A grand sight was to be seen on the field of Barham road this Sunday as 13 teenage girls trained to play rugby. Up to now, despite strenuous efforts by all concerned we have only had a small number of girls at these sessions and our dream of fielding a youth girls team has seemed destined to remain just a dream. This week, following a collaboration with Kings Rugby Club the dream came very close to reality when our combined group took to the field.

The new season is now well under way and WRFC is a hive of activity as usual.
Our new intake of under 6s can already boast a 40 strong squad and they are coming on in leaps and bounds so our future is in safe hands. At the other end of the club our numbers may not be quite so high but still looking good. Our ex premiership coach is already starting to make his mark with teams benefiting from his experience even if they don’t always enjoy the plank when they don’t pay attention (you need to be there) We have already held our first coaches Tag course and more courses are planned plus Jane is refreshing our Seal of Approval portfolio ready for our upcoming review.

On the social side plans are afoot for a repeat of the famous May ball in a marquee in the grounds. Those who were lucky enough to make it two years ago will tell you what a fantastic night it was so look out for more details soon. We will also host some events at the cub before then so watch this space.
Our new steward is now settled in and Mick ably assisted by Jana is proving a great success. Their latest attempt to make our Sundays morning more enjoyable has been the installation of a state of the art coffee machine, so those parents not lucky enough to be coaches can get superb cappuccino whilst they wait for their hero to finish his game.

The 09/10 season is almost upon us so it’s time to check your kit and redouble your efforts in pre season training! We will start back on September 6th at 10 a.m. I am looking forward to seeing you all again and to meeting some new members. Age group managers will greet you on arrival with registration forms and Jane and her team will be opening the kit shop and selling everything you could need at the start of the season.
As part of the build up to the season we are holding a coaches and managers meeting at the club on Friday 4th September at 7.30. We need 2 reps from each age group to attend. At this informal meeting you will be able to get answers to any questions you have around registration, child welfare, subs, what beer the club will be selling etc and find out who has taken on the important roles at the club like Mick our new steward and Steve our new sausage man.
Also Adam our new Director of Rugby will be linking up coaches to ensure there is a transfer of learning up and down the age groups. So whether its tips on teaching tackling or lifting in the line out, there will be something for everyone.
So see you there.
John Woods – Chair WM&YRFC

We may have only just finished Wimbledon and have just started the Ashes series but plans are already being made for next season's Youth Rugby season, and there was good news recently for Wimbledon's Ben Haughton who has been selected for the Harlequins Academy. Ben, who plays at full back for Wimbledon Under 12's, has been with the club for several seasons and caught the eye last year with a number of excellent performances.

Wednesday night saw the the Minis "coaches and dads" cricket team extend their unbeaten run with a famous victory over the main club. The opposition opened the batting, and steadily added runs to reach the highly respectable total of 159 in their 20 overs. The coaches 11 got off to a flying start, but were pinned down in the the middle order and needed 8 runs from the last 2 overs. These were provided in spectacular style by Philip 'Asif' Rea, bashing a straight six off the oppositions secret fast bowler. Bragging rights to the Minis until next year!

A great day was had by all. A big thank you to all then organisers and helpers.

After a deluge of interested parties on Saturday, we're now down to the last remaining tickets. If you want one, you'll have to get yourself sorted pretty sharpish. There are still a couple left at the special discount price of £65 so get your requests in now and don't end up forking out an extra tenner.

All profits are going to the clubhouse refurbishment project.

Contact Imogen for Tickets

More photos can be found here.

A perfect day for rugby.A gentle breeze,a sunny day and a firm pitch .At last for almost the first time all season we had just about our ideal back line to take advantage of the conditions.After a couple of starts in friendly games it was excellent to see Frank - a member of our Tiffin contingent -make his first start in a League match -and he was to make a telling contribution.

Members of Wimbledon Minis Under-9 age group had a treat on Sunday when they arrived for training to be told that they were going to be coached by Ben Ryan the England 7’s Head Coach. Ryan, a former Wimbledon College pupil and pictured here with the Wimbledon players, represented England at scrum-half at all age groups up to Under-21 level and now combines his role as the national team’s 7’s coach with that of the specialist coach to England’s leading scrum halves