2016-17: Squeaky Bum Time – Again

Richard “Wiggy” Watkins, a graduate of mini and junior rugby and Colts, became Club Chairman at the AGM in July, in succession to Phil McGaffin. It was decided to make some changes in the playing management team. Craig Smith (pictured) took over the captaincy, with Tom Chandler becoming Rugby Chairman and Alex Carroll our new coach, assisted by Billy Unsworth. Alex retired from playing after close to 450 games for the first team, going back to 1997. Among his many talents he was the master of the interception - although not necessarily always in our favour.

The new group had a difficult task on its hands as the club lost a lot of experienced and quality players over the summer, including more than ten front-line backs. New recruits included Garrett Bell, a fierce wing-threequarter from Ballymena and Tom Lane an excellent second-row from Kenilworth. Sam Nunn and Tom Jewitt moved into the full-back and fly-half positions and Connor Chamberlain Joined Bell on the wings. Vice-captain Danny Ruyssevelt was mainly partnered by Toby Bruce in the centre. In the forwards, Scott Peters, Danny Phillips and Aled Thomas formed the front row and Lane was partnered by Matt Shelton and Jake Buckingham. Gareth Shuttleworth, Lewis Kelsey and Smith provided a lively back-row.

First XV Bill Unsworth (coach), Paul Dillon (physio), Aled Thomas, Tom Lane, Connor Chamberlain, Mark Warrilow, Lewis Kelsey, Mark Symmons, Danny Ruyssevelt, Ben Jenkins, Matt Shelton, Toby Bruce, Dick Jewitt (linesman), Alex Carroll (coach) - Garrett Bell, Patch Northover, Gareth Shuttleworth, Danny Phillips, Craig Smith (captain)

Tom Jewitt, Matt Humphreys, Sam Nunn

After trial games against Kenilworth, Lutterworth and Old Coventrians, the season proper kicked off with a Warwickshire Shield game at Silhillians, who had come down from Midlands 1. With only three of last year’s side available, it was a ramshackle start and we went down heavily by 60-10. This did not bode well for our League opener at Pinley, but they were in decline and we were much improved and came away with an encouraging win. Our first home game was against Rugby Lions, who had been moving steadily back up the leagues after being relegated for financial mismanagement. They had a very powerful set of forwards; courtesy of a very large budget and we were comfortably beaten.

An early return to Silhillians demonstrated improved form but we lost again. We then played promoted Southam in front of a VP audience and in a catastrophic opening period we were over-run by the visiting backs, who dominated throughout the game. Reverting to knock-out rugby, we fielded a much-changed side against Olney in the Intermediate Vase, with two props in the back-row and a flanker and superannuated winger in the centre. After an even first-half, Olney cottoned-on to our disorganization and knocked us out.

Old rivals Barkers Butts were having a difficult time too but it took a last-minute penalty to achieve a win. A hat-trick of tries from Garrett Bell was the highlight against Berkswell & Balsall and although we were within a single score well into the second half, the visitors finished us off with a late burst. By the start of November, the division was forming into two distinct halves, with us in the wrong one and it was vital that our visit to bottom side Dunlop resulted in a win, which was achieved. Another win followed at home to Earlsdon when we produced our best performance so far. The lead see-sawed and the game was interrupted by a long ambulance break (resulting in the loss of Gareth Shuttleworth - but just for the day!). We were hanging on to a narrow lead before Bell picked up a loose ball in midfield and sprinted for the line to secure his second try and wrap up the game.

After a narrow loss at third-placed Spartans, a coach-load of 53 players and supporters enjoyed a pre-Christmas day out at Malvern, but a severe shortage of backs required the use of press-gang methods to get a proper side together. Highlight of the game was a hat-trick of tries from Lewis Kelsey, as he exploited the catch and drive from the line-out, but we came up short and Santa didn’t even give us a bonus point. The final game before Christmas was at home to fellow strugglers Nuneaton Old Eds. It was a forwards’ slog but tries from debutant winger Rich Mullis and Toby Bruce, on his return from injury, secured the points.

We kicked off the New Year with good but losing performances against unbeaten Rugby Lions and second-placed Sihillians, but our return visit to Southam was a disappointing setback and after being ahead or level for most of the game, we conceded four late tries in an embarrassing collapse at the end. Barkers Butts had reportedly been recruiting mercenaries to help them avoid the drop and their improved form since Christmas made this a vital game for both sides. The game was fiercely contested and was effectively decided on 65 minutes when a flowing move resulted in a second try for Bruce.

The next match, at Berkswell & Balsall, was very high scoring and we were within a score right till the end, when a penalty put the game just beyond our reach. The game was overshadowed by news of the sudden death of life-member Brian Griffin, the previous afternoon. Brian was a local lad who attended Leamington College and joined the club in the early 1950s and played in the second row for many years. On retirement he managed the Colts and held most of the senior positions in the club including President, Chairman and Rugby Chairman and in recent years he looked after the clubhouse and ground with his loyal group of helpers. He was on duty in the morning and passed away later in the day.

After incessant rain, the game against bottom side Dunlop was moved from the first to the second pitch. Despite having lost all their games, Dunlop opened brightly but once we got into our stride, the tries flowed with Bell scoring another hat-trick. This was followed by a convincing win at Earlsdon.

With four games to go we looked safe from relegation, with Southam and Pinley level with us, Dunlop already down with one more team to join them which looked like being Nuneaton Old Eds or Barkers Butts who were both a dozen points behind us. The Old Eds’ remaining fixtures gave them some hope but Barkers had to play the three top sides and appeared to have no chance. The position was about to change however!

A poor performance against Spartans resulted in defeat and the loss of Garrett Bell with a broken hand, to end his season. Barkers Butts won away at leaders’ Rugby Lions and Old Eds overwhelmed Dunlop as expected. With three games to go we needed another win to ensure safety. Malvern were our next visitors and their excellent backs ran amok and we lost heavily again. Barkers and Old Eds also lost, but scored bonus points to close the gap further. Our penultimate game was at Old Eds and our poor form continued as went down 31-0 to our rampant opponents, who moved ahead of us on points difference. Barkers survived a tight finish to win at Southam.

So, with one game to go - Barkers were 3 points behind and needed to beat Spartans to overtake us; we needed to beat Pinley (or at least get bonus points) to be safe; and Nuneaton needed to do better than one of us. As it turned out, Pinley brought their pub side and seemed more interested in a punch-up than a game of rugby and they soon wilted in the April sunshine as we won by 41-7. It was a good job we did, as Barkers completed their Houdini act by beating Spartans and Nuneaton only lost in the last minute at Malvern.

Overall, we won 9 league games which was an improvement of 2 on the previous season, so some progress was made, but one of our biggest problems was a failure to collect bonus points, our total of 8 being 4 or 5 less than all our rivals. Tom Jewitt was top points scorer for the first XV with 85 and was the regular kicker throughout. Garrett Bell was top try scorer with 14 (19 including 5 for the Seconds and Spartans) and competed for the honour all season with Lewis Kelsey, who finished just behind him on 13. Kelsey achieved the unique distinction of winning both the Player of the Year the Players’ Player awards and Sam Nunn was Most Improved Player for his excellent season at full-back.

Seconds Apr 2017 John Holland, Keiran Money, Rich Powe, Dave Cotton, Rich McKowen, Dan Barber, Jake Buckingham, John Brear, Jonno Harris, Mark Symmons, Nathan Batchelor, Ed Terry, James Kirkham, Callum Sharpe, Amber Griffiths (physio) – Josh Orr, Kenny Kwok, Barney Lewis, Brian O’Longaigh, Rich Mullis, Luca Illing, Jack Read, Toby Osi

Scrum-half Brian O’Longaigh was the new Second XV captain, with Calum Sharp his deputy and team manager (in succession to long-serving Bryn Evans). The side showed a dip in form, winning 8 of 25 matches, due mainly to the shortage of backs. They started well with good wins against Barkers Butts (in the Warwickshire Cup) and Silhillians. Rugby Lions were happy to pile up 69 points against us when we went down to 12 players during the league game against them, but when the circumstances were reversed in the Cup a few weeks later, they went behind by a try and immediately scratched. We went out of the Cup to Kenilworth at the semi-final stage just before Christmas. Results became difficult after the break, but when we had a balanced side we looked good and claimed wins against Silhillians, Berkswell and Earlsdon. Scorers were well spread around the team with skipper O’Longaigh topping the points with 46, mostly from the boot, and Roger Moorhouse and newcomer Rich Powe topping the tries with 5 each, closely followed by Dan Barber, Nathan Batchelor, Dave Cotton and Barney Lewis on 4. Player of the season was Mark Symmonds and the Most Improved Player was Jamie Anderson.

New club Chairman Richard Watkins continued to skipper the Spartans, although due to his nomadic day job, selection was often conducted from the USA, Poland and other far flung places. The Spartans commenced their season at the beginning of October and played 14 games, winning 8. Due to the scarcity of opposition, it was hard to get games and this sometimes caused mis-matches against second teams. Heavy defeats by Spartans and Southam 2nds contrasted with a big win at Wellesbourne, when speedy French winger Pierre M’Baga bagged 6 tries in only his second ever game of Rugby. Pierre continued to impress and was top scorer over the season. A win over Old Leamingtonians’ second string was another highlight, particularly as it came with a last-minute try and in March we entertained a touring veterans’ side from Jaen in Spain, who have links with Andy John and came over to see if he really has a collection of international shirts in the clubhouse. At least one of them had a good trip as he went home having won a Tissot watch, the first prize in our raffle (donated our by sponsors - Tustains the Jewellers). Other players to do well were Andy Thomas, Ian Gascoigne, Andy Knight and in particular Mike Struther who only started playing the game at the beginning of the season. The player of the season was Matt Stark, a former mini and junior who was outstanding at number 7.

Spartans Mar 2017 v Jaen - Simon David, Dean Harris, Nick Wilson, Mike Strother, Andy Thomas, Jonathan Hollyoak, Steve Johnson, Peter Davis, Charlie Stevens, Matt Stark, Enrique Ruiz – Dudley Turner, Seb Knight, Andy Knight, Alex Winkless, Shaun Smith, Pierre M’Baga, Richard Watkins, - Ian Gascoine (en route to hospital)

The Colts were re-established after missing a season, The team was the previous year’s under-16s and they were up against it as most clubs had a strong core of under-18 players. Under the guidance of head coach Kevin Barkway, plus Tony Timms and Terry Curran, they managed to keep going all season. Despite some high scores against them, they demonstrated a never-say-die spirit and always wanted to play on, no matter what the score was, or how many injuries they had. They managed to win three games: all against Rugby St. Andrews, who had a similarly young side. A number of players distinguished themselves, including skipper George Harding, who contributed on and off the pitch, flankers Joe Goodwin and Kurt Andrews, and Joel Sinnott who had an excellent season as the last line of defence. Player of the year was Kurt Alright who never missed a game or a training session.

Highlight for the Youth Section was a partnership event with Wasps at the beginning of February, when 300 of our mini and junior players, parents, grandparents and officials from the club became the Premiership club’s partner for the day at the Ricoh Arena to watch Wasps versus Ospreys in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.  Players from across the mini and junior age groups took part in the pre-match warm-up activities on the pitch and Wasps awarded us their Partner Rugby Club award.

Colts 2016-17 – Dan Hague, Steve Rawbone, Robbie Edwards, Joe Goodwin, Kurt Alright, Charlie Widmer, George Chandler, Scott Bullock, Dan Knibb, Mario Palmer, Charlie Thurlow, Jack Southall. Jacob East, James Rawbone, Tristan Harding, Ethan Callighan, Kevin Barkway (Coach) – Jack Robinson, James Holmes, Marcus Bourne, Sam Lawton, Pete Armstrong, Joel Sinnott, George Harding (captain) Greg West, Kalen Barnfarther, Charlie Barkway, Lewis Jackson, George O’Donaghue

2017-18: Wardy President

Craig Smith continued as captain for a second season, supported by the coaching team of Alex Carroll and Bill Unsworth. Dave Ward succeeded Peter Gray as Club President. Dave was a junior player with the Club and played in the Warwickshire Colts Cup winning side of 1982, before making his first team debut. He moved to Brazil for a while and whilst there had the distinction of becoming the second Leamington player (after Max Johannson in 1973) to pull on the famous canary-yellow jersey. The story is, that whilst playing for Santos, they won the national championship in 1990 and the team was chosen en-bloc to represent Brazil in an international tournament in Paraguay. Glowing in his new internationalist status he returned to the club and became a successful captain of the 2nd XV for several years and then turned out for the Spartans from time to time, whilst contemplating hanging up his boots.

Action started early with trial games against Vipers from Blaby in mid-August. The Leicestershire side were more advanced in their preparations and we were badly beaten. Our early season was notable for the lack of availability of key players, due to stag parties, weddings and late holidays and it took some time for the team to settle down and find its shape.

Competitive fixtures got underway with a visit to Spartans in the Warwickshire Shield, but unlike their ancient Greek cousins they were not bearing any gifts and we conceded 59 points. Our league programme kicked off at Kenilworth the following week and in our first derby game for four years, the absence of key players told and we went down by 20-0. Our poor opening continued with losses to Southam, Malvern and Nuneaton Old Edwardians in the league and to Long Buckby in the Intermediate Cup.

Things began to turn around in late October with a comfortable win at Old Yardleians, who were struggling badly, and we followed this up with wins against Silhillians and Barkers Butts. We then carried our improved form to Berkswell & Balsall and were unfortunate when the home team snatched the game in the final play, with the clock well into the red. The following week we played league leaders Droitwich, who having been relegated, were promoted straight back with a perfect record and were top. We pushed them all the way but they carried their winning run on to 31 games as they sneaked home 21-19. A fine away victory at Earlsdon and a home win against Evesham took us into Christmas with 5 wins and 6 losses.

We picked up well again after the break and overcame Southam in a close game at Moorefields. The following week we travelled to Malvern, who were pushing Droitwich for the championship. Like the previous season, a coach trip with lots of supporters made it a good day out but the party atmosphere took over from the business and we conceded 66 points. We were back on form for the visit of Nuneaton Old Edwardians at the end of January and notched up 43 points in a high-scoring game. A routine win at pointless Old Yardleians put us more us less clear of any relegation danger and we celebrated by switching off at home to Silhillians who won more easily than they could have hoped for as they eased their own relegation worries. A good win over Berkswell & Balsall followed which pushed them into the relegation dog fight.

We lost 36-41 in an exciting game under lights at Barkers Butts, before visiting champions-elect Droitwich, who were now on a winning run of 40 games. We battered them during the first half and they only gained control of the game when we were weakened by injuries and a sending-off. Failure to take a kick under the posts in injury time cost us a close game against Earlsdon by two points and we were even closer at Evesham the following week, when we were only one point short.

The finale to the season was the return game against Kenilworth and with both teams at more or less at full strength it looked as though it could go either way. Unfortunately, Kenilworth went two tries up after 20 minutes and although we gradually got ourselves back into game and were the better team in the second half, every time we scored, we conceded straight away and couldn’t close the gap, finishing a score short at 22-29

A four-game losing run at the start and a five-game losing run at the finish, book-ended a strong middle part of the season and we finished with 9 wins and 12 losses, the same as the previous year, although games were closer, as confirmed by a much better haul of bonus points. Although Droitwich and Malvern were much better than the rest, the other nine sides were more or less of equal standard. In the end it was Berkswell & Balsall who dropped through the trap door with Old Yardleians .

We were not so badly affected by injuries as we had been in other seasons. In the backs, Sam Nunn played mostly at full-back and shared the position with Rich McKowen (son of Ian and grandson of Andy). Gareth Bell was on one wing with Danny Ruyssevelt, Kenny Kwok and Ross Waterhouse taking turns on the other. Toby Bruce and Jim Robertson formed a strong centre-partnership, with Mark Baldwin providing good back-up. Patch Northover and Tom Jewitt were the regular half-backs.

In the forwards, Aled Thomas and Danny Phillips continued as regulars and were joined in the front row by Dan Barber, a recruit from Rugby League who showed himself to be strong in the tight and dynamic in the loose. It was good to see the return of John Brear after a year’s absence and he formed a strong second row with Tom Lane. In the back row, Gareth Shuttleworth started every game and skipper Craig Smith missed only one. Lewis Kelsey, Luca Illner, Ali Weedon and Simon Harry all played on the blind side or second row and Scott Peters and Harry Gooch fitted into the front row.

Scottish International Jim Hamilton was our guest of honour at the end of season club dinner and besides performing a ventriloquist act with Kevin Batchelor, he presented the Player of the Year award to John Brear, the Players’ Player award to Tom Lane and the Most Improved Player trophy to Luca Illing. Gareth Shuttleworth was top try scorer with 15 and with the kicking duties being shared between Tom Jewitt and Jim Robertson, his tries were enough to make him top points’ scorer with 75.

2nd XV v Stratford Oct 2017 (side includes some Colts) Kurt Alright, Andy Allen, Dan Barber, Aaron Hunt, Ally Keen, Chris Morris, Mark Warrilow – Jack Read, Barney Lewis, John Robertson, Patch Northover, Dave Cotton,

Josh Jones, Mike Squire, George Harding

After a year’s sabbatical, Bryn Evans resumed the management of the 2nd XV and his team bore the brunt of the club’s injuries and he found it difficult to put out a settled side. The season started fairly well, with 7 wins out of 11 up until the middle of November, but after cancellations, due to bad weather and gaps in the programme, it was difficult to field a regular team from then on and selections were often about cobbling together a mixture of Seconds, Spartans and Colts. Chris Morris was top try scorer with 10 and newcomer Simon Gardiner topped the points’ scorers with 70 and played well until Christmas when unfortunately, he had to move with his job. Chris Morris and Nathan Batchelor shared the Player of the Year trophy and Josh Jones was chosen as the Most Improved Player. Nathan played for Warwickshire Under 20s.

Spartans, Apr 2018 – Gregg Melville, Alex Winkless, Andy Knight, Chris Morris, Pete Davis, Jez Robinson, John Holland, Roger Crockford, Ian Gascoigne, Tom Chandler, Dave Ward (Club President), Lewis Kelsey, Simon David, Kevin Batchelor – Matt Stark, Seb Knight, Tommaso Romita, Richard Watkins, Lewis Coulson, Matt Humphreys, Dave Cotton, Peter Gatenby, Ross Dewey, Dean Harris, Shaun Smith

The Spartans didn’t trouble the travelling expenses budget as they contrived to play all their games at home, although these were few. After two early victories over Claverdon, availability quickly became a problem and 75-point defeats to the fleet-footed Warwick University Freshers and a Kenilworth Pirates all-star side ended their season in October, except for two late games. Richard Watkins was chosen as Player of the Year although the criteria used to justify the choice are not clear.

The Colts were led by Manager Kevin Barkway and supported by Tony Timms. They showed early season promise, but after 4 wins and some other strong performances, their numbers fell away in November and it was decided to team up with Rugby Lions, who were having similar problems and we formed a joint side, known as Leamington Lions. The surviving band showed lots of promise and fulfilled their League commitments, but unfortunately did not add to their wins. Kurt Albright, George Harding, Greg West, Blu Wilson, George Chandler, Aidan Foley Joe Goodwin, Jack Southall and Jack Robinson formed the core of the side. George Harding was chosen as Colts player of the Year and George and Kurt both had trials for the Warwickshire under-20 side.