News

Chairman's Report for the 2024 – 2025 Season

Playing

Following our promotion from League 7, considerable planning was done in the spring and summer of 2024 in order to ensure that we not only survived in League 6 but thrived. Led by our DoR, Dylan, we established baselines for things like recruitment, the mindset and fitness of our squad. We were successful in recruiting a number of players, all of whom had experience at level 6 and above. Our performances during the year were, as we expected, largely positive. We played some superb attacking rugby and competed with the very best of the league. Whilst a double against Eton Manor may be the headline, our team spirit, defence and determination gave rise to many outstanding performances.

Our 2nd team benefitted from the recruitment of new players and the emergence of Academy players. They too had many outstanding performances against established sides and the only negative, is the number of clubs in their league who were unable to field a 2nd team.

Our 3rd team also benefitted as above and had some outstanding performances. It remains to our credit that we can field 3 adult sides. We have a flourishing boys Youth section with good numbers registered from U13 to Colts. At WRFC we instill the core RFU values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship and provide an inclusive and fun environment along with excellent coaching and skills development, plus enjoyment of competition as the players grow through their teenage years.

We foster a strong “One Club” approach with support between the age groups and close ties with the senior section of the Club. The Colts have had ten players make senior debut. Getting the players to transition from youth to senior Rugby is great to see and we continue to build on this.

We have three age groups on end of season tours. These rugby experiences cement relationships and foster team spirit. U13s will be travelling to Cheltenham and are playing Chosen Hill RFC & Old Richians RFC. They will also be finding time for Ninja warrior and taking in the Gloucester v Bristol Bears. U14s are saying in the New Forest for two nights playing a game against Fordingbridge on Saturday and a game on Sunday against Romsey. U15s are off to Bath and hosted by Avon RFC as well as watching Bath V Quins

Our minis section continues to thrive and travel to Ventnor RFC for their now annual spring tour. Whilst there are sides with more children at each age group, we field healthy numbers every week, and most importantly, our coach to child ratio gives us the ability to coach each child properly – working on their individual strengths and weaknesses. We look very forward to what next season brings.

Ground

Our two floodlit pitches have once again sustained significant use, with all age groups being able to experience the pleasure of playing on them. We are aware of the repetitive nature of the cost of maintaining this primary asset and have budgeted for the necessary expenditure going forward, using a prudent mix of professional and volunteer labour.

We continue to enjoy the lease arrangement which has secured Wensleydale for the longer term.

Clubhouse

Our toilet facilities have been dramatically upgraded and improved during the year. A mixture of Grants and funding from our cash reserves, ensured that the project came in on time and budget. 2024 also saw the renovation of the 1st XV changing room enabled by the generosity of the Kaye family.

Finances

The 2023 – 2024 Accounts showed that the prudent management of our finances resulted in a small profit and the retention of significant cash reserves. The issue with our utility supplier being unable to provide us with accurate billing for a number of years, has been resolved. A single payment, made from our reserves, eliminated the debt and allowed us to move onto a beneficial tariff.

President

During the year it has been my pleasure to represent the club throughout the region. We are highly regarded, by both our opponents (most) and the County, as a successful, well run and welcoming club. As ever, we rely upon volunteers, parents and supporters to ensure that our fixtures are fulfilled and our players, especially the minis and juniors, experience the pleasure of team sport and lasting friendships. My thanks to them all.

Management

We are still working towards a transition to a Limited Company but in the meantime, the management of the club remains with the management team for the day-to-day decisions, overseen by the Board, who will step up as and when we transition. During the year, our Safeguarding Officer was appointed as an Essex Safeguarding Manager. The management of the club is of paramount importance to the well-being and success of all aspects of our activities. The burden on members of the management team is considerable and we rely as always upon volunteers. I am grateful to all of those who have contributed to the running of our club and for the successes that have been enabled.

James Cull

Wanstead RFC Chairman

When the ancient Romans invented concrete, they used it to build temples to the Gods. What would they make of Fuengirola? What Gods inspired the Spanish builders to create such ahem, wonders, our Roman might think. As tour locations go, it might have been designed by Bacchus himself.

We started off, for a bit of novelty, going via Southend airport. I recommend it. I was first through security. I don't mean just of the touring party, I mean we were the only people in the airport. Quite a novelty to have zero queue for anything at an airport. James Earl wasted no time and ordered 2 breakfasts with extra hash browns. Seemed excessive to me, props are a different breed.

Our Easyjet flight ended up full - the rest of the passengers were sensible enough to arrive after 4:30am - we were just over eager because we love tour. That first day, I was drinking continuously for 24 full hours. From airport opening to nightclub closing (a couple of power-naps notwithstanding). After the airport and the plane, we met up with the rest of the touring party who, being extra keen, had come out a day early to play golf. They were by the pool by the side of our very own concrete monolith. It was very pleasant indeed - if you like burning hot astro (more on that later). Kev tried to order a cheese sandwich and instead started an international incident. It was time to move on. After exploring the town a bit, we settled into our favourite kind of bar - yes an Irish bar.

The next morning, feeling a little dusty, I tried desperately to drown my nausea and dehydration as we took a bus to Club Rugby Victoriano - which was another slice of extremely hot astroturf in the middle of an absolutely stunning nature reserve. They did have a pretty decent balcony too. Love a balcony. Todays rugby was to be a tournament, and it started with our hosts vs Border Park RFC from Northumbria. Border Park are a touring side - they don't trouble themselves with leagues or cups - they focus on touring. What a great idea. They won convincingly.

We were next up against Calgary Saracens for a 40 min game. Yes, that Calgary. Disgracefully, they apparently had enforced a 2 drink limit the night before. We were thusly handicapped, but actually the game was a corker. Physical, attritional. Just before the half, the stalemate was broken, after a turnover by yours truly Chad ran 90 meters before being hauled down. Tom Saunders had the stones to finish and we ended the half 7-0.

In the 2nd half we pulled away somewhat, with tries from Will Knowlden and Rich Goodman, we won 21-0.

The next match was Victoriano vs Calgary for a 3rd place play-off, which Calgary won. After our mutual exertions in the blistering heat nobody really wanted to play much more - so we settled on a 20 minute game to decide 1st place vs Border Park. They scored early on, but we couldn't convert a couple of golden chances. I feel like if we'd played the full 40 we would have won, but as it was we lost 5-0. Will Knowlden was awarded Player of the Tournament. Is there anything he can't do? Based on what I saw from tour the answer is that he cannot lose.

After celebrating with our hosts and the other opposition and after eating an excellent paella and some empanada, and drinking a wheelie bin full of beer we headed back into Fuengirola. Chad got a bit spicy with the first time tourists, and Charlie got a bit aggressive.

The next day was a rather leisurely affair, as we had the late flight home. After a long delay on the tarmac, we arrived back to a typically deserted Southend and headed finally home - another great tour in the bank.

Thank you to Jason, Liam, Paddy and Max for organising this tour, and roll on the next.

Normally these tours are like the blind leading the blind (or, blind drunk). Our first tour to Poland was not like that at all - and was so much the better for it.

Going up in the world and not just because we were celebrating 3 league wins, we dispensed with the traditional 3:30am trip to Gatwick and instead took a nice civilised 9:15am flight from Heathrow. Terminal 5 no less. The airport Wetherpoons full English and pint of Guinness tastes the same at any hour, and then it was a quick hop over to Warsaw.

I honestly didn't know what to expect. What we found exceeded my expectations at any rate. I think there are three distinct parts of Warsaw. Firstly, the new modern steel and glass buildings which populate the city center. They look like they were designed by the same chaps who architected Canary Wharf - and probably were to be honest. Our hotel fell into this category - but no sooner had we arrived at it and wet our whistles in the hotel bar, we were told to move on. The second is decaying communist concrete - and so into this we ventured forth for a spot of axe throwing. This was a lot of fun, and quite tricky. The third architectural style was the incredibly beautiful historic old town.

Now, I know what you're thinking - as soon as we hit the old town we were going to get chucked out of every sophisticated establishment and either end up drinking soplica underneath a bridge, or getting rohypnoled by some scary mobsters. I am thrilled to say that none of this happened - our opposition team for the next day, the Frogs, chaperoned us around the old town and showed us all the best places. The first was the obligatory Irish pub (I've never been, but Ireland must be SHIT - why else would they all be leaving to set up pubs in every country of the world. We could go on tour to Mongolia, and I bet we'd find our way into one to drink badly travelled Guinness - we might just stay at the T5 Wetherspoons).

Now, being fair to our hosts, we were only in the Irish pub for 2 drinks, and then we moved on. The nightlife in Warsaw was a lot of fun, at least now we knew we were going. For once, everyone was well behaved too. Unrelated side note - Matt Ward did not come on this tour.

The next day, we had our game against the Frogs. We got the coach to a very impressive university multi-sports center. It was a beaut; I'm talking proper clay tennis courts, volleyball courts and a family fun day with fairground. And sandwiched between all of that was our ugly mess.

We were the first game of the day. A little worse for wear, we had a poor first half. Liam's restarts took a while to find their mark to say the least. At the half we trailed 35-15, most of that gap was entirely our own fault. We rallied somewhat in the 2nd half, but we weren't able to overcome the deficit, losing narrowly 49-45. Honorable mentions to Mason who tackled and carried like Steve Borthwick was watching from the stands, Chad who was all over the place in the 1st half, but was our best player in the 2nd to almost win it for us in the end, and of course Jimmy James - our resident Tour Judge and Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London who at last played his first game for Wanstead RFC coming on as a substitute in the 2nd half.

The 2nd game of the day was a vets match between the Frogs and Cissou Old Boys. We got chatting to a few of them after, and it was honestly the most French thing ever. After just helping themselves to our beer, they explained that when they train every week, one player instead prepares a three course meal for the rest. I imagine if we tried this with the Wanstead vets team, most of the time we'd all end up with just three separate courses of Whiskey and no food. A few of the Cissou old boys used to play for Jacou - which as most of you will know, is where Wanstead youth teams toured for many years. Hopefully one day soon we can link up again (and they can do the cooking). After a spot of karaoke we went out with the Frogs boys again.

This tour felt over as soon as it had begun. A massive thanks to our hosts, the Frogs who provided comfortably the best hospitality and social of any side we've visited on these tours. Thanks as well to Jason for organising another great tour.

All Clubs in the county have recently received communication from the Chair of Essex County RFU Discipline and we are directed by them to bring this to the attention of all players, team management, members and visitors to the club so please all take time to read the message below: I am writing to update our Clubs on some issues of concern and also a few general housekeeping reminders around Discipline. I have also sent this message to your Club Chair of Discipline. In recent seasons, we have seen an increase of coaches, parents and reserve players entering the field of play without the Referee’s permission. Whilst more noticeable in youth rugby, there have also been instances we have dealt with, in the adult game. Please make your players, coaches, parents, and spectators aware that anyone entering the field of play without the Referee’s permission will be summoned to appear in front of the CB Discipline Panel, and if found guilty, a 20 match/ week ban will be the entry point for sanction. We are also seeing an increase in the number of clubs deferring their responsibility to deal with matters or issue sanctions to their members, but instead wait until summoned to a County hearing and await the outcome. This is frustrating for Panel members as there have been several cases where hearings would have been unnecessary if Clubs had dealt with the matter promptly and in line with the sanction table issued by The R.F.U Regulation 19 Appendix 2 especially when the contravention of Regulations is accepted. In view of this, Clubs must also take this as notice that they are also likely to face severe sanction should the Panel feel a Club is not taking their responsibilities seriously. As in previous seasons, the CB Discipline Panel will continue to impose an additional sanction of up to 4 weeks/ matches for instances of behaviour that bring the game into disrepute, particularly where any individual (player, spectator, coach, member, or spectator) chooses to disrespect or abuse the match official. In cases where a game is abandoned, Clubs are reminded that they will be required to attend a formal disciplinary hearing. The sanctions that may be considered include deduction of league points, removal from cup competitions or holding games in a closed environment. As promised, I have listed a few housekeeping items that hopefully are just reminders: 1. Notification of all red cards and abandoned games within your Club- The Club must report any such events to us within 48 hours. This applies to youth as well as adult games and applies whether the match official is a Society Referee or a Club one. Failure to do so will result in a fee of £25 being applied regardless of the eventual outcome of the case. To notify us please email Discipline@essexRugby.com 2. Club referees must notify us of any red cards issued or games abandoned – This must be done within 48 hours of occurring by emailing as above. If they need some guidance as to what is needed in the report, then they should contact me, and I will arrange some support. 3. Touch judges – Clubs should be ensuring that anyone taking on this role is clear as to their responsibilities, namely, marking touch at the appropriate point for the game to recommence and indicating if a penalty kick or conversion is successful. Unless appointed to the game by the Referee Society, they cannot enter the field of play, comment on the decisions of the match official, or offer advice on something the referee may have missed. They should also adopt a neutral view of the game and not be cheering on their own side. 4. Bad Disciplinary Record - The RFU also delegates to the CB Discipline Panel, the task of dealing with any Club with a Bad Disciplinary Record. This is defined by the RFU as any Club with 5 red card offences in one season. This applies across the whole Club, and does not take into account the of the size of the Club. Whilst I appreciate that much of the tone of this letter may appear negative, I do appreciate the great work that so many volunteers and club discipline leads do in promoting the Core Values, ensuring awareness of the Laws of the Game and also liaising with the CB Discipline Panel in dealing with the disciplinary process. One of the strengths of our game is that we have a robust system and strong sanctions for when things go wrong, and that we can call those responsible to account. Our process of investigation, based on evidence, must be given time to run its course and in rare instances may have to be put on hold while the police investigate. I ask everyone to help us protect the image and reputation of the game by keeping speculation off social media when incidents occur. Posts on Club social media pages are potentially damaging to the game, and individuals and their clubs are risking disciplinary proceedings being taken against them if these posts do not uphold the Core Values. To finish on a positive, we should all remember that Rugby provides amazing opportunity for so many women, men, girls and boys to get out and enjoy participating in a fantastic sport. Grassroots Clubs are the lifeblood of our sport and provide crucial opportunity to meet others and be part of a wider community. It is therefore vital that we continue to place the Core Values at the heart of our clubs to make them a welcoming environment for all. Wishing you all a successful season Keith Hill Chair Essex County Discipline Committee

All Members of Wanstead RFC. 17th March 2023 The Core Values of our game, Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship apply to all of us. As a parent, spectator, coach, referee or player at all levels, we are all bound by the Code of Conduct which means we should always adhere to these core values. As a club with an RFU accreditation and a long and illustrious history, it is incumbent upon us all to uphold and enforce these values. Core Values (englandrugby.com) Why is this reminder now so important that I, as President need to raise it? Laura Wakefield, the Chair of Essex RFU disciplinary panel, has decided to step down because of the distressing volume of matters being referred to her committee by clubs in respect of alleged breaches of the Code and specifically, that of Respect. These usually off-field allegations, including abuse of referees, players, fellow spectators and abuse by coaches and spectators are damaging both the enjoyment and the very nature of our sport. We have a good but not perfect reputation. We are all decent people who want to volunteer and take part but we must each use the influence we have, on and off the pitch, to enlighten, educate and deter those who cross the line into disrespect. If you feel uncomfortable with anything but do not wish to engage in a conversation, then speak to me, James or Liz, our Safeguarding officer. We will take appropriate action. We will not enter a blame game with other clubs, their reputation is a matter for them, but our reputation is paramount. We will not tolerate disrespect by any player, member or supporter of Wanstead. Mike Calvert President, Wanstead RFC