The Official Newspaper of The RFU

November 2012Issue 151

1

QBE INTERNATIONALS KICK OFF IN THE CITY

Nicola Marshall

The RFU announced its participation legacy plans with exactly three years to go until the Rugby World Cup final 2015. Chief Executive Ian Ritchie, alongside Rugby Development Director Steve Grainger, and England’s most capped player, Jason Leonard, outlined seven areas of focus for the RFU in the lead up to 2015 and beyond.

From building capacity by improving facilities and increasing the quantity and quality of coaches, to getting more schoolchildren playing rugby or encouraging players to return to the game, the plans are well underway.

1. Facilities – Committed an additional investment of £10m to create £25m worth of improvements in club equipment and facilities benefiting over 500 clubs nationwide – from kit and equipment to club houses, changing rooms and floodlights to all weather pitches.

2. People – New investment of over £1m to deliver more than 6,500 newly qualified referees and coaches. Staging master classes for over 5,000 existing coaches and referees along with a focus on young people bringing in 5,000 additional club volunteers.

3. Schools – Launched the All Schools programme to ensure more schools are offering rugby and give over 1m young people opportunities to play. The initiative aims to introduce the game into 400 non-rugby playing secondary schools by 2015 and up to 750 by 2019.

4. Returning players – Working with colleges, universities and employers to inspire thousands of 16-24 year old players back into clubs across England.

5. Touch rugby – Ambition to encourage 15,000 new players to take up rugby by broadening the reach and appeal of the game through more access to touch. Over 200 club and 100 university based O2 Touch Centres will be set up by 2015, offering a range of pitch up and play activity, organised Leagues and events.

6. Other nations – Building links between the RFU’s Constituent Bodies and over 15 of Europe’s key developing rugby nations to share knowledge on how best to grow and develop the game.

7. Cultural engagement – Developing a series of cultural programmes using art and photography to bring alive what Rugby means to local communities.

Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive, RFU said: “With three years until the culmination of one of the greatest sporting events on home ground, we are putting in place the infrastructure and investment now to ensure that we deliver the greatest participation legacy for the game. This truly is a once in a generation opportunity to showcase and grow our game and one that we plan to make the most of.”

The Rt Hon Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for Sport commented: “I am delighted to see the RFU is using the RWC 2015 to inspire new players, grow the game and build on the success of London 2012. It is the one of the largest sporting events in the world, so it is extremely encouraging to see plans already in place with three years to go. As part of these plans, the All Schools programme is an excellent initiative, ensuring that more young people have the opportunity to play rugby in secondary schools.”

Jason Leonard, who played in England’s 2003 World Cup winning side, said: “There’s nothing like a World Cup to inspire a nation and hosting the event gives us the perfect chance to demonstrate that rugby is a game for everyone. It’s exciting to see plans to build participation already in place, so clubs will be ready and waiting to welcome the influx of new players.”

The 2012 RFU Annual Report & Accounts, published this month (November) confirm continued and substantial investment at all levels of the game, despite the financial impact of fewer home matches in a Rugby World Cup year.

The accounts show an anticipated and planned for loss of £6.3m for the Rugby World Cup year from 1st July 2011 to 30th June 2012 but investment in the sport at every level maintained thanks to the RFU’s established reserve policy.

Said CEO, Ian Ritchie, “The Rugby Football Union is a dynamic, credible business underpinning the whole game in England. We have both solid financial foundations and security for many years to come and plan our finances on a four-year Rugby World Cup cycle, with each World Cup year also bringing only two home Six Nations matches to Twickenham. In this way we continue funding every level of the game in fallow years thanks to the profits we build up over the other three. There are many positives in the current accounts and much to look forward to as we head towards hosting Rugby World Cup 2015, especially as 2012/13 already promises record group turnover, contribution and investment in the game.

Chief Financial Officer Stephen Brown added, “This was an excellent year in terms of underlying business performance with above plan revenues from our two Twickenham Six Nations matches, and record 103,000 weekend attendances and sales at the Marriott London Sevens.

Verity Williams

England Coaches Graham Rowntree, Andy Farrell and Mike Catt recently headed to the City of London to launch the inaugural QBE Internationals at the business insurance specialist’s European headquarters.

The QBE Internationals, which opened with the match against Fiji, see England take on the best of the southern hemisphere at Twickenham Stadium this autumn.

Andy Farrell, England Backs Coach, said: “The QBE Internationals give us the opportunity to compete against top quality sides, including current World Champions New Zealand. We look forward to this challenge and relish the prospect of performing in front of a packed Twickenham Stadium for all four matches.”

At the launch, the England Coaches announced the squad to face Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

To mark the start of the series, five giant rugby balls were installed in London’s Lime Street for the day, between the Lloyd’s and Willis buildings in the busy centre of the insurance district. Each three-metre high ball created quite a stir with commuters and represented one of the nations competing.

All five balls moved to Twickenham on 10 November where they were situated in the stadium’s South Car Park for fans to view ahead of the first match. Fans attending the remaining QBE Internationals should also head to the South Car Park to see the England ball with the relevant opposition ball.

As part of this partnership, the RFU will also be working with QBE to invest in community rugby now to build capacity for future generations to enjoy. We’ll give more detail about how we’re doing this towards the end of the year.

Continued on page 2…

RFU’S FINANCIAL RESULTS

WORLD CUPLEAD UP AND LEGACY

Ian Ritchie, Jason Robinson and Steve Grainger

Ian Ritchie

2 Touchline – N O V E M B E R 2 01 2

Calling All Clubs, Colleges and Universities…

“During the year we repaid £5m of our bank loan which originally financed the Stadium’s South Stand and we will have repaid the entire debt by the end of the current financial year, making us debt free. We also provided £5.2m of capital expenditure to kick start the £76m stadium refurbishment project and for the first time we are also accounting for the initial costs of hosting Rugby World Cup 2015. Despite the anticipated loss, we have a significant asset base and very secure revenue streams, combined with substantial cash inflows and reserves which enable us to comfortably meet all of our ongoing responsibilities.

In summary the highlights for the year were:

• Reserve policy ensured game investment maintained• Revenues delivered on plan• Excellent crowds and sales for RBS 6 Nations home games and

executive boxes sold out• Twickenham Experience Ltd exceed budgeted contribution• Record attendance and sales at Marriott London Sevens• Marriott Hotel up on plan, with continued steady growth• Broadcasting & partnerships

all on track• Cash flows strong• Balance sheet strengthened• £5m of Stadium South Stand

loan repaid• £5.2m capital expenditure on

Stadium refurbishment• First time inclusion of Rugby World

Cup 2015 in financial statements

BEAUMONT BECOMES SIX NATIONS CHAIRMANBill Beaumont, Chairman of the RFU Board, was recently elected Chairman of the Six Nations Council and will serve in this role for three years. He takes over from David Pickering who has been Chairman since May 2008 and who will remain on the Six Nations Council as Representative for the Welsh Rugby Union.

Bill said: “I am honoured to be elected Chairman of the Six Nations Council. It is a privilege to be involved with the biggest annual rugby competition in the world. I would like to thank, David Pickering for his work over the last four years and I look forward to working with him and the rest of the Council”.

Speaking after the announcement, RFU President, Paul Murphy, said: “I would like to congratulate Bill on his appointment as Chairman. His knowledge and experience will be valuable in representing England and ensuring that the competition maintains its position as the best international tournament played each year.”

COLLEGES CONFERENCE & CUP FINALS The second annual England Colleges Rugby Conference will be held on Wednesday 1 May 2013 at St Georges Park in Staffordshire. Aimed at growing rugby participation within the college sector, it will take place during the inaugural British Colleges Sport Week at the same venue when some 13,000 college students will take part in a week long programme of activity including touch rugby and the BCS Rugby Cup Finals for both men and women. For more information or to register email colleges@therfu.com.

02 TOUCH FOR STUDENTS A number of universities kicked off the season by engaging in the O2 Touch programme, and enrolling as some of the first O2 Touch Centres. Offering pitch up and play touch rugby activity to the university students, the programme will continue to grow over coming months and seasons. Watch out for more information in Touchline.

FRIENDS AND FORMER OPPOSITION

BILL Beaumont was a popular guest speaker at the Moseley Players Association Autumn Supper held in the RFU Championship club’s Billesley Common clubhouse. He made a 240 mile round-trip from the Rugby Matters Conference at Twickenham Stadium to speak at the supper and be there with two of his former England team-mates, Martin Cooper and Jan Webster and to renew rivalries with former Moseley players including fellow lock Richard Tuckwood and Dave Warren, now chairman of the club. Fylde, Beaumont’s only club during an illustrious

playing career, were regular opponents of Moseley. The RFU chairman also presented a cap to mark 250 first team appearances to Moseley’s long-serving hooker Adam Caves.

Paul Bolton

RFU’S FINANCIAL RESULTS

Continued from page 1…

SCHOOL GAMES SUCCESSRugby union has bid successfully to be part of the national Sainsbury’s School Games again in September 2013. The international event returns to Sheffield where the best Under 18

sevens girls from across the UK will take part. Our sport is part of the School Games at every level. There are excellent games and activities to get more children in your school involved in rugbyso visit www.yourschoolgames.com and click on the Sports section.

GREAT WEEKEND!Saturday 23rd March will see eight teams battle it out on Twickenham’s hallowed turf at the Daily Mail RBS Cup Finals. This year the RFU is offering up to 50 free tickets for school or college groups to come and watch the best of schools rugby. Simply email your details to schools@therfu.comThe Stadium will be buzzing for a second day on Sunday 24th with student rugby showcased in the BUCS Championship Finals. A limited number of free tickets are also available for this event, so send your details to students@therfu.com

UNIVERSITY 7sSunday 17th March 2013 will see the first English Universities 7s Finals day. Further information on the qualifiers and final will be released in the near future through your local University Rugby Development Officer.

PRESIDENT’S XV Now open for nominations, The QBE President’s XV Award 2012/2013 includes categories for School, College and University Rugby. If you are working to keep players in the game and enjoying their rugby, why not submit an application! For more information on how to apply visit: RFU.com/presidentsXV Paul Murphy

University Rugby

Photo credit: Harish Chavda

COOPER’S 100THIS ALSO HENDON’S 80THHugh Godwin

A wonderful life in rugby was celebrated by Hendon RFC in north London when RFU President, Paul Murphy, was among those who toasted the 100th birthday of the club’s co-founder, Geoffrey Cooper.

Murphy attended a double-celebration dinner dance at the Crown Moran Hotel last month (October) that also marked the 80th anniversary of the rugby club Geoff helped to form at a meeting in the Chequers Pub in Hendon in October 1932. Geoff is still serving on the club’s fund-raising sub-committee, he visits the club from time to time and never misses the annual general meeting.

Murphy congratulated Hendon on being able to celebrate its 80th in the company of Geoff, whose 100th birthday had been a week earlier.

In Geoff’s business life he ran a company involved with the watch trade in Hatton Garden and has made substantial contributions to Hendon club funds. He was also a prominent figure in the

Magic Circle, a Mason and a member of a number of Chapters and Lodges, and he remains a keen gardener at his home in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

Paul Murphy spoke about the good work of the RFU Injured Players Foundation and made a presentation to Geoff for his achievements in rugby and his 100th birthday. Geoff responded with recollections of both his early playing days – he was vice captain of Hendon when he scored a try in their opening match - and his current fund-raising role before being treated to a standing ovation.

Michael Barnes for Middlesex Rugby presented a silver salver from the County to mark Geoff’s long service to Hendon and rugby.

Hendon believe their sevens event is the longest running club sevens event in the RFU, and the silver trophy presented each year was originally presented by Teddy Knox, member of The Crazy Gang entertainers whom Geoff knew through his entertainment connections. Finchley RFC were the first time winners in 1955 and in 2012 the trophy was won by Old Millhillians.

3N O V E M B E R 2012 – Touchline

Verity Williams

England Rugby is reinforcing its connection with the grassroots game by inviting young players from the senior squad’s formative clubs to be mascots at the QBE International against South Africa on November 24.

The mascots will run out at Twickenham in their club kit alongside the player if selected as part of the 23-man match day squad to face South Africa. Even if ‘their’ player is injured or not selected in the match day squad they will still be able to watch the game and will enjoy a memorable day at the Home of England Rugby.

Ahead of this O2, as a long-standing partner of the RFU and keen supporters of grass roots rugby, invited these young

players to attend an England rugby training session at Pennyhill Park on Monday 5 November.

It was a great day out for the 34 young people and their chaperones. They were given England memorabilia and taken to watch the training session. Afterwards they met the England players, including the one they had been nominated mascot for.

England Captain Chris Robshaw explained: “It’s been great to meet the young players. We all started playing junior rugby and we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for these clubs. This is a great way to recognise their contribution and say thank you to them all”

See the next issue of Touchline to find out how the 22 match-day mascots got on during their big day.

Paul Bolton

Nottinghamshire club Paviors celebrated their 90th anniversary with a special day of fund-raising for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal and a whopping 73-45 win over Market Bosworth in Midlands One East.

Paviors took to the pitch wearing a specially-designed poppy kit which were pre-sold with half of the profits going to the Poppy Appeal, the

club’s partner charity. They linked up with the Carlton and District branch of the Royal British Legion for the day of fund-raising and were joined by former players who served in the services and who were de-mobbed between 1946 and the 1970s.

Paviors were founded by a group of ex-pupils from High Pavement Grammar School in Nottingham in 1922 and club affiliated to the RFU in 1929 as High Pavement Rugby Club, the

name changing to Old Paviors RFC and in 1976 dropping the old from the name. the ‘old’ from the name. Paviors found their current home at Burntstump Hill in 1974/75 and at the end of the 198’s a few members asked the committee for £500 to establish mini and junior rugby. The fact that the majority of the current first team squad are products of that mini and junior section demonstrates the wisdom of that investment.

PAVIORS CELEBRATEWITH POPPY APPEAL

ENGLAND PLAYERS BACK TO THE FUTURE

Archie McMilan from Warlingham RFC’s Under 12s meets Chris Robshaw

4 Touchline – N O V E M B E R 2 01 2

RFU’S O2 TOUCH INITIATIVE RETURNS THIS AUTUMN

Verity Williams

This autumn the RFU’s O2 Touch initiative is looking to get more people playing rugby.

Following the success of last year’s summer sessions, the RFU and O2 are working together to bring year-round touch activity to locations across England.

Clubs including Chester RUFC, Grasshoppers RFC, Scarborough RUFC and Trojans RFC are encouraging people to pitch up and play at their O2 Touch Centre throughout November.

“We’re thrilled to be participating as one of the hubs for the O2 Touch programme,” said Leroy Arbouine, Community & Volunteers officer at Grasshoppers RFC in Osterley, West London. “Touch is a great way to keep fit, make new friends and have fun, and we are keen to promote O2 Touch and take part in this major project.”

The RFU hopes to attract a range of people to the game – from women and parents who want to get involved but without the contact elements of the game, to former players who still want to keep fit but can’t do a full 80 minutes.

Mark Given, Head of Sponsorship at O2, said: “We are very proud to have backed rugby in England at all levels for more than fifteen years. After the successful launch of O2 Touch last year – we are delighted to be continuing our commitment to introduce as many people as possible to the game of rugby, in whichever form is most accessible to them.”

A nationwide touch campaign will be launched in early 2013, more detail will follow in an upcoming Touchline.

For more about O2 Touch visit www.rfu.com/O2touch

ASTON University won the inaugural Touch Rugby Festival for university women’s teams in the West Midlands.

The event, successfully hosted by Five Ways OE, was led by Jon Critchlow and Tom Huggins , two of the RFU Community Rugby Coaches in North Midlands, and supported the work done in the universities

in introducing freshers and new female players to rugby.

The programme is aimed at universities outside the British Universities and Colleges Sport Premiership and uses touch rugby – a non-contact version of the sport – to introduce the newcomers to rugby. The players are then gradually

introduced to contact rugby ahead of the start of the BUCS competition which starts next month.

Five teams from four universities took part in the event with Coventry University sending two sides and Aston, Birmingham City University and Birmingham University one side each.

CHURCH STRETTONSCHOOL DOUBLE

Paul Bolton

Shropshire’s Church Stretton School completed a double at the Army-sponsored West Midlands Schools Sevens at Stourbridge’s Stourton Park ground, winning two of the three competitions at finals day which attracted more than 380 under 16s boys and girls.

Church Stretton won the boys’ contact tournament, beating South Bromsgrove, in the final and added the girls’ contact title in a competition that was played on a round-robin basis between nine schools.

Haybridge HS from Hagley prevented a clean sweep by Church Stretton by winning the girls’ tag title, a tournament that attracted eight schools from North Midlands and Staffordshire.

Nineteen schools entered the boys competition: Ellowes Hall (Staffordshire), Church Stretton (Shropshire), Windsor HS (Staffordshire), Chantry, Bishop Perowne, Nunnery Wood, Evesham HS, Dyson Perrins, Haybridge HS (all Worcestershire), Walsall Academy, Our Lady Wolverhampton (both Staffordshire), Lacon Childe , Belvidere, Meole Brace, Wodensborough, Bishop’s Castle (all Shropshire), Ridgewood HS (Staffordshire), Summer Hill and Coseley (both Black Country).

Eight Army referees officiated with the RFU’s team of Community Rugby Coaches from the West Midlands helping out. The Army Rugby Union also supplied the trophies , presented by England Women’s flanker Sarah Hunter and Brigadier Gerhard Wheeler CBE, commander of 143 (West Midlands) Brigade.

Paul Bolton

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster recently paid tribute to the army of volunteers who underpin rugby in England. Ten volunteers from Midlands and Eastern Counties clubs were invited to watch the England squad train at St George’s Park, the Football Association’s centre of excellence in Staffordshire, ahead of the QBE internationals at Twickenham.

The volunteers toured the training facilities, enjoyed a three-course lunch and then watched the England players train. Afterwards Lancaster thanked the volunteers for their work in supporting England’s success at international level.

“English rugby is under-pinned by the army of more than 60,000

volunteers who ensure that our rugby clubs continue to flourish whether it is through coaching, refereeing, marking the pitches or making the after-match meals,” Lancaster said. “We were delighted to welcome some of those volunteers to our training session this week as a thank you, not just to them, but everyone who gives their time freely to ensure that rugby in England continues to thrive. They are an inspiration to all of us and a reminder that every player who has the honour of representing England has got there with the support of club or school volunteers.”

The tour of St George’s Park was the brainchild of Steve Grainger, the RFU Rugby Development Director and Tom Stokes, England Team Operations Manager, who arranged the day out for some of the region’s deserving grassroots volunteers,

among them: Ross Cowie from Eastern Counties, Mark Donovan from Staffordshire, Henri Ginvert from Leicestershire, John Kearsley, from Bedford, Ian Mason, of Shropshire, Dan Sutton Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire, Stephen Morgan, from East Midlands, Nick Mudd of Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire, Andy Root from Greater Birmingham and Matt Smith, from Warwickshire.

Carole Thelwall-Jones, RFU Volunteer Engagement Manager, who hosted the event said, “Rugby volunteers are simply the best and it is fantastic to be able to invite these ten outstanding people to get a unique insight into the preparations of the England Team. They were all nominated by members of the RFU local rugby delivery team for their contribution to developing our sport.”

LANCASTER PRAISES RUGBY VOLUNTEERS

TOUCH AT FIVE WAYS

5N O V E M B E R 2012 – Touchline

BLYTH A SHINING EXAMPLETony Simpson

Blyth RFC have reached their Golden Jubilee after playing and administering rugby for 50 years, so there are plenty of celebrations at Plessey Road. But none will have a more spectacular backdrop than when the youth section at the club was recently in the spotlight. A voluntary group from the club has been rewarded for 26 years of voluntary work

in the community with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

Blyth Youth Rugby is among 112 organisations around the country to get the honour, which is classed as being the equivalent of the MBE for voluntary service, a presentation event at the magnificent Alnwick Castle providing the vehicle for representatives from the club to receive a certificate signed by Her Majesty The Queen and an exclusive commemorative crystal.

The club received the award for promoting participation in sporting activities for school children and Blyth Youth Rugby chairman Max Proud accepted the award from Lady Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland who said: “It is a huge honour for me to present the Queens Award to Blyth Youth Rugby who are a perfect example of great voluntary work, which is a huge benefit to the community.”

Mr Proud replied: “It is a great privilege to be recognised for all the hard work that the volunteers have put in over the years and my thanks go to everyone connected with the club, as without them we would not be here tonight.”

A citation read by Vice Lord Lieutenant, Captain Ian Moffat, said: “Blyth Youth Rugby is an outstanding example of an entirely volunteer group working with and for young people. The group has operated very successfully for many years and is exceptional in the quality of what it does for young people.

“Affiliated to the Rugby Football Union, the group is a very effective and admirable organisation which operates on strict compliance with the high standard demanded by that body. The enormous contribution which the group makes to youth provision is widely recognised

and the positive relationship developed with local schools, is singularly impressive. Led by a first-class team, and through hard work and dedication, the group’s volunteers have developed excellent relationships across the community and have earned both respect and appreciation.

“ Blyth Youth Rugby is an exceptional and inspirational example of a successful, dynamic and entirely volunteer –led group dedicated to enhancing the lives of young people through active participation in sport.”

Melanie Magee, Newcastle Falcons Community Foundation manager, who was also in attendance at the reception, said: “The Foundation very much enjoy working with the volunteers and players to enable them to achieve their aims and ambitions and we look forward to building upon the relationship we have formed.”

Tony Simpson

RUGBY Union development in Ashington, Northumberland has been making huge strides thanks to interaction between RFU Development Staff, Ashington RFC and the Northumberland Church of England Academy (NCEA) which has three campuses in the town.

The flourishing links between the club and the NCEA are the product of a Community Rugby Coach initiative at the school and early evidence suggests that the enthusiasm of the pupils could result in three new teams at Under 13, Under 15 and Colts being in place at Ashington RFC in the near future.

Around 40 players attended a training session and those numbers augur well for a thriving link in the future which will see a non-rugby playing school transformed into an emerging school and developing a sustainable link to a club. The arrival of a new influx of players, of course, puts an onus on the RFU and Ashington RFC to give

coach development a priority and this is also coming together well.

Along with this the club have had 15 coaches attending a Scrum Factory course after completing their Rugby Ready coaching, which will leave them with the potential to have a Level 2 coaching team in place to work with these new NCEA driven teams. The development of a Level 2 coaching provision at Ashington is only a part of a wider Rugby Development Team effort to strengthen a county-wide coaching team across the club spectrum.

“We’ve been busy preparing coaches in the Northumberland clubs for the Level 2 courses coming up.” said Northumberland RDO Dave Reed. “Despite all of the accreditation meetings and club development workshops we delivered last season it was clear there was a shortage in Level 2 coaches in the Northumberland clubs. So we decided to cluster the clubs and deliver Rugby Ready and Scrum Factory sessions during August and September. We had contact with 201 coaches in the two

sections, which even if one coach attended both elements, we would still leave us with 100 new coaches equipped to tackle the Level 2 programme.

“The key thing now is turning these coaches into good Level 2 coaches and I’m confident the support and mentoring they will get from CRCs will be a crucial part of the project. A lot of people have contributed to this overall success and a big vote of thanks is due to the CCCs in the clubs, to the clubs for the use of their facilities and to Northumberland RU Coaching Committee for their continued support.”

Said Andy Blight, Director of Sport at NCEA: “Through our partnership with the RFU and Ashington RFC, we are developing rugby for all our learners. The uptake at after-school clubs both in primary and secondary has been excellent since September. Mark Watson (CRC) has inspired the learners in curriculum time and Pete O’Brien (Ashington RFC) has helped Mark deliver after-school clubs providing an excellent link to the club environment.”

ASHINGTON LINKS RAISING GAME

HORNETS REALLY BUZZING

Paul Bolton

TELFORD Hornets won the recent Worcester Warriors J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s festival and will now attend the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series final next summer.

Telford won both the Cup and the Plate tournaments at the Worcester festival where they met Under 14 sides from other Midlands clubs. They beat Droitwich 24-19 in the final of the Cup with a last-gasp try from Charley Wright, having earlier progressed to the knockout stages with a 100% record in their group where they beat Worcester B and Luctonians. They then beat Worcester A with a golden try from Lewis Dorney after the scores were level 12-12 at the end of normal time. Telford’s B team beat Worcester B 32-0 in the Plate final with Warwick Gough, Ashley Maiden and Josh Sterling each scoring two tries.

Each Aviva Premiership club stages a festival, with winners invited to attend the finals day of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series, in which the Aviva Premiership clubs compete.

6 Touchline – N O V E M B E R 2 01 2

Paul Bolton

MORE than 60 youngsters gave rugby a try at a free Junior Rugby Fun Day staged by Pershore at their Wyre Piddle headquarters recently. Youngsters of all ages dropped in to try a range of rugby skill activities and workshops led by qualified coaches.

The Fun Day gave the boys and girls the chance to try contact rugby and two non-contact versions of the sport, tag and touch. Pershore hope that many of the youngsters who visited will become regular players at the Worcestershire club.

“It was a joy to see so many young people having a go at all types of rugby – from five year olds, to 16 year olds,” said Pershore’s Ben Andrews. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.”

Anyone wanting to try rugby at Pershore or requiring further information should contact Ben Andrews on 07779 927 852 or e-mail prfc.juniors@hotmail.co.uk

A great start by hosts St Joseph’s College ensured that the spectators had something to cheer about from the outset of the 26th National Schools Rugby Festival. St Joseph’s College, along with Merchiston, Dulwich and Millfield won all of their games, putting them through to the Cup competition. Brighton, Bedford, QEGS and John Fisher also progressed to the Cup competition.

John Fisher of Purley won Cup group A and Millfield won Cup group B. In the final, the hard fought first half ended 0-0, with Millfield finally securing an 8-0 victory. Hosts St Joseph’s were unable to repeat their form on the second day. A close loss to John Fisher was followed by a win against QEGS but they lost their final game 3-7 to Merchiston of Edinburgh.

The plate final was an extremely close match between RGS High Wycombe and Stamford School decided by two tries to one. Final score 10-5. Try of the tournament went to Tom Whiteley of Millfield (pictured) and The Nick Duncombe Player of the Tournament went to Sam Denham of Millfield.

Next year’s festival will be held on 19/20th October 2013

OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC LEGACY FOR NOTTINGHAMSHIREPaul Bolton

Nottinghamshire rugby clubs will have the chance to benefit from a £1 million Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Fund after Nottinghamshire County Council became the first local authority in the UK to respond to Lord Sebastian Coe’s legacy plea with investment plans to produce future sports stars in the county.

Nottinghamshire’s Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Fund features two streams of funding – Kick Start grants

of £500 to £10,000 and Game Changer grants of £10,000 to £50,000 to help local sports organisations promote sport and nurture talent to find the sports stars of the future.

Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said: “After an amazing summer of sport that inspired people across the UK we must now harness that interest and enthusiasm. This work, commitment and investment by Nottinghamshire County Council is a fantastic example of how a legacy for London 2012 can be created at a local level.”

There are an estimated 1,500 sports clubs within Nottinghamshire, including 29 rugby clubs who are members of the Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire RFU. West Bridgford, who are looking to expand their Stamford Road clubhouse and increase provision for girls’ rugby, is one of the clubs that might benefit from the council initiative. Their chairman Dilwyn Evans said: “We all watched and were inspired by the Games and it has generated more interest in our sport and others. Funding pots such as this can only help to develop our facilities and help us capitalise on this renewed interest in sport at grassroots level.”

JUST LIVE IT!

John Kelly and Michael Patz, from North Mids Referees, travelled to Bali recently, joining referees from Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore as well as two Indonesian based ex pats officiating in the Open Tens and Indonesian National Sevens tournaments.

Before the tournament began they attended a memorial service in memory of the 27 players and supporters who died ten years ago when terrorism hit the peaceful island of Bali and to remember others who had died in the intervening years. Four clubs (Hong Kong Football Cub, Komodo Dragons, Singapore Cricket Club and Tai Pei Baboons) lost players and four Hong Kong referees were amongst the many injured. The father of one of the Tai Pei Baboons, seeing the devastation ten years ago, turned to the survivors and said, “Just live it, lads!” Their club shirts have carried the mantra “Live it” ever since.

Two days intensive tournament rugby culminated in nine finals. John started the ball rolling with the Jug Final and Michael refereed the Men’s Open Tens Cup Final. All referees were complimented by various players during the event and even at the airport on the way home.

FANTASTIC 26TH FESTIVAL AT

ST JOSEPHS

HAVING FUN

7N O V E M B E R 2012 – Touchline

SOUTH WESTFRESHERS FESTIVALThe South West Universities’ Freshers Festival marked the start of the 14th season for the region and took place at its traditional home of Bristol University’s Coombe Dingle Sports Complex last month (October), by Paul Absolom, Peter Johnson and Sarah Hunter.

Twelve men’s and five women’s squads played games refereed by six qualified student referees from the Bristol University Referees Society and University of West of England, as well as former students now members of the Bristol Society. Each of the four pitches in action was covered by qualified First Aid team from Bristol University.

The women’s event was an O2 Touch competition and for many players this was their first competitive experience. The men’s festival provided each squad with three 15 minute each way games against similar strength opponents. Squads comprised up to 25 players and showed the work and organisation put in during the various freshers weeks and trials across the region. The South-West Freshers were pleased to welcome Reading University for the first time. Participating squads were:

Bath University ‘A’, ‘B’ & ‘C’Bristol University ‘A’ & ‘B’Exeter University ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ & ‘D’Hartpury College ‘A’Reading University ‘A’University of West of England ‘A’In all over 300 players enjoyed the event and

the challenge now is to maintain these numbers in the game and provide meaningful competition throughout this season and next. Last year’s highly successful season run along a ‘Grand Prix Circuit’ basis of six tournaments open to all higher education institutions across the region will be repeated again this season. Clubs can enter as many squads as they wish– accruing points towards the Grand Finals in February.

For further information please contact either Paul Absolom at paul_absolom@hotmail.com

(Mob: 07917010770) or Peter Johnson at peter.johnson49@blueyonder.co.uk

(Mob: 07780681392)Sarah Hunter (University Rugby Development

Officer – South West) 07912541858 sarahhunter@rfu.com

With the transition of the Penzance & Newlyn 1st XV into professionalism and their subsequent rebranding as the Cornish Pirates, the reserve side ceased to exist. However, thanks to the efforts of club stalwarts like Scott Dugdale, the team was resurrected, initially in the 2005/6 season playing as a social side.

It soon became obvious that there was a real desire to take things much more seriously, and, thanks to the quality of the players and their obvious enjoyment, it was decided that the team was more than capable of playing league rugby. Having

spent a season winning the Cornwall Merit Table, it was agreed that the team be called the Pirates Amateurs.

The main purpose of the team was to provide locals with the opportunity to play for their local club and for the Amateurs to work closely with the Pirates Colts. This has been a major success, with the vast majority of the current side having progressed through the minis, juniors and colts.

“After much hard work, Pirates Amateurs were admitted into the Cornwall League for the 2010/2011 season. They finished second to Veor RFC, defeated the Devon League runners up

Wessex in the play-off match, and completed the season by defeating Veor in the final of the Cornwall Junior Cup. Promotion placed them in the Cornwall & Devon League finishing eighth last season and at the time of writing they were lying in sixth place. They have now also established second XV playing in the Cornwall Merit Table”.

They are determined to continue as a club with old fashioned values and to keep their sense of community, underlined by their Memorial Match on the Penzance Mennaye Field for Coldstream Guards Lance Corporal Darren Hicks, killed whilst serving in Afghanistan.

The match between the Amateurs and The Coldstream Guards was attended by some 2,000 supporters all wanting to pay tribute to Darren, who was born in Newlyn and had played for the minis, juniors and colts before joining his regiment. Darren continued to play for the Amateurs whenever he was home on leave and captained the side when he played his last game.

The club appreciate their local sponsors too. The picture shows Pirates Amateurs Captain Sam Heath and sponsors Martin Murrish of Trelawney Citroen Garage and Mike Adams of the Zero Lounge Cocktail Bar, both of Penzance.

LICHFIELD LIGHTS UPPaul Bolton

LICHFIELD had cause for double celebration when they switched on their new training lights and were presented with their RFU Club Accreditation. The new lights at Cooke Fields cost £72,588 and were part-funded with an award of £36,294 from the RFU Capital Investment Programme (CIP). The Staffordshire Environmental Trust contributed a further £30,000 towards the costs of the floodlight project. The CIP is the capital funding element of the RFU’s Whole Sport Plan funding allocation secured from government.

Tom Bartram, the outgoing RFU Rugby Development Officer from Staffordshire, and Staffordshire RU president Michael Procter presented the RFU Club Accreditation to Lichfield chairman Dave Bassett. “We are doubly delighted that after a review of our structure, systems, processes and plans for the future the RFU have endorsed our club with the award of the Club Accreditation which demonstrates the RFU’s confidence in our determination to continue developing a rugby for all ethos at Lichfield,” Bassett said.

PIRATES SET SAIL AGAIN

Stefan CurtisThe Rugby Football Union this month introduced a new online coaching device which covers every coaching level and environment.

With quality coaching fundamental for enjoyable and safe play, a great deal of work has gone into ensuring that the necessary knowledge, skills and attributes are developed for each environment at every level of expertise.

Whether new to coaching or an expert, this new online device means coaches can benchmark their skills against the ideal and plan their route to coaching excellence.

Said Stuart Lancaster, “As someone who has progressed through the RFU’s coaching qualifications to become England Head Coach, I can thoroughly recommend this new initiative. Bringing essential information to coaches operating at every level through modern technology will make their progress faster and easier.”

Grassroots coach, Paul Caldwell, from Newark U15s, said, “Having seen this new online service, I would say that life will be a lot simpler for anyone who wants to coach at whatever level and to progress as far as they want. I know that I will use it and it will help me to develop alongside my young team.”

This new Coach Development Model is available for all to use at rfu.com.

COACHINGMADE EASIER BY RFU

8 Touchline – N O V E M B E R 2 01 2

Nicol McClelland

Lewis Moody says the LV= Cup has been a catalyst in the development of the next generation of elite rugby players in England and Wales. He was speaking at the launch of the 2012-13 LV= Cup season where he was joined by a host of English and Welsh club representatives including the winner of the LV= Cup Breakthrough Player Award, Gloucester’s Jonny May.

The launch was at Royal Wootton Bassett RFC in Swindon, the club where May plied his trade before joining Gloucester Rugby in 2009. May chose Royal Wootton Bassett to receive the £1,000 prize he received as winner of the 2012 LV= Breakthrough Player Award and it will help in the redevelopment of their clubhouse.

Lewis Moody, LV= Cup Ambassador, before retiring, most recently played in the LV= Cup for Bath Rugby in their win over Worcester Warriors last season. Said Moody, 34, “The LV= Cup is a great tournament and one I loved playing in. The English, Welsh rivalry and promise of a place in Europe meant the games were always fiercely competitive.

“The LV= Cup is an excellent opportunity for younger players to make their mark on the first team. As a senior player, it was brilliant to see some of the academy players getting stuck in and growing in confidence as the competition went on.

“This season, I expect to see even more talented youngsters making a name for themselves. Game time is crucial for their development into elite level players and the LV= Cup is perfect for this.”

The Welsh contingents, Ospreys, Cardiff Blues and Newport Gwent-Dragons were all represented at the launch. Since its revision eight years ago to the current format, the LV= Cup competition has produced two Welsh title holders in Ospreys (2008) and Cardiff Blues (2009). Scarlets progressed to the semi-finals of the competition last year but failed to hold off Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens, who subsequently went on to lose the final to a fearsome Leicester Tigers at Sixways Stadium.

Home of Worcester Warriors, Sixways will host the final for a second consecutive year having played host to a number of important fixtures, including the 2011 Churchill Cup finals day, the 2011 U20 Six Nations Championship and of course, the 2011-12 and 2009-10 LV= Cup final.

LV= Head of Sponsorship Claire Jeromson said: “The LV= Cup plays a unique role in nurturing the next generation of elite players and the LV= Breakthrough Player Award recognises standout individuals as well as helping grassroots clubs and initiatives continue to produce talent like Jonny..”

The LV= Cup kicked off on Friday, 9 November. Visit www.lv.com/rugby

RECOVERINGIN SENNEN SURFFollowing their victorious battle against Leeds Carnegie last month (October), the Cornish Pirates squad headed west for their post-match recovery in the surf at Sennen.It was quite an experience relaxing tired and aching bodies in the Atlantic’s surf and as an extra benefit welcome nutrition was provided courtesy of Wendy and John Nicholas at nearby Trevedra Farm.Cornish Pirates head coach Ian Davies said:”For four years Simon Raynes has wanted us to do a post match recovery session involving surfing and we finally relented! Thanks go to Dave Muir from the Sennen Surf Centre for providing the equipment and tuition for those who needed it. Harvey and I both missed the action in the sea but made sure we were in the queue for the roast dinner at Trevedra Farm!”

Julia Hutton

England Women opened their sevens season by lifting the France International Sevens trophy in Marcoussis last month (October).

England Women’s Sevens Head Coach Barry Maddocks named a relatively inexperienced squad, with three players making international

debuts, but the squad didn’t lose a single match.

Day One saw victories over Spain, Netherlands, Germany and France A, and England topping the table alonmgside France. The two nations met in the final pool game, England emerging winners by 21 – 5 before a final showdown which saw a nailbiting 12-7 lead to France at half time. As the

final whistle blew, however, thanks to a hat trick of tries from Katherine Merchant and two conversion from skipper Katy McLean, England had secured victory by 19 – 14.

Maddocks said, “We didn’t come to France expecting to win the tournament as the main aim was to expose some new players to sevens. To do that and win is a tremendous bonus.”

GREAT SEVENS OPENER FOR ENGLAND WOMEN

MOODY SAYSLV= CUPHELPS PLAYERS

MAKE MARK

9N O V E M B E R 2012 – Touchline

Hugh Godwin

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Amex Stadium was the venue for a successful clubs support evening organised by Sussex RDO Mal Chumbley in conjunction with Sussex Rugby and RFU staff.

Fifty-seven delegates from 21 clubs around the county gathered in the Harry Bloom Suite with a fine view around the 28,000-seat venue to meet and swap ideas with each other and 24 RFU staff and officers of the Sussex CB.

Bearing in mind the RFU’s core purpose in rugby development - strengthening our clubs and growing the game in the communities round them – RFU staff offered advice and support in the functions of funding & facilities, women’s and girls’ rugby, media relations, generic club development and club accreditation with Rye RFC receiving their accreditation on the night.

The various club representatives – everyone from commercial directors to coaching co-ordinators and chairs of mini and youth – were encouraged to provide detailed feedback on their clubs’ needs and challenges including praise and constructive criticism.

TEEN HERO MEETS RUGBY HEROTony Simpson

GEORGE Stocker from Wetherby maintained a BBC Radio 1 rugby union tradition when he carried off the Teen Hero Award at the Wembley Arena recently.

Last year rugby nut Charlie Ward from Oswestry RFC won a Teen Hero Award for saving a youngster from drowning. This year the mantle passed to the 13-year-old from Yorkshire who demonstrated his courage by dealing with a life-threatening brain tumour and as soon as he was fit enough, setting about raising money for the Harrogate Candlelighters Charity.

That organisation supports children battling cancer and thanks to George’s efforts, over £50,000 has been added to their funding.

The motivating force helping drive George forward during his 18-month battle was the desire to return to action with his Wetherby teammates – an ambition doctors feared might not be within his range – but after gradually easing his way back into the game at a lower level, he finally made it back to take his place in the middle of the front-row in April.

Small wonder, then, that amongst the pop stars on show at Wembley paying tribute to George was a star from another field of entertainment – England hooker Dylan Hartley.

“Picking the winner from the short-list of 13 nominees was unbelievably hard and the person who did win is very inspirational indeed, as you’ll see.” said Radio One DJ Dev Griffin, a sentiment echoed by Harrogate Candlelighters official Sue Patterson,

who said: “You can’t underestimate the treatment he’s gone through and it doesn’t matter how many times I hear him speak, I fill up and think that this lad has gone through all that and now he’s raised all this money.”

George was nominated for the award by his sister Kelly, who said: “I nominated him because he’s a massive inspiration to so many people.”

Modest George explained: “She nominated me, but really she loves One Direction and she knew they would be on the show. Meeting Dylan was absolutely brilliant and I was in complete shock. To have a fellow hooker present the prize made it so special. Dylan was really nice and came and watched One Direction with us afterwards. Then gave me his shirt from when he captained England in South Africa.”

CRB APPLICATIONS CHANGEOn the 1st December 2012, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) will be merging with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The result will be a newly formed organisation known as the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS).

As a result of the change, the current CRB paper application form is replaced from the 12th November 2012 with a new form. In order to ease the transition, the current form will continue to be accepted by the DBS until 28th February 2013. Due to this deadline, the RFU will not accept the current CRB application form after 10th February 2013.

The RFU recommends that clubs wait until the new form is released before ordering any new application forms. The online e-CRB system operated by the RFU will be unaffected by these changes so it is recommended that clubs use the system as its benefits include faster processing speeds, greater control in tracking applications and a far more cost effective process. The online system also avoids incorrect information being entered (as frequently occurs on paper applications). If clubs have any applications that are urgent, these must be submitted online.

If your club does not operate this system, please advise contact the Safeguarding Team on 0208 831 7454 or email crbeapp@therfu.com in order to obtain a login.

PRIDE OF BRITAIN

Paul Bolton

BOURNVILLE rugby player Carl Taylor has been presented with a Pride of Britain Award in recognition of his bravery on active duty in Afghanistan last year. Taylor was awarded the Military Cross earlier this year for his courage in acting as a human shield to protect three Afghan children aged between three and seven during a firefight in Helmand province in March 2011.

A corporal in the 3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, Taylor dodged bullets to rescue the boys during the attack and his courage was further recognised at London Grosvenor House Hotel where he was presented with his Pride of Britain Award for Outstanding Bravery in front of a star-studded audience that included The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron.

The awards ceremony was shown on ITV1 but Taylor, a regular in Bournville’s second team, remains modest about his bravery.

“A lot of people would be bragging if they had done what Carl has done but he is very modest and down-to-earth,” said Bournville director of rugby Rob Sigley. “He was at our first team match to support the boys and didn’t mention that he had won the award. He loves his rugby and he is a regular in our second team. He usually plays in the centre but he agreed to prop a couple of weeks ago to make sure that we had a game after we found ourselves short of front row forwards.

“That typifies Carl. He’s a great club man and we are very proud of the recognition he is receiving for what was an outstanding act of gallantry under fire.”

The comments, suggestions and questions all go towards the RFU and the CB identifying and responding to clubs’ needs.

Mal Chumbley, Sussex RDO, said: “The opportunity to network was praised by everyone who attended and it was interesting to see conversations between clubs taking place, swapping ideas and practical experiences.

“Consideration will be given to follow-up workshops where we find clubs identifying a particular need for support. Player retention was a common discussion point. And the county is looking at staging a

day-long version of this event at the end of the season.“The Amex Stadium, which is on the list of 17 venues shortlisted

to host matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, was a great setting, providing smart surroundings for a productive evening that was praised for its informal nature.” • For more information contact Mal Chumbley,

RFU Sussex RDO, malchumbley@rfu.com 07793 167075.The clubs represented were: Bognor, Brighton, Burgess Hill,

Crawley, Crowborough, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Hastings & Bexhill, Haywards Heath, Heathfield & Waldron, Hellingly, Horsham, Hove, Lewes, Midhurst, Pulborough, Rye, Shoreham, South Sussex Barbarians, Uckfield, Worthing.

SUSSEX CLUBS SUPPORTED AT AMEX STADIUM

Carl Taylor

10 Touchline – N O V E M B E R 2 01 2

Ten more young officials recently passed their Entry Level Referee Award at Old Coventrians RFC thanks to Warwickshire Society of Referees , whose young referee numbers are constantly growing through a special course for 14 to 17 year olds. For the second successive year the course

was sponsored by Coventry, Solihull & Warwickshire Sport and was part of the RFU’s v-Rugby project. Each junior whistler will now be given a mentor from the Warwickshire Society and be appointed to referee at local schools and clubs, who are fully supportive of the scheme.

CIRENCESTER’S BROTHERLY ETHOSCIRENCESTER Rugby Football Club has no fewer than four sets of brothers – Will and Rory McCarthy, Luke and James Fisher, Gareth and Rhys Owen, and Alex and Joe Hammond – turning out for the first team.

Seven of the eight brothers made the starting line-up for their comprehensive 39-22 recent victory over Burnham-on-Sea at The Whiteway, the only absentee being Gareth Owen. As a general manager of Cirencester’s Lidl store , he was required to cover a Saturday shift!

The remaining band of brothers had a significant impact on the game with Alex,

James and Luke all scoring tries. They all come from rugby playing families with dads Gary Hammond (now at Brockworth RFC) and Neil Owen still pulling on a pair of boots most Saturdays. All have come through the successful Cirencester RFC youth system, starting with the minis, and all went to Kingshill School in the town.

First Team Manager and Club Director of Rugby, Neil Owen, said: “All of the boys have come through the club system and this says so much about the Cirencester RFC ethos which is being a local club for local boys.”

It’s been a good year for fast growing sports charity LV=SOS Kit Aid. Having been shortlisted but narrowly missing out for environmental awards at the prestigious Hollis Awards and the Global Sports Forum in Barcelona, LV=SOS Kit Aid finally struck gold in the Corporate Engagement Awards held recently in London.

Pictured are Samantha Preece - Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for the leading UK Insurance Company LV=, John Broadfoot

Joint CEO LV=SOS Kit Aid, Will Gompertz BBC Arts Editor and Steve Miller Chairman of the PRCA. LV=SOS Kit Aid has already delivered more rugby and cricket kit this year than the whole of last year and this year should top 28 tonnes of quality kit sent to 20 disadvantaged countries and now many deserving projects in the UK.

For more information on the charity visit www.lvsoskitaid.com

ANNIVERSARY GIFTFOR HAILEYBURYThis year is Haileybury’s 150th anniversary and as part of the celebrations Old Haileyburians RFC made a donation to allow 23 senior players to go on tour to the United Arab Emirates last month (October). On arrival they headed for early morning training at The British School in Al Khubairat. The next day, after an inspirational visit to the Grand Mosque, they took the school team on at the Abu Dhabi Harlequins ground, winning 54-10, including four tries from full back Okemdi Chukwu.

Then they headed for Dubai for a fixture against Dubai Hurricaines U18. The fantastic facilities at The Sevens, home of the world famous tournament, made for a special occasion and the squad beat their hosts 39-0. Cultural highlights like visiting the souks, desert safaris and river taxis all added value to the experience, together with additional rugby elements such as some sevens and a memorable beach touch rugby tournament against Dubai College and Jumeirah College.

The tour allowed the players – who aspire to follow in the footsteps of former pupils like Jamie George and Chris Wyles of Saracens – to work on their game and to enjoy a range of cultural experiences broadening their horizons.

Follow Haileybury Rugby on Twitter @haileyburyrugby

KIT AND RECOGNITION ROLLING IN FOR SOS

MORE JUNIOR WHISTLERSFOR WARWICKSHIRE

RAF AKROTIRI TENSThe Royal Air Force Akrotiri International Festival of Rugby 10s Tournament will take place between 27 May – 31 May 2013 at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Entry by invitation only with competitions open to men’s and women’s Teams. For further information or to register an interest please contact: Steve Williams on 07961 891449. Email theoldgoat@ntlworld.com

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BURNTWOOD CELEBRATION

STAFFORDSHIRE club Burntwood are hoping to attract as many former players as possible to their 40th anniversary celebrations in their Sportsway clubhouse on November 23. There will be a hog

roast, live music and disco as well as the opportunity for former players to get together again

The club was formed in 1972 at the Drill Inn by John Brown, Harry Cooper, Norman Leyshon, Derek Morrish and the pub licensee Ollie Moseley. After a nomadic existence at pubs and clubs around the town, Burntwood set up home at its current headquarters on the North Shore of Chasewater in 1995 in converted school mobile classrooms. A new clubhouse

was opened in 2002 which was extended recently to incorporate two more changing rooms and an entrance hall to the upstairs function room. The club has gone from strength to strength, with minis through to veterans and earlier this year Burntwood became only the fourth Staffordshire club to achieve RFU Club Accreditation status.

• Tickets for the reunion are £10 each from Rob Forsyth on 01543 305997 or at the clubhouse on 01543 676651

ROYAL NAVY RETAIN NAVIES COMMONWEALTH CUP

The Royal Navy Senior XV travelled down under recently to successfully defend their unbroken record as holders of the Commonwealth Cup.

The competition dates back to 1997 and was this year contested by the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The Australians lost to the New Zealanders by 13 – 41 and the latter were beaten by the Royal Navy 21 – 18 in a tightly fought encounter before the Royal Navy squad, led by inspirational captain POAET Dave Pascoe (RNAS Culdrose), overcame their Australian hosts by a resounding 36 – 10 to secure a sixth consecutive title.

Head Coach CPO Ash Coates said “We had to raise our game to retain the title and beat the home team who gave the Kiwis a good opening match. We couldn’t afford to be complacent and had to really dig in to lift the Cup. It was a great team effort.”

Tony Simpson

WEST Hartlepool TDSOB Rugby Club had reason to celebrate following the annual Durham County Referees Dinner recently, when club member John Dove received the prestigious Durham County Member of the Year Award.

The presentations were made by RFU Chairman Bill Beaumont and Durham President Alan Thompson on what was an especially proud occasion for the club in that the award was being collected by a Technical Day School Old Boys’ member for the second successive year. Last year another TDSOB stalwart, Chris McLoughlin, who had stepped down as County Secretary in 2011, was recognised by the County for his outstanding service. John’s award came in recognition of his work as both the County Disciplinary Secretary, where his contribution has been outstanding for several years, and as Chairman of County Selectors.

Yet there is a twist to this story of success for West Hartlepool TDSOB. Although the club has a busy clubhouse and rugby infrastructure, a first XV pitch ready to go with space for two more pitches currently utilised for soccer, it has not fielded its own Rugby XV since 2008, when an ageing XV meant the shortage of players quickly led to the club withdrawing from League football and then not playing rugby. Rugby has been played intermittently at the club over the last four seasons with County and local Cup Finals and County Junior XV games and a number of clubs using the facilities. The Club Committee has been continuing to maintain the facilities, all that is now needed is a XV to grace them.

Hugh Godwin

Whitton Lions RFC recently celebrated a milestone, playing their first match in the Middlesex Merit Tables a year after Middlesex Rugby ratified the club.

Having played a number of sevens tournaments and away friendlies the match also marked the club’s first home fixture at Old Latymerians Sports Ground in Whitton, 10 minutes’ walk from Twickenham Stadium. The club believe this is the first time rugby has been played on the ground, which also hosts cricket and football.

Although the result on the day was not what the boys might have hoped for - a 43-0 loss to a very strong Belsize Park 3rd XV - the club have brought together a handy squad, mostly comprised of players either new to rugby or returning to the game after a long break.

Whitton Lions are looking forward now to making league rugby a regular fixture. For more information contact: Richard Lennon, Whitton Lions, rich.lennon@yahoo.co.uk.

Last season Lymm RFC player, Alex Bennett, was seriously injured in a match resulting in spinal injuries. On his road to recovery Alex has been undertaking projects and events to raise funds for organisations that have helped him and will continue to assist, including the RFU Injured Players Foundation.

Through a member of Lymm RFC, Brent Charlie North Sea production platform has donated £1500 to the IPF. Said Karen Hood, Community Rugby Medical Manager, RFU Injured Players Foundation

said “This was a very generous gesture inspired by Alex and the efforts of Lymm RFC. We are in regular contact with Alex and his wife Antonia regarding not just his recovery and provision for the future, but also regarding their fundraising efforts and are truly grateful for their work to support us whilst we are also supporting them”.

The photograph shows Alex “Bosh” Bennett at the fundraising Bosh Legends v England Legends game, organised at Lymm RFC. With him are his wife Antonia and their children.

LYMM, ALEX AND IPF WORKING TOGETHER

Paul Bolton

WANTEDONE RUGBY TEAM

WHITTON LIONS SEEK ROAR TALENT

TOUCHLINEEditorial input with pictures to: Touchline Editor, Patricia MowbrayEmail: patriciamowbray@rfu.com Direct Line: 0208 831 6514

Correspondence to:Patricia Mowbray, Touchline Editor, Rugby Football Union, Rugby House, Twickenham Stadium, 200 Whitton Road, Twickenham TW2 7BA.

Mailing and Distribution: Enquiries or updates Email: gameinvestment@therfu.com Tel: 0208 831 6762

Touchline is published by PPL Group, on behalf of the Rugby Football Union, the national governing body of the game in England. Also available on the RFU website: rfu.com

Photography courtesy of Getty and Touchline contributors.Thanks to all individuals, clubs, schools and CBs for contributions.No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the RFU. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the RFU or PPL Group. While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of editorial content, no responsibility can be taken for errors and/or omissions. All trademarks are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.

The England rose is an official registered trade mark of the Rugby Football Union and is the subject of extensive trade mark registrations worldwide.

12 Touchline – N O V E M B E R 2 01 2

The Rugby Football Union wishes to express its gratitude to the following who generously support the game in England

COUNTDOWN FOR RUGBY WORLD CUPLaura Brown

Rugby World Cup 2015 is now less than three years away and next month supporters will find out who England who will face with the Pool Allocation Draw taking place in London on December 3.

As for the 2011 tournament, the 12 automatically qualified teams will be seeded based on the IRB World Rankings on December 3 and positioned into three bands of four teams. The teams will then be randomly drawn by band into the four pools that will comprise Rugby’s showcase event in England in 2015.

Supporters will be able to watch the draw live on www.rugbyworldcup.com. To find out more and to sign up for all the latest news on Rugby World Cup 2015 join The Front Row at www.rugbyworldcup.com/frontrow

SEAN’S RUGBYSKILLS HELPSERVICES CHARITYPaul Bolton

SEAN Wright, the RFU Community Rugby Coach for Derbyshire, is using skills developed with the RFU as a coach educator and mentor to help wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women make the difficult transition back into civilian life.

Ilkeston-based former gulf war veteran Wright is working as a voluntary mentor for a Forces Charity, by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen & Families Association to support men and women leaving the army. He is one of 50 mentors nationwide who signed up earlier this year on a pilot scheme being run nationwide.

The project is being run in partnership with Army Recovery Capability and has been funded by The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, the Forces in mind Trust, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the Army Central Fund.

Wright has found that some of the skills he has developed in rugby have helped him in his mentoring role. “ The aim is for the mentors to take the hand of the mentees and help them back into civvy street. It’s about helping to make sure that people are going

in the right direction. As an RFU coach mentor there is a bit more technical advice needed to correct the way coaches do things and helping them to discover ways of improving. The approach with the army is more sign-posting. I’ve found the experience to be a hugely positive one and also extremely rewarding. It does put your own little difficulties into perspective.”

Wright is bound by confidentiality agreements which prevent him from identifying his mentee other than to say that he is a 40-year-old man, based in Yorkshire who is recovering from a cancerous brain tumour.

“We have to feedback on a regular basis on how we are feeling and we are given a lot of support, practically and emotionally,” Wright said. “Some of my colleagues are working with people who have been severely injured in combat, including triple amputees, and who are learning to live in very difficult circumstances. That can be quite upsetting and we are offered whatever emotional support we need.”

If the mentoring scheme is successful it could be rolled out across the Army and potentially all armed services.

SSAFA Forces Help will help anyone who is currently serving in our Armed Forces, as a regular or reservist and anybody who has ever served as their families. The SSAFA’s motto is: One day’s service, a lifetime of support

Julia Hutton

At Bucking Palace earlier this month receiving the MBE (Member of the British Empire) from HRH, The Queen, was Maggie Alphonsi, who was named on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list this year.

Alphonsi has become one of the most well-known names in women’s rugby, with her barnstorming performances during the 2010 Rugby World Cup earning her fans all around the world. The 28-year-old has been honoured for her Services to Rugby.

Making her debut as a 19-year-old against the USA in 2003, Alphonsi has now amassed an impressive 63 caps and has played in two XVs Rugby World Cups (2006 & 2010) where England finished second to New Zealand on both occasions. She also featured in the inaugural 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens, where England lifted the Plate crown.

“Today is a very exciting day,” said Alphonsi. “I cannot actually believe I am going to Buckingham Palace to receive this award.

It will certainly be a day both my mum and I will cherish forever.

“What makes this honour so special is that it does not just recognise my own personal

achievements but that of the England team - I wouldn’t have received this had it not been for the hard work and dedication of the RFU and my England teammates.”

Alphonsi plays a pivotal role in mentoring and inspiring the England

Rugby talent of the future as a RFU Women’s Rugby Divisional Talent

Development Officer and is also an Ambassador for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in

England. Her role, alongside other England Rugby greats – Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Will

Greenwood – is to promote the tournament’s key values and ensure as many people as possible, and not just traditional rugby fans, can be a part of the tournament and its legacy.

ALPHONSI AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE