Committee Report 2013/2014

COMMITTEE REPORT 2013/2014

1st XV Report Games played - total P W D L Points for Points against 26 16 1 9 647 452 Midlands 2 East P W D L 22 14 1 7 Finished 4th in league 11 points clear of Olney in 5th Only lost twice at home in the season to 1st & 2nd in league Accumulated 11 bonus points in the season Intermediate Cup Lost away v's Wolverhampton in the first round 33 - 19 The season In total 43 different players have represented the 1st XV this season 9 players have played 20 games or more 19 players have played 10 games or more 94 tries scored in season compared with 68 last season 617 points total in season compared to 482 last season Most games played Aaron Dann...... (Play in every game)...... 26 games Dan Ford...... 25 games Joe Sullivan, Adam Conway, Dan Linacre...... 24 games Charlie Turner, Josh Connor, George Ball...... 23 games James Thomas...... 21 games

Top points scored Aaron Dann with a total of 133 points - 2 tries, 36 conversions, 17 penalties Top try scorer Joe Sullivan with 13 tries Man of the Match Throughout the season 15 different players were awarded M.O.M With 5 players receiving it on more than 1 occasion, they are...... James Thomas, James Lloyd, George Ball, Dan Linacre & Charlie Turner 1st XV debuts 11 players debuted for the 1st XV this season - James Thomas, Tris Crawshaw, Ollie Jempson, John Williamson, Andy Kean (Bomber), Rob Reeds, George Turner, Harry West, Louis Williams, Josh Lemmon. 50 Ties 50 ties were awarded to - Brad Pell & Tom Jacques Individual Awards Coaches Player...... Josh Connor Best Young Player...... James Thomas Most Improved Player...... George Ball Players Player...... Charlie Turner for the 2nd season running!!!! Captain Player...... To be awarded by Adam Conway

of 8 Season overview With the appointment of David Johnson as Head Coach, a training plan was drawn up and immediately put into action with pre-season training scheduled to commence the first week of July. Both the Tuesday and Thursday sessions were approached somewhat differently from previous seasons, in that they were open to all players within the Senior section, including the ladies. The sessions were planned, structured and hopefully enjoyed by everyone involved which helped encourage numbers to attend, usually somewhere between 40 - 50 in total per session.

Player numbers had also increased somewhat from the previous season, we gained several new players as well as players returning from University and 6 players from last seasons Colts. James Thomas was one such player who revelled in the transition from colts to seniors and actually played in 20 1st XV fixtures in his debut season. Given that James plays in the front row, it's a remarkable achievement and just goes to show just what can be accomplished.. The season started properly in mid September and with the first 3 games played the 1st XV had notched up 3 victories. The next 2 games were both away, Dunstablians in the League and Wolverhampton in the National Cup. Unfortunately both of these games resulted in losses and brought the Cup run to an end. Late October now and back to winning ways with a home victory v's Leicester Forest. November saw 4 league games, 2 at home and 2 away. A draw and a win at home but unfortunately 2 away defeats, one of these being a 51 - 5 drubbing by league leaders Leighton Buzzard. Only 2 games in December and definitely a mixed fortune beating Northampton BBOB's 89 - 5 then the following week a 19 - 0 defeat away to Northampton Old Scouts. This game was without doubt the poorest performance of the season to date and left us 4th in the league going into the New Year. Into the New Year now and January saw the 1's back to winning ways with a remarkable 4 wins out of 4 games, 2 games with bonus point victories. Disappointment in February with the first home loss of the season and also an away loss against Wellingborough who incidently were 1 place above in the league so it now looked unlikely that we'd be able to challenge for that elusive 3rd spot. With the season now fast drawing to a close March resulted in 3 wins and 1 loss. The loss unfortunately being only the 2nd home loss of the season v's Newbold on Avon. The lads did experience a high though, beating Market Harborough twice in the same month, away in the league and then at home in the County Cup semi-final which gave us 3 victories out of 3 v's Harborough in the season. With the winter now over, special thanks must go to all the ground staff, in particular Colin Hudson and Tony Taylor whose continued and determined efforts maintaining the pitches, and making them playable in one of the wettest winters on record paid off as we were one of a handful of clubs who were able to honour our home fixtures and not have to postpone or cancel any games. The last 2 league games of the season now, the first at home to Northampton Old Scouts and after the poor performance away to Scouts in the early part of the season the lads had a point to prove and i'm glad to say, came away worthy winners and with a bonus point too. Away at Oadby Wyggs for the last game of the season and again another bonus point victory. The season finale was a midweek County Cup final at Welford Rd v's South Leicester. Thank you to all the supporters that turned out to cheer the lads on, great to see so much red, white and green just a shame we had to play in an "alternative kit" We were beaten on the night, albeit by a side that plays 2 levels higher than Lutterworth but every single one of our players aqutted themselves well and gave their all. We lost 59 - 30, scored 4 tries in total and for 30 minutes, in my opinion, were the better side. Credit to South Leicester though, their fitness, experience and game plan gave them a well deserve victory. Here's looking forward to next season. Steve Russell. Senior players manager

of 8 2nd XV Report

P W D L For Against 29 18 1 10 851 495

Leicestershire Premier League Finished 4th P W D L For Against Pts 14 6 1 7 387 281 27

County Cup South Leicester Won 23-19 Semi Final - Mkt Harbs Won 16-14 Final - Coalville Won 16-12 County Champions !!!

Clonmell Cup AEI - Walkover Long Buckby - Walkover Semi Final- Daventry Won 12-55 Final- Newbold Won 23-14 Clonmell Cup Winners Last 3 years !

Top Points Scorer Luke Ball - 200 Pts

Top Try Scorers Luke Ball - 14 Tries Joe Ball - 13 Tries Alex Dann - 9 Tries Rob Reeds -9 Tries

Player of the season Alex Dann

Captains Player of the year George Turner

Most Improved Player Josh Johnson

Most Games Played 26 out of 29 Josh Johnson and Alex Dann Players Used 72

Ian Evans 2nd XV Manager

of 8 3 rd XV Report

Leicestershire Division 3 Finished 5th P W D L F A Pts 14 7 1 6 160 123 26 We have had a good season. Finished mid table we used 79 players which includes 12 colts that played and enjoyed the senior game at times we had a squad of 29 to get on the field. This year we have suffered a lot of injuries and have lost a valued member of the team Laurence sheriff who passed away too soon. The longstanding captains John and Roger Clark have stood down after injury. We fulfilled all or fixtures apart from two. An enjoyable season.

Jason Woodward

Lutterworth Ladies Report The overview of this season on paper looks very similar to the previous season; coming 5 th in the league with a similar points tally, losing in the National Cup to local rivals and losing our main coach, but I feel this doesn’t reflect on how much the ladies team has improved this year. We scored almost twice as many points compared to last season (305 pts compared to 174 pts), our numbers at training have been good and consistent all year even when we trained indoors during the bad weather and we have had a good number of substitutes on the bench for every game we played. The atmosphere within the team has been amazing with everyone pulling together to help each other and also I believe every member of the team has developed some part of their game over the course of this season which has only lead to us playing better rugby. In order to improve further, we must continue to encourage the entire team to work on their personal fitness and also for us to have confidence not only in our own ability but also that of the players around us. I hope this will happen during the course of next season as the efforts put into training by the vast majority of the team were really starting to pay off towards the end of this season. We will also be addressing the issue of discipline during pre-season to avoid recent events from occurring again in the future. I would like to thank all the ladies in the team for their hard work and dedication this year, but a special well done goes to our award winners below: Forward of the Year - Nicola Crick Back of the Year - Hannah Simpson Most Improved Player - Laura Newcombe Coaches Player - Jenny White Players Player - Steph Cannell Missing from that list is one person who has gone above and beyond what was expected and will be very sorely missed next season. We really cannot thank Paul Wilford enough for everything he has done for us this season and previously. Also a massive thank you must go to departing management members Jenny White and Laura Bridge for a job well done this season. Looking forward we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new coach Adam who will be taking over from 11th June. Alongside Adam will be the following: Management for 2014-2015 season Ladies Captain - Carla Jones

of 8 Ladies Vice Captain - Steph Cannell Ladies Team Manager - Vikki Saunders

Girls Rugby

After our first full year we have numbers increased with up to 15 at training and 19 regular players. We managed to play or support other teams and get the girls much needed match time. The under 18s Chloe Horne who played for Jimmies and county and divisional rugby this year. We gained new coaches in Kris Barnett and Pete Bucknell and a manager Jayne Smith.

At the end of April our club was selected as a focus club within the new RFU Women & Girls Growth strategy. This is a three year plan which will be implemented next season. This is a great opportunity for our club, with focused delivery support from the RFU, support and engagement with local partners and initiatives and much more. This is a National programme, where only 54 clubs across the Country have been identified.

Jason Woodward

Under 16 Report

The results for the season were played 21 of which we won 11 and lost 10. Points scored for were 438 and against 488. The leading try scorer was Jacob Garnett with 16. It was a mixed season as the results reflect. The vast majority of our points came via our backs. This was emphasised with our leading try scoring forward George Whalley with 3. A serious shoulder injury to Joe Johnson in the forwards had an impact on our pack and left us a bit lightweight as a result. Highlight of the season was turning around a demoralising 68 point defeat to Leicester Forest with a 17-15 victory 2 weeks later in the County Cup.Players awards this season were:

Parents Player: George Whalley Players Player: George Finch Most Improved Player: Kyle O’Sullivan

Steph Walkinshaw U16 Manager

U14 Report

The under 14’s have had a very good season. Statistically we:

Played 34, Won 22, Lost 11, and Drew 1. We scored 1108 points, 184 tries and 94 conversions.

We’ve played many more games because as you know our squad has got bigger (35 registered players) we’ve been looking for ways to give everyone more game time in a competitive environment, and on a number of occasions we have played 2 games in a day

It is good to get over a thousand points and a lot of tries, it is less pleasing to see we conceded almost twice as many points as last year. So next season we’ll be looking to improve on our defence both individually and as a team.

of 8 We again reached the semi-final of the County Cup, but again didn’t play to our potential in the match and lost to Market Bosworth.

Tour was a real highlight where, intensity in de-fence and precision in attack, notwithstanding that we had many players playing out of position, showed what we are capable of, and we won the Tigers Challenge Bowl Trophy.

Coaches Most Improved Player of the Year is Dan Jordan

Parents Player of the Year is Tom Westbury

Players Player of the Year is Joe Latham

Gayle White U14 Manager

U13 Report

The under 13’s have had a challenging year, especially the first half of the season. Playing on a full size pitch has taken a while for the boys to adjust to and we have come up against some very strong teams, who have strength in depth.

Statistically:- First half of the season; played 12 Fixtures, Won 1 and Lost 11. Scored 135 Second half of the season; played 12 Fixtures, Won 5 and Lost 7. Scored 271

Highlights for the season include:

 Attitude of the team has been great and supportive to each other, especially when results were disappointing.

 Attracted 5 new players at the start and during the season that have strengthened the team and bodes well for the future.

 Much improved second half of the season with convincing wins against Melton Mowbray, Nuneaton, Derby, Bromsgrove and Coalville.

 Reached the semi-final of the plate.

We had 2 players who had a trial on the Tigers DPP; WIll Hooseman and James Berns. Unfortunately, neither were selected on this occasion.

Season Awards: Players Player: Charlie Floyd-Ward Parents Player: Charlie Floyd-Ward Coaches Most Improved Player: Eddie Webb

John Martini U13 Manager

of 8 Clubhouse

In its first full season of operation the rebuilt clubhouse fulfilled most of our expectations. The managing of joint ladies/men’s fixtures was achieved. The referee’s facilities were recognized by the Leicestershire Referees Society with the club being presented with the Whistle Trophy (jointly with Belgrave) for providing referees with the best hospitality etc. The laying of the exterior grade carpet throughout the changing area corridors provided the perfect non-slip surface we were looking for. The employment of a weekly cleaner working with Ron Brown has kept the clubhouse and toilets at a very high standard. Thanks also to Claudia and Mick Woodward for their help. Pete Kiddie and Dave Lenton have been mentioned elsewhere.

Club Accreditation

The clubs status as an RFU Accredited Club was renewed by the RFU after an audit in April 2014 after achieving this status originally in 2012. This confirms that the club has demonstrated that we provide management expected to the required standards in respect of:- Retaining & developing players, Recruiting new players, Recruiting and retaining coaches, volunteers & referees, Effective & efficient management of facilities, Effective & efficient management and governance, integration with the local community and Rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship.

Young Ambassadors.

Thanks to our Junior Coordinator (Mike White) and our Colts Manager (Leon Brown) as well as the Young Rugby Ambassadors Connor Scott (Colt), George Stone (Colt), Joseph Benjamin (Colts) and Chloe Horne (Girls), embracing the RFU Young Rugby Ambassadors programme and encouraging the retention of youth participation in the game is helping to rewrite the Youth Committee agenda at CB level and bringing welcome financial support from the RFU.

Club Volunteers This season we have raised the profile of club volunteering and many have received rewards: We successfully nominated both the mature (Colin Hudson) and the youth (Joel Woodard) of our membership for awards at the Leicestershire RU’s volunteers awards dinner in September. In February our volunteer coordinator (Nick Langridge) was invited to a volunteers reward lunch at the FA’s training ground at St George’s Park and met the England rugby team and watched them training. And in April 100+ of our volunteers enjoyed cheap beer and an evening buffet at the club (sponsored by DHL); an event that will be repeated next season. We also nominated our team of Officers; Keith Tranter, Colin Hudson and Tony Taylor for an RFU Presidents Award in the category of Better Facilities and although unsuccessful we will continue to benefit well into the future from their determination and shear hard work in transforming our clubhouse into what we see today.

The efforts of individuals in raising the profile of the club brings the club reward. Through the efforts of our Minis Coordinator (Jason Woodward), we are now part of an RFU Local Rugby Partnership and shall be supported over the next three years to encourage Womens and Girls rugby development, and in entering our U15s girls into a league next season will will have raised the number of club teams to 16. Relentless efforts from club Officers and Committee very recently resulted in a further substantial grant towards grounds maintenance which we hope will make flooding of the 1st and 3rd team pitches history.

of 8 At their awards evening in June Leicestershire RFU honoured Colin Hudson for his “Lifetime Services to Club Rugby”.

Volunteers bring enthusiasm and ideas which are vital to feed the wishes of our expanding membership. In our most recent efforts we have overtaken the crowd but it takes diligence to stay ahead – oh and lots of volunteers.

Ground & Pitches

During the wettest winter on record a number of games were lost and an even greater number of training sessions missed. The decision was made to apply for funding towards pitch improvement. An application was submitted to Sport England “Protecting Playing Fields” programme in April. On the 3rd June we received notification that our application was successful and an award of £42,010 made against a project cost of £47,010. The programme is for the installation of a secondary drainage scheme on pitch 3 and the installation of primary and secondary drainage to half of the 1st pitch. At the time of the AGM the preliminary survey has been carried out by a Sport England specialist. The project will be carried out in two stages. At the moment we are unsure how much work will be carried out this year and it is possible that the installation may have to be delayed until Summer 2015. We do have certainty though that by next season 2015/16 we will have pitches that will cope much better with increasingly wet winter conditions. The following members have contributed their time and expertise in work on ground maintenance, first aid, building maintenance and mechanical work on club equipment:- Joel Woodward, Ian Johnson, Jason Woodward, Dave Johnson, Gwyn Hussey, Trevor Johnson, James Thomas, Les Ketteringham and George Duffin.

Hon.Secretary

Having taken on the position at the AGM in 1974 I have taken the decision to retire from this role with effect from July 2014. I have had the pleasure (most of the time) of working with 10 Presidents - H.Woods, A.Ross, V.Wheatley, M.Ross, E.Garnett, M.Willey, M.Entwistle, P.Blake, C.Payne and M.Holmes and 8 Treasurers-T.Hancock,T.Ivens,E.Barker,A.Stockton,J.Spurrier,P.Blake,M.Willey and T.Taylor.My thanks go to them all for their help over the years. A special mention also for Keith Tranter who in his position of Chairman has done so much towards the rebuild of the clubhouse and is also retiring this season.

I will continue to help the club in the roles of Groundsman and Membership Secretary.

Colin Hudson 10th July 2014

Note. Playing reports have not been received from any of the Minis teams or the U15 juniors. If received they can be retrospectively be added to this report.