Hampstead Rugby Club News Feed

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:08:58 +0200

So another season comes to an end. Last 3 matches were played on Saturday. 3s lost their plate final 33-20 to Old Ashmoleans IIs. On a hot day the lead swapped hands several times before we finally ran out of steam & conceded 2 late scores. The Ladies played a friendly against a team that sounded like BNP (can't be right) & stuffed them. The Hussars completed their 20th game of season against Hammersmith & Fulham Vets & lost 34-20. Vast improvement as the season has gone on. Our boys played this fixture earlier in the year & lost by 50 points. The lads showed true rugby spirit & handed over the match fees to Stuart Mangan fund. The evening saw quite a few lads out at Tony Mee's 'thanks' party. Considering the early days of his injury & what H&F are going thru at present, this was a real bonus. And boys, just to get it across for forthcoming pre-season - Tony has still been training regularly. Well done Half Head!

Regarding Stuart Mangan & those players involved in the match, drinks are tonight...at the Royal British Legion, Parsons Green, Fulham from 7.30pm on Monday 28th April 2008. It may not be the hippest place in Fulham (although it is probably the place with the most hip replacements), but the beer is cheap.

With regards to above, some people were asking about First Aid courses. We will look into this as its a very good idea to get a few people trained up. We have offered these in the past, but apathy ruled. Hopefully with the horrible experiences Tony, Stuart & Mike Worters have had, you will see that this could be beneficial.

Plus, if people are out injured & don't want to be dragged to Tesco's by their partner you could help with refereeing. A course is coming up at London Welsh & the Club will pay for it. As stated previously, we will not be calling on you every week, but to have a back up would be very helpful to the club & your team mates. If interested, let me know & I'll send you details.

Summer Tuesdays - Ali will be overseeing touch. Proper touch - 2 hands below the waist & retreat 5 yards etc. Great way to keep fitness going & get everyone sorted in attack & defence. Plus a few jars in the pub after. Past players, friends, new players to area are very welcome! 7.00 at far end of Parliament Hill track.

Season as a whole was very positive. Most teams made progress on last year & to get 5 Men's sides out , with each team playing 20 games or more is a real success. The Ladies showed the way, winning their League by 12 points.

However, it did tail off at the end, an early Easter, straight after the Six Nations, not helping much. I think all players involved in League & cup competitions felt frustrated & believed we could have done better. In fact Ali & I realise we have a tremendous depth of talent. We need you to keep fitness up over Summer & with a good pre-season, regular training / availability next year, we will be very hard to beat through all sides. Next season the Club is 40, so would be an ideal time to crank up the effort.

Ali has been a great find & training is hard, enjoyable & beneficial. You are not used as cannon fodder, if that's what's been holding you back. Ali fits the club really well, especially as there is a touch of madness about him. As Mole once observed, everyone in the club is slightly unhinged, its just the levels are different. Don't worry Mentalist - you're still top of the tree.

The Ball (17 May, Kenilworth Hotel, Bloomsbury - 7.00. Black Tie)

The Ball is over-subscribed, but a few people have yet to pay,

SO I NEED THESE OUTSTANDING CHEQUES IMMEDIATELY, MADE PAYABLE TO HAMPSTEAD RFC AND POSTED TO ME AT 5 HEATH VIEW LONDON N2 0QD.

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE DIRECT PAYMENTS TO THE CLUB ACCOUNT.

If these payments are not received by me within the next few days then your places will be offered to the growing list of disappointed reserves.

Hurry while stocks last ......(Roger Dearling)

AGM -

A few lads have asked about 7s & 10s tournaments. Other than Stockholm 10s, there are none. If you want to play in these, then someone needs to organise it. We only have a few volunteers in the club & they do quite a lot already. The AGM will be some time in June & the club really could do with more people putting their hands up to do jobs. We don't have a long list of officials (we leave that to the Blazer boy clubs), but if anyone can help in anyway (& actually do what they say they will) then this helps tremendously. Date will be announced shortly.

Hussars & Heathens pub crawl this coming Friday - read on ...So no doubt you are all thinking to yourselves. Its been a jolly fine year so far but what I really need is a drinking session in a picturesque part of North London. Say Primrose Hill on the evening of oh I don't know Friday 9th of May from about six ish.

Well Ladies and Gentlemen you're in luck. For two members of the mighty and noble Hampstead Rugby Club will be celebrating their birthdays by having a pub crawl that very evening. Feel free to join Tim Bishop and Mark Paskowitz on the sauce at any (or all of the following pubs)

18:00 The Pembroke Castle

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/31/3144/Pembroke_Castle/Primrose_Hill

Its just after the bridge and we'll stay here for just under an hour and a half before arriving at

19:30 The Queens

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/13/1345/Queens/Primrose_Hill

20:30 The Albert

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/14/14313/Albert/Primrose_Hill

21:30 Princess of Wales

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/44/4435/Princess_of_Wales/Primrose_Hill

22:30 The Engineer

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/21/21245/Engineer/Primrose_Hill

After that we'll probably head down to Camden Town to finish off the evening in style. Not the marathon though as i'm barred. Feel free to join us for any or all of the evening. As usual lightweights will be publicy mocked and chavs set on fire.

STOCKHOLM 10s - July. Doubling as unofficial Tour. If interested , Matt Kowal needs to know ASAP - matt@thefield.info

GOLF - the annual Hampstead Masters Open Championship will be in June. Great way to cheat Spils out of the 3 prizes on offer. More details to follow.

One more event Fluff has mentioned during the summer

the Southwold Beach 7's tournament is the 26th & 27th July

The Ladies already entered a team. Lads a chance to camp it up more ways than one. Fluff has details ...

damien.p.holliday@uk.ibm.com

PRE-SEASON - - Tuesday July 1 . The return of THE BENCHES!!!!

Have a great Summer!!!

The Ball

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:03:30 +0200

MEMBERS OF HAMPSTEAD RUGBY CLUB.

The ball is over-subscribed, but a few people have yet to pay,

SO I NEED THESE OUTSTANDING CHEQUES IMMEDIATELY, MADE PAYABLE TO HAMPSTEAD RFC AND POSTED TO ME AT 5 HEATH VIEW LONDON N2 0QD.

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE DIRECT PAYMENTS TO THE CLUB ACCOUNT.

If these payments are not received by me within the next few days then your places will be offered to the growing list of disappointed reserves.

Hurry while stocks last .......

Roger Dearling.

Latest

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:18:08 +0200

The Ball - filling up fast .

Now a case of get money in or lose reserved place!

STUART MANGAN – HOW YOU CAN HELP

Following the serious injury suffered by Stuart Mangan on 5TH April 2008, the Club has decided to set up a fund to assist players who have been seriously injured whilst playing for the Club and to help support their families. This fund will be used to help Stuart and his family.

Stuart’s true spirit is coming through and he is fighting on. Stuart is conscious and stable in the spinal unit at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at Stanmore, but the full extent of his injury will not be known for some time.

As Stuart is Irish and his parents live in Ireland I am sure that you understand the financial strain that this has put on the family.

Whilst we can do little to help Stuart at the moment, who is receiving the best possible medical attention, we can make a big difference to the family.

We want to support them, but to do this we need to raise money quickly. If you are able to help please make a payment direct to Hammersmith & Fulham’s dedicated bank account:

Account name: Hammersmith & Fulham RFC

Bank: HSBC

Account number: 81693328

Sort code: 40 07 04

Or alternatively send a cheque, made payable to Hammersmith & Fulham RFC to:

Andy Scott

Treasurer

Hammersmith & Fulham RFC

37 Paton House

Stockwell Road

London SW9 9ET

Hammersmith & Fulham also need to hear from any businesses or organisations that can help, either financially or by providing services to the fund, Stuart or his family. If your business or organisation can help please contact Chris Cuthbertson (H&F Club Secretary) on 020 7381 5064 or by email at chriscuthbertson@fulhamrugby.co.uk.

Stuart’s family are very grateful for the support that they have received and are aware that our thoughts are with them.

Please feel free to pass this message on to anyone you think would like to help.

Hampstead Ladies Season 2007-2008

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:43:03 +0200

And so, another season, another chance to take on this league and win it! With the Ladies currently 12 points ahead of their nearest and only real rivals in South East North 3, it looks certain that this has now been achieved!

With an fabulous influx of players, fresh from their university days and looking for some trouble, Hampstead Ladies once again set out to show that we are more than capable of challenging and beating teams to take the league title.

Captained by the front Row Mean Machine, Miss Ella Mitchell, Hampstead Ladies proved their worth by getting 15+ out week after week to show the other teams how it should be done. Despite the RFUW allowing teams with 8 players to register, we’re not the kind of team to let a game of reduced numbers unsettle us, and so showed that we were more than capable of taking this league by the scruff of it’s scrawny neck, turning it upside down and earning a promotion away from the scrub lands of South East North 3.

With some storming scores in the form of tries and conversions from both forwards and backs, our ladies have not let us down in this historic occasion for Hampstead Rugby Club. The forwards pulled together to cement the lineouts, demolish the scrums, smash the rucks and haul those mauls all over the pitch. The backs as ever teamed up to run rings around the opposition, making try saving tackles, and keep the Hampstead machine rolling well on into next season.

Without a doubt this has been an absolutely awesome year for the Ladies of Hampstead, albeit too short, but not only are we leaving our mark on other teams, but also within the Club. With the same drive and determination, there is no doubt that this team has a lot further to go and if next season is anything like this one, we’ll create an even bigger name for ourselves, though hopefully not just in the pub.

As always Ladies it has been a pleasure and a big thanks to all who have made it so. See you on TOUR/at the Ball/preseason!

Team List 2007/2008

Front Row

Ella Mitchell ©

Sylvie Fail

Kike Agunbiade

Nadia Lipsey

Sarah Cadwallader

Second Row

Fleur Pijpers

Deborah Crossan

Hannah Forbes

Emma Lanman

Back Row

Nancy Bicknell (VC)

Marcella Collins

Alex Bowtell

Lorenza Manzoni

Sarah-Jane King

Pam Egbochuku

Backs
Lorraine Parish
Alice Taylor
Caroline van Breukelen

Elinor Faulkner

Hannah McNelly

Anna Paley-Smith

Hannah Veazey

Asha Savjani

Clea Bigelow-Nuttall

Elle Gaskell-Taylor

Cathy Pope

Penultimate Saturday

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:33:51 +0200

1s lost to Enfield 34 -21 in last league game & 2s went down against Enfield 2s 29-13 in their semi final.

Both results sound disappointing, but considering the number of injuries, unavailabilities etc we experienced in the lead up to these games & the effort put in by those involved, Ali & I feel that they were positive games & shows the depth of talent we have to work with over the summer

1st XV started badly by conceding a converted try within 2 minutes, but rallied & had Enfield on the back foot for large parts of the game & showed width & guile in attack. Enfield were holding on for most of the 2nd half & there was only a score in it until the final move of the match, when we were throwing caution to the wind - an intercepted try (followed by the final whistle) for Enfield gave a distorted score to a very close game.

The 2s dominated the first half & were leading 13-0 just prior to the break, when 2 quick scores by Enfield meant we went in with the slenderised of leads (13-12) . The second half saw Enfield use their much bigger pack play it close & basically built up a series of scores thru pick & drives. Effort on our part, especially the pack could not be faulted.

A lot of players stepped up a level for these 2 teams & I would like to thank them for really taking the games to the oppo.

To reiterate what was said Saturday, a good pre-season & next year teams will dread playing us!

3s had a walk over win in their semi-final & will now play the final this weekend.

Heathens entertained Belsize Park & comfortably won 88-7.

Hussars had to pull out of their fixture on Friday afternoon due to a few late withdrawals / players not overcoming knocks in time, but this Saturday should see them play their 20th game of the season. Considering we could only get 4 teams out last year , this has been the true success of the season.

A warning

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:57:44 +0200

As you may have heard we have had an issue arise with the on-sale of international tickets by one of our club members. Without going into too much detail we get an allocation for every home (ie Twickenham) international game; we ask all the membership whether they want to apply for these. It is clearly stated in all correspondence that any tickets allocated are for personal use only and not for re-sale. Indeed, if you ever apply for tickets you will get this warning on three separate occasions.

The RFU have extensive conditions attached to the receipt of the tickets and have a compliance unit at Twickenham to ensure that they are enforced. This unit checks up and chases any tickets that are sold onto the black market and any ticket that is found to have been sold-on is traced back to the source and that club is then penalised. In the most sever cases the club can be banned from receiving international tickets again, ever! They do take this issue very seriously indeed.

One of our members received tickets for one of the internationals in this way, then decided to sell these on e-bay. Not surprisingly the RFU spotted this and took immediate actions against us: getting us to get the tickets back and to return them to HQ, asking us to outline our compliance procedures, requesting what we were going to do about the individual concerned and notifying us that our ‘case’ was to be put before the ‘International Ticket Sub-committee’ in March. Again, they stressed the list of potential sanctions they could take against us.

In discussions with the RFU we outlined what we had done and asked what more could we do. It was clear from these discussions that they regarded all our warnings as pretty meaningless unless we were prepared to back them up with actions. As a result of this, Chris Pearce has been banned from the club for a year. This includes all training, games and official social events from now until January 2010. Additionally he will not be allowed to apply for or receive tickets via the club ever again. This was not an easy decision for us to take – we spend all our time getting people to play, actually preventing one doing so rather goes against the grain.

The RFU have deliberated on our case and think that we have both procedures in place and are willing to back them up. As a result, it has given us a one year reduction in ticket allocation of 10%, but has suspended this for a year. Thus we have no immediate action against us, but if anyone else is caught doing the same, this will be levied against us and additional punishments will be put in place.

So lets not do it shall we?

If circumstances change and you cannot attend the match please notify the club so we can reallocate, we always have a high demand for these tickets. Selling them, not only is a very selfish act, but will harm the reputation of the club and penalises your team mates. Why deny them the chance of going to internationals so you can make a few quid.

Brian Moore (International Ticket Secretary) spends a good deal of time sorting this out each year. This fiasco has occupied far too much of his and our time over the last few months. It will rebound on you. As Chris has found out.

Sorry to go on – but this is (i) serious and (ii) has really cheesed me off.

Spils

Almost there...

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:28:14 +0200

Please reply to selection@hampsteadrugbyclub.co.uk by Tuesday morning for next 2 Saturdays

There are 2 weekends still to go
19/4 -
1s have their last League match this coming weekend - away at Enfield
2s have an away semi final v Enfield as well
3s have the semi final of their plate competition
Plus Heathens & Hussars will have friendlies

26/4 -
2s - Final; 3s Plate Final, Plus Hussars / Heathens potentially have a round robin tournament at Northolt

Therefore lets keep it going for 2 more weeks, get training etc

16/4 - the club have been invited to put a 4x100m relay team into an open meet at the track. This will help us with our relationship with the Heath & the athletics club, so dust off your spikes & email Tony Mee if interested - tonymee@gmail.com

The Ball - places filling up - get your reservation & money to Roger (17 May, Kenilworth Hotel, Bloomsbury)

Round up of weekend...
1s lost out 15-14 to Hammersmith & Fulham (we outplay teams for long periods but just cant seem to nail the win - looking rosy though for next year if we have a big pre-season) ; 2s beat St Albans 34-15; 3s lost to UCS 2s 20-5 (again, as for most of this season they were hampered by last minute drop outs) Well done to Allan Jenkins for not only agreeing to skipper but going to prop & to Malcolm Bracken who played most of the game with a popped rib. Hussars went to Fullerians to play their 3s (who have won their Merit table at a canter) & pushed them all the way, ending up losing 22-5
Big congratulations to the Girls who confirmed their status as League winners with an emphatic 43-5 victory over Hitchin

International tickets - we have received the verdict from the RFU on Chris Pearce's rash & frankly daft decision to put his allocated tickets on E-bay. Thankfully the RFU are aware that we advertised the fact clearly that tickets were for Club use only & Chris honourably held his hand up to his mistake & that we suspended his membership. We have had a suspended sentence placed on us for a year. So come the Autumn Internationals & next Six Nations, those applying for tickets MUST use them or return tickets to the Club. Anyone who sells them on will be expelled from the club & HRFC will have their ticket allocations withdrawn by the RFU.

Finally - 2 weeks ago a Hammersmith & Fulham player suffered a broken neck during a friendly against our 2s & had to be revived on the pitch. He is stable, conscious & aware of what has happened but has had to have 2 operations already. His family are remaining positive as he is under the care of top specialists. Obviously our thoughts are with him , H& F & his family & we all hope for a full recovery.

Simon Taylor

MEMBERS OF HAMPSTEAD RUGBY CLUB .......... MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT!

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:11:47 +0200

Attached is the invitation to our annual ball, which shows all the traditional details BUT with TWO significant differences. WHICH ARE:

1. That it will be held at the sister hotel The Radisson Kenilworth, which is literally across the road from The Marlborough (which is undergoing extensive renovation).

2. AND ALSO that seating is limited to 110, made up of approximately eleven tables of ten punters.

I have already had oral requests for eight tables, but so far no money. I expect we will be over-subscribed, so in order to avoid disappointment please send your cheques payable to Hampstead RFC at £45 per head as soon as you can to:

Roger Dearling
5 Heath View
London
N2 0QD

EL PRESIDENTE

Ticket form

H&F player injury

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:04:35 +0200

The club would like to extend best wishes to the Hammersmith and Fulham player (who was badly injured playing against us last weekend.) We hope that he makes a full and rapid recovery.

HRFC

Fisticuffs

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:15:27 +0200