Chairmans Blog

Ladies v France

2012-01-02T13:24:00.002Z

Well done to the Ladies yesterday playing "France" a great event for club spirit and a good fun game to watch!!

Happy New Year everybody!

Pre-season all good so far!

2011-08-26T12:12:00.000+01:00

For those that came to watch the pre-season games at Monks Lane what a delight! It was fantastic on all fronts, we won all three games and we looked great on the pitch.

It feels great to have the whole club together fighting for one cause and supporting each other on and off the pitch. Last Tuesday we had 52 players training meaning that everybody gets a meaningful session.

Pre-Season is not the real thing of course but I know we have at least 60 players who all want to do the best they can on the pitch for Newbury RFC and who will have a great time off the pitch as well.

We now have multiple sons of previous players on the pitch as well as lots of players who have come through our youth system. When we combine this with players attracted to Newbury by our excellent set-up we have a team that I believe will do well at level 5. We have a tough season ahead and therefore I am so pleased that we have made an excellent start at all levels and in all areas.

Regards
Julian

Colts enter the National Colts cup

2011-08-09T17:43:00.000+01:00

After reaching the semi finals last year we have entered the National Colts cup again for this season. Lets hope we can go one better and have a crack at the final, either way best of luck to this years Colts who as ever are the future of Newbury RFC.

Almost there! A new season and a new start.

2011-08-03T06:49:00.000+01:00

For many of us who run a rugby club the off season is one of the most important and busiest times of the year, a time when we create the environment that will shape next season. So regardless of how much we have got done time is running out and we are almost there.

I am very excited about this season right across the club we have teams that we can feel proud of teams to get behind and support. Its going to be a busy season with the club running up to 30 different sides. There will be a lot of great rugby to watch.

Enjoy the final few weekends of "something different" and I hope to see you at the club soon.

OMG it hurts

2011-07-11T20:05:00.000+01:00

What a great weekend of Beer Cider and rugby.

My head was OK Sunday but my legs ached after some touch rugby on Saturday. The Jazz Friday night was a relaxed start to the weekend and through Saturday the rugby club rocked will all sections of the club there. It was a great weekend and will grow and grow in future years.

Well done to all involved.

This week I have the first Management Committee Meeting of the new group of 10. Should be a great start to the season.

Regards
Julian.

Training starts

2011-07-01T14:16:00.000+01:00

Last night our new group of players got together and started training for real. Its great that we are now all back together and fighting for the same cause! There is a lot of talent at Newbury RFC and as a club we are coming together to give players the playing environment they need in a modern community club.

Off the field the management team is also growing and we have again attracted some real talented people who are again working together for the good of our great club.

The off season is one of my busiest times but also one of the most exciting! What this space for the details.

Social!

2011-06-28T10:08:00.000+01:00

Sometime I forget that I am Chairman of NRFC for fun. I take it very seriously but at the end of the day this is what I do to relax and have some fun, put something back into the community but it is not work... It's my hobby. Some people go fishing I go to the rugby club.

So tonight I have meeting up with some of the new management committee and we are going for a drink. Plain and simple, no meetings just a good old chinwag about NRFC rugby family etc...

The start of a more social club I think!

If you want to join us it will be at the Castle Cold Ash 7:30 come and say hi!

Jules.

Newbury Ladies triumph in Southampton

2011-06-27T08:02:00.002+01:00

Pictured - , Hannah Ward, Ashley Hunter (photos), Hannah Gray, Carrie Smith, Laura Smith, Hannah Newman, Caroline Coombs

Newbury Ladies went to Southampton on Saturday to compete in the 7's. They Triumphed in the plate final which included a first EVER try for Cazney aka Caroline Simm!! Well done to all, Newbury Ladies continue on the up!

All go on new website

2011-06-24T16:08:00.000+01:00

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It is all go on a new back end website that we are setting up to take membership subs and an online shop. There is also something new for the front end which will sell the club's facilities etc.

I have met with Wilds Sports and made sure we are ready for the start of the season.

I am just getting to know my new committee and already it seems people are stepping up and taking responsibility. Just what the club needs.

Lots to do in the off season and I hope that when we kick off the pre-season it will be the start of the new age of Newbury RFC.

Regards
Julian.

I am back!

2011-06-20T18:35:00.000+01:00

I am back in the chair!

Following a very successful AGM last week I was reelected. I neglected this blog last year. It was a very busy year and not a lot of good news until we go to the end of the season.

I will go away and write my seasons review and then we can start to look forward to a very exciting season ahead!

speak soon

Jules.

Its time for leadership

2010-10-04T09:18:00.000+01:00

All good organisations require good leaders. At Newbury RFC we have many great leaders. On the pitch and off the pitch we have people leading others and people showing self leadership. It is during the tough times that your true character shows very clearly. It’s also true that real supports can support when times are tough.

Since I was a boy I have followed Manchester City (not that I am a big fan of football). In the early days of my support City were doing OK they went to the FA cup final and did well enough for me to be a proud supporter. Then the bad times hit, City were a club that sent you on a roller coaster and you always saw a lot of goals!! Now they sit 3rd in the Premiership, the richest club in the world and the good time are here (for now). When asked who I support in football, it will always be City.

So what does my support of City tell us about Newbury RFC. Mainly that I support a club through thick and thin. The reality is that in rugby as in football you often have no choice and once you choose a team then you are with them for life. At least that’s how it is for me.

My "working week" for Newbury RFC right now has several elements. I am active in a few areas and I will give you an update in each.

The Nike kit deal and the club shop. I have been very disappointed in the start made by our partners Sportsreach in delivering Nike kit to our members. I am continuing to talk to their MD to resolve issues as soon as possible and to improve communication on orders placed.

I have had meetings with Newbury Stags so that we can address issues mainly surrounding what the players want and what we all need to do for the best of Adult rugby in Newbury. The talks are positive and player focused as they should be. I hope that changes will be made as soon as we identify the best way forward, there is no need to rush this right now, but I hope to deliver improvements soon.

The commercial side of the club is very important and we continue to push forward in this area. Most of what we are doing right now is focused on next season. I have a further meeting tonight.

The new website continues to have problems but I hope everybody can see the final potential of the new site for the whole club.

1st XV rugby is obviously challenging right now. The players have my full support and respect for the effort they are putting in and the way they are handling themselves on and off the pitch. Too see so many local players is great even if we are not getting the results at the moment.

Elsewhere we are seeing success on the pitch and not least of which with the Newbury Women. To all the Newbury teams and to Newbury Stags you have my continued support and I hope to get to as many games as my schedule allows.

I realise that this is little in this post which is definite progress; I hope to be able to deliver real progress for the club. In the meantime please keep supporting, coaching, playing and managing. Finally keep leading for the good of all involved.

Julian Lewis
Chairman NRFC.

Expect nothing, Blame Nobody, Do something!

2010-09-06T12:56:00.000+01:00

The scoreline at Dings, that hurts. Its very hard to watch our side get taken apart like that. I am glad it hurts as it shows how much we care, if it ever stops hurting we should start to worry. It hurt the many supporters that traveled to Bristol. It hurt the coaching team and it hurt the players. Yet despite the scoreline they showed that they deserve our support. They played for Newbury because they want to. They did their best on the day and they never gave up.

I am sure lot of lessons will be learnt and we will build on the performance at the weekend which started with 20 mins of good pressure. We saw what might have been and what will be this season if we all stay positive.

It is not how you start its how you finish, what matters between now and the end of the season is how we react to all that happens to us. We knew it would be tough so we have to prepare how we will react when things go wrong. Character is often revealed not when things are going right but when you are up against it. People who can support even when its hard and it hurts will do so if we stand together. Lets hope that in the coming months we reveal more supportive and more "do something" characters. Somebody on the forum said "Sometimes the 'Be Positive' thing does not wash for me" well I don't believe that, you can be critical but remain positive. Lets support each other and help us push forward starting this weekend against Henley.

Elsewhere we will soon see a new website at the club. There will also be new advertising boards around the ground for this weekend. Youth rugby also launched this weekend (in the rain). I will get up to a session soon to see all the talent that I hope will be in our 1st XV in the years to come.

See you all Saturday.
Jules.

And now the talking stops!

2010-08-31T13:07:00.000+01:00

Andy Cannock & Liam Perkins in Nike gear!

So the talking stops and we start to see if the hard work has paid off. What I do know is it will be a tough season. Hopefully it will be rewarding as well.

One thing is for sure we are building strong teams within all areas of the club.

There are still lots more challenges that face us, but we face a bright future where local people play and watch rugby at Monks Lane.

As I like to bring exclusives to readers of my blog here is the new club shop which is live and we are about to announce this week. http://newbury.sportreach.co.uk

I am thrilled with the team spirit in the club, we need to build on the progress together and accept that it will not all change on day one, we should keep pushing forward with realism.

Open Day - A chance to have your say!

2010-08-03T14:59:00.000+01:00

Newbury Legends v Future Legends! Touch Rugby.

Time is marching on and week by week things are coming together. I am really excited that the vision myself and Andy Widdop and others have discussed for some time now is coming together. One club and rugby for all is coming back to us. It feels right, it feels like we are building something that will last into the future. We still have lots of major challenges ahead. Both on and off the pitch it will be a very difficult year. We have had difficult years in the past and survived. What is different this year is I feel like we are getting more and more support from all sections of the club, people who share our vision people who want to see the club succeed within its means.

Other things we wish to promote include more conferencing and functions at the club, this is why we will be investing some money in upgrading the Wickens Suite as an investment for the future. Also on the horizon is the use of our facility by other sports, netball, volleyball, football, golf, athletics are all in the frame and this is something that I welcome and something that is good for the long term sustainability of our facility.

We are again providing resource for community coaching into local schools and community projects. We need to get some continuity here, but again I think our new vision will prove usful in this area.

How great it is to hear about 60+ players who want to come and play rugby at Newbury. We are not paying them to play, our vision is that playing costs them nothing and we provide a professional set-up designed to improve players and coaches. This has proven as attractive as we hoped it would. Its also great to see that we will put out a 1st XV, 2nd XV, Stags XV, B's XV as wells as Development, U19's Colts and U17's Colts. We will be close to the days when we put out 6 senior sides and if we can again I would love to see the Newts take to the field!

How can I fail to be excited at all these recent developments during undoubtedly tough times. Please come along to the open day on the 24th of August anytime from 5:30 onwards and come and find me and tell me what you think.

NIke Kit

2010-07-26T11:01:00.000+01:00

I met with Nike last week and we thrashed out the new kit to be ready for the start of the season. We have sorted out the artwork with Jokers' Masquerade as well so I hope that we will be up and running shortly with the online shop. For the first time ever we will have women's range and a very wide range of clothes and accessories. I am hoping to be able to add gifts etc well before Christmas.

I still need to sort out how the shop will work on the ground, but its progress and Rome was not built in a day.

I am very excited on what I hear coming out of 1st XV training it looks like we may well have some exciting new players for the squad, watch this space. All in all its a good start and I hope things just keep getting better.

Rugby is important but some things in life matter much more...

2010-07-22T09:16:00.001+01:00

Things happen in everybody’s life that allow us to reflect on what is important. A parent spending as much time with her children as is possible is one of those important things, please read this below and give as much as you can to give people something to help towards the end of their lives.

It was with greatest sadness I heard that Caroline Withers had lost her battle with cancer that she had been fighting for eight months. Caroline’s husband Kalvin is a long time club member, a Berkshire society referee and a friend, our thoughts and best wishes are with Kalvin and their son Benjamin aged 7 as well as the rest of Caroline’s family and many friends.

The funeral service will be held at St Marys Church Shaw at 12 noon on Tuesday the 27th of July. No black attire has been requested by the family and only flowers from your garden. Donations are very much welcomed by the family to the Duchess of Kent House Hospice Charity c/o Camp Hopson Funeral Directors 01635 522210 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 01635 522210 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or collection box with book of remembrance at Natures Corner, 12 Bartholomew Street.

In addition Kalvin posted this on Facebook yesterday.

“I want to express my profound gratitude to everybody that has offered kind words to Benjamin and me since Caroline lost her battle against Cancer last week. It has given us both strength. Can I ask for even more support from you all now though. Benjamin wants to raise some money for charity and I have opened a Just Giving page to help him. Please would you take a look yourselves and also pass the details to your own friends on Facebook, by email or whatever you think.”

“I’m fundraising for Duchess Of Kent House Charity using JustGiving. Please take a look at my page: http://www.justgiving.com/Caroline-Withers“

Kalvin and Benjamin, our thoughts and prayers are with you - Big Hugs.

Kindest Regards - Jules.

The Chairman of Chairmen

2010-07-21T10:31:00.001+01:00

I went last night to a meeting of Chairmen from Abbey, Reading and Readingensians Rugby clubs. Also there was Dave Pincott who is Chairman of Berkshire Senior Rugby. It was great for us all to talk together about the issues facing our clubs and the part that the county should play in the modern era. Far too often players are denied the opportunity to play for the county for various reasons. Newbury players cannot play for Berkshire as due to the competition the county play in (The Bill Beaumont Shield) they cannot select our players as we are at level 4 and the cut off is level 5. My hope is that Berkshire can soon select our players by moving out of the shield into the Cup which will allow them to select levels 3 and 4.

When I played being selected for your county was the pinnacle of most careers, it was an honour. It was not something I achieved at senior level but many of my team mates did and they were very proud of it. I hope that following the meeting last night we have started the process of putting our county back at the top of the local game. I also hope that we can have a Senior Berkshire County game at Newbury this season, which would be the first ever at Monks lane.

One member also present at the meeting affectionately known as Killer is not a chairman he is Vice Chairman at Abbey Rugby Club, Alan is a very capable person and so for the time being at least he is the Chairman of the Chairman's meeting, an honour indeed!

The Old Gits on the 1st XV Pitch!

2010-07-19T20:50:00.000+01:00

It was with great pride that I ran out in 1st team kit onto the 1st team pitch to play rugby. OK so I only featured in about 60 seconds of actual play but I was there and it felt great. Good to be playing rugby with my mates, rugby mates who will be my mates forever. That is one thing that rugby has given me, a group of guys who I can call upon to ridicule me with no let up year on year. They never let me take myself too seriously, but the same guys I know I can rely on no matter what, we all know it we don't have to say it.

This is one thing I hope is still happening today, groups of mates who play together and form a bond that nobody can break and no event will break.

For the record I had trouble walking today so my assault on a 5K run has had to go on hold, but not forever.

The Touch rugby and rounders ahead of the Beer and Cider Festival was a great show of community and club spirit. See here for some video of the event courtesy of the sponsors Newbury Business Today.

The Beer and Cider Festival itself again was a local event and it saw many new faces at the club along with many that are familiar. My thanks go to all those who put a massive amount of effort into both events and we hope to bring it back next year bigger and better.

Elsewhere there have been some comings and goings all of which we will announce at some point. There is little point right now in trying to keep people informed, things change so quickly at this time of the season and it only really matters once we get to kick off in September when I am sure myself and Andy will give people a full review.

I am really pleased to get feedback on my blog, the whole idea is to improve communications so if you want to hear about areas of the club that I am not talking about then please let me know.

Until next time... Jules

The ups and downs!

2010-07-16T10:09:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had a few jobs to do at the club, so I took some time off from the day job and headed up to the club.

First I met with a company who are wanting to sell the pitch side advertising for us by knocking on the doors of local companies who we have not yet made a connection with. I am hoping that this will net us income of around £30,000 so that would be really good business.

Then it was off down to the players house in the Kings Road to tidy up and along with Ali, Andy and Skippy we cleared and cleaned it ready for hand over. (Thanks also to Linda and Tina who helped on Tuesday). The house has been really useful and my thanks go to Jones Robinson who have been very understanding and helpful with this property, they are a true friend of Newbury Rugby Club.

I have a few chats with others about kit, players and of course saw the preparations for the Cider and Beer festival this Saturday. Rumor has it that I will be in a touch team for the event, so that could be entertaining!

My thoughts this week are with long term club member and friend Kalvin Withers. Spritzer I send you my deepest sympathy and my thoughts are with you at this very difficult time.

I look forward to seeing a big crowd on Saturday when I am sure a drink will be in order.

Regards
Jules

Why me!

2010-07-12T08:20:00.000+01:00

Sadly I read that one poster to the Rolling Maul rugby forum http://rolling-maul.com/ feels that I am only Chairman because nobody else wants to do it.

This person (Eric) has never asked my why I am Chairman, I know this because nobody has! It may well be that nobody else wants to do the job, but I do. I did have a choice to stand, I would have argued my case had anybody stood against me.

I have a great passion for the club. I have always put up rather than shut up. When there is a job to be done I am prepared to do it. I don't knock from the sidelines I am in the thick of it trying to make a difference and that is where I will stay.

I am very proud to be the Chairman of the club, I want to help those that deliver rugby in our club to do so to the highest possible level. To deliver rugby for all as part of the community club that we are.

It is also sad that the some posters to the forum believe that bringing through young talent is a mistake compared to buying in players that we cannot afford. Our financial problems are here because we did not do what we are doing now before. I need to be confident that we are doing the right things for the long term future of the club, I think we are, I will listen to those that think we need to do something different. Sadly too often people can only tell you what you should not be doing.

My thanks goes out to all the people involved at Newbury who do keep the faith and who care as much about the future of the club as I do, together we keep pushing the club forward.

"Never let those who say it cannot be done get in the way of those of us busy doing it!"

We will be "The Blues" - Home and Away!

2010-07-08T19:12:00.000+01:00

I am releasing this information to my blog readers before anybody else. We have decided that the new Nike kit will be Blue for home and away. In fact the "away" shirt is the change strip for when there is a clash. The change strip will be light blue and white. I like tradition and as far as I am concerned we traditionally play in Red as a change. However that was before we names ourselves "The Blues". Shouting for "The Blues" when we are playing in red was a little odd.

Other good news is some new sponsors that we are talking to and the relief of having some money that we can start to sort out some bills with.

Other things being discussed are a boot/trainers evening in conjunction with Wilds sports for our playing members and a sale of old club stock to give our members some good quality kit at a bargain price.

Still plenty of challenges ahead for this season but I am loving starting to get things moving and getting some fun back into my involvement with the club.

For now the future is bright, the future is Blue!

First meeting

2010-07-07T10:00:00.000+01:00

The first committee meeting of this season is tonight. My focus is bringing together a new team and bringing people into the club at all levels.

This week I have been talking with Newbury Stags about the number of players that we can attract to ensure that we are putting out the number of teams that we want to, which is at least 4 on a regular basis plus others. Newbury Stags are part of the offering of rugby in Newbury and we are very much focusing on what is best for the players when we are talking to them.

I have also been talking to sponsors and potential sponsors, it is no secret that the club needs money and our sponsors play a big part in that. I want to see us add real value to them and I am working on some other value add projects that should see more sponsors come onboard, more on that soon.

Our community sport program is also very important to us and we deliver this with the help of The Greenham Common Trust. I hope to be talking to them shortly to secure their valued funding so that we can continue to deliver sport into schools via our community sports coaches.

Lastly I am trying to promote the 1st annual Beer and Cider festival to be held at the club on the 17th of July, we are doing this alongside a business community touch rugby and rounders tournament. If you are free then please come along with friends and enjoy the day, we have lots of different beers and ciders to sample and some entertaining sport to watch!

Until next time, take care.
Jules

So here we go!

2010-07-05T08:47:00.000+01:00

So here we go again! This picture by Richard Bennett is of the squad in pre-season which fills me with excitement. I have taken on the Chairmanship at a time of both change and danger for the club. The biggest change is firstly the move to living well within our means and second to put in place a player development plan which will see local players improve and realise their highest potential. Sadly the danger I refer to is financial. The club has over too many years lived beyond its means and taken risks in the hope of advancing to bigger and better things. These risks however well intentioned have not paid off and this has left the club in debt, both in the short and the longer term. The club is very fortunate to have many assets not least of which is the land it owns at Monks Lane. We will use the club assets in a very careful way to put the club back on a sound financial footing. Quite obviously we cannot keep doing this and now is the time for the risks to stop and the selling off of our assets to no longer be a strategy.

We very much are a community rugby club and that is where our future lies. Yes we have ambition, but never at any cost, the potential cost is far to high. The members at the AGM made it very clear that they wish to keep the ethos of the club as "amateur run professionally", I fully agree with that and I take on board their challenge to the subtle change of changing job titles from Chairman of... to Director of.... I have reversed that change as per their wishes and quite possibly we will be the better for it.

The first meeting of the management committee is this Wednesday and I am looking forward to the start of a new era for Newbury RFC.