Chiswick RFC Times ISSUE 10 - 22/2/2011
1ST XV HAVE IMPRESSIVE AWAY WIN
2nd XV DISSAPOINT IN DEFEAT / CHIEFS GO TOP WITH VICTORY AT LONDON FRENCH
Welcome to issue 10, this issue has the usual reports from all sides and items from the Chairman and all Captains. RESULTS – 19/2/2011
THIS WEEKS FIXTURES ST 1 XV: ST ALBANS RFC 3 CHISWICK 24 The 1st XV have a very hard fixture against the unbeaten Hammersmith AWAY & Fulham who are Champions elect and will be crowned if they beat RFU LONDON NORTH WEST 2
Chiswick on Saturday. Chiswick cannot afford to lose as they hunt ND second place in the league and have been buoyed by recent form, all 2 XV: CHISWICK 7 H&F III 10 these elements should mean a fantastic match so please come and HOME support the players and coaching staff. MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 2
For information on St Albans go to: www.fulhamrugby.co.uk Chiefs: LONDON FRENCH II 5 CHIEFS 25 AWAY The 2nd XV will look to bounce back from last weekends disappointing MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 5 league defeat when they face Merlin RFC in a friendly match at home kicking off at 230pm.Unfortunately the Editor couldn’t find a website for Merlins RFC.
The Chiefs have a home Friendly match this weekend; unfortunately Big Chief Tillen is away on Community Service so Andy Higgins will captain the side this weekend ably assisted by the Chiefs Manager Simon Bartly. Please check the website for details of the opposition once they confirm.
PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT ALL SIDES!!! FIXTURES – 26/2/2011
ST 1 XV: HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM AWAY RFU LONDON NORTH WEST 2 TOUR MONEY IS NOW DUE !!!!! 2.30PM KICK OFF
ND 2 XV: MERLINS PLEASE SEE WEE MAN ASAP IF YOU HOME FRIENDLY 230PM KICK OFF HAVE ANY TROUBLE PAYING Chiefs: TBC OTHERWISE YOUR NAME WILL BE HOME FRIENDLY 230PM KICK OFF STRUCK OFF THE LIST.
CHISWICK RFC SPONSORS:
CONTACTS / CAPTAINS CHANGE IN BAR PRICES
Head Coach: Dave Samuel [email protected] As you will all be aware, the profit made from the Bar is a major 07904999838 contributor to the finances of Chiswick RFC.
Club Captain: Shane Donaldson In order to help cover the Club’s costs as well as plan for the future, it [email protected] is important to try and maximise the contribution that the Bar makes 07775512028 to the Club. This is done in part by trying to ensure as many teams
ST as possible play at home each week and encouraging the away 1 XV Captain: Jon Gibson [email protected] teams to return to the Club after their fixtures.
ND The Club also organises a number of social events to try and boost 2 XV Captain: Rory Fletcher (Co Captain) revenue. As you will also be aware, costs have risen over the past [email protected] twelve months or so not least with the Vat increase which came into
Steve Ferbrache (Co Captain) effect at the beginning of January.
[email protected] In order to mitigate these costs and ensure that the Bar continues to Chiefs Captain: Rob Tillen make a major contribution to the Club’s finances, it has been decided [email protected] to increase our prices with effect from this Saturday, 19 February
th 2011. 4 XV Captain: TBC
Vets Captain: Ian King The new tariff will be displayed as usual at either end of the bar but [email protected] the main change will be that the price of a pint will increase by 20p. All soft drinks and spirits will remain the same as will crisps and chocolate. CHISWICK TIMES NEEDS YOU !! I am well aware that times are tough for everyone but ask that you PLEASE SEND ANY LETTERS, EMAILS OR remember that any extra revenue generated goes into the Club’s ANY NEWS OF INTEREST TO: coffers and therefore is for the benefit of all members of Chiswick RFC. [email protected] I also hope that this increase will not force anyone to reduce their THIS IS YOUR NEWS LETTER SO THE MORE alcohol intake! INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK WE HAVE THE MORE WE CAN PUBLISH. Graeme Hatch
WE ALSO NEED ALL PHOTOS OF MATCHES, Bar Chairman SOCIAL EVENTS!!
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ST ALBANS RFC 3 CHISWICK 24 REPORT BY CHRIS HALLEWELL
Chiswick’s travels to Herfordshire have brought very little in way of points reward so far this season, so it was with some apprehension that a much changed team took to the field in search of the win that would break the Herts Hoodoo.
Conditions on the face of it looked very much in favour of the large St Albans pack with a wet and very soft pitch underfoot. Chiswick through unavailability and injury had to re-shuffle the pack with Stuey Parmeter and Glenn Tucker returning in the front row. Matt Addison dropped in to the engine room with Seth McCullun. In midfield Chris Hallewell moved from the wing to inside centre for Simon Hallett with James Hitchmough partnering Ben Sutherland on the wing.
The early exchanges were scrappy as both teams struggled to get to grips with the conditions. St Albans immediately making their game plan clear with a number of short charges off the side of the ruck pressurising Chiswick just outside their 22. As Chiswick fought to repel the early tide they were penalised for an offside infringement. The shot to goal was, considering the pitch condition surprisingly drop kicked by the St Albans fly half which sailed outside the left upright. A let off for Chiswick but they were soon back under the sticks again from another off side infringement with the finger being pointed at Ben Kelly resulting in a stern warning from the referee to skipper Jon Gibson, that Chiswick would lose a man to the bin if the infringements persisted. The kick this time sailed through 3 – 0 to St Albans.
From the kick off Chiswick managed to get phases going and when Ben Cheston was released by some good structured rugby it seemed a try was inevitable, with the full back covering Cheston he passed wide to the supporting Sutherland who was stopped by his opposite number agonisingly short of the St Albans line, if only his short T-Rex arms were longer he would surely have been able to reach over the line but the scramble defence managed to fashion a turnover relieving the pressure by kicking to the 10 meter line. Luckman re-asserted the pressure with a long kick that was slightly overhit but led to the drop out which gave Chiswick their opening try.
It was kicked long to the waiting Hansie Bear who broke through two midfield tackles on a trademark burst, with sufficient cover seemingly in place to cover the wide pass to the Chiswick centres in support, Hansie threw an outlandish Dawsonesque dummy to his outside and cut inside the home fullback for a score under the posts to the euphoric delight of Matt Addison whom exclaimed that “HANSIE IS BACK” as he ran in for his bear hug. Luckman slotted the extras 7 – 3 to Chiswick.
At this point Chiswick were beginning to take control. Simple rugby and clean phases the order of the day. From the kick off, Chiswick ran their patterns and off a quick platform made another long range dash through the backs only to be thwarted by more desperate St Albans defence. The first half ebbed and flowed between the two 22 metre lines until Chiswick won a line out inside the St Alban’s 10 meter line. Quick off the top ball from McCullun gave Hallewell a clean run into midfield where he was met by the opposition number 8, with good support from the Chiswick back row the ball was recycled quickly and carried blind from Cheston to the supporting Chris Morris, Hitchmough outside on the wing. Morris not to be outdone by Hansie showed his own range of dummy prowess again using the supporting back to his advantage on the outside, stepping inside the first tackler and then back on an outside arc to score 5 yards from the touchline. Luckman nailed the conversion from wide out. 14 – 3 to Chiswick with no further score to halftime.
The second half picked up where it left off with Chiswick, buoyed by their success in the lineout and finding some parity in the scrum. The backs full of confidence chose to play rugby in the St Albans half and making good penetrating runs through the midfield with Gibson and Hallewell to the fore, some astute kicking from a number of players kept the pressure building on the home side, they began to become ragged and ill disciplined. Another bullocking run through the midfield from Hansie and it all got too much for the home pack. An altercation on the ground with player reports citing anywhere between 5 and 10 poorly aimed punches being thrown at the bear by the home second row left him 10 minutes behind the posts to cool off.
Chiswick sought to capitalise on the extra man opting for the lineout from the penalty but it was won by the home team and St Albans escaped. The tactical kicking barrage continued from Chiswick and they were guilty of maybe over playing this tactic as a number of good scoring opportunities went begging choosing to slide kicks in behind the defence when there were overlaps. The game once again descended into mediocrity but Chiswick were still in the ascendancy. A Free kick 5 yards out nearly led to a try for front row Parmeter who crashed a midfield off load from Hallewell just short but some poor Chiswick handling in the next phase again let St Albans off the hook.
St Albans finally managed to break out of their 22 running from deep. An excellent cover tackle from Cheston stopped the St Albans winger and the home pack sought to bludgeon their way through close to the ruck. When this tactic one again brought no success due to some outstanding Chiswick tackles they forced the ball wide. Hallewell, Gibson, Cheston and Hitchmough had all bases covered the lobbed pass out was plucked by Cheston, a short juggle to bring the ball under control and the long run to the line was on. The pace of the home winger was enough to prevent Cheston going all the way but as he held up the defence Luca Vannini popped up from deep to give the necessary support and cantered in for his first try for the Chiswick 1st XV. Luckman this time unsuccessful with the extras.
The match all but won and little time left on the clock so Chiswick went in search of the bonus point. A messy kick off collection was tidied up by Tom Adams who had replaced Chris Morris, sharp handling across the backs put Gibson free with support either side he opted to pass inside to Hallewell who in turn drew the defence and put Matt Cooper through, some fantastic handling between both forwards and back had Chiswick just a metre short of the St Albans line a quick ruck and the ball came out on the blind to Luckman who despite having the overlap went for the line only to be brought down short, the chance seemed lost as the support over ran the offload, but once again as he had done earlier in the half, the outstanding Luca popped up for the pass, diving over the melee of players on the ground to score in the corner. A fantastic team try in which there were no less than 15 passes. The kick again was wide but the game won and the Chiswick Hoodoo was broken with a bonus point to boot.
Chiswick now look forward to the big derby game against top of the table Hammersmith & Fulham whom whilst unbeaten must definitely be beatable by a resurgent Chiswick. Final score Chiswick 24 – St Albans 3.
Team: Donaldson, Tucker, Parmeter, Addison, McMullan, Morris, Kelly, Bez, Vannini, Luckman, Sutherland, Hallewell, Gibson©, Hitchmough, Cheston.
Subs: Cooper, Malone, Adams
st 1 TEAM CAPTAINS VIEW FROM JON GIBSON
FINALLY a performance and a result to be proud of in Hertfordshire, well done lads. With a very heavy pitch and a big pack against us it could have easily been another day to forget for us, however from the off the lads seemed determined to stop the away jinx. The most pleasing thing from the match was the try bonus point which keeps us well and truly in the 2nd place fight. It could have been easy for us to be happy with the win but with the last play of the game we scored a length of the pitch try with the ball going through, it seemed, everyone’s hands. It was a great team effort and a performance which we needed.
Over the next two weekends we have our season in our own hands, this weekend we are away at top of the table Hammersmith & Fulham followed by the visit of 2nd place Harpenden. Saturday will be the biggest game of the season and a chance to test ourselves against the best team (on paper) in the league, it will be an exciting game and one everyone should be looking forward to. Big games like these are the reason why we play rugby and I’m sure will be the games we miss when we hang up our boots. I for one can’t wait and I have every confidence that if we play to our potential we can come out on top.
Massive few weeks for the club, let’s keep this winning feeling going.
Gibbo
ND CHISWICK 2 XV 7 HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM III 10 REPORT BY RORY FLETCHER
Chiswick IIs excellent league run came to an anti-climactic end when a determined Hammersmith team ground out a close win at Riverside Lands. Hammersmith scored first, in the opening five minutes with a well taken penalty following the first of many indiscretions at the breakdown by the home team.
The first quarter was an even battle, with Hammersmith using a strong rolling maul to great effect and Chiswick attacking well near the fringes. Wing Will Halsey had a busy afternoon returning kicks and did so with pace, spotting gaps and exploiting them well. Halsey’s first half performance and cool head under pressure help Chiswick maintain their forward thrust in a scrappy game.
Hammersmith had a prop sent to the sin bin for deliberately preventing quick ball at the breakdown. While the referee deemed this to be deliberate it seemed more likely that the American prop in question simply couldn’t get up due his previously aggressive consumption of KitKats. It is also likely that he was significantly weighed down by the stresses and strains of his desperate, pointless life; which can surely explain why his banter was so appalling.
Chiswick soon got on the scoreboard though through Rheymayo “Penetrative” Brooke who broke several tackles in the mid field to score under the posts. Dave Hill converted easily.
Hammersmith were strong competitors on the day and prevented Chiswick from releasing their promising outside backs, and closed down stagnant forward runners before they could build any pace. Hammersmith scored just before half time, once again using a rolling maul to collapse over the try line. The try was converted and the score was 10-7 to the visitors at half time.
The second half was a series of breakdowns, poorly managed by a seemingly unconfident referee; both teams were awarded some dubious penalties. However, it was ill discipline and poor mental toughness that ultimately lost Chiswick the game. Despite holding up a player over the line and preventing any further scores Chiswick simply couldn’t get back in the game after they were continually pinned back in the corner by an on-form Hammersmith fly-half.
It was a game Chiswick could have won and arguably should have won but Hammersmith did what was necessary and the home team were bitterly disappointed with the result.
CHISWICK RFC – SUPER SATURDAY
TH 26 MARCH 2011
2ND XV & CHIEFS MERIT TABLE SEMI FINALS
BOTH FIXTURES AT HOME – 230PM KICK OFF
LEAGUE ROUND UP
LONDON NW2 RESULTS - 12/2/2011 LONDON NW2 FIXTURES - 26/2/2011
HAMPSTEAD P H.HEMPSTEAD RFC P H&F RFC Vs CHISWICK RFC HARPENDEN RFC 40 GRASSHOPPERS 0 HAMPSTEAD Vs UCS OLD BOYS RFC LNZ RFC 8 UCS OLD BOYS RFC 12 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Vs HARPENDEN RFC ST ALBANS RFC 3 CHISWICK RFC 24 IMPERIAL MEDICS Vs GRASSHOPPERS WELWYN RFC 53 IMP MEDICS 19 WELWYN RFC Vs ST ALBANS RFC
WEST LONDON RFC 15 H&F RFC 25 WEST LONDON RFC Vs LNZ RFC
RFU LONDON 2 NORTH WEST TABLE
13/2 /2011
TEAM P W L D F A DIF BP - PTS PTS 1. HAMMERSMITH & FULH AM 17 17 0 0 640 230 410 11 0 79 ------2. HARPENDE N RFC 17 12 5 0 404 210 194 14 0 62 ------3. CHISWICK 17 11 6 0 383 297 96 9 0 54 4. IMPERIAL MEDICS 17 9 8 0 394 472 -78 10 0 46 5. ST ALBANS 17 9 8 0 330 400 -70 5 0 41 6. UCS OLD BOYS 17 8 9 0 256 342 -86 8 0 41 7. WELWYN 17 7 9 1 299 353 -54 8 0 38 8. GRASSHOPPERS 17 6 11 0 266 399 -133 7 0 31 9. HEMEL HEMPSTEAD 16 6 10 0 276 356 -80 5 0 29 10. LONDON NEW ZEALAND 17 5 11 1 260 316 -56 7 0 29 ------11. HAMPSTEAD 16 5 10 1 313 368 -55 6 0 28 12. WEST LONDON 17 4 12 1 232 320 -88 7 0 25
MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 2 MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 2
20/2/2011 RESULTS – 26/2/2011
TEAM P W L D PTS LONDON SCOTTISH IV 25 HWO 1. CHISWICK II 14 12 2 0 75 IMPERIAL MEDICS II 0
2. H&F RFC III 14 11 3 0 72 ND 3. GRASSHOPPERS II 14 9 4 1 66 CHISWICK 2 XV 7 4. ROSSLYN PARK IV 13 9 3 1 64 H&F III 10
------5. LONDON SCOTS IV 12 4 8 0 39 GRASSHOPPERS II 17
6. BANK OF ENGLAND II 13 2 10 1 27 ROSSLYN PARK VI 17 7. OP SAINTS 11 2 8 1 26 BANK OF ENGLAND II 0 8. IMPERIAL MEDICS II 11 0 11 0 16 OP SAINTS 51
MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 5 MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 5 RESULTS – 26/2 /2011 20/2 /2011 LONDON FRENCH II 5 TEAM P W L D PTS CHISWICK CHIEFS 25 1. CHISWICK CHIEFS 14 11 3 0 70 2. GWR 12 11 1 0 68 QUINTIN II 15 3. LONDON WEL SH VETS 12 8 3 1 58 LONDON WELSH VETS 15 4. QUINTIN II 14 6 7 1 54 ------OLD ISLEWORTHIANS II 10 5. EALING EXILES 13 6 7 0 50 EALING EXILES 17
6. OLD ISLEWORTHIANS II 13 4 9 0 42 ND 7. LONDON FRENCH II 13 2 11 0 32 BOTH 2 XV AND CHIEFS 8. CIVIL SERVICE BA BAAS 11 2 9 0 30 GUARANTEE D HOME SEMI FINALS ON 26 MARCH 2011
FOR ALL MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE INFORMATION CLICK ON: www.middlesexmerittable.co.uk
LEAGUE ROUNDUP – ALL SIDES
st 1 XV (LONDON 2 NORTH WEST) CHASE FOR SECOND PLACE
The chase for 2 nd place in the league is very much on for the 1st XV with Harpenden and Chiswick being in the Editors view being the only sides that can finish the season with a Playoff.
Listed below are the two sides final fixtures and the Editors view of how they will finish:
Harpenden RFC Chiswick RFC
Away – Hemel Hempstead RFC (Win – 4 League Points) Away – H&F RFC (Win – 4 League Points) Away – Chiswick RFC (Loss) Home – Harpenden (Win – 4 League Points) Home – UCS Old Boys (Win – 5 League Points) Away – Grasshoppers (Win – 5 League Points) Away – H&F RFC (Loss) Away – Hampstead (Win – 4 League Points) Home – Imperial Medics (Win – 4 League Points) Home - UCS Old Boys (Win – 5 League Points)
Total Points: 13 League Points Total Points: 22 league Points
Based on this the league would look like so on the 10th of April:
Place Team Pld Won Lost Pts 1. Hammersmith & Fulham RFC 22 21 1 95 2. Chiswick RFC 22 16 6 76 3. Harpenden RFC 22 15 7 75
This is obviously a big ask for our boy but won that would make second place guaranteed unless Harpenden can upset the form book what would make it even more certain would be to win all the last games wit the full compliment of five points.
2nd XV WIN LEAGUE STAGE OF MIDDLESEX MERIT TABLE 2, HAVE HOME SEMI FINAL
nd The 2 XV finished top of Middlesex Merit Table 2 and as such won the league stage of the competition with a record of played fourteen won twelve lost two, all involved should be very proud.
There is one match left in the competition which is Imperial Medics II versus Rosslyn Park VI, The Editor does not want to be the voice of doom but the Medics have sadly failed to fulfil their last 3 fixtures so one feels that will leave Park with a 25-0 walkover and a full six points. This would leave the top four as:
Place Team Pld Won Lost Drawn Pts nd 1. Chiswick 2 XV 14 12 2 0 75 2. Hammersmith & Fulham II 14 11 3 0 72 3. Rosslyn Park VI 14 10 3 1 70 4. Grasshoppers II 14 9 4 1 66
This would leave the 2nd XV with a home semi final on Saturday the 26th March 2010, the semis finals would line up as follows:
Chiswick 2nd XV Vs Grasshoppers II @ Chiswick RFC
Hammersmith & Fulham III Vs Rosslyn Park VI @ Hammersmith & Fulham RFC
CHIEFS POSSIBLY FINISH TOP OF THE LEAGUE MAY GET PUSHED TO 2ND,
The Chiefs have finished their League fixtures and currently sit top, however GWR have games in hand and the likelihood is that the Chiefs will finish second. This guarantees a home semi final likely (as it currently stands) to be against London Welsh vets on Saturday 26th March.
FOR ALL NEWS ON CHISWICK RFC PLEASE GO TO:
www.pitchero/clubs/chiswick
RECRUITMENT
CAN YOU HELP WITH RECRUITMENT
GOT IDEAS TO OFFER ?
THE CLUB IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR PLAYERS
IF YOU FEEL YOU CAN HELP WITH RECRUITMENT IN ANY WAY PLEASE CONTACT
RORY FLETCHER OR SHANE DONALDSON
LONDON FRENCH II 5 CHISWICK CHIEFS 25 REPORT BY SIMON BARTLEY
Watched by a massive crowd, to be honest it wasn't that big and was mostly made up of geese from the nearby London Wetlands Centre who were more interested in eating than the battle taking place on the grass. On a Barnes pitch reminiscent of the Somme the battle commenced between a Chiswick team who needed to win to get a home semi-final in the merit table, and a London French side struggling at the bottom of the league. Despite their league position the Chiefs expected a difficult and close game typical of the French style, strong around the breakdown and around the scrum and in the right conditions able to run in the French champagne rugby style. But the conditions were not ideal for either side.
With Big Chief Tillen sidelined due to an injury picked up in the previous weeks game it was down to Little Chief Andy 'runs with jink' Higgins to lead the Chiefs into battle. The opening skirmish of the game came almost from the kick off with Brynley Pryce taking the ball into heavy contact supported well by a Chiswick pack who are developing amazing support play. With fly half Jayson Perfect directing play Chiswick quickly got into their stride and began to gain ground, with pressure building on the French, Chiswick capitalised and after a few phases of well supported forward play allowing second row Brynley Pryce to force his way over the line for Chiswick's first try, unfortunately unconverted.
With continued forward play Chiswick continued to grind out field position only for possession to be lost with ball kicked from hand, or through ball turned over in the ruck. Despite it being like playing on a pat of butter Chiswick managed this week to hold their scrum and allow Captain Andy Higgins to secure more ball, and the pack even take the opportunity to push off the French pack on more than one occasion. The Chiswick line out this week was much more solid with first half second row Dave Ottley getting ball in hand or tapped back to the scrum half. Chiswick continued to push the French and with a ball chipped over the French backline and into the in-goal area the ball was fumbled by more than one French player and with real determination Captain Andy pounced on the ball managing to apply downward pressure to gain Chiswick's second try just behind the post, wonderfully converted by Ben Wassel to give Chiswick a 12 nil lead.
With the Chiefs settling in to the conditions the French managed to exploit a momentary laps in concentration to find a gap and make run down the wing to cross the line for five points, however their kicker had a mare of a game, missing the conversion, balls not being kicked ten and unable to find touch. Chiswick's third try came from yes you have guessed it well worked forward play allowing them to crawl metre by metre down the field toward the French try line, and again allowing Brynley Pryce to cross the line, a controversial conversion decision followed with one touch judge giving and one denying the conversion, but with the top half of the left post being almost at 45 degree angle it was a difficult decision to make with the ref ultimately agreeing with the French touch judge, however Ben Wassel made up for this conversion soon after with a well deserved penalty kick. Chiswick's final score of the half, and as it turns out the game, came from a break away by Wing Forward James White who carried the ball well throughout the game, crashing over the try line to take Chiswick to 25 points. Despite there being no further score in the second half it continued to be a tough and compelling game and even though there was no score those of us on the touch line continued to enjoy the arduous battle being ground out before us.
As with last week there were some performances which where particularly notable, Mark Barnes and Matt Talbot both coming back from injury lay offs and giving everything for their team, also notable was Mr Barnes' sin binning for tackling the man without using his arms. Second half second row replacement Andy Barrington also had a great half, with excellent ball carrying into contact and wonderful support play. Jayson Perfect continued to cement his place at fly half directing the forwards and back play superbly, equally Chris Towells continues to show why the move from Centre to Wing Forward was a right move, taking ball heavily into contact and also providing outstanding and well controlled aggression in supporting the ball carrier. This weeks Chief of the Match Brynley Pryce was also in contention for the Pocahontas award, despite having a wonderful game throughout his sin binning 9 minutes from the end could have seen him wearing the dreaded squaws outfit, that dubious honour this week going to Frank Smal for poor ball handling which could have seen the French get a second try.
Next stop for the Chiefs is a now confirmed home semi final, which will see Chiswick 2's and Chiefs hosting what Club Chairman Kelvin Campbell has already dubbed Chiswick Rugby Super Saturday.
ND THOUGHTS FROM 2 XV CAPTAIN STEVE FERBRACHE
Following the final game of the league section of the season I am able to look back on our campaign with a huge amount of pride and admiration for the all those that have pulled on a 2s shirt this season. It’s a genuine honour for me to captain such a successful team and to lead, where I can, such dedicated players onto the training and playing field. While the season feels like it is coming to an end I would like to urge everyone that there is still plenty of work to do before we can be crowned out-right champions of our league and gain a much deserved promotion.
There are no league games for the nex t four weeks but it is essential that we continue to play rugby, play well and win games. If we continue our form, keep up the momentum then we will go into the play-off Semis (26th March) and Play-off final (9th April) with confidence, fitness and enthusi asm.
The club and I will be working hard to organise a variety of fixtures; some will be challenging and difficult to win and some will be less so, giving us a change to fine -tune our set piece, structure and defence. I would like to appeal to all players to remain available as if it were the beginning of the season; these next four weeks will be an investment and our goal is to win all four games and have some fun doing it. Please show the same level of dedication that has enabled us to get this far, after April 9th you can do what you want…until then your ass belongs to Chiswick RFC!!!
Steve
SMOKE SIGNALS FROM THE HEAD CHIEF
Chiefs,
We now have a real opportunity to reach the final of the Middlesex Merit Table Division 5.
We must focus, play and train for this exciting home semi final. As you know there are two chiefs training session planned on:
Thursday 17th March and Thursday 24th March. All Chiefs players must attend these two training sessions.
Quintin 2's played well on Saturday and forced a draw from London Welsh Vets, this means the Welsh cannot finish ahead of us in the table, even if they beat GWR, so we have a home semi final.
We will have tough friendly fixtures on 27th Feb, 5th, 12th & 19th of March to prepare us for the semi final, it's important that you are available for these games and let teamer or myself know you are available.
Well done to all the chiefs so far, now the hard work begins.
Cheers,
Rob
nd th 2 XV / CHIEFS / VETS & 4 XV FIXTURES
Below are the fixtures for the rest of the season for the mentioned teams, still a lot of rugby left to play!!!!!
The Matches in Bold are League Fixtures.
DATE 2ND XV CHIEFS 4th XV VETS 26/2/2011 Merlin RFC (Home) TBC (Home) TBC (TBC) No Game
5/3/2011 Belsize Park RFC (Away) Belsize Park II (Home) No Game Esher Vets (Home)
12/3/2011 Old Streetonians II (Home) Old Streets III (Home) No Game No Game
19/3/2011 TBC (TBC) TBC (TBC) TBC (TBC) No Game
26/3/2011 League Semi Final (Home) League Semi Final (Home) No Game No Game
2/4/2011 Belsize Park RFC (Home) Racal Decca (Away) TBC (TBC) No Game
9/4/2011 League Final (Wasps RFC) League Final (Wasps RFC) No Game L.Irish Vets (Home)
16/4/2011 No Game No Game No Game O.Isleworthians (Home)
CHAIRMANS CHAT – FROM THE SOFA OF MR KELVIN CAMPBELL
It has been another fantastic week on the field for Chiswick RFC, both the 2nd XV and the Chiefs get a big round of applause from me for reaching the Semi Finals of their respective Leagues and the 1st XV finally put the Hertfordshire curse to rest for this season with a fantastic 3-24 win at St Albans.
Off the field we had to take the decision to put the bar prices up, a tough decision for the committee but one we had to make in the current financial climate and something we had managed to hold off until last week.
We desperately need you to return the RFU raffle tickets, as previously stated the Club receives 90% of all sales we make and the Money will come in handy as we look to develop the club and build on this season, please make sure you have returned these to Goose ASAP.
Finally… I am making it my mission to put the 4th XV on the pitch 3 times before the end of the season so if You are a Vet that wants to play more often or have any friends or colleagues that want a social game please let Shane know and he will direct you to the 4th XV contact, we are only a few players short of a 4th XV so lets make it happen.
Best wishes
Kelvin.
FOLLOWING CRFC
THE SNEAK WILL RETURN
PLEASE DON’T FORGET OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com/#!/ChiswickRFC NEXT WEEK !
CAPTAINS CALL – IMPORTANT NEWS FROM
CLUB CAPTAIN SHANE DONALDSON
PLAYERS NEWS
I would like to apologise to the 10 players who made themselves available this week but could not get a game and for those who did not play or make themselves available to make that extra effort so all who want a game can get one, we could of put a 4th XV out with 6/7 more players so please make the effort.
I am very positive at the moment due to the form of all the sides and the way the 1st XV have refocused after their bad patch and have put themselves back in the picture for second place, it will be a tough chase and involves us winning every match from now but it’s a task I know the boys are up to and capable of.
We served food after training on Thursday and I believe it went down very well, some players even came back for seconds! This is something we are aiming to do until the end of the season, there is a cost but at £3 it is more than reasonable for the food put on and I hope this is one initiative that was raised by the players and will be supported by the players.
Can everyone who has put their hands up for tour make sure that Wee Man has your deposit as it is now overdue and we cannot book flights, stash, hotels etc until we have all the cash so please put your hand in your pocket and lets make the tour one to remember (or not depending on who is drinking with Rocky !!)
Cheers,
Shane