 13s also had very successful seasons and perhaps next season will bring home more silverware. The Minis have achieved considerable success across the board against our traditional rivals and further afield. I am hoping that we will continue to develop our own senior players of the future as well as for RGC and other more Senior Clubs. Again, I feel our teams of coaches should be applauded for their skills and commitment to the cause across the age groups. As a club, we have invested thousands of pounds in coach education each year and are seeing the benefits coming through the playing ranks. Many parents have worked tirelessly to support their squads through various fundraising and sponsorship events.
This year’s Annual Anglo-Welsh Festival saw more than 100 Mini teams from all over the United Kingdom enjoying our hospitality both on and off the pitches. Many thanks to Denzil and his band of helpers for staging such a successful event and putting our club on the rugby map of clubs to visit. Many new contacts have been made for future fixtures and tours as our visitors realise the quality of our rugby and hospitality sets the standards for others to emulate. Two personal highlights for me saw the return of our Veterans and Ladies section to Bryn Estyn Road. For me, they are the final two pieces in the jigsaw that sees us offer a quality rugby experience for all ages regardless of previous experience! That is what we, as a community rugby club, should be about, “Rugby for All”.
Sadly during the season, we lost one of our club stalwarts, Nigel Fletcher or "Fletch". He was a great servant to the club as a player, team manager, committee member, groundsman and secretary for many years. He will be missed by us at Wrexham Rugby Club and by the wider rugby community in North Wales. The board wished to recognise his valuable contribution to the club by inaugurating a new club trophy in his memory for the “Club Volunteer of the Year” to be presented for the first time at the annual end of season dinner. Our volunteers are our lifeblood, without them, we could not function as a club.
Although we are nearing the end of the season we are already looking forward to next year. If we just congratulate ourselves without constantly looking to improve we will actually slide backwards. We are setting ourselves short term and long term targets. On the playing side promotion to Division, One must be our aim, the 2nd XV may well be in the National Leagues for the first time (subject to WRU approval). Successful Youth, Junior and Mini Sections are a must going forward, as is the success of Wrexham’s Valkyries Female Rugby Hub.
Planning is at an early stage, but it is envisaged that the Veterans, ex-players and supporters form the backbone of a new section, the ‘1925 Club’ as we build up to the club’s centenary in 2025. We are planning a busy calendar of social events for the coming season. It is hoped this will provide further sponsorship and fundraising opportunities to build our club’s profile and reputation.
We are ambitious but realistic with our aims, but it does come at a cost. We have turned a financial corner but if we are to continue to be successful then we need to increase our income. Whilst we are extremely grateful to our existing sponsors and supporters, we can always do with more!
Many thanks to all who have contributed to our successful season and hopefully to success that is yet to come.
Finally, a personal thanks to the members of the Club Board for their continued hard work and support.
Gareth Lewis
Chairman
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