We have now reached the halfway point of the 2024/2025 season so it’s an appropriate time to give you an update on activities both on and the off the field.

On the field it has been a successful but also challenging first half of the season for all sections of the club.

The Men’s section is probably the strongest that it has been for a number of seasons which is highlighted in that the club has been able to field 3 sides on a number of Saturdays.

The Men’s 1st XV are currently second in the Tribute Southern Counties North League Table behind unbeaten Oxford Harlequins 2nd XV and if they can maintain this place at the end of the season could secure promotion.

The Men’s Dev XV currently sit 5th in their Counties 3 BBO League and have every chance to move up the table with the increased number of players available. The Men’s 3rd XV , where Neil Baggett and Owen Flisher have done a great job in building playing numbers are currently 3rd in their Counties 4 BBO League with a game in hand and have a great chance of winning their league.

The Senior Women have had some challenges with numbers mainly due to injuries. However, Head of Women Sharon Richards and coaches Ray Cox and Caroline Robinson have done a great job in the first half of the season.

Sharon has developed close relationships with a number of local clubs which has meant that Windsor Dames have been fielding a full side using guest players to ensure that they have a full complement.

Currently Windsor Dames are 5th in their NC2 South East ( North West) league with two games in hand and have a good chance of a top 3 finish. The Dames are also in the Quarter Finals of the Women’s Junior Plate where they have a difficult match against Belsize Park Women.

There have been challenges for the Colts and U16s in particular, due to Age Grade Regulations which restricts the amount of time players can play rugby in a week, due to the amount of school rugby pre- Xmas. Hopefully these challenges will ease in the second half of the season.

The Colts A Team are third and unbeaten in their OBB Division 1 League. Despite losing to Rosslyn Park in the 3rd Round of the National Colts Cup the foundation lead by Head Coach Matt Stevens means that they have a great chance of winning their league. The Colts B Team are fourth in their league OBB Division 3 league.

The U16s, U15s, U14s , U13s and U14s Damsels are all also performing well in OBB League and Cup competitions. Unfortunately, the U16s have had to withdraw their B Team from the league due to availability of players because of the Age Grade regulations. However, they continue to play friendlies. Both U15 sides are well placed in their league. The U13s and U14s have Berkshire Cup matches to focus on in the second half of the season. The U14 Damsels are performing well in their league, growing numbers and are enjoying their rugby and developing as a team.

The Minis held a very successful Minis and U12s Festival in October and December respectively with over 1200 players involved. Well done to Joint Minis Chair Shane Pusey for arranging the festivals and to the Under 12s, especially Barry Jordan, Joe Grehan and Ed Mitchell for all their hard work arranging the food and catering as part of the Minis Tour Fund Raising. In the first half of the season, Windsor mini's teams attended 4 festivals with multiple teams and age groups taking part.

On behalf of the club I would like to thank all the Volunteers: Managers, Coaches, First Aiders and Physios for all their hard work. It is very much appreciated by the Board, GMC and all of the children enjoying their rugby!

Off the field the Club has continued to have challenges at Home Park. At the start of the season the pitches were in a poor state. The good news is that despite the wet weather the pitches have improved following the work that Colin Rayner undertook in late August as well as the Council doing some additional maintenance. The situation regarding Pitch Fees has not been resolved. Discussions are still ongoing between the Council and Crown Estates regarding the future management of Home Park. I hope to be able to provide a further update in the near future. The only downside is that until these discussions have been completed the proposed Club Redevelopment Project has had to be put on hold.

The Training Area is becoming a major issue due to the amount it is used and the recent wet weather. The Club has recently secured a grant from the RFU to purchase some additional portable lights. This should enable all sections of the club to train at Home Park and away from the training area when it is waterlogged.

Jennifer McGeachie has taken on the role of Clubhouse Manager, and she has become a great asset managing the bar and organising staff. The clubhouse has been very vibrant at weekends and has even ran out of beer on occasions. On the last Saturday before Christmas the club sold in excess of 500 pints of Guinness!

In addition, Jen has arranged a couple of successful events including the Halloween Carving and the Beer Fest and has been able to secure a number of private functions.
More events will be arranged in the second half of the season so that the club can continue to grow its bar and kitchen revenues.

The Club will be showing the Guinness Men and Women’s Six Nations as well as the England matches as a minimum for the Women’s World Cup which takes place later in the year.

More details on the schedules will be published in due course.

The Club is also in the process of developing sponsorship packages for the remainder of this season and for next season. This also includes a number of new benefits for Windsor RFC Members.

Again further updates will be provided in due course

On the management side of the club there have also been positive changes with Sharon Richards being co-opted onto the Windsor RFC Board to provide the club with valuable HR advice as well as leading the Club as Head of Women and Diversity and Inclusivity. Her input will be invaluable as the Board continues to drive to ensure the club is more inclusive for all sections.

The General Management Committee has seen changes with Sharon Page joining as Assistant Secretary as well as Allen Crawshaw and Jess O’Sullivan the Senior Men and Women’s Captains. Jennifer McGeachie has also taken on the important role of Safeguarding Officer.

Other positive changes have been made following an independent review by the RFU on Women and Girls Rugby at Windsor RFC. The Club has created two new roles Head of Women and Head of Girls which are now held by Sharon Richards and Rebecca Curley. In addition, a Women and Girls committee has been formed so that the club can have the right focus in developing Women and Girls Rugby and reap the benefits of having the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.

An area of development that was identified by both the Women and Girls Review and a Diversity and Inclusivity Review was the need to improve communication throughout all parts of the club.
This is still very much work in progress.

If anybody would like to get involved on a voluntary basis or has any queries or concerns please speak to any Board or General Management Committee member.
Details of who are on the Board and General Management Committee can be found on the website as well as the weblink below.

https://www.windsorrugbyclub.com/a/windsor-rfc-gmc--board-members-profile-68608.html?page=1

On a personal note I was honoured to be elected as the President of Berkshire RFU. This will help to raise the profile of Windsor RFC within the County. It will also help me to become much better informed on what is happening throughout the County and within the RFU.

Being Chair has its challenges, which have been highlighted by a complaint by a member of the Club to the RFU in April of last year. This complaint has put myself and a couple of board members under enormous pressure. The details of the complaint have still not been shared by the RFU, but it has taken a lot of time to deal with which has been to the detriment of the club as the Board have been unable to focus on other priorities. I am hoping that it will be resolved in the near future so that the Board and General Management Committee can focus on improving and developing the rugby experience for all members of the club for the short, mid and longer term.

To finish I would like to thank my fellow Board and General Management Committee members for all the time and commitment that they give to Windsor RFC.

Looking forward to providing you with further updates during the remainder of the season.

Michael Crawshaw WINDSOR RFC Chair