The last week has seen many developments within the club, most importantly the draw for the cup competitions has been made, the RFU EDU Junior Vase draw sees Stoneham play either the Metropolitan Police RFC or Reigate RFC at home. The home tie is especially pleasing to us. However, the games are to be played on the 15th October which coincides nicely to the day that we are due to play the preliminary round of the Gales hampshire plate where we have been drawn against the University of Southampton, last years finalists. Although this fixture is also a home tie for us it makes very little odds as we share a ground with the University so no home advantage for either side. What to do? well only one option really, one of the fixtures will have to be moved to the Sunday and we play twice in a weekend. This will be a massive ask and will really test us. Fortunately, we have the depth in players to "swap out" our front rows, switch people around and have 2 teams with th eminimal amount of players required to play in both matches. I, as captain, will happily and eagerly play in both matches, to be honest, i cant wait!
Why have i titled this weeks blog "Heroes"? because that is what we will need this year. Last season, there were so many heroes in the Stoneham set up, many unrecognised at the end of season awards. Players like Nick Davies (winger) who seldom missed a game, and was always at training. Heroes like John King who was a terminator out on the field, never getting hurt, or if he did playing on regardless, Alistair McEwan, the plucky prop who never gives up, Brian Cook such a decisive runner from full back who threatened and scared the opposition every time he got the ball in hand. Most of all, my hero of last season was the only player to play in all fixtures, Wills Fuller, his positivity, consistancy and determination not to miss a game even if he did have to get changed on the sidelines a minute before kick off, speaks to me on a level that gives me the determination and grit to fight to match such a feat. Ask many players who there heroes are, some will say anyone in the current England team, if you ask a back rower they will say Lawrence Dallaglio, a front rower might say Jason Leonard (who is a legend and no mistake) ask a back and they will say Jonny Wilkinson, but ask me and i will give the same answer, it is the 17 team mates taking the field with me on a astaurday, it is those giving up time with their families after long weeks at work, it is those who take days off or swap shifts to be part of Stoneham Rugby, it is the amateur ethos that are the true heroes of Rugby Union, the professional players, the full timers are great and superb ambassadors for the game (with some exceptions) but thohse that stand tall on a saturday that risk injury and therefore earnings to enjoy the game with their friends are the true heroes of the game.
It will be my absolute honour to lead Stoneham this year, through league and cup campaigns. back to the cup though, Stoneham have been absent from knockout Rugby for a while and i just wanted to finish up with a few words about it. Cup competitions are unpredictable, one can talk of favourites and underdogs but the truth is, it makes no difference, you can win you can lose, in Cup rugby there is only a tomorrow if you win, as a result every player will need to give 150% to progress, but the accolades on offer are worth it, 6 games will see us play at Twickenham, a big ask? yes, will we get there? possibly not, but there is always a chance in knockout rugby and with the Hampshire plate we are 5 games away from lifting the trophy! It will be tough, it will be challenging, but you know what, with the heroes we have in the club there is absolutely no reason, i repeat NO REASON, why we cant do it!!!! so, it just leaves me to say BRING IT ON!
Monday, 25 July 2011
Monday, 18 July 2011
Week 4: Hopes and Dreams
This weeks entry is a wee bit late. During the off season period not much is happening in the Stoneham world. So i will take this oppurtunity to express my aspirations for the forthcoming year. Those of you who are looking from outside the club wont know the history of recent years, Stoneham has been a club under increasing pressure to succeed, simply because over the past 7 years our league campaigns have been sorely poor. Before the 2010/11 season Stoneham had one 2 league games in 6 years! A poor effort really. However, 2010/11 saw some upsets and shocks, winning 4 games and drawing one. A great achievemnet and our best performance for many a season. i will examine the history in the following paragraphs and examine some of the events that led to the poor performances.
Cause:
Stoneham RFC was created in 1979 under the name AC Delco RFC, a works club, a popular club with a nice home ground, Bar etc, however, 7 years ago, the company went into decline and the club was forced out of its home. It precipatated a decline in numbers as the club began their nomadic lifestyle, playing and training where they could for minimal cost. It was once said that Winning was easy, Losing is hard, and after a run of losses the club spiralled into a run of seasons withoput victories, languishing at the bottom of Hampshire 3, a league that no longer exists, the club was invited to leave the league system and enter the merit competition, after a fight they retained their place in the league system but needed numbers! a heavy recruitment drive saw myself among others join the club and begin the rebuilding process, i, myself was terribly unfit, could barely run around the field without collapsing into a big heap, but, i endured, i continued and fought to find my form, i believe that my rise to my best is similar to Stoneham. So, with increasing pressure, loss of players and an environment where the rugby fraternity was laughing at us, the team that hasn't won a game, that often took the field short of players. However, they have survived.
The future:
As Club Captain i have so many aspirations and dreams for this plucky club that has changed my life, Joining Stoneham Rugby has been the best decision of my life, the people that i have met have enriched my life, the rugby i have played has been some of the best i have ever played, it has been challenging, it has been rewarding and sometimes it has been disapointing! But, from the ashes a powerful team will rise, a true story of a phoenix! As a club we have entered into cup competitions for the first time in a while, and although realistically the EDU RFU junior vase may not be a winnable competition i often dream that it is, i have a fantasy of sorts of leading out Stoneham at Twickenham to compete for the trophy, it is not a pipe dream, it could become reality, certainly the more achievable goal of the Gales Hampshire Plate is a very winnable competition. But these are extras, the league campaign is a priority, and i firmly believe that within the club we have the talent, skill and ambition to achieve a high position if not win the thing.
How to win:
In my eyes how do we win the league? simply, learn to be a team, our best efforts last year which ultimately ended in defeat were Lytchett Minster (A) lost 33-5, and Chineham (A) lost 29-21, both these games saw a gargantuan defensive effort, but for 60 mins we defended defended battled, tackled until our shoulders were black, and it was oportunistic scores that sunk us. Those games saw a comeraderie, a determination a passion and a never say die attitude that we need in all our games. There is the strength and depth in the club that we need to be victorious, their is the mix of youth and experince, we just need to bring it together as one team, Stoneham could be the true underdog success story, and i hope these words will act as a rally cry to our boys, with only 6 weeks before the first whistle of the season we need to knuckle down and really work as a team.
It is our time, this season will be one of the greatest for this club, Now is our time, i feel sorry for the teams that will oppose us, they will not know what has hit them, i foresee devastation, i foresee stunned opposition and a club on the rise. Every player in this club has everything they need to succeed, they have the tools and the talent to play the best Rugby in this league! now is the time to rise from the ashes and WIN!!!!
Cause:
Stoneham RFC was created in 1979 under the name AC Delco RFC, a works club, a popular club with a nice home ground, Bar etc, however, 7 years ago, the company went into decline and the club was forced out of its home. It precipatated a decline in numbers as the club began their nomadic lifestyle, playing and training where they could for minimal cost. It was once said that Winning was easy, Losing is hard, and after a run of losses the club spiralled into a run of seasons withoput victories, languishing at the bottom of Hampshire 3, a league that no longer exists, the club was invited to leave the league system and enter the merit competition, after a fight they retained their place in the league system but needed numbers! a heavy recruitment drive saw myself among others join the club and begin the rebuilding process, i, myself was terribly unfit, could barely run around the field without collapsing into a big heap, but, i endured, i continued and fought to find my form, i believe that my rise to my best is similar to Stoneham. So, with increasing pressure, loss of players and an environment where the rugby fraternity was laughing at us, the team that hasn't won a game, that often took the field short of players. However, they have survived.
The future:
As Club Captain i have so many aspirations and dreams for this plucky club that has changed my life, Joining Stoneham Rugby has been the best decision of my life, the people that i have met have enriched my life, the rugby i have played has been some of the best i have ever played, it has been challenging, it has been rewarding and sometimes it has been disapointing! But, from the ashes a powerful team will rise, a true story of a phoenix! As a club we have entered into cup competitions for the first time in a while, and although realistically the EDU RFU junior vase may not be a winnable competition i often dream that it is, i have a fantasy of sorts of leading out Stoneham at Twickenham to compete for the trophy, it is not a pipe dream, it could become reality, certainly the more achievable goal of the Gales Hampshire Plate is a very winnable competition. But these are extras, the league campaign is a priority, and i firmly believe that within the club we have the talent, skill and ambition to achieve a high position if not win the thing.
How to win:
In my eyes how do we win the league? simply, learn to be a team, our best efforts last year which ultimately ended in defeat were Lytchett Minster (A) lost 33-5, and Chineham (A) lost 29-21, both these games saw a gargantuan defensive effort, but for 60 mins we defended defended battled, tackled until our shoulders were black, and it was oportunistic scores that sunk us. Those games saw a comeraderie, a determination a passion and a never say die attitude that we need in all our games. There is the strength and depth in the club that we need to be victorious, their is the mix of youth and experince, we just need to bring it together as one team, Stoneham could be the true underdog success story, and i hope these words will act as a rally cry to our boys, with only 6 weeks before the first whistle of the season we need to knuckle down and really work as a team.
It is our time, this season will be one of the greatest for this club, Now is our time, i feel sorry for the teams that will oppose us, they will not know what has hit them, i foresee devastation, i foresee stunned opposition and a club on the rise. Every player in this club has everything they need to succeed, they have the tools and the talent to play the best Rugby in this league! now is the time to rise from the ashes and WIN!!!!
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Week 3: Honesty and committment
Week 3 of the blog, and the 4th week of pre season training. Something that has been on my mind all week is honesty. Those of you who have watched the excellent documentary "Living With Lions" about the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa will remmeber a memorable speech by Jim Telfer, the gruff and abrasive scot who i have personal experience of. He said,
"There are 2 types of players, Honest ones and the rest, the honest player will wake up in the morning and look at himself in the mirror and say i will get better and better and better, he will set his stall and aim to achieve higher."
I have been asking myself all week why i performed so badly at training not being able to complete the assigned drills and participate fully, the answer is, i am knackered, the missing piece of the puzzle dropped into place with the delivery of the latest issue of Rugby world. In which was an article about how to optimise pre-season training and one of the ways is to have a good rest in the off season. I have not done this, as soon as the Union season was completed i moved on to the summer Rugby league season, resulting in a lethargy at training. Honestly, i need to pull my socks up, i need to get my head in the game, i need to be better and better and better! I think if we all had a good look at ourselves we would honestly find that we have lacked in our committment to training.
Which brings me on micely to committment. We have a facebook group for players and club members totalling 65 people, true some are abroad, or retired, but a count of playing memebers reveal that there is 30 players there. yet, last wednesdays training we saw 8 people, one of whom was new and 2 not on facebook, so only 5 players on facebook, where is the other 25, assuming some are on holiday, working or family i would expect at least 10 more people to train. I am of the opinion that comittment at training leads to comittment on the field, right place right time on and off the field, these small things will get positive results come match day. Stoneham has potential, has the talent to do very well, now we need to shake the apathy and commit to a great season.
Rugby union will be in the spotlight come Septemeber, the Rugby World Cup commences. Now is the best time to get involved, everyone will be talking about it and as with all national competitions England Expects! after all in the 21st Century England have not missed a final, winning one of them. Can Johnson manage the team to victory as he led the team to a historic win? we will see, there is no reason why not, they have talent, strength and passion.......hang on, Stoneham have that also, i am not saying we could win the world cup but there is no reason why we should not win something this year!
In summary, all we need is to be honest, committed and get training!
"There are 2 types of players, Honest ones and the rest, the honest player will wake up in the morning and look at himself in the mirror and say i will get better and better and better, he will set his stall and aim to achieve higher."
I have been asking myself all week why i performed so badly at training not being able to complete the assigned drills and participate fully, the answer is, i am knackered, the missing piece of the puzzle dropped into place with the delivery of the latest issue of Rugby world. In which was an article about how to optimise pre-season training and one of the ways is to have a good rest in the off season. I have not done this, as soon as the Union season was completed i moved on to the summer Rugby league season, resulting in a lethargy at training. Honestly, i need to pull my socks up, i need to get my head in the game, i need to be better and better and better! I think if we all had a good look at ourselves we would honestly find that we have lacked in our committment to training.
Which brings me on micely to committment. We have a facebook group for players and club members totalling 65 people, true some are abroad, or retired, but a count of playing memebers reveal that there is 30 players there. yet, last wednesdays training we saw 8 people, one of whom was new and 2 not on facebook, so only 5 players on facebook, where is the other 25, assuming some are on holiday, working or family i would expect at least 10 more people to train. I am of the opinion that comittment at training leads to comittment on the field, right place right time on and off the field, these small things will get positive results come match day. Stoneham has potential, has the talent to do very well, now we need to shake the apathy and commit to a great season.
Rugby union will be in the spotlight come Septemeber, the Rugby World Cup commences. Now is the best time to get involved, everyone will be talking about it and as with all national competitions England Expects! after all in the 21st Century England have not missed a final, winning one of them. Can Johnson manage the team to victory as he led the team to a historic win? we will see, there is no reason why not, they have talent, strength and passion.......hang on, Stoneham have that also, i am not saying we could win the world cup but there is no reason why we should not win something this year!
In summary, all we need is to be honest, committed and get training!
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