International Tickets
The RFU has announced that England will play USA and Canada at Twickenham on 4 and 10 July instead of the planned tour to those countries. The stadium will be operating on a reduced capacity of 10,000 and clubs are being offered the opportunity to purchase 2 tickets for each game subject to availability, on a first come first served basis.

Prices are £50, £40 and £20 and the junior price (15 and under) linked to the £40 and £20 tickets is £10. Kick off times are not confirmed. The box office is open tomorrow only, so I will put any applications (stating which game/s) received by 8.00 tonight in a hat and try and get the tickets tomorrow, if I can remember how to do it!

Return to Rugby
The double-header went ahead on Saturday, despite the awful wet weather. First, the Leamington Royals took on the Worcester Jaguars, who fielded some of the biggest players ever seen at Moorefields, of either code. The visitors built up a 20-point lead in the first half but Royals started to run them around and came back to 28-40 by the end of the game.

Second up was a Leamington XV against Barkers Butts, the first senior Union game at Moorefields in 14 months, albeit under adapted rules. Barkers have recruited some good players since we last saw them and having the benefit of two games under their belt already, they were strong opposition. Leamington took the lead early on through a Tom Lane try but we were then pinned back for most of the first two quarters but defended well and conceded only two tries before half time. As we made the changes in the third and fourth quarters, we began to struggle a bit for fitness and coordination and Barkers took control and scored some long range tries as we got turned-over attacking their line. James Dunne added a late try.

Over at Rugby, the Colts picked up their first win in the Warwickshire Tournament, beating Old Laurentians 17-7. Leamington scored two first half tries by Will Callan converted by Ben Leahy and Ben picked up a penalty after the break. The game was played in great spirit to the extent that the opposition offered to lend us one of their players when we were down to 13 because of injury – a nice gesture

The Youth Section played a full set of age group games against Harbury on Sunday and although scores weren’t recorded, we held our own in an enjoyable set of games

The Seniors have no more games scheduled, but the Colts are away at Kenilworth on Saturday and the Royals entertain Birmingham Bulldogs at Moorefields

The following games have been arranged

Sat 15 May - Royals home to Birmingham Bulldogs ko 2.15
Sat 15 May - Colts away at Kenilworth ko 3.00
Fri 21 May - Colts at home to Old Leamingtonians ko 7.00
Sat 29 May - Colts tournament play offs
Sat 19 June – Royals home to Telford Raiders 2.15
Sat 26 June – Royals home to Birmingham Bulldogs
Sat 24 July – Reddich home
Sat 31 July - Derby Elks home

Senior and Colts training is continuing on Tuesday evenings from 7.00 pm. Despite Monday’s announcement about easing the Covid contact restrictions, the RFU informed clubs last night that they have still not received confirmation from the Government on moving to full contact training, including scrums and mauls. It is hoped that we will know the decision later in the week. The Rugby Roadmap is still on course for full contact games from 31 May and all restrictions will be lifted from 21 June.

Age grade practice sessions or games are on every Sunday morning through till the end of May when the season will finish. A Summer Activity Framework will then come into effect and full information on this available on the RFU website under Return to Rugby. Please note that Dave Johnson has taken over from Tom Wallsgrove and will act as interim Chair of the Youth Section until the AGM. We thank Tom for all his efforts.

Fixtures
The structured season for 2021/22 was announced this week and will kick off at the beginning of September. We will be in Midlands 2 (West) South as before and the teams playing in it will be - Barkers Butts, Berkswell & Balsall, Earlsdon, Evesham, Kidderminster, Leamington, Nuneaton Old Edwardians, Old Coventrians, Old Laurentians, Pinley, Silhillians and Spartans. These are the same clubs as would have played in 2020/21 had the season not been cancelled. We finished fifth last time and Stratford and Malvern were promoted and Southam relegated. The new teams replacing them are Berkswell & Balsall, Old Coventrians and Kidderminster. The actual fixtures with dates will be sent to us on or before 1 June

Bar reopening
The Government announcement on Monday means that we can start to use the clubhouse again, including the inside bar, from 17 May. We will be reviewing our operations and opening hours, but for now the bar will continue to be open on Saturdays from 2pm to 7pm, Tuesdays from 7pm to 9pm and we are now also open on Friday evenings from 5.30 to 7.30.

Dog Control
Our ground staff are increasingly complaining about finding dog poo on the field. Our neighbouring clubs have totally banned dogs from their grounds because of this problem. We would prefer not to follow their lead and we have always welcomed dogs at the club providing they are kept under control and are not a nuisance, or risk, to other people.

We accept that most of our members do control their dogs responsibly and that part of our problem is caused by uninvited dog walkers straying off the public footpath boundary. We cannot prohibit them from using the footpath but their rights are restricted to it. We are also mindful that some people attending the club may rely on their dogs to help or guide them and they may need to be treated slightly differently.

It is against the law to let any dog be dangerously out of control anywhere in public and private places and fines and prison sentences can be enforced in the worst circumstances. Being out of control means that the dog might injure or threaten someone or another animal. We also have a general health and safety responsibility to all our members and visitors and as part of this we are obliged to take measures to reduce risks, including those caused by dogs.
In order to address our responsibilities and to respond to the complaints we have reviewed our policy at Committee and propose the following -

• Dogs must be kept under proper control and restrained at all times. Don’t allow your dog to cause a nuisance to other people and clean up if it causes a mess.
• Dogs should be confined to the areas around the clubhouse. They are allowed in the clubroom, subject to them being restrained, but they are not allowed in the dining area when food is being served, or in the lounge at any time
• Dogs are not allowed on the pitches in any circumstances. Apart from the unpleasant experience of players falling on dog poo there is a serious health and safety risk
• This applies particularly to children and relates to serious health infections found in dog faeces such as roundworm parasites, e-coli and hepatitis. It is a legal requirement that any designated children’s’ play area should be dog-fee which we take it to apply to our pitches when used by children
• You must clear up your dog's mess. Bins are provided and waste wrapped in a plastic bag can be put in an ordinary litter bin – It is not acceptable to put your dog's poo in a plastic bag and then leave it behind for someone else to clean up
We have always taken the line that we do not want to ban things and we hope that members will follow the above guidance in everyone’s best interests, but it relies on members keeping their dogs under control and not letting then run free to chase around and do their thing and cause annoyance or risk to others. If you see this sort of behaviour going on then please have a word with the dog owner and ask them to get their animal under control.

If we can’t manage this on the basis of personal responsibility, we may be forced to look at the alternative option. If you have any comments, I would be pleased to hear from you

johnlizlyons@btopenworld.com