I am sure you are all enjoying being part of community rugby while following the best international teams slugging it out for the Webb Ellis trophy (although I was shocked to hear this week William didn’t actually invent our glorious game!). Also note to self - we must practice drop goals 😀
We are two weeks into the new season and are already seeing how competitive it will be in the weeks and months ahead. The Firsts have one win and one defeat, 4 league points to date, and the Seconds have the same record in their two warm-up games.
I am confident our summer recruitment and preparations will stand us in good stead for the season ahead. Despite a number of retirements and one or two departures, we have added some new faces, welcomed a number of returners and enjoyed seeing the maturation of younger players. This gives us a strong squad able to compete at National 2 and Counties 2 Kent. An exciting season ahead.
I have been asked what our goals are for the 2023/4 season. We are ambitious, so the 2s competing for the title and the 1s improving on last season’s finish are sensible objectives.
This weekend sees the Second XV travel to Dartford for their first league fixture of the season. The First XV welcome Old Albanians, a team we lost to in a close encounter at the Paddock last year. It is important both Oaks teams get points on the board and build momentum in the early weeks of the season.
The weather on Saturday looks set to be a lukewarm mid 20s, compared to a sizzling 30 plus last weekend. This should allow us to play exciting rugby, entertaining what we hope will be a big crowd at the Paddock.
See you at the Paddock, for the 1s and the 3s game (v Askean) on Saturday.
