I think it is a good time to give you an update of where we are as a club and try to look at the positives that have come from the premature ending of the 2019/20 season at Rochford Hundred RFC.

Firstly, I hope everyone is staying safe and dealing with lockdown as best you can. If you are of course a key worker or one those who is still working I have nothing but total respect for all of you.

As we should be aware our 1st XV gained a third successive promotion being crowned CHAMPIONS of London & South East Premier League and we now find ourselves in National Two South. This is the highest league the 1st XV have ever played in during the Clubs history and we are now one of the top 72 clubs in England. This success is all down to the hard work put in by Director of Rugby and his coaching team, our players, volunteers and of course you members providing us the great support year after year to achieve this fantastic achievement.

Elsewhere on the field, the Ladies section have worked hard over the course of the season to once again rise from the ashes and we now have the base of a great squad of women who we all hope will flourish in the seasons to come.

Although the season did not reach its conclusion it is important to note the achievements many of our teams throughout the Club reached this season. Once again both our 1st and 2nd XV Senior Men's teams reached their respective Essex RFC Cup Finals and were both on course to defend their titles. Our men's 3rd XV were crowned Champions of their Essex Merit Table and our very social rugby team, the Rams, continued to offer a great game of social rugby whilst also introducing numerous new members to the Club and we congratulate them for that.

Our fantastic Academy had an unbeaten league season and were on track to be crowned both Essex League and Essex Cup Champions and it is this group of hard-working lads I feel for the most in all of this. Not only did they not see the season out, but it would have been the last chance for this group to play together as a squad as they have done for the last 10 years or so. We wish each and everyone one of you the best for next season whether that sees you staying with us entering our Senior sides or leaving us (temporarily we hope) to further your education at University, you are a credit to each other, your coaches, parents and was our pleasure to have you honour this club by wearing its colours.

Within the Minis, the numbers continue to grow however the business end of their season the tournaments and tours were all sadly cancelled but are hoping to bounce back next season even stronger.

Our girl’s sections are a victim of their own success and once again numbers grew across the age groups, as well as hosting a very successful Essex Girls festival which will only boost this section of the Club.

We have had a number of youth boys and girls selected for county representation across ALL age groups and a special mention to this years Under 15s boys who WON their league and are looking forward to the challenge of Division 1 next season.

Off the field there have been a number of changes we wish to get you up to speed with. Firstly we have to mention that our Chairman Pete Van Den Broek, Vice Chairman Wayne Seaby and Treasurer Matt Meadows have all stepped down from their current roles, however it is important to note that all of them are staying as active participants, members, supporters and sponsors of the club and we thank them for all the hard work each has put in to developing the Club as a whole over past few seasons.

During the last three seasons of enormous success for the 1st XV, one man has been at the helm during this period. That is Chris Green, who as Director of Rugby has overseen our remarkable success in winning those three consecutive promotions whilst also winning 54 games on the trot (all with a bonus point) and only losing 2 out of 70 matches in total. Chris has now decided that the time is right for him to take a break from rugby and pursue his business interest outside of rugby and we as a Club have a great amount of respect and gratitude for what he has done for the Club during his period here as our Director of Rugby (DOR) and we all wish him well for the future and he will still be visible at the Club on match days supporting us from the touchline. We also wish our 1st XV Head Coach Chris Waring a fond farewell. Again, we thank him for all the work he has put in over the past season and wish him all the best in future life and rugby.

We have decided to leave the DOR position vacant for the time being and we have appointed Danny Cleare as Head Coach for the 1st XV squad and he is busy recruiting his team of support coaches and other backroom staff.

Danny is a vastly experienced coach and we are very pleased to have him as our Head Coach.

Following confirmation from the Trustees of the Club and our Executive Committee, I will be stepping into role of Interim Chairman ensuring club remains active over the summer and this period of lockdown which has a number of very real and important challenges which I will lead on to shortly.

We have a new treasury team joining the committee and all of this will be ratified at the next AGM which we WILL hold as soon as we can get out of lockdown.

It is also with great pleasure I can announce Paul Head will be stepping into a New Role at the Club as Head of Rugby. Paul will work closely with the Head Coach ensuring that he has everything he and the squad need to attack National Rugby with gusto and ultimately maintain a presence in the National Leagues for years to come. I think it is important to note that this role does not replace the DOR role.

Paul will also be working closely with newly appointed Head of Academy Mark Randall and Danny Cleare as Head Coach in regards to developing both the player and coaching development pathways for our fantastic Youth teams. Setting realistic but ambitious goals so we are able to develop both the players and coaches of this club’s future.

We are also pleased to announce that James Tirrell, Saracens Academy Backs coach and the England U20 assistant coach will part of the coaching team at Rochford next season. James will be working with Danny and all of the 1st XV squad, but he will also be giving the Club the benefit of his enormous experience of developing young players and coaches and working in partnership with Paul and Mark to deliver an outstanding players and coach development programme.

I am also excited to announce that an excellent sponsor has been able to provide us with the funds so that we can erect NEW floodlights on our main pitch closest to club house. This work will start during May and will be in place and ready to go for the new season. We will now be able to ko 3pm each and every Saturday the 1st XV are at home as well as hopefully enjoy more Friday night games for our Senior section throughout the course of the coming seasons.

Ok – now looking to the Summer and the New Season… unfortunately none of us can predict when we will return to Rugby at this stage. We obviously all hope it will be sooner rather than later. The RFU are yet to announce a return and they will be lead by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as and when safe to do so, but currently we are SHUT for business.

Due to the club ceasing trading on March 16 and us not being able to generate income over the bar for the last month of the season as well as numerous functions, end of season awards and presentation evenings all being cancelled for the foreseeable it has presented us with cash flow issues we are presently working our way through, and I am sure you are all aware that we still have bills to pay. Some predate our closing, others are regular direct debits and other invoices we have to pay.

So here is my plea. Please continue to pay your monthly membership and join the new “200 CLUB” (we just need people to take up the remaining 24 numbers to become the 200 Club, so if you want some numbers please join up). The revenue we achieve from your subscriptions and the 200 Club is greatly helping us keep afloat at this time.

I know money could also be getting very tight for you if your work circumstances have changed but if I could ask you to keep the monthly payments going it will DEFINITELY help ensure we are still here once this is all over.

This is YOUR Rugby Club so all we are asking is that you stay with us during this difficult time and when we come out of this, we will still have a Rugby Club we can all use.

All the best, stay safe, and we hope to be able to welcome you all back to The Club in the very near future.

Thanks

Ray Stephenson – Interim Chairman