The 1st XV will once again be playing at Level Six in the RFU pyramid, in the Regional 2 Thames league. They had an excellent season last year, finishing second to Hammersmith and Fulham, a team they beat home and away on the field. Almost all the team has stayed with the club, and they have high hopes of going one better this year (though we can’t be sure what the games will bring: the league has the same name but literally half the teams have changed).

The 2nd XV has moved into the snappily titled Counties Tribute 3 Bucks Berks and Oxon competition; this brings more fixtures close to home (Marlow, Beaconsfield, Drifters, Phoenix, Farnham Royal), which should help with the availability issues the team faced last term.

Rich Hoskins continues as our head coach, assisted by Dan Pearson, who joined us mid-season last year. Mike Smith has also returned to the fold after a brief sojourn in St Albans. All three are fully qualified RFU Level 3 coaches, and together they constitute a massive asset to the senior players.

Charlie Swerling and Phil John have taken over coaching the Colts. Tom Fletcher has moved on to coach the 1st XV at Princes Risborough, and we wish him well there. This year, we want to pay special attention to nurturing the links between the Colts and the rest of the senior section, so that all the teams play the same style, and in time we can seamlessly integrate players into the higher sides. Charlie and Phil know that this is an essential part of their role. As a club, we need to do more to develop and retain the talent produced by the Minis and Juniors, and particularly by the Academy. Matt Allen will be continuing his brilliant work there.

Mini and Junior training starts on Sunday 3 September, with tournaments and matches to follow as the season progresses. We have our famous Minis Festival in October, and two Development Festivals in November and March. Rob Elms and the Minis coaches will ensure that our commitment to the Development Festivals is stronger than ever. This format sees less confident players playing with players of a similar level and often making huge strides in terms of understanding and skill. As an example, Warwick South, who is now an outstanding A&C 1XV player and runs our Strength and Conditioning Training at the club, was once a development player.

Within the Juniors we have already seen a rise in new club members in various age groups. This is partly because other local clubs are no longer able to field teams in certain age groups but is also due to our winning reputation in competitions such as the different years’ Bucks Cups. Richard Clifford and his coaching teams will be welcoming these players into the A&C family.

Player safety, in terms of both First Aid and Safeguarding, remains an absolute priority for AGOs and coaches, for whom the new tackle laws will provide interesting challenges. The emphasis, as ever, will be on playing, enjoyment and fun – though I expect we may win a few things along the way.

Speaking of fun and enjoyment, Jennie Cahill has lined up a splendid programme of events for the year, starting with Ladies Day on 16 September. Dates for the Comedy Night, the Sportsman’s Dinner, the Christmas Luncheon, Burns Night, the President’s Luncheon and even the Summer Ball are all in the calendar, so look out for tickets.

In addition to these occasions, you can have lunch in the clubhouse before every 1st XV game, the first one being next Saturday, 9 September. The club will also be showing England’s matches in the Rugby World Cup and other selected games, during which the bar will very definitely be open.

Not many people may know this, but the Annual General Meeting on 20 July 2023 elected all the committee members who were standing for another year, as well as recognising Sandra Hitchman’s position as de facto Membership Secretary. My colleagues and I are very grateful for your continuing support. I do believe that this continuity allows the club to progress from a very stable base. The only loss from the committee was Scott Jarrold, who deserves a rest after years of continuous service as Junior Chairman, Chairman and finally as events supremo – we should all be grateful for what he’s given to our Club.

The AGM agreed new subscription rates, which by now will have been notified to you. The club relies on subscriptions for a large part of its income. Our finances are sound, but we are by no means flush with cash, and I would ask you to pay your dues as early as possible.

With this in mind, we would like to once again thank our Sponsors who support us as we head into the new season, their contribution, financial and otherwise, significantly impacts the stability of the Club, for which we are very grateful. Thank you to everyone of you who has supported us in the past and will be with us again into the future.

Given all the above, I hope you will agree that we are in a very good place generally. However, one major disruption to the club does have to be mentioned. Our excellent Clubhouse Manager and great friend Derek Wallace left us in June to take up a new post at Harpenden RFC. I have previously written to tell you what you already knew, which is just how much Derek did for the club. You will not be surprised to hear that he has proved very hard to replace. We have advertised the post widely, but we have not been able to make an appointment. To deal with the immediate situation, therefore, we have split the bar from the kitchen. Molly Pollard is now managing the bar completely, while our friends from A Little Street Kitchen (ALSK) in Amersham will be providing our meals. ALSK will also run the Sunday kitchen, as a kind of ‘pop-up enterprise’. There are lots of details to be ironed out, which we can only do by working them through, but rest assured you will be fed and watered.

So, there we are, everything is in place for a fantastic season, and it starts this weekend. As the surely-soon-to-be-crowned world champions would say:

“Allons-y!”

Huw

Huw Thomas
Chairman
Amersham & Chiltern RFC