Newsletter - 9th January

Dear All,

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2007. We hope you had a pleasant and enjoyable festive season.

Training
Mens and Ladies training resumes this Thursday evening at Crusaders, starting at 8pm. Lifts from MED are leaving at 7.30. A big turnout would be good, particularly from the men's squad given the importance of our match on Saturday.

Matches 13 January
Men's squad are playing Lowestoft & Yarmouth RFC at home, Crusaders, kick-off at 14.15. Those requiring a lift should be at MED at 12.45 latest. Let us not forget that L&Y are the only team to beat us in MT3 this year, so it is imperative that we get a victory against them. The Captain requests that as many people as possible make themselves available for some socialising afterwards as it is our first match of the New Year.

Ladies squad - unfortunately the match against Diss has been cancelled for this Saturday. It will be rescheduled and Tilly will be in contact with you about that.

Club Social - Tuesday 16th January
Club night out, meeting at the Slug at 7pm. Would be good to see as many people as possible....... If there is to be a theme, Brown will be in touch in advance to let you know. Otherwise just turn-up, drink and be merry.

Men's Tour to Peninsula
This tour has unfortunately been cancelled, despite the hard work of the committee, notably Mr Pruden, to organise it. Once again, there has been insufficient firm commitment from the club and a decision had to be taken now in order to avoid the financial penalties of not fulfilling our accommodation booking.
We understand that those who intended to go will be a tad peeved about this, and also that others were concerned about the cost of the trip. As a committee we are between a rock and a hard place when organising these kinds of event. On the one hand, we wish to cater to the people who are keen to have a tour, yet on the other we are still a relatively small club and cannot raise sufficient numbers to reduce the cost per person. We do not have the financial resources to take a gamble on booking the hotel and hoping for a late surge of interest as we cannot sustain a loss. Nor would it be responsible to use your membership money in that way.

Nottingham Sevens
On a more positive note though, we are able to offer a Nottingham tour on the weekend 4th - 6th May, to compete in the Royal Navy sponsored Nottingham Medics 7s. This is organised by Nottingham Medical School rugby club and costs £50 to enter a team. Therefore the cost to you is £50 divided by however many people come, plus your train fare to Nottingham. Willy B will be in touch to tell you what train you need to get a ticket for, nearer the time, so that we can all travel together. We should manage at least 7 people, the maximum players per squad is 10 and as many supporters as we like. If there is sufficient interest in playing, we could enter two squads. If we get a good turnout, you will almost be paying only for your train fare, (Martin says it's about £12 to Nottingham). Accommodation is in tents at the rugby club.

Ladies Tour
Rumours abound of a Ladies tour to Berlin. More than that I do not know........ When I do, it will be posted here. I believe the Ladies are well on the way with organisation.

Commiserations
Our best wishes go to the club secretary who had a cracking Christmas 'break', apart from the bit where he broke his leg. Unfortunately he will be unable to play for the rest of the season and I am sure you will join me in wishing him all the best and a speedy recovery. The rumour that he tripped over whilst running from his aggressive and out of control terrier are completely without foundation, and simply made up by the rest of the committee ;-).

Looking Ahead
The second half of the season should see us consolidate our position in MT3. NAMS commitments are now finished for the season, and discussions will be held with NAMS to see if we can arrive at more satisfactory arrangements next year. Our group is slightly problematic given the geographical locations of the three clubs. Hopefully next season will see us in a group with clubs who are willing and able to honour their fixtures with us, regardless of the distance.

For those of you with a fixture list from the beginning of the season, please add a game on Saturday 3rd February, at Holt RFC. We have been invited to play their second XV, who are two Merit Table's above us. This should be an interesting opportunity to gauge the standard and style of rugby in the tables above us, should we get promoted next year.

What should I do now?
1. Turn up to training on Thursday evening and have a good time.
2. E-mail the club by clicking reply and telling us if:
a. You can play on Saturday.
b. You want to come to Nottingham 7s on weekend of 4th - 6th May and if you are coming as a supporter, or would like to be considered for the playing squads.
3. Make a note in your diary of next week's social.
4. Men - make a note of the extra match against Holt 2nd XV.
5. Have a great 2007, with success in exams, rugby and life in general.

Best Wishes,

Mark.