A Mighty Oak we have lost....

It’s with a heavy heart that we have to announce that another Mighty Oak has fallen. Rob Hunt passed peacefully at home in the early hours of this morning.

Rob, a true Gent and an Oak through and through, will leave a gap on the sidelines forever more - a club man to the core, his support and counsel over the years in many aspects of club life, we shall miss his physical presence at every event that took place at the club.

Today we raise a glass to Rob, knowing he joins the rest of our supporters looking down on everything we do!

The funeral will take place at 10.00 a.m. on Friday 26th July at

Bluebell Cemetery, Water Croft’s Wood, Old London Road, Halstead, TN14 7AE

Afterwards at SRFC

Academy Boys Announcement: Thank you Alex Rolfe & Welcome Toby Walter

Dear all,

As the summer approaches, we have some changes within the Academy Boys Management & Rugby Management team to share.

Firstly, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Alex Rolfe for his outstanding dedication and leadership over the last seven years as Academy Manager. Alex's commitment and passion have been instrumental in shaping our academy and nurturing the talents of our young athletes.  We are immensely grateful for his tireless efforts and the positive impact he has made on both players and the broader club. Thank you Alex!

With Alex stepping down from his position, we are excited to announce that Toby Walter will be taking over the reins as Academy Manager and also joins the Rugby Management team.  

Toby brings a wealth of experience, with a fresh perspective to the role and we are confident that with his expertise alongside Paul Dawson, our Academy Head Coach, our Academy will continue to drive forward, building on the strong foundations laid by Alex & Paul.

Please join me in thanking Alex and welcoming Toby to his new role.

Kind regards,

Adam Bowman

Director of Rugby

Barney Stone represents Kent Senior Men's vs Cornwall and Hampshire!

Congratulations to Barney Stone who started 13 for Kent Senior Men’s in the County Championships vs Cornwall and Hampshire, winning both games!

Kent 34 33 Cornwall

https://www.kent-rugby.org/news/county-championship-for-the-kent-senior-men-progressing-as-hoped/

Hampshire 30 32 Kent

https://www.kent-rugby.org/news/first-win-for-kent-defending-county-championships-against-hampshire-32-30/

Kent County Annual Awards Dinner

The club attended the Kent County Annual Awards dinner last night – a fantastic evening celebrating the success of our county and our 2nd XV, who were crowned league champions of Counties 2! 🏆

A huge thanks to Tracy Pettingale and Kent RFU for organising such a great event! 🙌

Wagamama Sevenoaks Player of the Month

PLAYER OF THE MONTH 

Congratulations to Sean Derrick who has been voted as April’s Wagamama Sevenoaks Player of the Month!  Enjoy Sean!

A reminder, all Sevenoaks Rugby Club members can benefit from a 20% discount when dining at Wagamama Sevenoaks on presentation of your membership card!

Mighty Oaks Business Club

Last Friday, we held our latest Mighty Oaks Business Club event, where we welcomed our valued sponsors, partners, friends and local businesses! 

A special thank you to Carrie Devonshire and the Athena Wealth Planning Ltd team for their insightful session on "Mastering your money"!

We're grateful to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of the event. 

Our next Mighty Oaks Business Club event is set to take place in September, for more details please visit our website.

https://sevenoaksrugby.com/mobc

#business #networking #sponsorship #localbusiness #community #partners #rugby #sport #budget

Mike Williams, 1940 to 2024

Sevenoaks Rugby Club was deeply saddened by the loss of Mike Williams, a pioneer of rugby who led our 1st XV to promotion to London 1 South and Kent Cup victory as Head Coach in 1997, who passed away in recent weeks. 

Many Club members have fond memories of Mike, who was both a leader and an inspiration. Mike coached many Sevenoaks Rugby Club players as schoolboys at Sevenoaks School, in his role as Master in Charge of Rugby at Sevenoaks School. Many of us will have played alongside, or against Mike – as well as playing for Rosslyn Park and for Blackheath, he would turn out for the Whitney Buccaneers.

Mike was an early proponent of 7s Rugby and a point of intelligence and knowledge on all matters rugby-related. He readily shared his words of wisdom with patience and impact, including in hand written notes to players with their individual tasks in advance of matches. 

Howard Pearl has kindly confirmed that although the Club's 1993/94 season started with no Head Coach, Mike was invited to take over the coaching duties after Christmas and continued as Head Coach through to the end of 97/98. During this period, the 1st XV were Kent 1 Champions in 94/95, gained promotion to London 2 South in 96/97 and were also Kent Cup winners that season.

We extend our thoughts and prayers to Mike's wife, Rose, and family. 

Mike's funeral will take place at 10:00am 17 May, Bluebell Hill cemetery, with the wake at Sevenoaks Rugby Club.

Annual Partners Dinner - Season 2023/24

Last night we welcomed our sponsors & partners to our Annual Partners Dinner for season 2023/24.

A wonderful evening at the club and a great opportunity for us as a club to highlight the pivotal role played by sponsors and partners in the club's success both on and off the field.

Thank you to all our sponsors & partners!

Wagamama Sevenoaks Player of the Month

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Barney Stone who has been voted as March’s Wagamama Sevenoaks Player of the Month after some brilliant performances against Wimbledon, Worthing and Dorking.

Enjoy Barney!

A reminder, all Sevenoaks Rugby Club members can benefit from a 20% discount when dining at Wagamama Sevenoaks on presentation of your membership card!

Wagamama Sevenoaks Player of the Month

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Ben Adams who has been voted as February’s Wagamama Sevenoaks Player of the Month after some brilliant performances against Bury St Edmunds, North Walsham and TJ's.

Enjoy Ben!

A reminder, all Sevenoaks Rugby Club members can benefit from a 20% discount when dining at Wagamama Sevenoaks on presentation of your membership card!

Sevenoaks Rugby Club Expresses Gratitude to Moore Kingston Smith for Valuable Career Insights for Academy Squad

Sevenoaks Rugby Club Expresses Gratitude to Moore Kingston Smith for Valuable Career Insights for Academy Squad

Sevenoaks Rugby Club extends its appreciation to Moore Kingston Smith for their invaluable support and enlightening career guidance provided to our Academy Squad during an event held last Sunday.

Moore Kingston Smith, a leading accounting and business advisory firm, very kindly offered their expertise and time to present career insights to the aspiring young athletes of Sevenoaks Rugby Club. The event served as an exceptional opportunity for our Academy Squad to gain valuable knowledge and understanding of potential career paths beyond the rugby field.

Matt McRae from Moore Kingston Smith's Corporate Finance team and Thomas Simmons from their Audit Services team led the session, providing firsthand experiences, advice, and industry perspectives to our young athletes. 

For more information about Moore Kingston Smith and their services, please do not hesitate to reach out to Matt and the team, alternatively you can visit their website.

https://mooreks.co.uk

A Big Thank You to Warners!

A Big Thank You to Warners!

We were delighted to welcome our valued sponsors Warners last Sunday at Sevenoaks Rugby Club, with Andrew Hawkins & Charles Tennant in attendance!  

Your continued support means a huge amount to us and plays a crucial role in helping our club thrive both on and off the field.

Simply… thank you!

Sevenoaks Host Mini Festival

In the wind and the rain, rugby must prevail and prevail it did on Sunday as Sevenoaks hosted a festival for U8, U9 and U10 players. With teams attending from clubs near and far, the boys and girls were able to suitably stretch their legs and practice all they have learnt in training, hopefully sufficiently to provide a nice chilled afternoon for the parents once the customary loading of the washing machine, sometimes multiple loads if Mum or Dad are also a coach or got soaked through on the sidelines!

We would like to thank all those that attended, from players to parents, volunteers and staff at the club without whom we couldn’t host such brilliant experiences for the upcoming stars of the future. General feedback can be linked to words such as ‘fun/brilliant/awesome’ and that’s just from the parents!

Here’s to more in the future!!

U8s Gallery

U9s Gallery

U10 Festival Report

If you can keep your ball when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on the rain,

If you can trust your team when the opposition doubt theirs,

But take advantage for their doubting too;

If you can tackle and not be tired by tackling,

Or being run at, don’t take a step back,

Or being knocked over, don’t give way to rucking,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and all the mud that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a rugby player, my son!

For the U10 group, who have played together for six years, this was a first home festival. Some say that biblical rain, waterlogged pitches, a curtailed schedule, sodden spectators and cold winds would be a recipe for disappointment. And then you hear the voice of a ten year old boy, one eye squinting through a face caked in mud, above the throng of squelching tackles and with the scoreboard not in his team’s favour, utter the words ‘I love this!’.

From this two things are clear - this club has created a special home for our community, and the next generation of kids like many before are falling in love with this game.

Same again next year!

Sevenoaks Rugby Club is delighted to welcome Birketts to the Sevenoaks Rugby Club family!

Dear Members,

Sevenoaks Rugby Club is delighted to welcome Birketts to the Sevenoaks Rugby Club family, as new sponsors in a three-year agreement.

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, they have more than 500 lawyers and legal professionals based in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks.  They advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: property, corporate services, litigation and private client advisory.  For more information, please visit - https://www.birketts.co.uk/

Sevenoaks Rugby Club Commercial Director Adam Bowman said “We are very excited to welcome Birketts as our newest sponsor, their commitment to the local community mirrors our own, and we look forward to working with each other for the next three years.”

On the sponsorship deal, Chris Pedder, Legal Director, said: “Birketts is proud to have secured our sponsorship deal with Sevenoaks Rugby Club for the next three years. The Club is at the very heart of the Sevenoaks community, and we are looking forward to supporting the efforts of all senior and junior teams as they continue to seek sporting success in the seasons to come.”

Yours in rugby,

Sevenoaks Rugby

Exciting Announcement: New Additions to Sevenoaks RFC Rugby Management Team!

Dear Members,

I am pleased to announce some exciting additions to our rugby management team here at Sevenoaks RFC. Please join me in welcoming Cory Blackmore and Tim McLaughlin, who have accepted the positions of Deputy Heads of Mini & Youth Boys Rugby.

Cory and Tim will be working closely with John Henley, who will continue to serve as the Head of Mini & Youth Boys Rugby, Justine McDonnell as Head of Youth & Academy Girls Rugby, Alex Rolfe as Academy Boys Manager, as well as myself, Adam Bowman, in my role as Director of Rugby. 

With their wealth of experience and dedication to Sevenoaks RFC, Cory and Tim are poised to make significant contributions to our club's ongoing success.

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Cory and Tim in their new positions.

Best regards,

Adam Bowman

Director of Rugby

Tim McLaughlin

Cory Blackmore

The 1925 Club - exciting news!

Dear members,

It is with great pleasure that we extend a warm welcome to Roger Mckerlie as the newest member of our esteemed 1925 Club!

But that's not all! We have some exciting news to share. We are delighted to announce that Roger has accepted the role of Chairman of The 1925 Club. In this capacity, Roger will be instrumental in leading our efforts to expand and develop the 1925 membership purpose and offering to existing and new members. His commitment to our club's values and his vision for its future make him the perfect fit for this important role.

For further membership information, or if you are interested in joining The 1925 Club, please click here.

Best regards,

Adam Bowman

Director of Rugby

A huge thank you to our partners Sevenoaks Medical Centre!

Our thanks to key partner Sevenoaks Medical Centre who in addition to sponsoring the club, sponsor Senior Defence Coach Jamie Cullen & Senior Back Row Forward Cade Cambier for the 2023/24 season.

Sevenoaks Medical Centre is a private medical centre which provides fast and convenient diagnostic services including MRI, CT, Ultrasound, mammography and X-Ray in a calm and relaxed environment, conveniently located next to Sevenoaks train station and town centre. Sevenoaks Medical Centre also provides Bupa Health Assessments, a One Stop Breast Clinic, Private GP appointments and consultations with clinicians in a variety of specialties and physical therapy, including podiatry. Further to this, as part of KIMS Hospital, Kent’s largest independent hospital, patients experience a seamless pathway between healthcare providers if surgery is required.