Mitch's Address from the #SRFCMayLunch Programme

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of all of the players and staff at Stourbridge Rugby Club, I welcome all of our sponsors, guests and a considerable number of new friends to our annual corporate lunch. This prestigious event has gone from strength-to-strength and this year we have a record number of attendees. It is your support that makes the club viable and enables us to play rugby.

There can be little doubt that our selection of speakers this afternoon has attracted attention and hosting Eddie Jones has been a big factor in increasing our numbers following his outstanding record in English Rugby, producing two Six Nations Championships and almost eclipsing, but certainly equalling the All Blacks record unbeaten run of 18 games. I shall be hoping for any pearls of wisdom that we can use in our campaign next year.

Keeping up with the Joneses is essential this afternoon, as we will hear from Lord Jones of Birmingham; Digby will no doubt cater for our huge regional business contingent. He is a former Director of the CBI with global influence in business and proudly a West Midlands man through and through. He regularly played devil’s advocate with his rationale and balance during the Brexit campaign and was the reason I voted out! Surely the fact we have such a high percentage of corporate business people here this afternoon shows that Midlands business is booming, at least in our conurbation. We don’t offer any political position on Brexit with the menu today but we can expect a ‘bostin’ lunch and an interesting afternoon ahead. We would like to stay well away from any form of election…

John Bentley has been our Master of Ceremonies here for the last four years and he tells me it is by far his favourite gig. I suspect he may say this to all the DoRs! The former British Lion will no doubt command the afternoon with his quintessentially northern, uniquely blunt and subtle style, I for one hope John continues to grace us with his presence and his humour here at Stourton for many years to come.

I offer thanks to all our sponsors and special guests for their continued support, the local rugby scene changes frequently and we are constantly looking to develop relationships with other clubs that have a similar ethos. The network of Midlands clubs providing player development opportunities and exchanges is something we are keen to promote and participate in. We are delighted to have a representative contingent from Wasps here today and it is most impressive that they can bring the Heineken Cup with them. The experience of watching a match at The Ricoh is truly a benchmark for other clubs to emulate.

This event could not take place without the huge amount of work and preparation that ensures the smooth running of the day. Miles, Lou, Donna, Helen and Laura have done a fantastic job in putting both the Corporate Lunch and May Ball together. You are a credit to our club and thanks for all your efforts. There are also a plethora of unsung volunteers who work in the background to make this all happen - thanks for what you do!

I have been looking forward to this afternoon with huge anticipation. I hope you all enjoy the day and support us again next year, both on and off the field.Enjoy the day!

Mitch
Neil Mitchell
Director of Rugby - Stourbridge Rugby

President's Address... from the Corporate Business Lunch Programme

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to welcome so many people here to our May Corporate Lunch and I trust that you all have a very enjoyable time at Stourton Park.

Stourbridge RFC is very proud of these facilities. Many years of hard work and detailed planning has gone into getting us where we are today. Already much work is going into next year’s improvement projects that could include the installation of an Artifi cial Grass Pitch to replace the traditional grass pitch in front of the Clubhouse. This would be an arrangement with RFU and will be a tremendous facility for us to offer to our members and the local community. As ever, lots of preparation has gone into this project by several members of the Stourbridge Committee. This will hopefully be available for the start of next season and will help to enable a high standard of skilful rugby to be played irrespective of the weather. It should give all our players more opportunities to play on a perfect surface and it will also enable others to use the facilities through a web booking system.

Talking of preparation this leads me onto a key theme today, the preparation done by our Rugby Coaches. I was once told, fail to prepare then prepare to fail. This is so true, and on this subject, we have three of the best in the business with us today, perhaps it’s the Australian infl uence that makes each prepare meticulously. All three guys came out of the Randwick club in Sydney - Eddie Jones, Glen Ella and our very own Rod Petty. What a terrific job Eddie has done in turning around England’s fortunes and Glen, a past coach of Stourbridge and about to assist Eddie with England’s attacking force for the summer tour of Argentina. Rod, also a perfectionist, works hard at preparing our lads to perform to their best week in week out. Our players have been lucky to have benefi ted from the Australian influence of Glen and Rod and they have no doubt themselves learnt from coaching at Stourbridge. So, two out of three have already coached at Stourbridge - Eddie feel free to call the club at any time... Well done to you all and keep up the excellent work.

On the playing front this season, the 1st XV, having lived with the best for two thirds of the season have tailed off over the past couple of months. This shows that strength in depth is required if we are to push for promotion next year and there is a need to ensure competitive matches are regularly available for all squad members. The Lions have had a great season, winning their league and being promoted to level 6, which will enable greater movement of players between the two clubs next season. The tremendous Lions spirit and enjoyment of the game is infectious and we hope to benefit from this for many seasons to come. The Greyhounds also won their league and gained promotion, the Colts have performed strongly and the M&J section continues to fl ourish and has been very successful in all age groups. What a great credit this is to all players, coaches, helpers and supporters throughout the whole club.

Socially the club is growing together as the family atmosphere is back. Our two big events, this May weekend and the Bonfire Night, have both exceeded expectations and the club has had many other enjoyable events during the year. This has been largely down to the very hard work of Miles Edge, Robin Edwards and Louise Price, ably supported by Sharon Dickens in the offi ce and Bar & Catering staff who have all worked tirelessly. Very recently we have also seen the return of Donna Tromans as Hospitality Manager who will no doubt take us to another level.

Welcome back Donna...

All the hard work that is necessary to run a successful club sometimes goes unnoticed and behind the scenes we would welcome any member who would like to volunteer in whatever capacity for next season to step forward. Stourbridge RFC is a very special club and has been a very special place to me for many years. It is about all members focussed and pulling together to create a great  atmosphere and environment for us to enjoy. Long may it continue and thanks again for your support today.

Nick Perry

President - Stourbridge RFC

Director's Cut from the Caldy RUFC Programme

Firstly, thanks to the coach load of supporters who followed us to Chester last weekend to witness our second away loss on the bounce to nil. I cannot thank you enough for your continuing and loyal support in spite of the rudderless performances we have delivered on the road.

This has been a disappointing season for the First XV. In spite of high hopes in the summer we have latterly drifted into a poor run, sadly not untypical of previous seasons.

We have some very good players but when the pressure comes on some choke. I don’t think there is a player who does not try in my squad, but I have witnessed recently and specifically at Wharfedale, the passion shown in some teams we simply can’t match. The reason, based on over a decade of experience is a core of lads in some teams who are ‘acorn to oak’ club players who play for more than just the dollar in the wind, mud and rain.

This is not a criticism but a fact. Many of our squad have two and three hour journeys following long working days and invariably in the winter end up parked on the M42/M5/M6 respectively on the way to training and match days. Some can deal with whatever life puts in front of them and not let it affect them, whilst others which has become apparent more recently, simply can’t deal with the added pressure of a work life balance.

I am pleased with the squad I have but I need to introduce two significant elements to make the First XV more efficient and competitive. Firstly, we have to work hard to gain the partnerships of senior clubs within the conurbation and that is being implemented right now. The addition of Charlie Hayter, Charlie Fellows, Matt Kvesic, Oli and Alex Grove eight years ago made a significant difference to our squad and Sale have shown the benefits of the link with their Premiership namesakes this season. I would suggest that if they win the play off, Sale FC will sit mid table in National One next season and thus sitting only circa 15 places behind the Senior side.

Secondly we desperately need to have a feeder club into the First XV. The Lions are having a fantastic season this year and look likely to gain promotion to level six. Five seasons ago the First XV were playing Bromsgrove and Dudley Kingswinford and now the Lions are on the cusp of playing these two teams at Stourton Park! If the Lions do attain promotion, then it brings the gap between the semi professional club and the amateur club (albeit in principle totally separate clubs) closer which would allow to some degree relatively free movement for the first time ever between the two clubs for their mutual benefit. It would also allow an opportunity to train and utilise coaches under one umbrella, one ethos. This is not a decision for me if promotion comes to fruition but a decision for the club as a whole, however combined with an input from a senior level to ourselves the cascade could work well for all aspects of the mother club. However, if it’s not to be, then perhaps we will have to consider asking neighbours who are a level below who are encountering the same scenario as ourselves this season to work with us going forward.

In April 2017 a salary cap is being voted on for level 3 and 4 which will have huge implications in 2018 for the semi-professional or ‘community game’ as the RFU call it. Those of us that are effectively ‘stand alone’ squads will be hit the hardest. Unless we prepare for our future now, there will be no chairs left when the music stops.

We entertain Caldy today who are well on their way to a deserved promotion, we took them close at their place and we are fielding as strong a team this afternoon as we did back in November. A lot of soul searching has taken place this week amongst the players and they know they owe our supporters a game. We have been nilled twice in three weeks which is totally unacceptable and I have felt the need to intervene this week in certain area’s which I anticipate will make a difference.

Enjoy the day!

Neil Mitchell
Director of Rugby

www.thecrownoldswinford.co.uk

Director's Cut - Sale Programme 4th Feb 2017

Our winning run came to an abrupt end in Harrogate last weekend when we lost a game we could have put to bed in the first forty minutes. However, unforced errors and uncharacteristic poor set piece left us at the mercy of a passionate home side fighting to avoid the bottom three at the other end of the table.

Credit, however to Billy, Nigel and Sam who all put in a big shift. Also congratulations to Dan Rundle who has scored in every game he has played for us. Daniel becomes a Stourbridge player this week following a loan from Coventry. Stato tells me that scoring as he has in six consecutive games is a National League record. Long may it continue!

We could use the mitigation that seven positional changes were forced upon us last week however the new faces accredited themselves well and I’m afraid some of the main body of the squad choked when Harrogate smelled blood!

Quite simply, we have used up all our lives in respect of challenging for an automatic promotion spot this term. Although there are 10 games remaining and 50 points up for grabs the lead Caldy have (21 points) I think now puts them clear favourite as champions. Sedgley Park and Caldy have yet to come to Stourton Park and yes there is a long way to go but I feel that our game today against Sale will determine our credibility as contenders for a play off spot. The contrast between our performance against Leicester Lions the previous week and our game against Harrogate was vast. I don’t doubt for a second that our squad now know what’s at stake and effectively every game is a knockout contest. Sale will not leave here today without knowing they’ve been in a game.

Our away support last weekend was excellent with many choosing to make a weekend of it. You deserved a  better performance and I believe somewhat cynically that some of the squad had half an eye on today’s game. However whatever the outcome this afternoon it’s the teams in the bottom half who fight for their lives who can define a tight league like this. The big games such as today's often look after themselves!

Enjoy the day!

Neil Mitchell
Director of Rugby
Stourbridge RFC

www.thecrownoldswinford.co.uk