One of the wettest on record in East Anglia but fortunately the fixtures for the seniors were able to be completed on time and our pitches held up well which is a testament to the work carried out on them by Parkers Pitches over the past 2 years and the £5,000pa that the club has invested in them.

Starting with the senior teams, the 1st XV finished a very creditable 5th in London and SE Division - Counties 2 Eastern Counties, after 2 successive promotions. The first half of the season involved some long journeys to Bedford, Cambridge, Newmarket, Norwich and Fakenham for which the club laid on coaches. The mismatch of home and away fixtures ultimately worked in the team’s favour with only 2 away trips after Christmas and we had a very strong finish to season. The team also gave Colchester Ravens (Cstr RFC 2nd XV), the league winners, probably their 2 toughest matches of the season. What was especially heartening was the number of players in the 1st XV squad who are products of our first home grown Colts’ team from 2years ago. A huge thank you to our Director of Rugby, Alex Lacey, for the amazing amount of time that he gives to the club and for promoting us and the game of rugby union in Mersea Island School and local secondary schools. Also, to our First team coach, Andrew ‘Windy’ Windridge for his continued commitment, professionalism and enthusiasm which has reaped tangible improvements over recent years.

Sadly, the Rhinos endured a very difficult year as we they unable to fulfil the majority of their fixtures. They were promoted to the league that the 1st team vacated last season and not only found the opposition generally much too strong but also struggled for numbers as a result. Hopefully, their fortunes will change next season as it’s important that we have 2 vibrant senior teams.

Perhaps we can encourage some of our Vets, who are currently not already playing, to lace up their boots again after their showing in the match under lights at The Glebe on Friday 26th April! About 300 people turned up for the match which gave it a tremendous atmosphere for a season ending finale. The rugby was full on with Mersea beating Colchester by 85 – 17 and on the back of this success and, no doubt, the bravado from the post-match alcohol there is talk of playing 4 matches per season! It was wonderful to see so many players who have served Mersea Rugby club so well over the years take to the field to renew friendships and rivalry with our ‘auld enemy’. The evening was tinged with sadness however as word reached us that Peter Sheane, a past Chairman of the club, passed away at home during the match but at least the large crowd gathered were able to toast him appropriately with some members of his close family present.

The minis and juniors (youth) have had a mixture of training, matches and festivals throughout the season and a huge thanks goes out to all of the coaches and parents for their continued support and for giving their time so generously for what is a long season of 8months. The youth section of the club continues to grow from strength to strength and next season we will have players in all age groups from U6 to U16 with some players of Colts’ age. However, it won’t be until the following season that we will have a full Colts’ complement when next year’s U16s become 17. Following this, we should have a Colts’ team every year after the gap of recent years. The provision of home grown players is key to the continued development and progress of the club at senior level.

With the growth in our youth numbers in particular, the pressure on the space that we have at The Glebe is acute and we need more training and playing areas in order to accommodate this growth and also help to protect the playing surface of our floodlit pitch. The land adjacent to the new Dawes Lane (let’s call this Glebe 3) would have been ideal for not only us but also Oyster FC as they have been equally successful in developing youth, particularly girls’, football, Sadly, however, despite:
- Colchester City Council recently reiterating that the “Local Plan sets out that Dawes Lane site should provide public open space, including sports pitches”
- the latest Neighbourhood Plan saying “The Glebe provides a comprehensive facility for formal sports and is home for rugby, football, cricket and tennis clubs. The proposed extension of the Glebe provides an opportunity to improve and expand facilities in order to address current and projected needs…….”

the change in planning on Glebe 3 to “… landscaped parkland…” has inexplicably and regrettably scuppered this opportunity for the community. Although plans to create a new building on Glebe 1 are very welcome, we will have to explore a range of options in order to satisfy our “current and projected needs” since the new homes being built at Sanderling Reach and Dawes Lane are only likely to increase the numbers of young people wishing to play rugby and football on an area of ground which is already insufficient in size and quality.

Once again the current U15s hosted a Friday might fixture under lights at the Glebe against Romford, with another great gathering of supporters, and they have also just returned from a successful May bank holiday rugby festival in the Isle of Wight. We are endeavouring to encourage each of the junior teams to play one Friday evening match next season as not only is it a great opportunity for them to play in front of a large crowd but also enables the community to witness what the rugby club provides to its players.

Evidence of the growth and success of youth rugby at the club since its inception is evidenced by the recent selection of current U16 player, Max Bethell, to the Northampton Saints’ junior academy. Max hadn’t played rugby before joining Mersea at the age of 7 and so his selection is a testament to not only his dedication and development but also to the quality of the coaching that he has received from his head coach, Dave Murrell. We wish Max every success and will be following his journey closely as the first home grown Mersea player to join a rugby union junior academy.

Mersea is aligned to Northampton Saints as each professional team has a defined geographical area of the country from which it draws and develops players up to the age of 18. In addition to Max Bethell, Mersea Island rugby club also has other players involved in its player pathway programme, Ollie Daniels (U15) and Sonny Simpson (U14). The programme is centred on Colchester Rugby club throughout the season from this area and there are 3 other centres at Cambridge, Bedford and Northampton. This shows that whilst our youth section is only relatively new we are able to develop players who have the requisite skills to be involved in a professional set up.

All it leaves me to say is that I wish you all a healthy and restful summer and thank everybody, in whatever guise, for your continued support. Our agm is scheduled for 18th July and it would be great to see as many of you as possible there in order to meet the committee and to learn more about plans for the club going forward. We are always looking to add to our pool of volunteers in order to spread the workload and so if you have some time available to help the club, no matter how little, I would be delighted to meet with you (there).

Peter Martin
Chairman
Mersea Island RFC