Friday 30th April saw the club’s annual awards dinner with over 100 playing members in attendance. Apart from the player’s awards, there were also awards for those that have made a significant contribution behind the scenes. Most notable was the Harry Green Award which recognises a significant contribution to the club over a sustained period of time, for this reason the Harry Green Award is not necessarily presented on an annual basis. This year’s well deserved recipient was retiring club Chairman, Wendy Pound for her contribution to the club over many years, both within the youth section and the club as a whole, where she has held a number of appointments. Also awarded for their contributions to the club were a number of Vice Presidencies as follows, Dave Hughes, Nick East, Paul Massey, Trevor Bradley & Andy Golding.

The key awards for on pitch performance were The David Arnold Award for the outstanding young player of the season which went to Charlie Simpson, the Bernard Hinks Awards were awarded as follows:

1st XV Player – John O’Brien
Other XVs Player – Dave Tugwell
Non Player – Laurence Waters (Mustangs Mgr) & David Hughes (1st XV T-Judge)
David Arnold Award (Young Player of the Year) - Charlie Simpson

Within the other senior teams the Players Player awards were as follows:

1st XV – Jack Lamb
Mustangs XV – Ben Rookledge
3rd XV – Sean Charlton
4th XV – Dave Jackson
5th XV – Mike Gillies
Vetetans XV (The Mike Sharples Plate) – Dave Hughes

Finally the Centenary Cup for the team of the season was awarded to the 5th XV who had their most successful season for a number of years.

Team of the season

Photos:

1 & 2. General
3. Dave Hughes who picked up the Vets XV Player of the Season and was also awarded a Vice Presidency.
4. Laurence Waters – Bernard Hinks Non Player award winner.
5. Dave Tugwell – Bernard Hinks Other XVs Player award winner.
6. John O’Brien – Bernard Hinks 1st XV Player award winner.
7. Harry Green award winner Wendy Pound
8. Centenary Cup winners – the 5th XV.

Following the Easter break and having battled against the elements in the week prior to the holiday the team from Highlights Floodlighting Ltd were back on site to complete the installation of the club’s new floodlighting system.

That week following the holidays saw the completion of the cable installation that had to be delayed from before Easter due to the adverse weather conditions, which severely slowed progress as well as increasing the likelihood of severely damaging the touchline areas of the pitch.

Following a week to allow the trenched areas to settle after being refilled and the concrete pylon foundations to set thoroughly, the team returned for the final phase of the project. This involved the installation of the electrical cabinet and lighting circuitry, erection of the 15m lighting pylons and lighting arrays and finally the repair and making good of any damage to the ground areas.

Whilst everything is now in place, the lights will not be operational until the electricity board connect the power supply to the 3-phase electrical cabinet.

Once the funding had been approved the time taken to complete the project by the Highlights Floodlighting team, from the pre-start meeting to departing the club was a total of just over 8 on-site days (despite 3 days of atrocious weather).

Saturday 17th April saw an invitational West Kent Veterans XV take on Essex Veterans XV at Tunbridge Wells. Amongst the West Kent squad was 3rd XV & Evergreen XV skipper, Paul Massey. Although some other members of the club’s Evergreen XV were approached, other commitments meant that Paul was the only Maidstone player available to take up the offer.

In a match that was largely one-way traffic in favour of the West Kent side Paul was able to play his part in a match full of free running rugby with the home side running out convincing winners by 81-7. The game was played in good spirit with excellent if somewhat over exuberant support; in fact Paul was prevented from scoring on one occasion when he was tackled by one of the Essex supporters, who obviously thought it was the only way to stem the tide.

Photos (courtesy of Bruce Elliott):

Paul Massey in action for the West Kent Veterans XV

Note: A full selection of the match photos can be seen at: http://www.photoboxgallery.com/BEEP

The final Invicta League game of the season for the 3rd XV was the last opportunity of the season for a shirt presentation to the team’s sponsors. Club Director of Rugby Andy Golding was on hand to present shirts from the new Evergreen XV strip to Ross Laing from Homewarm, Dominic Baxter from Britelite and John Baxter who as well as being the Chairman of Britelite was also representing Baxter Homes. The original intention was for Baxter Homes MD, Michael Baxter to be present but unfortunately he was stranded in Turkey as a result of the current travel embargo caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption.

The new strip will be used by the club’s Evergreen XV and also as a 3rd XV change strip, it will also be utilised for any club invitational XVs.

1. Team photo 2. Andy Golding presents the new shirt to John Baxter representing Baxter Homes while Ross Laing (Homewarm) and Dominic Baxter (Britelite) look on.

The club has linked up with P.A.R. Marketing as part of its drive to widen its advertising base. P.A.R will primarily sell pitch side advertising boards on the club’s behalf, although that role may broaden as time progresses. Patrick De Berry the MD for P.A.R said that Maidstone were one of several clubs that have gone down this route, that allows volunteers more time to concentrate on their wider administrative demands whilst leaving the recruitment of advertisers to a company working specifically in that field on their behalf.

Patrick visited the club and Deputy Chairman was on hand to show him the grounds and also progress with the floodlighting project as well as sign the agreement between Maidstone Rugby and P.A.R. Marketing.

Note: If you or your company may be interested in pitch side advertising with Maidstone Rugby, you should contact Bob Hayton via the website contacts page in the first instance.

Photo: Patrick De Berry from P.A.R. Marketing and Deputy Chairman Bob Hayton put pen to paper.

To bring down the curtain down on their 25th Anniversary Season, Friday 16th April saw the annual ritual of aging bodies congregating at the clubhouse in the early morning for the now traditional Veterans XV tour; although with a significant number resplendent in their new club blazers they did look extremely “dapper”! This season’s venue was the Isle of Wight with fixtures against Sandown & Shanklin RFC and Havant RFC. Whilst the team were not able to register a victory during the tour, meeting new teams and making new friends is what grassroots rugby is all about and the side were exceptionally well hosted by both clubs, with the Corinthian ethos of the sport was upheld in the finest tradition.

Photos from the tour are now on the club gallery

With the U17s heading for the Emerald Isle, the same weekend saw the club’s U16 squad tour Norfolk to play in the East Coast Festival of Rugby hosted by Norwich RFU. In glorious April sunshine they played teams from Windsor, Sheffield, Leamington Spa, Biggleswade and Bromley producing varied performances (Won 2, Drawn 1, Lost 3) finishing 7th out of 10 teams. Their highlight was a strong forwards game in defeat against the eventual winners Sheffield. Maidstones’ Player of the Tournament was Dan Eastwood with some committed defensive performances and a couple of crucial tries.

The 9th April saw the club’s U17s depart on tour to Cork to play two games and sample the legendary Irish hospitality. The ferry crossing from Pembroke (the world’s deepest natural harbour) to Rosslare was unusually calm and with everyone in good spirits, a successful tour was expected.

The first fixture saw the team pitched against Midleton RFC with the match played in bright sunshine and 20°C temperatures. In what was an entertaining but one-sided fixture Maidstone ran out easy winners by 70-5. A great a start to the tour.

Sunday’s fixture proved to be a sterner test against Dungarvan RFC U19’s with a reputation as one of the stronger sides at that age group in the Munster region and within the first 10 minutes Maidstone found themselves 14 points down. Following that “wake-up” call they then started to play some rugby with some powerful running from both forwards and backs causing the home team all sorts of problems as the scoring started. The ball was run through the hands from all over the pitch with Maidstone running out eventual winners by 41-26.

All in all, a very successful tour.

The club’s 3rd XV and Evergreen XV suffered in what was a pivotal weekend for their season. On a weekend where injuries and unavailability’s had taken its toll the Saturday saw them travel to Old Alleynians for what was likely to be the league title decider, in the end they went down heavily to an Alleynians 2nd XV that had narrowly defeated them in December and by their own admission was at full strength and contained a number of their 1st XV.

In the Evergreen Cup having beaten Beccehamians by a convincing margin in the opening round and then Charlton Park in the Quarterfinals in what was a repeat of last seasons draw in the competition. The Semi-Final saw another home draw and pitched them against Haywards Heath, conquerors of winners for the past 5 seasons, Sutton & Epsom. Unfortunately, with a committed but makeshift team on the day, Maidstone were not able to stem the tide of a strong, well-organised and well drilled Haywards Heath side and bowed out of the competition before the final for the first time in 3 years.

The pool games were a bit of a mixed bag, losing to Old Elthamians (Kent Plate winners) in match 1, but recovering to defeat New Ash Green & Beccehamians convincingly although losing out to narrowly Old Colfeians in a match which saw us on the wrong side of some dubious refereeing decisions. However, in this game you take the rough with the smooth and a record of two wins and two losses placed the team in the Bowl Final to face a big Sidcup side. Despite some ferocious Maidstone tackling Sidcup opening the scoring but superior handling and agility saw Maidstone respond with tries from Ben Tritton, Alex Crosbie and Ben Woodhams to round off a great team effort and take the Bowl by three tries to one.

For a full review of the festival see the Youth Rugby Match Reports page.

As military rugby reaches the business end of the season and the Inter Services Trophy, it has been announced that former Maidstone player Tom Hughes has been selected for the British Army’s 27 man training squad for the their training camp in South Africa prior to the tournament. The Army squad includes a number of international players at full and 7s level, as well as several Barbarian players. The side will play two matches during the tour, Hamiltons RFC who have been the strongest club side in the Western Cape over the past two seasons on the 9th April and Durbanville-Belleville RFC on the 14th April.

This is Tom’s third trip to South Africa with the Army and he is in with a real chance of making the match day squad for what is the showpiece event in inter service rugby; The Babcock Trophy Army v Navy match at Twickenham, when the Army will be going for a ninth successive victory over the senior service.

Inter Service Fixtures

10th April: Royal Navy v Royal Air Force @ Portsmouth.
21st April: Army v Royal Air Force @ Newbury.
1st May: The Babcock Trophy Match; Army v Royal Navy @ Twickenham.

Tickets for the Army v Navy match are available online via: www.rfu.com/Tickets/Events/2010_05_01_Army_Navy.aspx

Monday 29th March at 8:00am saw the contractors from Highlights Floodlighting Ltd on site at the club to start work on the installation of the new floodlights for the training pitch. The run up to Easter will see the groundwork completed with the foundation plinths for the six 15m pylons established, also being completed will be the installation of a 3-phase electrical junction box and the required cabling for the lighting system.

Following the Easter break and with the concrete foundations for the pylons having set, work will recommence to erect the 15m high pylons and install the lighting arrays and switch systems. The project will be completed with the making good and reseeding of the working areas along each touchline.

Photos: 1. Contractors arrive on site to commence work. 2. Initial groundworks are conducted. 3. Pylon foundations are prepared. 4. Groundwork preparation for the electrical installation. 5 & 6. Cable trenching and installation.

A recent trip to New Zealand gave former club captain Martin Arnold the opportunity to drop in on some old friends as well as re-establish links with Darfield Rugby Club. Links with Darfield started several years back when Eugene Moore came to the UK, followed later by other 1st XV players such as Sam Johnston and Scott and Mark McIlroy. Since then, many other players have taken the opportunity to combine a spell in the UK and Europe with playing rugby at Maidstone as part of the 1st XV squad. Hopefully we will see a few more in the not too distant future.

Photos:
1. Martin Arnold at Darfield Rugby Club, NZ.
2. Martin & Jedene catch up with some old friends of Maidstone Rugby. L to R: Scott Mitchell, Sam Johnston, Martin, Scott McIlroy, Mike Catherwood, Jedene, N/K.

Tuesday 23rd March saw the first practical steps towards the installation of a new floodlight system on the training pitch with the pre-start site visit by the RFU specialist contractors, Highlights Floodlighting Ltd. The company’s Mick Morton & Mark Peckham were on hand to discuss and finalise plans, start dates and the expected duration of the project with club Director of Rugby Andy Golding.

Initial work on the first stage will start on Monday 29th March with groundwork for the 6 pylons, cable laying and also the installation of a new 3-phase electrical junction. The next stage will involve the erection of the floodlight pylons, installing the lighting arrays and connection to the electrical supply.

The project will be completed well in advance of preseason training for the 2010/11 season.

Photo:
Highlights Floodlighting Ltd's Mick Morton (centre) & Mark Peckham (left) discuss plans with Andy Golding and Groundsman Tony Saunders.

Maidstone Rugby Club’s mini section are among 18 youth groups selected to compete in the final stages of KMFM's “Dragons Den” style challenge on the 22nd April, and a chance of winning £1000. Five of our youth members will make a 3-minute presentation to a panel of judges to try and secure funds towards the development of the waste ground at the end of the 1ST XV pitch and turn it into a training area for the youth section. With ever increasing numbers throughout the mini’s age groups, accommodating all our youth section age groups at the club for both training and fixtures has become increasingly difficult and converting this area into a useable space will both ease the pressure on the pitches and alleviate overcrowding at the club.

If anybody knows or has a contact within a company who may be willing to sponsor and or assist in the completion of the work please contact Chunk Mitchell on 07714992481.

Maidstone’s U17s eventually finished runners-up in the Kent Cup Final going down 17-7 to the tournament favourites Sevenoaks. Against a team that comprised of a large well-drilled pack it was the penalty count that was Maidstone’s undoing, with the Sevenoak’s Fly-Half cashing in with some well taken place kicks. However, to say that Maidstone’s U17s were overawed by the occasion would be wrong, and with the ball in hand they were the far more penetrative and imaginative side and with two or three convincing breaks were unlucky not to breach the opposition defence. In fact Maidstone turned round at half time with a 7-6 advantage thanks to a try from Jason Smith, which was started by a break out from their own 22m having put a scrum against the head. A substantial period of pressure early in the second half did not yield any points and with Sevenoaks having taken the lead thanks to two further penalties. In the closing stages Maidstone had their opportunities but the wrong decisions at key moments saw the chances spurned and a Sevenoaks try from a catch and drive in the last play of the match was academic to the result. With luck the experience will stand the lads in good stead for next season when they take on a side that knows its strength and very much plays the percentages.

The U17s squad would like to thank all the spectators who turned up to support them on the day and those members of the senior coaching and support staff who provided them with assistance.

Photos:

After months of organising by Trevor Bradley, last weekend saw a squad of 26 Barbarians head off on their annual crusade to spread the gospel of Maidstone Rugby. The invitation had been place early season and now it was time to descend on their scrum-half Mike Gillies' hometown of Warminster for a game against their recently reformed 2nd XV.

Having experienced the Friday night social scene and sticking to the 2am curfew, the Barbarians were in optimistic mood of possibly achieving their first touring win in 18 attempts........and if the game had finished after 40 minutes then that would have been grand. Unfortunately, our one British Soldier (Jake Palmer) and heroic tackling from Hodges at full-back wasn't enough to withstand the 4 Fijian squaddies who took to the field at half time and decimated a superb 17 nil lead (tries from Arthurs, Newman and Burrill - solo conversion from Oakley) to win by 24 - 17.

Not wishing to leave the weekend as a mere daytrip to the other side of Stonehenge, Tour Manager Bradley had also received a personal invitation from the President of Uckfield Rugby Club to detour on the way home for a game followed by Sunday Dinner washed down with lashings of Harveys.........so following a 3 hour drive in the baking sunshine (not advisable on a full stomach of Wadworth 6X), the Barbarians took to the field against the President's XV.

Fortunately Uckfield isn't renowned for its Fijian population but a combination of a national league width pitch and a backline consisting mainly of Colts, the Barbarians found themselves 17 nil down within the first quarter as the young guns used every inch of width to breeze in at the corners. After that and gaining their second wind, the Maidstone pack began to calm the play and with the composed presence of Dave Eiffert standing in at #9 for the 2nd half (following Cabin Boy Lance Lewis' retirement due to a broken tooth) the Barbarians began to play as they had started at Warminster (2 tries from birthday boy Clarke and his own converted try from Newman) to lose narrowly again by the same scoreline as the previous day.

All in all, a thoroughly entertaining weekend of social rugby (shame about the dismal professional entertainment) and with both Warminster and Uckfield threatening to come to Kent in the near future then hopefully MFC can put on the same hospitality that is regularly afforded to the Barbarians on their annual expeditions ?

2010 sees a new name on the Memorial Trophy awarded as a result of the match between the Veterans XV and Tunbridge Wells 4th XV on Saturday. With the 5th XV away on tour the Veterans XV stood in to honour their Mid Kent C league fixture in a match that also doubled as the annual Memorial Match to memory of “Absent Friends” from the team. The match is normally a hotly contested fixture against the 5th XV so this year sees a real break in tradition, with Wells managing to achieve what the 5th team have been striving to do for several seasons. Despite a committed effort by the Veterans, the combination of a slow start and the young legs of the opposition meant that by the time they managed to get a grip on the game, most of the damage had been done. However, the match was played in good spirit and it was good to see several faces around the club that haven’t been around for a while. Rumours that Chris Lindley had flown in from Kenya especially for the fixture are somewhat exaggerated.

1. Sally McCabe presents the trophy to the victorious Tunbridge Wells skipper.
2. Chris Lindley (available due to a brief visit from Kenya) scores in the corner.

Maidstone Rugby has appointed a new Head Coach to take them into the 2010/11 season. Kent based Andy Foley officially takes over the role at the start of preseason training; Andy has a successful and impressive track record in coaching having spent 5 years with Dorking RFC and was instrumental in achieving 3 promotions and lifting the RFU Junior Vase at national level with a record winning points margin. Prior to that Andy was part of a successful coaching team with Westcombe Park’s senior squad. Andy cut his coaching teeth during the 1990s in the county leagues with involvement at both Lordswood and near neighbours Aylesford and continues to be involved with representative rugby for both Kent & Surrey. Until Andy formally commences his Head Coaching duties, Dave Tito will continue to head up the coaching for the Ist XV and the sevens squads.

Andy Foley is already eagerly looking forward to the 2010/11 season and commented “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be involved in a club with the tradition of Maidstone. It is apparent that the infrastructure and talent is more than capable of sustaining an exceptional standard of rugby, played in the right way”.

Club Director of Rugby Andy Golding commented on the appointment, “I am extremely pleased to have secured the services of Andy as Head Coach. With his experience and coaching knowledge, I am sure that he will be instrumental in ensuring that as a Club we strive to be the very best that we can, by playing enjoyable, inclusive and rewarding rugby. Andy has an impressive record of success as a coach and is highly regarded. At 1st XV Squad Level in particular, it is hoped that his introduction will herald a fresh approach, which will bring out the best in our players and make our spell in London Division 2 a transient one”.

Saturday 13th Mar saw the County Town Club’s U17 squad doing their bit to support the County Town’s Regiment by participating the Three Six Challenge, an annual charity event raising money for the benevolent fund for 36 Engineer Regiment. The event took place on Saturday 13 March at The Mall, is was a fun packed day of sporting challenges and was supported by local media. With a squad of nine players available on the day, it wasn’t long before the U17s were loaning personnel to a couple of understrength teams, including club sponsors The Village. The physical tasks were set at a very high level, so not for the faint hearted or unfit, and under the watchful eye of coach Richard Weston, the lads started well but finally finished in a respectable mid table position. Of particualr note was the performance of Sam Leatham who took the trophy for the most shoulder touches in that event with 151, which is a record in the 3-year history of the Three Six Challenge, which was a fantastic achievement, with most of the boys only 16.

U17s Three Six Challenge squad: Olly Newton, James Lonergan, James Corbyn, Jason Smith, Sam Leathem, Jim Swaisland, Sam Weston and Ryan Cooper.

Thanks to the efforts of Director of Rugby Andy Golding, the club is delighted to announce that following a successful application and several months of negotiation, the RFU have awarded us a significant grant (in excess of £30k) to enable the replacement of the floodlights on the training pitch area. The new lights will be installed during the off-season ready for next season. The 6 new lights, which are to be mounted on 15m pylons, will make a massive difference to the current spread of light and greatly enhance the training environment and experience. In addition, they will also make a real contribution towards increasing recruitment and participation within the Club and community rugby.

This is a major step forward in terms of improving playing facilities at the Club and together with our quest to gain the Whole Club Seal of Approval and the agreed formation of the Mote Sports Foundation are significant milestones in terms of meeting the challenges required for future success and the on-going development of the Club both on and off the field.

Sunday 7th March saw Maidstone’s U17s travel to Charlton Park to participate in this season’s Kent Cup and the squad were keen to make amends for the feeling that they had under achieved in this season’s league campaign. On a what was a cold day, Maidstone went through to the quarter-finals despatching Gravesend , Old Gravesendians and Dartford in the pool stages without conceding a point.

The quarterfinal saw them pitched against against near neighbours and local rivals Aylesford. In what was a tense affair Maidstone’s Jason Smith opened the scoring with a try following some dominant scrummaging by the Maidstone pack, Sam Ellis kicking the extras. A poor piece of play which led to a penalty saw Aylesford take a quick tap and go to move the ball and score out wide. With only a 2-point margin and the clock ticking down the Maidstone side demonstrated a lot of maturity in the play to run out victors at the final whistle.

The semi-final saw the team facing up to a strong Colfeians XV who demonstrated a willingness to move the ball to their pacey wingmen. Maidstone went behind through a penalty and had a lot of work to do if they were to progress to the final. The critical score was an impudent piece of play by the Maidstone Fly Half, Sam Ellis, who chipped the ball over the Colfes defence, and fielding his own kick to touch down for the winning score.

Maidstone’s U17s now face Sevenoaks in the final on Sunday 21st March at Aylesford, kick-off is at 1:30pm and support from all elements of the club would be most welcome.

Nobody likes uncertainty, and the loss of long term Primary Sponsor, Simon Wright Homes there was definitely a significant degree of uncertainty for the club’s Executive Committee. However thanks to the efforts of Club Treasurer, Dave Coleman negotiations have been taking place to identify a sponsor prepared to step in at short notice, even on a short-term basis. Step forward three well known local companies, Britelite, Baxter Homes and Homewarm; who were prepared to provide the finance to allow the club to meet its objectives in terms of continued development of the club. In particular they will sponsor the shirts for this years President’s XV event as well as the club’s successful Evergreen Cup XV. Further details to follow in due course.

Saturday 20th Feb saw Peter Krovina, Managing Director of Medway based company, Comms Centre, visit the club to receive one of this season’s 4th XV shirts from team captain, Mark Staples, who was instrumental in establishing the link between the company and the club. Comms Centre is a leading name in distribution to the structured cabling, fibre optic, networking and physical security industries and are joint shirt sponsors for the club’s 4th XV. Peter was able to meet the team as well as watch their Mid-Kent A League fixture against Gravesend.

Photos: 1. Peter Krovina of Comms Centre receives a 4th XV shirt from team captain, Mark Staples 2. Members the 4th XV with Peter Krovina from sponsors Comms Centre

After over a decade of committed, loyal and valued service, we have mutually agreed to release Tim McBennett, Head Coach forthwith. Tim was looking to move at the end of the season and the early confirmation of relegation of the 1st XV has allowed us to bring this date forward to allow Tim sufficient lead in time to source other coaching opportunities and for the Club to begin to prepare for next season.

In his time at the Club, Tim has been instrumental in winning 2 league titles, a National Intermediate Cup quarter final place and a Kent Cup Runners Up spot. We wish Tim continued success in his coaching career and would like to thank him publicly for the considerable time and effort that he has put into his coaching role and the Club. In the interim Tim’s backs coaching role will be undertaken by David Tito.’

A Gravesend player was seriously injured in the Kent Cup game with Maidstone on Sunday 17th January. As a result, he is likely to lose the sight in one eye. Maidstone Football Club, in its entirety, is cognisant of the seriousness of this injury and wishes to express its sympathy to the player concerned.

The Kent Police have been asked to investigate the incident that led to this injury and Maidstone FC is complying fully with this process. Until such time as this investigation is completed, we have been advised to suspend our own internal investigation.

Maidstone has a good disciplinary record and fully supports the efforts of the RFU and Kent RFU to maintain Rugby Union as a clean and fair game.

Now there’s nothing like enthusiasm and the need to get out on the park to play a game of rugby, but sometimes you get a bit more than you bargain for. Such was the case for Kev Bailey from the Veterans XV. Commitments meant that unfortunately he was not going to be available for the Veterans XV trip to Tunbridge Wells this last Saturday, in fact he only just got to the club in time for the home matches to kick off. Thinking that he may get a run out on the bench with the 4th XV he duly changed and wandered up to Mote Park where the games were taking place. With the 4th XV having a full compliment of reserves, he was quickly co-opted onto the Mustangs bench where the side were very much fighting a rearguard action against Sidcup. His efforts weren’t in vain though; he did get on for about the last 10 minutes, although any ambitions to run out alongside son Sam for the 1st XV have now been well and truly placed on the “back burner”!!!

Photo: Kev Bailey in action for the Mustangs XV

Spearheaded by the Club Chairman, Wendy Pound and Director of Rugby, Andy Golding and supported by the Executive Committee, the club is embarking on the process to attain the RFU’s Whole Club Seal of Approval (WCSoA), which also carries Sport England's "Clubmark" accreditation..

In 2009 Whole Club Seal of Approval was introduced by the RFU to build on the success of its Mini and Youth scheme that commenced in 2002. The aim is to audit and implement good practice throughout the whole club and produce a 3-yearr Development plan (building on and enhancing our current 3-year Strategic Plan). This will ensure that the whole club is sustainable and is planning to grow participation for all types of player (both youth and senior). It will also demonstrate that we are providing our members with a safe, well organised and enjoyable environment in which to learn and play rugby. Currently only one other club in Kent has achieved this prestigious accolade and we hope to be the first outside of the metropolitan area. The collection of evidence and action plan to achieve the WCSoA are firmly underway and we hope to achieve accreditation by the early part of next season.

The benefits reported by Seal of Approval accredited clubs have been wide-ranging and significant. These include:

• An increase in participation.
• An increase in the standard and number of coaches, referees and volunteers.
• Better links with the local community (schools, colleges, etc).
• Clubs feel that their efforts are being recognised and rewarded.
• They are sure that they are ‘on the right track’.
• The process of accreditation helps the club analyse where they are and where they want to be.

Other benefits include:

• Seal of Approval accreditation enables a club to receive funding from the Rugby Football Foundation and access other rugby development funding.
• School Sports Partnerships are directed to only develop links with accredited clubs.
• International ticket allocations for Seal of Approval clubs will be enhanced
• Use of the Whole Club Seal of Approval logo on the club’s website and other promotional materials.

Thanks to the efforts of Club Chairman, Wendy Pound, Saturday saw Richard “The Woogster” Ewence and his band of “eggheads” under the team name “Six & a Half”, overcome some stiff competition from teams from the Veterans and 1st XV to take the 125 Cup in this years club quiz. With the 1st XV apparently very confident that they would take the trophy and the Veterans & 4th XV mounting a quieter challenge, it was the composite “Six & a Half”, which was hastily assembled on the night, that were a mine of information and trivia, most of it not particularly useful except for a quiz. After all, how useful can it be to know that John Emburey’s score of 46 is the highest individual first class cricket score consisting totally of boundaries!!!

Probably Maidstone’s highest-flying former player is Danny Caprice, currently part of the England squad on the IRB 7s circuit, now plying his trade with National League 1 side Blackheath having moved from Guinness Premiership side Saracens; but he is by no means the only one. Last season’s 1st XV hooker Sam Rogers made his National League debut for city club Canterbury in October against Bridgewater & Albion, stepping in for his brother and also recent club 1st XV hooker Tom. Another former front-row player making an impact is Tom Hughes, now an officer in the Army and currently breaking into what is a very strong British Army squad. Another player now plying his trade in the National Leagues is Nik Van Mol who has shaken off a summer illness and is beginning to work his way into senior squad contention at Blackheath. Another pair of brothers also playing higher level rugby are Tom & Jack Muggridge; both went on to be Harlequins Academy players with Tom now at National 3 club Bracknell having also spent time with National 2 club Henley. Jack, a former U16 England player is now playing university rugby at Loughborough. Finally, Ben Williams who we see back at the club fairly regularly has completed his studies at Hartpury College and is now playing for Chester in National 3 (North)

Photos: Former players Danny Caprice, Tom Rogers, Sam Rogers, Tom Hughes, Nik Van Mol, Tom Muggridge & Ben Williams

As was probably expected and despite the best intentions of both ourselves and Gravesend to take to the pitch and clear the fixture from our respective cards, the weather took its toll and the scheduled Kent Cup match was postponed. Elsewhere in the county the outlook was pretty much the same, with only two of the scheduled eight fixtures being played. In what will be seen as the upset of the tournament so far, L2SE Sevenoaks traveled to National League city club Canterbury and came away with a convincing 24-8 win in what at times were blizzard conditions. Elsewhere Folkestone made the trip from the coast to SE London to take on L3SE league rivals Charlton Park and in icy conditions were on the receiving end of a 47-7 defeat.

With the next round of the competition scheduled to be played on 6th/7th Feb and more wintry weather anticipated it is looking very much like the only thing that can be forecast with any certainty is a fixture backlog for most of the clubs involved, especially if there are further league postponements.

The wheel of fortune has been spun and the lucky numbers have been churned out by the random number generator for the winners of December's 500 Club draw. The lucky people are as follows:

• £250 - Andy Bacon
• £150 - Simon Wright (short)
• £100 - Mark Fish
• £100 - M Gammon
• £50 - Keith Richardson
• £50 - Steve Matthews
• £20 meal voucher sponsored by the clubs U10s sponsor, Tandoor Mahal - Mark Ryan

Winners are asked to contact the 500 Club organiser, Dave Tugwell

Maidstone’s Head Coach, Tim McBennett has been selected as part of the coaching team for the Under 19 Regional Academy team against the Australia High Schools XV at Hartbury College on Wednesday 16th December. The Junior Wallabies are on a tour of Ireland, Wales & England. This is the 3rd match in England for a tour that concludes this weekend. The England Under 20 Coach Mark Mapletoft is heading the coaching team and Tim will be focusing his expertise in helping to prepare the backs, which include several players he coached during last season in the England Under 18 AER team. Having watched them play earlier this week Tim sees is as an exciting challenge and a great chance for the team to measure themselves against one of the top teams at this age group.

The annual intra club Veterans XV v 5th (B) XV fixture saw the club’s veterans celebrate their 25th season with the introduction of a commemorative shirt. The side was formed in 1986 under the captaincy of the late Roger Nicholls for its first season and has gone from strength to strength since then. During its 25 seasons the side has been led by four other captains, Paul Ehrhart, Alan Hayward, Glyn Richards and currently Steve Vincent; Paul is the only player to have played every season since the team’s formation and is very much the team’s “elder statesman”, although the thought of hanging his boots up remains just that; “a thought”.

The team remains a tight knit social group that very much adheres to the Corinthian ethos of the sport playing weekly social fixtures outside the county league structures, it has also traditionally been the one club side that has toured annually, with their travels having included France, Ireland, Holland, Jersey & Poland as well as a number of destinations closer to home.

Photos:

1. Current Veterans XV skipper Steve Vincent presents the ever present Paul Ehrhart with his commemorative shirt.
2. The Veterans XV team photo with their commemorative shirts.

Tickets for this season’s RFU Grand Draw have arrived and were distributed with the latest copy of the newsletter. First Prize = £10,000 cash.

Other prizes include:

2nd. – 2 tickets to Dubai
3rd. - £1,000 cash
4th. - £1,000 cash
5th. – A weekend for 2 to attend an Investec international match including hotel accommodation.
There are also a further 35 exciting & valuable prizes to be won!

THE BENEFITS

For every club ticket sold 90% goes to the club as a donation!!!
Tickets are £1 each & come in books of 5. So if you sell 10 books £45 goes to the club & if you sell 50 books this becomes £225.

Ticket stubs should be handed in with monies at the bar in an envelope marked for the attention of Bob Hayton or Charlotte Dilli-Ricci.

If you did not receive tickets, or require further books then a supply is available from the bar.

SUPPORT YOUR CLUB BY SELLING YOUR TICKETS

Saturday saw the 4th XV presented with new shirts thanks to team sponsor Players Gentlemen’s Club. Some of the girls were present to lend a hand and add a bit of glamour to the occasion, and whilst the shirts look decidedly better on them than the likes of team Captain Mark Staples and Vice Captain Craig Bowden, the girls decided against running out on the pitch to face OGs 2nd XV. Players’ owners Jamie Pemble, Adam Thomson, Jay Lambert & Kevin Ruaux were keen to get involved in supporting grassroots community sport, with Jay having been a previous player at the club and Kevin’s brother a current player. Players are looking to broaden their support to the club in the coming seasons.

Photos: 4th XV skipper Mark Staples presents Jay Lambert from team sponsors Players Gentlemens Club with one of this seasons playing shirts. Some of the girls from Players bring a bit of glamour to the team photo.

Mark Thompson, South East representative of Maidstone’s official kit supplier Samurai Sportswear was on hand on Saturday to present a new set of Post Pads and Flag Pads to the club as part of the agreement between the club and Samurai. Samurai Sportswear has been the club’s kit supplier for the past two seasons and this was formalised recently with the recent signing of a 3-year agreement between the two parties making Maidstone Rugby one of Samurai’s associated clubs. Contrary to recent trends elsewhere in the sportswear market, Samurai Sportswear continues to grow and recently moved its manufacturing premises to a location with 3 times the capacity.

Photo: Mark Thompson of Samurai Sportswear hands over the joint agreement to Kevin Bailey, Maidstone Rugby's Procurement Representative

Steven Brown of AgentSport dropped into the club this weekend. Steven had recommended 1st XV scrum half, Mike Molloy and centre Ben Clearly to the club and was in the area so dropped in to see how the players were getting on. Knowing Steven has a bit of a penchant for collecting club ties, Mike and Ben presented him with a Maidstone Rugby tie on behalf of the club and by way of thanks for finding them a new club.

Photo:
1st XV scrum half Mike Molloy presents a club tie to Steven Brown

With what is becoming a traditional event for this age group, Friday night saw the club full of people willing to pit their collective wits against a series of questions devised by Quizmaster for the evening Adrian Shaw. In the end the result was a draw between Team Crawford-Smith & Team Charles; and in a magnanimous gesture by both teams they decided that sooner than split the winnings or hold a tie-break question, the money should go into the U13s fund for their end of season tour. In addition to the quiz a successful raffle was held plus and auction, which included a 2009/10 Saracens shirt signed by the whole squad. With Adrian Webster receiving the bids, the whole event was particularly entertaining and also included the drama of a mystery telephone bidder, who eventually took the Saracens shirt.

The evening was a great success and thanks go to the U13s and their dynamic group of coaches and parents.

Photo: Auctioneer for the evening, Adrian Webster keeps the bidding moving

The past weekend saw the matches in the preliminary round of this year’s Kent Cup; It must be said that in the main results went as the formbook would have predicted although Friday night saw near neighbours Aylesford run Westcombe Pk close, going down 5-7 under the floodlights. Saturday’s fixtures saw Medway recover from a 26-0 half-time deficit, but eventually losing out 43-19 to Deal & Betteshanger from a division higher. Beckenham played O Colfeians for the second time in a week, with the hosts taking the honours in a 55-31 scoreline; In fact the Beckenham match report described the first half scoring as “tit for tat” with a 17-21 interval scoreline in favour of the visitors, but the second half very much as “tit for tit”!! Perhaps the result of the day was Sevenoaks overturning Sidcup 24-27 at Crescent farm, in what, to use the old cliché, “was a game of two halves”, with Sevenoaks taking a 24-point lead into the second half and Sidcup just falling short in their efforts to win the match.

The results of these matches finalise the draw for the next round as follows: Old Colfeians travel to Whitstable, Westcombe Pk host Bromley, Deal & Betteshanger entertain Old Elthamians and Sevenoaks have the unenviable trip to Canterbury. Full details of the 2nd round draw are below:

2nd Round, to be played on or before the Sunday 3rd January 2010

• Whitstable v Old Colfeians
• Westcombe Park v Bromley
• Tunbridge Wells v Thanet Wanderers
• Old Dunstonians v Blackheath
• Deal & Betteshanger v Old Elthamians
• Maidstone v Gravesend
• Canterbury v Sevenoaks
• Charlton Park v Folkestone

Members should have received their latest version of Touchline, the club newsletter in the post. If not, don't panic; as a further step forward into the 21st century and the technical benefits now available, and with the long term aim of reducing club costs, the Touchline Newsletter will now be available online in pdf format in addition to a paper publication. In the shorter term the two options will run alongside each other, but the long-term plan is to reduce both publication and postal costs where possible and make the newsletter only available as an online publication next season. A potential positive to this process is the possibility of more regular and full colour editions, although with both the website Club News and Weekly Round Up pages, as well as other content providing a commentary on current club events, the newsletter is very much seen as providing overarching summaries.

For the current edition of the newsletter, go to the homepage and click the appropriate navigation button on the left of the screen. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 to open the pdf, if you don't aleady have Acrobat Reader this is available as a free download from the following link: http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/otherversions/

The draw for the quarter final of the Invicta Cup threw up what is likely to be a hard fought battle for the Mustangs, away against the local rivals Sevenoaks. Matches between these teams have normally been hard fought and tight affairs so more of the same would appear to be on the agenda. The match is scheduled to be played on the 19th Dec. In the other quarter final matches Westcombe Pk 3rd XV host Beckenham 2nd XV, TJs 2nds face Sidcup 2s and Colfes' 2nd XV make the trip to the coast to play Dover 2s.

In the Invicta 2 Cup, the “Dream Team” having lost narrowly to Folkestone 2nd XV in the preliminary round will have to wait until after the quarter finals to find out their opposition in the Plate competition, with the draw taking place after those matches have been completed.

Following their early season success at Chingford in an invitational tournament, the county town club’s U17s were finally able to get their league campaign started following a number of cancellations by scheduled opposition teams. Team sponsors Ilhan from Flaming Henrys & Steve Ellis of ASM Residential were on hand to present a new strip to the side for this season and then watch the team in home action against Thanet Wanderers. Lack of fixtures and atrocious weather on the day hadn’t appeared to dull their skills as the home side ran out 50-0 winners.

Coach Richard Weston said “the team has improved significantly over recent seasons and are now a force to be reckoned with at their age group, the squad has increased in size this season with the arrival of several new players who have moved to the Maidstone area”.

Photos:
1. Team sponsors Ilhan from Flaming Henrys & Steve Ellis from ASM Residential present this seasons strip to the U17s.
2. Team sponsor Ilhan from Flaming Henrys is presented with a team shirt by U17s player Sam Weston

This weekend Maidstone FC & Sittingbourne RFC played hosts to Boitsfort RC, one of the top clubs in Belgium, for their first visit to the UK in 20 years. 38 Under 9, 10 and 11 players and their coaching teams crossed the Channel for a weekend of spirited Mini & Midi rugby.

On Saturday Maidstone led a joint training session to practice specially varied Laws, kindly hosted by Maidstone Grammar School - giving Maidstone an early taste of Continental Rugby, where contact is played from 6 years old (in the UK it is only played from 8). On Sunday, and in weather more common in the North of Scotland, Boitsfort joined Maidstone, Sittingbourne and Dover for a mini tournament at Sittingbourne's grounds. Across the age groups the Belgians' confidence in contact resulted in rugby that was truly inspiring to watch - the home sides held their own in their first ever 'International Fixture', but ultimately Boitsfort left as decisive, though gracious victors. All the sides hope to build strong Club ties over coming years, with a return fixture to Belgium already being planned by the Kent sides for next summer.

Local youngsters are benefiting from the generosity of local Maidstone businessman Edward Martin of The Golden Boot on Gabriel’s Hill.

There been some big changes at Maidstone Rugby Club, with a large influx of incredibly enthusiastic, boisterous and energetic wannabe rugby players. Thanks to amazing support from The Golden Boot, the young players of Maidstone have a lot to get excited about too!

Tag Rugby is an exciting way for younger boys and girls, from reception to year to experience the fun of rugby, without the possible risk of the full contact version of the game. And this season’s young players have an exciting new mascot, which brings alive the lion from the club shield, emblazoned across the back of their new kit. In fact it’s proved so popular that many of the players are now wearing their tops 24/7.

The under 7's and 8's squads at Maidstone Tag Rugby have been growing in numbers due to the commitment of local rugby enthusiasts who approached Edward Martin, Managing Director and owner of the Golden Boot, Lower Stone Street, Maidstone with some exciting ideas to involve more local children.

“Sponsorship of the team is important to help us involve more players and introduce them to rugby” said Head Coach Nick Williams " The Golden Boot is a natural fit who were very keen to support a local youth sport as a local long established Maidstone Business. Edward was excited about our plans to introduce coaching for under 6’s and improve the opportunities for our current under 7 and 8 squads. He was only too keen to offer help and be involved”

Edward from The Golden Boot said, “It seemed a perfect opportunity for The Golden Boot to get involved and give support to youth rugby in Maidstone. We are keen to do all we can to increase the opportunity for any young person to experience something new, especially if it offers the chance to improve their fitness”.

Nick added “The Golden Boot has not only sponsored the new kit, but have also provided us with a fantastic marquee to keep players warm and dry, as rugby is not exactly a fair weather sport! Their support has been amazing and far exceeded our expectations, putting us in a position to welcome anyone who would like to give tag rugby a go”!

“Thanks to their support, there is now a new U6 squad which means boys and girls in reception and year one can now try tag rugby without any financial commitment, as well as enabling more coaches to provide structured development for U7 and U8 (up to year3).

Edward added “we’re hoping to introduce as many boys and girls to rugby as possible and at this age it’s all about enjoying the game. If they manage to run one way and pass the ball the other, that’s great!. Throw in those moments of brilliance, that only a 7 year old with no fear can produce, and it’s just about the most satisfying way to spend a Sunday morning!”

For more information, visit the Tag rugby page or call Nick on 07973 834923

Photos:
1. Edward Martin, Managing Director of Maidstone Tag Rugby’s sponsor The Golden Boot with some of the clubs youngest generation of players at the company premises on Gabriel’s Hill.
2. Maidstone Rugby’s Nick Williams, who has been the club’s driving force behind the Maidstone Tag Rugby brand identity.
3. Players from Maidstone Rugby’s burgeoning Tag Rugby Section getting stuck in!!
4. Some of Maidstone’s Tag Rugby section enjoying the benefit of sponsored marquee provided by The Golden Boot.

Following the weekends league win the senior squads spent Tuesday evening’s training session at the excellent facilities of one of the club’s sponsors, The Village Hotel. As part a series of scheduled fitness sessions conducted in cooperation with the hotel, Village fitness instructor Lewis Davis put the squad through their paces with a serious aerobic and cardio vascular workout using some of the fitness centres “state of the art” equipment in a competitive “spinning” session on the exercise cycles and was followed by an opportunity for the squad to take advantage some of the centres more relaxing facilities in the swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi.

New Hotel Leisure Manager, Chris Guildford was on hand at the evening and stated “he saw the link up with the county towns rugby club as a natural fit between two organisations that have a healthy lifestyle and physical fitness as part of their core values and also a visible sign of the Village Hotel’s commitment to community based sport in the town”.

The Village Hotel offers preferential corporate rates for all members of Maidstone Rugby that not only covers club membership but also entitlement to further additional benefits.

Photos (V1, 2, 3 & 4): Village Hotel fitness instructor Lewis Davis puts Maidstone’s players through their paces.

Despite a recent improvement in performance as the club’s new players start to gel as a unit, Saturday’s “basement battle” was always likely to throw any form out of the window. In what Aylesford always bill as a major fixture and local derby, Maidstone were very much looking at the game as Match 8 in a 26 match season. Despite the opposition’s home advantage and the normal partisan crowd, it was the county town club’s recent improvement in form that continued its upward trend to end their winless streak and take the points in a deserved but hard fought and morale boosting, if somewhat last gasp win. Although morale has remained buoyant across the club, the victory was always going to be a morale boosting result on what Fixtures Sec, Richard Ewence had always identified as one of the most challenging weekends of the season for the wider club, in particular the four senior sides in the restructured Invicta & Mid Kent leagues. The Mustangs were taking on National League 2 Canterbury’s second string with the 3rds against Aylesfords’ 2s and the 4ths hosting Anchorian’s 2nd XV. In the end, despite the results not all going the way of the county town club, all of the teams were competitive. More information on the weekend events can be seen in this week’s “Weekly Round Up”.

Supporters and players alike will have noticed a number of new faces around the club and on the pitch this season. Whilst continuing to promote home grown players from an established youth policy that has in recent years produced the likes of Danny Caprice (England 7s and Blackheath), Sam & Tom Rogers (Canterbury), Nik Van Mol (Blackheath) & Tom Hughes (Army), as well as previous and current club captains Jon Sargent, Martin Arnold & Mark Ryan. This investment in youth has also produced a crop of current senior squad players Sam Bailey, Euan Caborn, Luke Debnam, Lewis Fawcett, Neil Graves, Matt Iles, Jack Lamb, Ed Pritchard, Nick Sargent, Harry Stockford, David Ruaux, James Sullivan & Tim Wetjen.

To compliment this youth policy, the Club is also keen to attract new players from further afield, where appropriate, and this season has attracted players from both home & abroad. Amongst this season’s recruits the club welcomes, from South Africa, Peter Horne (Crusaders), Mike Molloy (Crusaders/St Ives), with Lionel Tsime (Golden Lions Academy) due to arrive shortly. From the Antipodes we welcome Kiwis, Matt Butterworth & Ryan Mills (Christchurch U19s) and Aussie, Ben Cleary (Euros RUFC). Closer to home we have been joined by Lee Thompson (Paphos Tigers) from Cyprus, Gavin Milne (Edinburgh Gunners Academy), Tom McMulkin (Army Academy), Dan Salvage (RE & Army U23) Sean Walker (Old Albanians and Saracens Academy) as well as seeing Kent U20 hooker Josh Pankhurst, HM Prison Service prop Rob Jeffrey and Ed Pritchard return to the club.

Photo: Some of Maidstone’s new recruits and returning players for this season

Saturday’s league fixture against Chobham saw the club entertain a number of its sponsors; on hand were Chris Guildford (Leisure Manager) & Nicola Meredith (Hotel Sales Manager) from new official sponsors this season The Village Hotel. The club’s sponsorship agreement with The Village Hotel sees the club senior squads make use of the excellent fitness facilities and also offers excellent corporate membership rates for club members. In addition the club uses the modern leisure facilities at the hotel for major social events. Also present were Phil Cunningham from Mustangs sponsor Brachers Law and Chris White from one of the club’s longer-term supporters Aylesford Newsprint. Senior squad shirts were presented to all three sponsors.

Photos:
1. Club Captain Mark Ryan & DoR Andy Golding present one of this season’s 1st XV shirts to Chris Guildford & Nicola Meredith of the Village Hotel.

2. Mustangs XV Capt, Nick East presents one of this season’s Mustangs XV shirts to Phil Cunningham of the teams lead sponsor Brachers Law.

3. Maidstone Rugby’s Director of Rugby, Andy Golding presents Mustangs XV shirt to Chris White, Recycling Manager for Aylesford Newsprint.

Three convincing wins and a solitary loss in the opening game to Barking in the Group stages meant an appearance in the Plate final against Sevenoaks. And what a final! Sevenoaks went one up only for Jenkins Kiwanuka to cross the ‘Oaks line with most of their team hanging off him to levels the scores. The sides were fairly evenly matched with Maidstone ’s attacks being thwarted by herculean efforts from the Oaks’ defence. Maidstone were just shading it, so with the final score at 1-1 our boys were raring to go for extra time, ‘Oaks possibly a little less so. The festival rules however determined that the team with the best results in the group stages were the winners in the event of a draw, so Maidstone were crowned Plate Champions not only thanks to the 9 on the pitch in the final, but the due to the efforts of the whole squad during the day. A fitting end to a great start to the season. Most memorable moment? THAT tackle by Evan.

The club's rapidly improving U17 side's first encounter of the season was to be invited to an Essex festival at Chingford.

The Jack Conn Cup is contested every year by invited U17 teams. The pool stages were played in warm conditions and after a lot of big physical challenges by the Essex teams, Maidstone won through to the knockout stages of the competition, conceding only 5 points in the process.

Maidstone faced a very large & physical team from South Woodham Ferrers in the Semi-Final and an exciting game was won by a battling Maidstone side by 14-0.

The final saw Maidstone play a Westcliffe side that are by tradition always competitive and the performance was nothing short of spectacular. As the air temperature rose so did the tempo of the game and no side gave any ground but Maidstone scored the only try of the match to win 8-0 and lift the trophy. Maidstone's U17's can feel very pleased with themselves that in the crucial and more pressurised knockout stages of the competition no side was able to breach their defence.

When your a on a tight schedule with appointments on opposite sides of the county, but don’t want to give up your afternoon’s rugby then sometimes the only means of transport is a helicopter; which was just the decision that club sponsor Simon Wright came to. Following appearing for the Mustangs XV against TJs on Saturday, Simon brought his helicopter to The Mote in order to make sure his programme ran on time. However he still found time to get the pilot to take a few kids (incl Tuggy) on a short flight which was the highllight of their day, of course the promised trip in someones sportscar may not hold the same attraction for them anymore.

Saturday saw Mark Anderson, one of the partners from club sponsors Horwath Clark Whitehill at the club to receive a 1st XV shirt from the club in recognition of the support for this season as well as their support in previous years. In addition to sponsoring the club Horwath Clark Whitehill also sponsored the shirts for the barstaff this season, so it was only fitting that we should get Tracey and some of the girls to present the shirt on the club’s behalf. Horwath Clark Whitehill’s managing partner, Keith Newman was also on hand for the presentation but is apparently a bit camera shy!!!

Photos:

DSC0007: - House Chmn & Bar Manager Tracey Wakefield presents a 1st XV shirt to Mark Anderson from Horwath Clark Whitehill.

DSC0016: Some of the busy staff in their new 2009/10 shirts.

K Newman - Sometimes you have to con someone into having their picture taken

Prior to the fixture against Westcombe Park and at the start of what promises to be an extremely challenging Invicta League campaign for Maidstone’s Mustangs XV; Phil Cunningham, Head of Corporate & Commercial Services for Brachers Law was on hand to present the new shirts for this season to Richards Coles, the team captain on the day.

Unfortunately usual skipper Nick East was unavailable due to a call up to the 1st XV but had left the reins in the safe and experienced hands of Richard.

This is the second year that Brachers Law have made a significant commitment to the county town club as Official Sponsors and in particular as lead sponsors for the Mustangs XV.

Simon Wright the Chief Executive of Maidstone Rugby's primary sponsor Simon Wright Homes was on hand at the 1st XVs first league fixture to present new club captain Mark Ryan with the new shirts for the 2009/10 season. Following a brief appearance in the 1st XV photo, Simon then had to dash to SE London in order to turn out for the 3rd XV in their opening fixture in the Invicta League against Old Dunstonians.

Photos: 1. Simon Wright presents the 2009/10 seasons shirts to new Club Captain, Mark Ryan. 2. The 1st XV prior to the start of this seasons league campaign.

The start of the 2009/10 Season sees the launch of the club’s new website. The summer months have seen a lot of activity on the design and building of a professional new website for the club. The whole project has been led by Michael Gammon (currently playing with the 5th XV) with the cooperation of his web design company Vivid Associates based in Sutton, Surrey.

The target had always been for the new site to “go live” in time for the new season and despite the disruption that the July & August holiday season creates, thanks to the efforts of Michael and a number of other contributors, the target date has been achieved. Whilst the new site is by no means complete, the construction has been taken as far as possible and looked to use all the best elements of the previous website but in a more logical layout and professional look. Its success is now reliant on contributions of content from respective senior & youth teams, as well as some committee members.

The next month or so will see some minor “tweaks” to the site but the main drive has to be on maintaining up to date content.

The club would like to thank Michael for his excellent work on this project in taking the evolution of the club’s web portal to a new level. Additionally, the club would also like to thank Steve Oakley at Allteks for his work on the previous website over the last 3 years, which in itself was a major step forward at the time.

To many people the “club blazer” is a bit of a niche market and for many it is either linked with the generation that are often seen occupying bench seats on the promenade on Eastbourne seafront, or those quaffing Pimms on the banks of the Thames at Henley Regatta.

Not so, the traditional rugby club blazer is alive and well and making something of resurgence with the younger generation, although in a somewhat revamped format. Maidstone Rugby has long been known for its club blazer, affectionately referred to as the “deckchair” for its somewhat garish colours and design; however, the club is moving with the times and whilst maintaining the traditional club colours, a new and somewhat more discreet design made its debut at the weekend.

An initial order of 30 blazers was made and the club’s Deputy Chairman, Bob Hayton is optimistic that further orders will follow once the season starts and the blazers receive a wider viewing across the membership. Time will tell, but it appears that some of the sports Corinthian traditions continue to live on.

Note: There is still material left to make 7-8 more blazers, orders will be taken on a "first come- first served" basis; 50% deposit required.

Photo: Maidstone Rugby’s new club blazer makes its debut at The Mote

As a prelude to the new season a young Maidstone team finished runners up in the main competition of the “Help for Heroes 7s” held at Aylesford, losing 22-19 in an exciting and bruising final to an experienced Fijian Invitational side. The Maidstone team coached by Shaun Neaves was selected to continue its strong youth development programme from last season with all but one in the squad being under 21 and six of this season’s current U18s on display.

The pool stages of the competition saw Maidstone finish second in their pool and this meant a semi final draw against the winners of the other pool. The draw saw them pitched against “Dave’s Drunkards”, a side comprising of players from the host club, Maidstone’s young side were not overawed and in what was a hard fought encounter produced some of their best rugby of the day to progress to the final, much to the annoyance of what was a very partisan crowd

The final was to be against the Invitational Fijian side that had inflicted a 19-10 defeat on Stones in their earlier pool match. Following some inspirational words from skipper Ben Williams, the referee started the final, and from the kick off Maidstone attacked and were able to post a 2 try lead, with excellent work from Aaron Bishop, who unknowingly was playing with a fractured tibia from the previous encounter with Fijian side. Through excellent work rate and flowing rugby the Fijians were able to then post 4 unanswered tries, and although Maidstone completed the scoring with a fine individual try from Lewis Fawcett it was not enough and the Fijians ran out narrow victors.

However, Maidstone should take credit from an excellent squad performance from a team that was by far the youngest in the tournament.

Maidstone Squad: Williams (Capt.), McKenzie, Vickers A, Vickers M, Walker, Bishop, Wetjen, Fawcett, Fitzpatrick, Caborn, Stewart, Bailey.

Photos:
Top left: Maidstone skipper Ben Williams leads by example.
Middle left: Maidstone's U18 players combine to launch another attack.
Bottom left: Members of the H4H 7s Tournament squad with Coach Shaun Neaves

The Kent RFU AGM held at Westcombe Park RFC saw the draw being made for the coming season Kent Cup.  As in previous seasons the draw threw up some interesting fixtures, perhaps most notable being near neighbours Aylesford against Westcombe Park in the 1st round.

Maidstone received a bye in round one but play Gravesend in the second round on 2nd/3rd January 2010.

The full draw for rounds one & two is shown below:

1st Round, to be played on or before Sunday 22nd November 2009

1. Sidcup v Sevenoaks
2. Deal & Betteshanger v Medway
3. O Colfeians v Beckenham
4. Aylesford Bulls v Westcombe Park

2nd Round, to be played on or before the Sunday 3rd January 2010

1. Whitstable v O Colfeians or Beckenham
2. Aylesford Bulls or Westcombe Park v Bromley
3. Tunbridge Wells  v Thanet Wanderers
4. O Dunstonians v Blackheath
5. Deal & Betteshanger or Medway v O Elthamians
6. Maidstone v Gravesend
7. Canterbury v Sidcup or Sevenoaks
8. Charlton Park v Folkestone

3rd Round is on or before the Sunday 7th February 2010 Semi Finals are on or before the Sunday 28th February 2010 Final is on the Sunday 24th April 2010, Venue tbc

Sat 12th June saw Maidstone’s Village Hotel celebrate their fifth birthday in the town with a day of events.

Part of the celebrations saw the presentation of a sponsorship cheque to Chairman, Wendy Pound and Director of rugby, Andy Golding by the hotel’s General Manager, Veronica Kingham.

The Village Hotel teams up with the county town’s rugby club as one of their Official Sponsors and will play a significant part in the club’s fitness training programme.  Both Kim Brockhurst who manages the hotel’s Health & Fitness Centre and the rugby club’s Andy Golding see this as a significant partnership between two organisations that have fitness and healthy lifestyle as one of their core values.

Photo:  Village Hotel General Manager, Veronica Kingham (L) presents a sponsorship cheque to club Chairman, Wendy Pound.

The traditional dinner held on Maundy Thursday saw a new venue this year with the event taking place at the Village Hotel. Under new DoR, Andy Golding the event ran to a slightly different format than in previous years; however, the emphasis of the evening was to recognise the efforts of the players and those behind the scenes in what has been a long season.

The following awards were presented:

Bernard Hinks Award (1st XV) – Gareth Hill Bernard Hinks Award (other XV’s) – Martin Maytum Bernard Hinks Award (non-playing) – Bob Hayton

David Arnold Award (Young Player) – Sam Rogers

Millennium Trophy (Team of the Season) – A (3rd) XV

Teams Player Awards: 1st XV – Steve Matthews Mustangs (2nd) XV – Mike Laurenson A (3rd) XV – Peter Mattinson Ex A (4th) XV – Alan McCabe B (5th) XV – Paul Edwards Veterans XV (Mike Sharples Plate) – Steve Vincent

Vice Presidencies were awarded to:

Martin Arnold, Dominic Baxter, Trevor Marvin, Keith Newman & John Whitehead.

Photos: Gareth Hill receives the Bernard Hinks Award from President, Trevor Langley

Sam Rogers, winner of the David Arnold Award for the young player of the season receives the trophy from David Arnold (Snr)

The pre-match lunch for the 1st XV league fixture against Basingstoke saw Simon Wright, the CEO for the club’s Primary Sponsor, Simon Wright Homes put pen to paper with the signing of a 3-year sponsorship agreement that means a significant uplift in funding for the club. Simon; a committed club member and player sees the agreement reaching beyond the current period and the additional funds will allow the club to implement an Academy Funding Scheme to attract talented young players to the club.

As a committed local businessman Simon sees a commitment to grassroots community based sport in the environment where he both conducts his business and draws his workforce as a key aspect of image his group of companies represent.

Photo: Simon Wright Homes CEO, Simon Wright puts pen to paper with the club’s Deputy Chairman, Bob Hayton.

Throughout the winter the club has made use of the gym facilities at Invicta Park Bks, in gratitude for the use of the facilities the club has made a donation of £275 to the county town regiment’s Afghanistan Fund.

Photo: Club President, Trevor Langley presents a cheque to WO1 Richie Davies of 36 Regiment, Royal Engineers