Old Priorian Rugby Football Club OPRFC NEWSLETTER

January 2021 Issue

Photo credit: Mr Tsang

CONTENTS

Chairman’s Note 02 Match Report: EALING 1871 vs OPRFC 07 Head Coach’s Report 08 Season Review 09 Captains Report 11 Chairman’s Note OldBy Alex Priorian Pereira-Inacio Rugby, OPRFC Chairman Football Club

To say the 2019/20 season was one we would rather forget and certainly wish to never encounter again is an understatement. Our rugby, which I will let others develop on, despite showing some real signs of promise across both sides was blighted with injuries, tough opposition and us not living up to potential. The emergence of a number of youngsters was a highlight that I am sure will feature further on in this publication. However, all three sides from National 3 that had been relegated found their way into London 1 North and it was an portentous omen for what lay ahead.

Our relegation was imposed upon us with 4 games left to play and I was told with no uncertainty not to appeal the decision. Whilst I like to think the RFU was worried about our landmark appeal having a knock-on effect on Saracens, it’s more likely an algorithm somewhere made the decision on their behalf. Denied the opportunity of a Hollywood ending to a torrid season or any Hail Mary play in the last minutes of our final game the club took the relegation with stoicism.

Once bruised egos subsided two things became clear. Firstly, this was a chance to shore up the club. In some instances, the fun had gone out of playing and supporting OP rugby. With long trips to North Walsham, playing various southern hemisphere journeymen on the payroll at Essex clubs, financial commitments and the rigmarole of entertaining opposite committee members the sense of fun that the club in its most recent form had been founded on had ebbed away. There seems to be a communal assurance within the club that London NW2 and so many local fixtures and watering holes will be the catalyst to bring it back. I’ll miss the five course lunches at North Walsham and the time (At Southend RFC) where someone called me “Sir” without adding “you’re causing a scene”. I don’t however doubt we will be back at this level and very likely at a higher one in years to come.

Photo credit: Col Palfrey

2 Chairman’s Note OldBy Alex Priorian Pereira-Inacio Rugby, OPRFC Chairman Football Club

Secondly, bigger and more important things than relegation were afoot. I won’t delve into the Covid19 pandemic here, you’ve probably had enough opinions on it, but I would like to discuss briefly how it has affected us beyond the cessation of the leagues. Numerous club members felt the impact. Many with their health, many with their employment and some with the loss of loved ones. The club itself very nearly lost two of its own. Luke Engmann who has played all across the pitch, held various committee positions, run tours and is a Life Vice President was in a coma for 3 weeks first at Ealing Hospital and then at Charing Cross. He came out of the coma safely and on his way home was told his wife was pregnant with their second child. Rumours he asked for the car to return him to the hospital are inaccurate, but please feel free to circulate them. Andrew Sarek a former member of the RFU Council and currently OPRFC committee member was struck down too, spending 9 weeks on a ventilator and suffering a number of strokes during this period. Amazingly after some rehabilitation Andrew is already working a few hours a week from home and has been down to watch OPs play in the touch league. Remarkably, or perhaps not if you know either of them, both characters proved their resilience and survived, both are fast on their way back to (the new) normalities of life. We have a huge debt of gratitude to those that looked after them during this time and one that as a club we intend to try and pay back. There is no doubt that when the dust finally settles these stories will evolve into their own anecdotes and jokes, but the concern at the time was very real.

Partly in light of this and partly due to the desire to keep socialising during such hard times the social secs arranged an online Quiz Night, attended by close to 50 people, which raised just north of £500 which the club donated to the NHS. Adding to this Jack Dever is in the process of organising a 100 km London to Brighton bike ride with currently 17 people signed up to raise funds for the NHS as well the club. More details on this to follow. 3 Chairman’s Note OldBy Alex Priorian Pereira-Inacio Rugby, OPRFC Chairman Football Club

Off the field, the committee continued to meet online in an attempt to do our best to steer the club through some pretty difficult times. It seems we have managed it, so far. Hopefully we can go further and position the club so in the not too distant future a new group can take over in less turbulent times.

A quorate and well attended AGM was held outdoors at Perivale. Committee positions were voted on, a financial summary was giving for the year, a code of conduct that the committee had been working on was agreed and should now be available on the website and the highlight was a talk from one of the clubs Life VPs Rashid Alawiye. Rash was asked (with Mark Machado) to speak to the club about racism after he shared a piece on the clubs whatsapp group that he wrote. I won’t try to do it justice , you can read it for yourself here. It’s an important piece and the discussion that we had at the AGM led by Rash and Mark says a lot about the club being more than just a place people come to play 80 minutes of rugby.

The AGM saw Peter Halsall’s 2 year tenure as President come to an end and the mantle passed on to Joe Codrington. Peter, as many across the whole rugby landscape will know is a force of nature. What he doesn’t know about rugby isn’t worth knowing, and those he doesn’t know in rugby probably aren’t worth knowing. We have to say a huge thank you to him. Not just for everything he did for many of us as a teacher but for everything he did at OPs and ultimately for rugby. I’m very confident he won’t be going too far from OPs and hopefully I can arrange an interview for the next newsletter. It’s a big pair of shoes to fill and I look forward to whenever we have an end of season dinner again so I can invent some sort of drink off between the two. Joe continues the theme of having a great head of hair in the role of President and allegedly knows a thing or two about rugby. Research shows red wine sales will continue to stay high with the new Presidency.

Photo credit: Col Palfrey

4 Chairman’s Note OldBy Alex Priorian Pereira-Inacio Rugby, OPRFC Chairman Football Club

A big loss to the club in the 2019/20 was the departure of Edd Conway. Edd was very much his own institution at OPs. Player and Committee member 2008-2014, Assistant Coach 2016-17 and finally DoR 2017-2020. He did all this alongside coaching at Guys Hospital, United Hospitals, London Irish DPP, Latymer Upper, Kew House, Middlesex and Serge Betsen Rugby. Despite this huge workload Edd never lost his genuine enthusiasm for OPs. His desire to see his peers to do better was very evident in the culture he helped build over the last three years. There is no doubt he was successful in his endeavours. He is very much responsible along with Myles Stringer for the recent uptake in OP rugby from St. Benedict’s school , something that should serve us very well in the future. Edd has moved onto a fulltime role at Merchant Taylors School. Our loss is very much their gain.

Stepping into his place as Head Coach is Adam Preocanin. Adam seems to have been in and around rugby all of his life having been at Saracens, London Scottish, Ealing Trailfinders and most recently at Old Elthamians in National 1 where he was a player coach. He also adds to our international brigade having been capped by Germany against the USA. Ably assisted as ever by Myles Stringer who not only is looking at S & C this year but also stats and is meeting the ever increasing appetite for data. Jack Dever has made the step this year to assisting with backs coaching and with this we have Joe Codrington and Kevin Whitcomb helping out as well.

Every year it seems as though one of us is moaning about funds and alluding to the need of donations. So this year I won’t. Everybody has been stretched thin in 2020. Everybody has more pressing matters to be honest. With that our finance team of Borthwick, Simpson & Boorman have kept us in pretty good shape. Due to a recommendation at the AGM, we should be launching some interactive fundraising which Sport England will aim to match. The idea being that we put together funds that see the club through for the next 3-4 years allowing us to focus on other priorities.

5 Chairman’s Note OldBy Alex Priorian Pereira-Inacio Rugby, OPRFC Chairman Football Club

Lastly, I need say thank you. To the St. Benedict’s development team of Olivia Davies and Tara George and Headmaster Andrew Johnson who help us so much. To the OPA and their ongoing financial and moral support. To all our sponsors, silent donors and volunteers who never ask for anything in return. To all the supporters who help make OP rugby such a great thing to be part of. To the groundsman and Phil Stringer for always facilitating us. To the coaches for their hard work. To the committee for their graft. To Captain Alex Ozegovic and Vice Captains James Booth and Joe Wellings and lastly to all the players who put up with everything, make the best out of what they are given and come back every week.

The future for the club, though currently perhaps obscured by present times, is very bright.

Hopefully this finds you and your family well and you enjoy this newsletter as much as possible.

– Alex Pereira-Inacio, OPRFC Chairman

26 Match Report: EALING 1871 vs OPRFC OldBy James Priorian Sarek Rugby Football Club

Photo credit: Col Palfrey

Old Priorian posted a convincing victory over Ealing 1871 at Vallis Way, maintaining their 100 % record in the Middlesex Ready4Rugby Touch League.

On a mild, mostly overcast afternoon in Ealing, OPs ran out 19-7 winners, recording an aggregate of 35-16 across the two games, continuing the tradition of 'Jouer' rugby so often see at Perivale.

Tries came from the likes of Matt Delargy, Will Taylor, Charlie Page and James Young - all bagging two each - amongst others, including Ollie Hind.

The win will give OPRFC a great deal of confidence going into their remaining games against Harlequins Amateurs and Belsize Park, the first of these taking place next week (19th December) at Harlequins' Bushy Park ground in Hampton Wick.

Squad : Clarke, Delargy, Dever, Flavell, Hind, Howe, Longley, Majstorovic, Ozegovic, Page, Taylor, Tsang, Wilkie, Wright, Young

Scorers : Delargy (2), Page (2), Taylor (2), Young (2), Hind, Others TBC

– James Sarek 27 Head Coach’s Report OldBy Adam Priorian Preocanin, OPRFCRugby Head FootballCoach Club

It was a funny one. Obviously, no one aims for relegation, and I’ll save you the clichés about ‘hoping to have pull off some decent wins to survive’ or that ‘the dreaded Corona virus ended the season early’ but … it is what it is. However, I do think we under-achieved last season, based upon previous years and the success we’ve had with our touch fixtures and the Rosslyn Park 10s. Don’t get me wrong, the first 10s tournament was incredibly social, but we threw a together a team – who hadn’t even played the ‘Ready 4 Rugby’ format – and won the tournament with a 22-1 aggregate score. Rumour has it, Jack Dever is still livid about conceding the one try.

Since then, we’ve had a core group of players that have trained whenever possible and have been involved in our three touch fixtures (kudos to them – they know who they are). We’re unbeaten here, having won 11-6, 16-8, and 19-7 against Belsize Park and Ealing twice, respectively.

I think this shows the level of rugby talent we have at the club and that St Benedict’s consistently produce, but of course, a load of jouer touch rugby on a 4G pitch suits our traditional style. It shows that if we are afforded some space and time on the ball, we can put on a real show. Unfortunately, the key here is ‘if we are afforded’.

As the level of rugby – particularly in term of defence – increases in quality, we sometimes find ourselves with fewer and fewer chances to play. Therefore, one of our aims this year is to start thinking as much about making opportunities as we do about taking opportunities. The good news is that the extended off/pre-season is allowing us to address this and work on a few specific things, namely a bit of shape and pattern. I won’t go into the detail because if I start talking about the why, my OCD will oblige me to explain the minutiae, which may well end in a thesis of sorts.

Lastly, the most recent lockdown has, I feel, left us a bit adrift – in terms of what we’re doing as a competitive club for the remainder of the season. I think the clearest message I can give at this time, is that as a coaching staff and a club committee, we are locked in to facilitating competitive rugby in whatever form we are allowed, at whatever time we are allowed to.

This might seem really ambiguous, which it is, but that’s all we can really go off at the moment. If the government, the RFU, and in turn Middlesex rugby decide we can do X – then we’ll look at being the best at X … if they decide that we can only do Y, then we’ll do Y, etc. etc. In my opinion, that’s all we really can do – fundamentally our raison d’etre is rugby, so whatever rugby looks like, then let’s rip into it and aim to dominate.

– Adam Preocanin, OPRFC Head Coach 8 SEASON REVIEW OldBy Edd Priorian Conway, OPRFC Rugby DoR 2017 -Football2020 Club

The 2019-20 season was a tough one - injuries and unavailability stretched the squad, a wet Autumn and two Winter storms destroyed pitches and it was finally finished early due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

That isn’t to say it didn’t have positive moments, however, with five wins coming from good performances against Ruislip, Woodford and Amersham. The two Woodford fixtures were tense, tight affairs where our quality and determination ultimately proved the difference for late tries both home and away. In the first fixture in Woodford it was the return of inspirational Alex Ozegovic who capitalised on an Aristide Goualin break for us to score, whilst Guy Djedje scored the winner five minutes into injury time in the ‘home’ fixture at Grasshoppers. The latter game also featured a stunning try from James Booth that went on to win the Maximuscle Try of the Month Award.

It was a year where we were just never quite able to build momentum, and the leagues were all decided by an algorithm which ultimately saw us relegated. Whilst that may be the headline for the season, I genuinely believe that this is the best thing for the long-term interests of the club. Level 6 has become such an exhausting league - 26 league fixtures with games as far as deepest Essex, Suffolk and even the North Norfolk Coast. The demands are tough for any modern amateur player (though many clubs in the league are semi-pro), and particularly OPs who have a diverse amount of pressures on their free time. Dropping down to London 2NW will mean that we only play 22 games, none of which are more than an hour away - this is a significant difference for the team we are able to field and also for the club finances. Members of the RFU Council often say the line “one less promotion is one more team” and I really hope this allows the club to continue building the 2nd team. We have played more games in each of the last three seasons and there is now a foundation to build upon.

9 SEASON REVIEW OldBy Edd Priorian Conway, OPRFC Rugby DoR 2017 -Football2020 Club

For the 2019-20 season, plenty of individuals deserve a name check. The end of season playing awards were deservedly given to Charlie Stringer, Conor Dolan, Luis Gomez-Rose, Morgan Lumby, Chris East and James Porter. On top of these, the Captains and Vice Captains in Alex Ozegovic, James Booth and Joe Wellings were consistently setting a high standard and demonstrating their leadership capabilities.

It will also be my last season as Director of Rugby which, whilst strange to step away, provides a great opportunity for a fresh start under the excellent Adam Preocanin and Myles Stringer. Both will be assisted by club legends Joe Codrington and Jack Dever.

There have been plenty of highlights during my time as coach. The 53-42 win over high-flying Colchester in March 2018 showed our ability with ball in hand as we shocked the opposition, moving the ball to space and working to support to devastating effect. Ross McIntosh’s 50m injury time penalty to win against Old Habs on a scorching day at London Irish in September 2018 will also live long in the memory.

It’s incredible, really, to think of the quality within the squad over the past three years. With a less demanding schedule, excellent coaching and some exciting players graduating from University it it’s exciting to see what happens in the next couple of years and I’ll gladly be there to watch.

A final message really to thank all the players for their hard work. So too to the staff - Myles, Preo, Jukesy, Rhys, Arthur, Joey Cods, Dai, Lorenzo, Kwokie and Andriana. It’s been a pleasure to work with you all. The final thanks to the committee, particularly PI, Ben, Corcy, Borthers and Little Simmo who have been incredibly supportive and had to put up with me sending messages/emails at all hours and often requesting more money for pitches, buses, equipment etc.

Who knows what will happen with next season, but I look forward to catching up with everyone for a beer at Perivale as soon as possible Photo credit: Col Palfrey – Edd Conway, OPRFC DoR 2017-2020

10 CAPTAIN’S REPORT OldBy Alex Priorian Ozegovic, OPRFC Rugby Captain Football Club

Another year for the OPs competing in London North 1. But, the 2019-2020 season was not what we’d hoped for and certainly not one we could have ever predicted.

Heading into its 3rd decade, the club saw a change in leadership with both Edd Conway and Jack Dever handing over their respective positions. A new Serbian leadership team, Adam Preocanin and Alex Ozegovic, took the reigns as head coach and club captain respectively, and many feared where the Serbs would take the club!

Pre-season saw new faces, and lots of young talent coming in from school and university leavers. With the two pre-season games won, the club was in a promising position and ready to hit the ground running into the new season. However, the OPs got off to a bit of a shaky start. With a long injury list and several younger, more inexperienced players still finding their feet in Men’s Rugby, we were still looking for our first win after 3 games. Finally, with some veterans coming back in, the OPs saw a comfortable win over our nearest rivals, Ruislip.

With a couple of games won, we hoped for a positive shift in momentum. But, the lack of consistency in the back line found us struggling to find form with no further wins coming our way. A close game at home against Eton Manor saw a hard-fought try denied, which perfectly summed up our playing season. In the last game of the decade, away at Amersham & Chiltern, a game which was almost called off, saw a full squad outing. Matthew Dever, flying over from Ireland, brought great intensity and a Man of the Match performance, and helped secure a comfortable OP joue style bonus point win in terrible conditions.

Into the New Year, the OPs sought to continue from the win in December and better their first half performance. However, mid-way through the second half of the season, Covid-19 hit and was declared a pandemic.

11 CAPTAIN’S REPORT OldBy Alex Priorian Ozegovic, OPRFC Rugby Captain Football Club

This sadly, and abruptly, ended our season early with the RFU making the decision to relegate the OPs for the first time in history. This was a bitter pill to swallow for all.

With chaos roaming around the world, our annual tour, this year to Cologne, was cancelled. But, more positively, as the virus became somewhat under control in the country, this meant we could get ‘pre-season’ underway in the summer. Socials and human contact were finally permitted, and it certainly felt like a long time coming! Thanks to Rosslyn Park for hosting, we were able to let loose and enjoy a few beers and laughs in the sun, during what was a very difficult year for all.

With the new 2020-2021 season coming up, and with many mixed messages from the government and the RFU, the OPs were hopeful and still in full training mode heading into the start of the season. With contact disallowed, touch was the only option and probably benefited the OPs which have seen a 100% winning record, so far.

It goes without saying that this year has been a tough one and we thank everyone who has helped and who continues to. We wish you all the very best and look forward to seeing you all back at the fortress in 2021. It can only get better…. surely?!

– Alex Ozegovic, OPRFC Captain

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