The 1st XV had the weekend off due to getting a bye in the second round of the RFU Community Trophy. The other sides took the opportunity of getting together and the combined 2nds, Veterans and Colts played Pinley 1st team. Although Pinley are not as strong as they were pre-covid, when they beat us several times at first team level, we beat them 21-17 with tries from Isaac Ward, Sam Bond and Jamie Loffman all of which were converted by John Tokley

Again, there is no 1st XV fixture this week, with the RFU deeming it a league catch-up weekend. The 2nd team have a scheduled game against Old Laurentians over at Rugby and the combined 2nds/veterans and colts will be joining forces again - kick off time has been arranged for 1.00

On Sunday, the U13s are playing Old Coventrians at home and the other sides are training. Also on Sunday, the Women’s team is at Daventry, starting at 2.00

Reminders

Ed Gray is organising a 24-hour Movember charity bike ride to raise awareness and funds for men’s mental health initiatives. This will start and finish at the club on Friday 14 November between 2.00 and 3.00 and will finish the following day. The route is to be confirmed but participants will cycle in pairs for one-hour time slots throughout the 24-hour period. Individuals are welcome to ride for longer if they wish. We are aiming for a minimum of 48 participants, though additional riders are very welcome. Entry Fee: £5 per person and further contributions are encouraged and will be greatly appreciated. For further information, or to register your interest, please contact Edward Gray on ? +44 7542 515320. There is no 1st team game that weekend

Our annual fireworks display is on Wednesday 5 November. This is one of the club’s main events of the year and it is acknowledged as one of the best displays in the area. Please come along and support us and if you would like to help on the night let me know. Thanks to those who have already volunteered. Details have been circulated on the website and social media and the main points are –

Gates open at 5.00
Fireworks at 7.30
Food, drinks and entertainment
Admission - £20 per car and £5 per pedestrian
Admission by cash

Alex Watkins’ internment will be at Sun Rising Natural Burial Ground, Tysoe at 1.30 this Friday, 31 October and those coming to pay their respects are invited for refreshments at The Castle, Edghill OX 15 6DJ from 14.30

Phil McGaffin has written a note (below) about his work in updating the membership list and taking over the organisation of the 200 club

“Hi all
I just wanted to send a note out about membership fees and the 200 club. Both of these are essential income streams for the club, allowing us to continue to develop on and off the pitch. It is both vital and considerate that everyone who is registered as a member of Leamington, in a playing or non-playing capacity, pays promptly. I'm working with the various sections of the club to develop a more effective method of highlighting all those good people who have paid and all those who forgot to pay it at the start of the season and who are now desperate to pay up. If you are in the latter group, don't worry, you haven't missed your chance and we will happily take payment from you by whatever method you prefer. Please get in touch as soon as possible.

Attached to this email is the membership form detailing the prices, methods of payment etc. If you have any questions by all means send them to me or pass on via your team admin, coach etc. Of course, new members are most welcome in whatever capacity as more subscriptions puts more money in the kitty, which in turn allows this wonderful club to develop further.

Once we have updated the list, we intend to go through to identify who hasn’t paid and get in touch to ask whether they wish to continue in membership or whether they would prefer to be dropped from the list. If you want to drop your membership at this point, please let me know

For my sins, I have also taken over the 200 club from Kit and Sandra Scott. The 200 club is a quarterly draw, paying out some decent cash prizes for those lucky folk who have their numbers drawn. Again, income generated from the 200 club is essential to the running of the club. Kit and Sandra have been running this for over 30 years and have been superb in their efforts to push it at every opportunity. The club cannot thank them enough for their hard work and effort to promote and organise this. The 200 club needs to be managed by two people so I'm on the look-out for an assistant! Please get in touch.

To be in with a shout of winning the cash prizes, £300, £200, £100,& £50, you just need to set up a monthly £5 standing order and you will be allocated a number. The next draw is the Christmas one where the 1st prize jumps to £500! This really is a simple way for you to support your club and at the price of a pint a month, you have, based on current numbers, a 1 in 187 of winning! Not bad odds at all!!

There is no limit on how many numbers you can have so please support the club and consider 'buying' an extra number. This isn't restricted to club members so by all means promote it family, friends and work colleagues. Standing order forms are available behind the bar but in this modern world, it's a five minute job to set it up yourself using the following details

Lloyds Bank, Leamington, sort code 30-94-93, Ac/no - 01049812.If you do set it up direct, please let me know so a number can be allocated. Please get in touch for any membership or 200 club queries on pgaff99@gmail.com

Thanks for your continued support of Leamington Rugby and Netball.

Phil McGaffin”

Johnlizlyons@btopenworld.com