Welcome to Whitchurch

Transcription

1 Dale Glover Welcome to Whitchurch Today we welcome Whitchurch to Glasshouse Lane for a mid season league game, our seventeenth (of twenty six) of the campaign. Whitchurch are currently lying in eighth (we are sixth) place in the league with eight wins and eight losses. They have scored 322 points with 362 against. Last weekend they defeated Hereford at home, and they are now on a four run winning streak having previously defeated Earlsdon (a), Crewe & Nantwich (h) and Barkers Butts (a). The game earlier in the season was a close affair that we edged 17-16, with us holding on at the end after Whitchurch came back strongly at us. Our try scorers that day were Rhys Jones and Ed Hannam with Josh Hickman adding the extras. Whilst we have had three sets of brothers play together in the fi rst XV this season Whitchurch have one set, the Hockenhulls, numbers 6 and 13. WARWICKSHIRE CUP Having played one game at Old Coventrians we now find ourselves in the semi final of the Warwickshire Cup and have been drawn against Berkswell & Balsall, the game to be played at Old Leamingtonians next Sunday, 25th January. The other semi fi nal is between Nuneaton and Sutton Coldfi eld. For those young ones you may not be aware that Kenilworth have never won the Warwickshire Cup, having reached the fi nal on a number of occasions. It would be truly tremendous if our young home grown squad could do it! For everyone s information the fi nal is on Sunday 15th March. Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 i

2 TODAY S LADIES LUNCH It is with great pleasure that we welcome our Ladies to the club for a pre match lunch and we trust you enjoy our fine wines and food, be it your fi rst time here or if you are a regular. It has been a long time since the club has held a Ladies Day lunch (approximately 10 years!) and it was decided it was time that the female associates of the club were given the opportunity to enjoy a glass or two of fi zz, a good meal and some entertainment on a Saturday afternoon! There has been a great response and there should be around 70 ladies attending. The theme is simply, Wear a Hat which we think has inspired some very creative ideas! There will be a mixture of stylish, vibrant and comedy hats and maybe the odd fascinator thrown in. If you are watching the game then I am sure you ll see some of these outfi ts yourself, as some of the ladies will be venturing out of the clubhouse to watch the game (as long as the weather is fine!). There will also be a photographer as the RFU have expressed their interest in the event and will be running an article on it in their Touchline magazine in the near future. This will really help to boost our main aim of the event to raise the profi le of the club. If you missed out this time, don t worry! We will be having another Ladies Day next season keep an eye out in the Newsletter and in communication around the club for the date. MIDLANDS 1 west Newport suffered their fi rst defeat last week at Stoke, going down and this makes our narrow defeat there just before Christmas look all the better. However Newport are still way out ahead and will almost certainly win this league with something to spare. Our recent poor run has seen us drop out of the struggle for second (and the play off spot) and there are now four points separating Worcester Wanderers (55), Stoke (54) and Hereford (51). Hereford have suffered recent defeats at Stratford and today s visitors Whitchurch. We are mimicking last season with a poor start to the return fi xtures and have now dropped to sixth, just one point ahead of Walsall and two ahead of Whitchurch. At the foot of the table Barkers Butts, Earlsdon, Silhillians and Berkswell & Balsall are Ross Lowthian and Joe Yeomanson, doubling up MIDLANDS 1 West Team P W D L PF PA Pts Newport (Salop) Worcester Wanderers Stoke on Trent Hereford Crewe and Nantwich Kenilworth Walsall Whitchurch Stratford Upon Avon * Leek Berkswell & Balsall Silhillians Earlsdon Barkers Butts * five points deducted for nonregistered player KENILWORTH RFC CURRENT TOP SCORERS Team Top kicker Top try scorer Total points Stats 1st XV Josh Hickman, Ed Hannam, 5 Josh Hickman, 109 p17, w10, l7 104 (25c & 18p), 74% COLTS Zak Templeton, Sam Bailey, 6 Zak Templeton, 49 p12, w5, l7 39 (15c & 3p) CAVALIERS Lewis Phillips, 17 (7c & 1p) Ryan Spriggs, 4 Lewis Phillips, 32 p8, w1, l7 3rd XV Mark Turner, 9 (3c & 1p) George Martin, 3 George Martin, 15 p7, w4, l3 A full set of stats is posted on the notice-board and the web site. detached with four points covering them and thirteen points from fi fth bottom Leek. In Nat League 3 Mids South Leicester are way ahead of Peterborough Lions and Nuneaton with Dudley K and Burton well off the pace at the foot. In our feeder leagues Bridgnorth are still leading M2wn by ten points from Old Saltleians whilst in M2ws, it is the two Rugby teams jointly leading the league with our friends Old Leamingtonians in the relegation zone. Happy New Year to all and I look forward to many hours of conversation in 2015 over my love for gardening, some would even say my fetish. Don t be shy, just engage with me at the bar, you ll find me very approachable and there s nothing more I like than sharing my knowledge and love for gardening over a beer (mine s a Coors Light). Now is the time of year to do one of 2 things... Firstly, wrap up warm and fi nish off tidying up the garden, making sure any decaying growth is cut down and composted. This is undoubtedly the best way to reduce pests and disease problems in the soil for next year. But the second thing you should be doing is simply sitting indoors in the warm with a cup of tea or beverage (or Coors Light) and start planning your garden for next summer...a little bit of time now will save hours in the spring. Plan your vegetable plot to ensure good crop rotation; this again is so important to prevent pests and diseases building up in the soil. Now, in answer to one specific question in my mail bag from Mrs Trellis of North Wales - when should one prune a fruit tree? Well, if you follow these tips you won t go far wrong. Begin pruning your apple trees and pear trees now if you haven t done so already - this is best done whilst they are dormant. Likewise it s time to prune blackcurrant bushes, gooseberries and redcurrants to maintain a productive framework. (NB: remember to prune the fruited stems of your blackcurrant bushes after harvesting). However leave plums, cherries and apricots unpruned until the summer (June is ideal) as pruning these fruit trees now will make them susceptible to silver leaf infections. September is the month to cut back the fruited canes of your summer raspberries, leaving the new green canes for next year s crop. Lastly continue to plant raspberry canes on sunny sites with free-draining soil, although we all know autumn is the best time to plant raspberries! Keep those questions (and Coors Lights) coming. TTFN Dickie Harry O Brien THIS WEEKS OTHER FIXTURES Crewe & Nantwich v Worcs Wanderers Earlsdon v Berkswell & Balsall Hereford v Barkers Butts Leek v Walsall Newport v Stratford Silhillians v Stoke ii Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 iii

3 The Teams for 17th January 2015 Kenilworth Player Sponsors Alex Selby - Smith Jones Solicitors Kenilworth Blue with Yellow Flashes Whitchurch Red Shirts Kenilworth Shirt Charlie, Sponsors mascot v Stratford (he is the one on the right!) Rhys Jones - Jonathan Selby Surveyors 1...Matt Gibson 1...Darren Blackhurst Josh Hickman - Baker Jayne 2... Jonny Cresswell (c) 2... Jack Giddings Simon Tyler - EHB Residential Ross Lowthian - Leyton Electrical Marco Stanajevic - Bromwich Hardy Mikkel Andresen - Wareing and Co Gaz Renowden - Anthony Sollis Bobby Thompson - Hannams Removals 3... Ross Lowthian 4...Sam Flowers 5...James Wadey 6... Tom Lane 7...William Carlos 3... Steve Bloore 4... Olly Bates 5...Tom Hollins 6... Jimmy Hockenhull 7... Ben Dodd Ed Hannam - Rapport 8... Mikel Andresen 8...Jimmy Lloyd Matt Gibson - Fitness Worx Jonny Cresswell - Bob Dodd Tom Lane - Men the Barbers Jonny Openshaw - R H Utilities Nick Collett - Chris Elgar Lee Robinson - Pennington Dental 9...Alex Selby 10...Dale Glover Joe Yeomanson Ed Hannam Marco Stanojevic 9...Ricky Allman 10...Ryan Horton 11...Matt Davies Danny Nicholas 13...Henry Hockenhull (c) Arthur Haynes - Baker Jayne Rhys Jones Tom Skone James Wadey - Sonali Indian takeaway Joe Yeomanson - Mini and Junior Section Joe Jepps - Sonali Indian takeaway Pete Nancarrow - Pirates Foundation William Carlos - Pirates Foundation James Jackson - Mini and Junior Section Dale Glover - John Glover Plumbing & Heating Josh Hickman 16...Nick Collett 17...Gaz Renowden Tim Naylor 15...Ollie Brown Jack Griffiths Alex Caldwell 18...Sam Charlesworth (FR) Today s referee: Peter Caunt Northampton Society iv Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 v

4 We all lose our shirt now and again OUR NEXT LEAGUE GAMES We have a week off league rugby next weekend and are playing our cup semi final. The following week, 31st Jan, we are away at Barkers Butts and it is more than likely a few of us will be going to the Queens Head in Meriden good pub food and beer. Our next home game is the 7th Feb when we entertain Berkswell & Balsall. This is the day of a Former Players and DO90 Lunch. LAST FEW WEEKS & SQUAD NEWS We seem to be repeating season 13/14 again, having a good first half then not so good second half. Our return fixtures have began with defeats to Stoke, Stratford and Walsall but the good news is that we have a few guys returning from injury, including the experienced ones - namely James Wadey and Gaz Renowden. The Festive Stratford fixture was one big disappointment and we could, and should, have won it but declined the many penalty points on offer late on and the game ended meekly in a 3-8 defeat. The gloom then extended to Walsall last week with a defeat with only a James Nichol try, and Josh Hickman conversion and penalty to show for our efforts. A depleted Colts lost heavily at Nuneaton and last week they were all set last week to turn out on the main pitch only for Camp Hill to cry off the fi xture at 1pm! It is a bit of a struggle getting both the Cavaliers and the 3 s out so it has been decided to concentrate, at this point in the season, on one team and last weekend a combined 2 s and 3 s travelled to Rugby St Andrews and won The week before the Cavaliers put up a decent performance in losing at Stratford, a much better result than they achieved at the start of the season. Both Gaz Renowden and James Wadey made their come backs last week at Walsall but we were missing Bobby Thompson, Tom Lane and Ed Hannam, to name a few. Tom and Ed are likely to return today, but not Bobby. Also making good progress is long term casualty second row Tim Naylor and it is hoped he may be on the bench today. KRFC DO90 CAMPAIGN The DO90 campaign is up and running and it would be good if everyone could DO90 in this our 90th Anniversary Year. Typical examples are Jos Selby who is running 90km (30 sessions of 3km on a walking machine) for a defi brillator for the club and our Chairman Peter who plans to run round the pitch 90 times, not all at once! Full details of the scheme are included on the web site, together with sponsorship forms. Everyone who does 90 will receive a pin badge. WHAT S ON AT KRFC 21st Jan South Warwickshire U15 s v Greater Birmingham, 7.15pm 23rd Jan BURNS SUPPER 25th Jan Warwickshire Cup Semi Final 7th Feb v Berkswell & Balsall, FORMER PLAYERS & 90th LUNCH 28th Feb v Earlsdon 6th Mar Sporting Celebrity Dinner 21st Mar v Worcester Wanderers 28th Mar v Leek 17th Apr Speed Networking Breakfast Kenilworth Chamber of Trade, 8am 25/26th Apr M&J FESTIVAL 25th Apr 90th ANNIVERSARY MATCH & BBQ KENILWORTH RFC 1ST FIXTURES 2014/2015 Date Opposition for agst. pos Old Coventrians (a) War Cup Silhillians (h) th Stoke on Trent (h) rd Stratford (a) th Walsall (h) th Whitchurch (a) th Barkers Butts (h) th Berks. & Balsall (a) th Crewe & Nantwich (h) th Earlsdon (a) rd No game Hereford (h) th Worcs. Wanderers (a) th No game Leek (a) th Newport (h) th Stoke on Trent (a) th no game Stratford on Avon (h) 3 8 6th Walsall (a) th Whitchurch (h) Berkswell & Balsall War Cup Barkers Butts (a) Berks. & Balsall (h) Crewe & Nantwich (a) Earlsdon (h) Hereford (a) Worcs. Wanderers (h) Leek (h) Newport (a) Silhillians (a) Played: 17, Won: 10, Lost: 7, Drawn: 0, Pts for: 322, Pts agst: 353 TONIGHT S LOTTERY NUMBERS The Colts game with Camp Hill last week on the main pitch was called off by them at 1pm, no games at home! Sets of brothers to represent the first XV this season, Messrs O Briens, Gibsons and Jones. We are now sixth in the league and well out of the running for the play off spot. We need a win! Ten of our starting fifteen last week were twenty three or less, well according to PAG s report anyway! Still not too late to book in for the traditional Burns Night, should be a good night to be enjoyed by all. Next Sunday is the Warwickshire Cup semi final at Old Leamingtonians, 2.15, your support would be appreciated. vi Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 vii

5 Greetings Sports Fans Happy New Year. Some explosive stuff to come in a fortnight s time on Ched Evans, the Welsh and the Six Nations, but this week a mention of a key area that Stuart Brent should consider before naming his England squad on January 21. Readers of this column will know my feelings on modern day number 8s. You know the ones, the self-styled ball-carriers who rarely match the work rate of their colleagues. There are two particular number 8s over the past decade who I ve grown to dislike above all others (even more than Bobby Thompson and Dominic Carrick). One of them is the charlatan Toby Faletau and the other is Nick Easter. At various times I have referred to Easter as a cumbersome, ill-disciplined, plodder who acts as a roadblock to quick ball. The words I ve used to describe Faletau s rugby skills are largely unprintable and, in some less civilised countries, could lead to my arrest. I suspect the homogeneity of the Premiership is a contributing factor to this, but recently I ve found myself among the growing band of people who think Easter should get an England recall. Being forced to question my cultured sporting opinions does not come easily but it s been that kind of month. As I write Southampton are sitting a lofty third in the Premier League having lost their best manager for a generation and having sold nearly all of their good players. And in the past few weeks Steve Smith has gone from being one of the worst Test cricketers I ve ever seen to Don Bradman reincarnated. Conventional thinking is being challenged, which leads me to Easter, and the conundrum that has been causing me the most self-doubt. But then it struck me. None of the clamour for Easter will matter in the slightest because there s no chance of Brent thinking along the same lines. Lanny s problem is this: he has no clue what he does need, but he thinks he knows what he doesn t need. Unfortunately for English rugby fans that appears to be skilful forwards. And unfortunately for Nick Easter, it s Nick Easter. Peacock s Corner viii Kenilworth Rugby Football Club 2013/14 So, here s what will happen: in the absence of Ben Morgan, another desperately average number 8, Lanny will plough on with the same muddled, random thinking he s shown in picking his 9, 10, 12, wings and second rows. Billy Vunipola will play in the Six Nations for as long his poor fitness levels hold out and then James Haskell will come on as a replacement. Continuity doesn t seem to matter to Lanny and neither, it seems, does having an international quality number 8. Because while he s straightening his blinkers and banging on about the positives and good culture in the dressing room, the European player of the year is churning out man-of-the match performances in France and the most in-form number 8 in the country will remain sidelined, assumably as punishment for being a divisive force at the 2011 World Cup. I ve changed my mind about Nick Easter. Lancaster should do the same. One of our Ladies Lunch organisers, Serena DID YOU KNOW Billy Twelvetrees mum and dad run a tree-surgery business in west Sussex, honest! Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt. The BBC s star science presenter Brian Cox thought he might have a scoop on his hands when he trained his telescope at a newly discovered planet in search of alien life. But the Professor said his hopes for an exclusive were brought back down to earth after he was told by the BBC that impromptu extraterrestrial contact would break health and safety guidelines.