BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

Presidents Message:

It has been a great pleasure and an honour serving you as President for the season 2019 /2020. The season as you all know was cut short from the Coronavirus and we very lucky that our club dinner could go ahead. It was my good fortune to be President that Bective had for the second year in a row a great Club Captain in Aidan ‘Mully’ Mulligan.

I would also like to thank our Head Coach Bernard Jackman and his staff for all their efforts throughout the season.

On the Rugby field our Senior team had a mixed season and avoided relegation for the second year in a row. However, I am very confident in the not too distant future that we will make our way back into the AIL.

May I wish Emmett Sheridan and his Rugby Committee all the very best for the coming season. Our 2nd XV won both the League and Cup which was a great achievement as the majority of the squad were past Under 20 players. Our 3rd x ,4th XV and U20s struggled and it was great to see the commitment on the field from all the players throughout the season and I appreciate all the time and effort from all the Coaches and, Managers. In the Mini Section I would like to thank Richard Maybury, coaches and the parents for their continued support and efforts to bringing down the kids every Sunday morning. Finally, I would like to thank Joe Osbourne for his great efforts with the Vets.

I would to thank our Past President Barbara Culleton for her guidance and advice for which I appreciated a lot. To all the Executive who worked very hard sorting out the many issues they had throughout the season. Throughout out the year the support I got was needed and from the bottom of my heart I thank you all most sincerely.

Our sincere thanks must go out to Past Presidents Declan Lawler and JJ O ‘Reilly who have worked extensively hard for the past 4 years with negotiations with the Leinster Branch and the Tennis Club to get agreement on providing us with a new Clubhouse which will be disgusted in greater detail at a later stage. In addition, I would also like to thank the Trustees, Past Presidents, and ordinary members who when asked to do a job did so without hesitation.

To Mark O Brien and his staff who worked really hard on both club and Bar duties and making everyone welcome creating a great atmosphere and service for which we all should be very grateful.

To the Tennis Club who were very helpful to me and Billy O Brien in solving some outstanding financial issues.

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

Sadly, it was very sad to lose both Mick Cuddy and Greg Smyth during the season. May they both rest in peace.

As we know so much success of the club is due to the voluntary effort to many members led by the Executive Committee and our Directors. The commitment of all involved deserve my personal gratitude for all their time and energy.

I wish Michael Flood the incoming President and the Executive for the season 2019/2020 every success in their endeavours for the season 2020/2021. Please help Mick in any which way you can as your support is now needed more than ever. Thank you all most sincerely in helping to make the 2019/2020 such a memorable season.

Johnny Vaughan. President.

Club Directors Report:

This was my first full year as Club Director, and I believe I’m learning something new every day in the role. Like everyone else involved with our club the past year proved somewhat difficult and frustrating at times but equally very rewarding. As you know the year was cut short due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. However, the year was a successful one overall with our club finances remaining positive, our senior team retaining their IA status, the extensive club refurbishment work being completed and the very successful annual dinner that we were so fortunate to have fitted in before the COVID lockdown.

Many events were held throughout the year and some of these included the annual golf outing that kicked off our year in Woodbrook Golf Club. Then we had the launch of the Club Yearbook at our opening home league match in late September which was followed by the successful IRFU Your Club Your Country Draw in December. The Christmas Lunch was very well attended and enjoyed by all. One of the highlights of the year was the Annual Dinner in February when more than 200 members, dignitaries, and guests enjoyed an evening and night to remember.

There are four principal income earners to our Club and these are (1) the Corporate ticket sales for the Home Internationals, (2) the annual Membership Subscriptions, (3) our Sponsors and Advertisers and last but not least (4) our Club Bar and Hall facilities. Naturally, all of these and other income streams have been affected due to COVID but with the help of everyone we have received great support from our Members, the IRFU, Leinster Branch as well as suppliers such as Guinness and Heineken and many others offering to place our accounts on hold with credits in place until such time as we return to some degree of normality.

The year ahead will be a serious challenge to our club in meeting our overheads with the uncertainty COVID poses to every aspect of our income streams. That said everyone in the Club has been working really hard to ensure our expenses are kept to a minimum.

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

While we no longer enjoy the benefits of our main sponsor, David Bobbett and his company H&K International provided, we thank him for all the support he has afforded Bective Rangers down through the years and we wish him continued success and well-being.

We are presently seeking a new principal sponsor and extensive work is being done by our executive members in locating a replacement.

Obviously, the year ahead will be like no other and every effort and assistance to the club, be it by way of suggestions, practical input or financial will be all the more appreciated in these challenging times.

The recent launch of the GoFundMe income raiser is going really well thanks to the support of everyone involved and of course to our members' donations for making it the success it is.

The IRFU draw will commence shortly and we hope you will continue to support this valuable income stream to the club as all sale proceeds go directly to the Club. It is virtually impossible to predict how the rugby season will pan out but hopefully, our league will proceed as arranged and everyone stays safe and well going forward.

Finally, I wish our new President Michael Flood and all the executive members every success in the year ahead.

Billy O’Brien

Club Director

Clubhouse Upgrade:

The club refurbishment works progressed this year with thanks to Paddy O’Brien, Michael O’Carroll (MOLA Architects), Brian Kavanagh, and Pat McCabe (Greenoak Construction). Particular gratitude to Michael O’Carroll and his team who stepped in at the last minute to finalise the upgrading plans and help progress the works. In summary the works consisted of the following: • Upgrading the shower area • New Boiler and electrical works • New Access Ramp and Railing • New security doors to clubhouse and cellar • Roof Repairs • Upgrades to the drainage and wastewater collection systems • New wheelchair accessible toilet • New toilets to rear of hall with lobby

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

The works were approved at the last AGM on the basis of funding from the lotto and a €35,000.00 contribution from the club. We secured €181,567.00 funding from the lotto giving a total budget of €216,567.00. During the course of the works a number of unforeseen items had to be addressed particularly in relation to the following areas • The collection system from the toilets and under the showers was in disrepair and had to be effectively reconstructed. This was a complex piece of work and ended up costing €18,693.45 but had to be completed as it was essential building repair works • The water tank on the roof was in such poor condition that it had damaged the loading capacity on the roof and an entire new support system had to be constructed from existing structural walls underneath costing €16,875.18 • Extra works ordered during the course of the contract, which came to €16,524.47, including o The lobby in the hall so members can have access to the new toilets without disruption to a function in the hall o New security doors to the cellar which had been broken into o New fit out to the moon room

The total cost for unforeseen or ordered extra works came to €52,093.10 and was partially offset by reducing non-essential works such as the window replacement to the hall. The final account amounts to €243,511.44 which is an increase of €26,944.44 over the original budget. The additional expenditure was essential to maintain and upkeep the clubhouse and was approved in advance by the executive as the works progressed. A lot of the works are not visible to members and a few photographs are presented below. It took time and effort to deal with the complex issues that arose on site once some of the older elements of the building were exposed. Given the age of the building, the limited investment in upgrading and maintenance works over the last 50years (the great work undertaken by Jerry Quinn and his team notwithstanding), we did well to limit the financial exposure to the club. Feedback from members has been very positive to date and every effort has been made to ensure certain elements, such as the new boiler system, are transferable should a new clubhouse be developed in the future. A word of caution however in relation to the roof, which is approaching the end of its design life. The existing roof will require ongoing monitoring and maintenance until it is replaced, and we’d ask all members not to go up onto the roof without taking the necessary precautions, risk assessments and getting permission from the Director of Organisation in advance.

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

GLENAMUCK REPORT:

Tenants – Joey’s Soccer Academy lease expired at the end of 2019 and was under renegotiation as they were only using the grounds for about 6months of the year and wanted any new agreement to reflect this with an associated reduction in income. Unfortunately, COVID happened during this renegotiation and they no longer have a use for the grounds and all equipment has been removed. It should be noted that Joey’s were exception tenants who maintained the grounds and clubhouse in impeccable condition. The restrictions brought about by COVID have highlighted the benefits of having our own facilities and club training recommenced in Glenamuck at the end of July. Negotiations are currently underway with a prospective tenant to use the facilities on a shared basis.

CPO – The public hearing for the CPO for the Glenamuck District Roads Scheme was held between the 10th to 13th of September 2019 by An Bord Pleanála (ABP). We were represented by Tom Kirby, Director of GVA O’Buachalla, Property Advisors and Valuers. We made a formal submission in relation to future access arrangements, access arrangements during construction, protection works to playing facilities post construction which were acceded to by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The CPO was confirmed by ABP on 25th November 2019. We are currently awaiting ‘Notices to Treat’ which is the next step in the process but indications from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is that the funding is in place for the scheme and these notices will issue shortly. That in turn will allow discussions to commence on compensation where we will again be represented by Tom Kirby.

Other Matters – A number of the poles which housed the existing floodlights collapsed this year and have been decommissioned for safety reasons. As similar failures would be expected for the remaining lights they all need to be replaced or removed. Given the Figure 1 - Glenamuck District Roads Scheme and Interaction with our grounds uncertainty around future use of the site

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com and costly investment to replace the floodlights, poles and foundations the current plan is to just remove the identified floodlights and plans are underway to this effect.

Rugby Reports

Season 2019/20:

Bernard Jackman was appointed as head coach in the summer of 2019. Bernard brought a wealth of experience and energy to senior set up. During the summer we also recruited several players. Some were returning to the club after a spell away, such as Eoin Sweeney and Oisin Lennon. Others were new to the club like Mattie Keane, Dermot Murphy, Dan O’Mahony, Mark Bennett and Mikey O’Hare to mention just a few. Our opening competitive match was against Monkstown on the 22nd August in the Spencer Cup, which we won 20 – 14. Our next game was a friendly against Coolmine on 29th August. We then commenced our league campaign on the 14th September.

Leinster League 1st XV:

Unfortunately, our Leinster League campaign got off to a slow start with us losing our first game away to Gorey on the 14th September by 2 points 12 -10. This is a game we should have won. Our next game was at home to Dundalk which we lost 15 – 27. We then played Suttonians away, which we lost 12 - 18. However, despite some very serious injuries during the game to Josh Hinde (fractured eye socket and skull) and Dan O’Mahony (shoulder) the team finished very strongly and we managed to gain a losing bonus point. Next up was Wicklow at home a game we won 38 – 19. Our next game was against Ashbourne who were topping the league at the time. This was a very big game as not only was it a league match, but it also doubled up as our Spencer Cup game. At half time we were looking very comfortable as we led 20 – 7. Unfortunately, our second half performance didn’t match that of the first half and we eventually lost 20 – 26. This loss also meant our exit from the Spencer Cup. Next up was Kilkenny away, which we lost 17 – 21. Although this was a poor performance overall again the team fought hard to secure a losing bonus point in the last minutes of the game. Our last game in the first round of matches was at home to Seapoint who had been recently relegated from the AIL. At half time we were losing 3 – 20 and were staring at another loss. Instead of staying on the pitch at half time the team withdrew to the dressing rooms for the team talk. Whatever was said during the break obviously worked because we put in a tremendous performance in the second half and eventually won the game 28 – 20.

So, at the halfway point in the league we had played 7, lost 5 but had accumulated 6 bonus point, 4 of which were losing bonus point and 2 were try bonus points.

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

The second half performance in the Seapoint game showed what the team could achieve, and they continued that standard at the start of the second round of league matches.

Our first game in the second round of matches was at home against Gorey which we won 27 – 0, gaining a try bonus point. Then we faced Dundalk away which we won 24 -0, again gaining a try bonus point. At this point we had played our last two and a half games without conceding a single score while at the same time gaining three try bonus points, which is phenomenal.

Unfortunately, we were not able to maintain this momentum as we lost our next match at home to Suttoniains 18 – 19. Again, we suffered several injuries during this game, most notably the very influential Oisin Lennon who broke his leg. We finished the game with several players playing out of position due to the injuries suffered i.e. Mattie Keane playing in the centre. Our last game before the Christmas break was at home against Kilkenny where we got back on winning way by winning 38 – 20 gaining another try bonus point.

Our first game after the Christmas break was away to Wicklow which was a very difficult encounter but one which we eventually won 12 – 3. At this stage it was unlikely that any team would catch Ashbourne who seemed certain to win the league. However, a top four finish looked on the cards which would have qualified us for the All Junior Cup.

Our next game was at home to Ashbourne who knew that if they beat us and other results went their way on the day they would be crowned league champions. With that in mind they beat us 26 – 10 and were indeed crowned league winner. Our last match in the league was away to Seapoint. A draw would have seen us secure a top four finish whereas a win for Seapoint would see them snatch that from us. Unfortunately, this was one of the most disappointing performances of the season as the team seemed to be off the pace from the start of the game. We seemed to be flat and did not have the usually battling mentality that the team had shown all season. We lost the game 0 - 19 and with the other results on the day it meant that we went from an almost certain top four finish to finishing 3rd from bottom. It was a very disappointing end to the season. However, I believe there were patches during the season that should what this group of players are capable of.

As you can see from the table below it was a very close league this year with only 6 points separating 2nd and 7th. As you will also see we had the highest total of bonus points of all the teams with 10 (5 try bonus points and 5 losing bonus points).

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

2nd XV

A testimony to the strength in depth we are gradually starting to rebuild is the success of our 2nd XV team. Managed by Kevin Byrne and John Bolger and captained by the stalwart of the team Sean Geraghty they comprehensively won their league and shared the Jimmy Byrne Cup (final was cancelled due to Covid-19 so cup was shared between the two finalists).

As you will see from the table below the seconds played 14 league matches of which they won their first 12, a fabulous success rate by any standard.

The team were unbeaten in all their cup games and the first 12 league matches but unfortunately couldn’t maintain their unbeaten record till the end of the season as they lost their last two league matches. Not only were their results impressive, their style and quality of play were also extremely impressive. A number of players from the seconds also stepped up on many occasions to play for the 1st XV. Again, I believe this is a very positive sign for the future of the club.

In addition to the coaching staff of Bernard, Hein, Kirky and John Bolger, there are also several other people I would like to thank for all the work they did during the year. They are Steve Rattigan (Kit manager), Rory Finnegan and Steve Shallow (Steve’s assistants), Kevin Byrne (2nd XV manager), John Byrne (touch judge), Shane Dunne (1st team manager), Marta (sports psychologist), Dr. Tim Hinchey (team doctor), Mark O’Brien (bar manager) and Rory O’Connor (video).

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

U20

The U20’s embarked on a new phase with many of the players from last season successfully moving to the senior panel. The season started with an influx of new players headed by new Head Coach Eamon Murphy, Backs Coach John Gibson, and captained by Charlie McCarthy. We entered a team into the JP Fanagan Premier 2 Qualifiers and had 2 tough games against college sides NUIG and Trinity which gave us a good start for the season. In the first half of the season we suffered injuries to key players and found it difficult to field a front row for many of our games which resulted in us having to drop a player in the pack and play with only 14 men. The effort from the lads was immense and we scored some great tries but results didn’t go our way. Most of the team from the season will be playing again in 2020/2021 and the experience of the season will stand to them.

Mini’s Report

2019/20 Review Our Mini’s Section from u6 to u13 continues to grow and we had over 200 registered players playing in Donnybrook this season. The players, parents and visiting teams really appreciate the fantastic facilities and playing conditions provided by the club through the two all-weather pitches which continue to be a big draw for consideration when choosing a mini’s rugby programme in the area and bar facilities (for tea and coffee!) provided by Mark on Sunday mornings. Visiting teams were very impressed with the playing surface and we were able to maintain an active programme of matches and blitzes even through the winter months when many clubs had to cancel events. Unfortunately, our season was cut short this year with COVID 19 which stifled many mini fundraising events as well as a number of blitz’s that normally would have taken place and a couple of end of season trips both home and abroad! The coaching system is improving at mini’s level and great thanks go to all the head coaches, managers and assistant coaches at each of the age groups. There are approximately 35 parents involved in the coaching scene many of whom are former senior/junior players and the volunteer ethos is essential to maintaining a successful the mini’s programme. Therefore, the continued support from the club in relation to pitch availability, clubhouse facilities on Sunday mornings and hopefully a mid-week slot for the older groups from u12’s/U13’s will be critical next year season particularly during this challenging time. This season as with most seasons in the past we said good-bye to our u13 group of players, most of whom had over 7years association with the club. It is a travesty that the current culture fostered in Leinster is Schools focused from u13 upwards as it breaks a player/club link that is rarely reactivated. It would be in the interest of the club to maintain a steady stream of players up through the youth ranks to support adult rugby, but this is unlikely to be achieved in the current environment. Consideration should be given by the club, and possible canvassing similar clubs in the locality, to challenge the rules, both written and unwritten with respect to school’s rugby so that players are allow and actively encouraged to play with their clubs at weekends, particularly those players not necessarily involved in first/second teams in schools.

BECTIVE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB ______Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel: +353 86 362 1226. www.bectiverangers.com

2020/21 Season Our target for this coming season is to have at least 30 players in each age group. That would raise our mini membership to 240 players. We particularly need players at u6/7 level as this age group is where we can establish a relationship and gain further members through positive experience. We ask all members to encourage sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, friends, cousins and their classmates to come down and enjoy the Bective experience with our fantastic facilities.

The below has been distributed in some schools and has also been put up on all our social media platforms.