Category: Rugby News

TREDS

Everyone at Bournemouth Rugby are pleased and excited that the season has started, it as always brings exciting and challenging times. As a club the core RFU values TREDS are important to us as a club and that everyone from players, spectators, coaching staff, parents and officials respect these values.

I am disappointed to be advised today of an incident at the weekend where these values were not observed on the behalf of Bournemouth Rugby, as Chairman please can I remind everyone that at Bournemouth Rugby will not tolerate any abuse of match officials, players, supporters or staff. The RFU now have a ‘zero tolerance’ to Match Official abuse and as a Club we support this.

I understand that we all feel passionate about our club and may not agree with some discissions or actions that take place on the field of play but we must not cross the line with our actions and what we say. Bournemouth Rugby is a family based club and we want everyone to feel welcome at our club and to be welcomed when we travel away.

Bournemouth Rugby take any abuse on of off the pitch very seriously and will be delt with by a disciplinary hearing within the club.

Please remember that we are all club ambassadors when supporting one of our teams or wearing the Club’s colours.

Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline, Sportsmanship

Simon Carkeet

Bournemouth Rugby Chairman

Following the latest advice from the RFU, Bournemouth Rugby games and training will take place this weekend

The RFU have announced that the overwhelming opinions shared within the game, are that teams and supporters want to come together to honour Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to be united in our grief as we express sorrow at her passing.

Rugby, at its heart, is about community and bringing people together, in good times and in sad. Rugby clubs are a source of strength and support during times of uncertainty, and we hope that by enabling games and other rugby activity to go ahead this weekend, with families and friends congregating it will help us all to unite at this time of national mourning.

Bournemouth Rugby will respectfully pay tribute to Her Majesty The Queen by holding a minute’s silence ahead of all fixtures this weekend. Our youth teams will join together at 11am on Sunday to hold a minute’s silence. We encourage all of our players, volunteers, parents and supporters to join us in showing our respect at this sad time.

Our thanks to Her Majesty The Queen


We are deeply grateful for Her Majesty’s support of our sport over many years, including serving as the RFU’s Patron for 64 years, helping the Union to celebrate its centenary in 1971, her reception at Buckingham Palace after England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, and honours bestowed on many of those who have served the game.

Her Majesty earned the respect and affection of generations of rugby players and supporters here at Bournemouth, England and around the world. On behalf of Bournemouth Rugby, we offer our condolences to the whole Royal Family at this time.

In the words of Paddington, “Thank you Ma’am, for everything.”

Annual General Meeting

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

1900hrs – WEDNESDAY 31st AUGUST 2022

VENUE – CHAPELGATE

The meeting will be open to all members. Please register to attend via the link below, your membership will be verified and further details and papers will be sent out to you in due course.

The Agenda, Proxy Form and Election of Officers Nomination Form are attached. If you can’t attend in person but would like to nominate a Proxy, please return the Proxy Form to Becky Hill, at becky@bournemouth-rugby.co.uk. Likewise, if you’d like to nominate anyone for any of the Officer positions please return to Becky, by Monday 29th August.

Minutes of last AGM, Accounts, Finance Report, Chairman’s Report and Proxy forms will be sent in advance.

We hope you can join us.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://forms.office.com/r/8Ln81Bjm6M


We would welcome questions in advance even if you are unable to attend the AGM. If you have any questions please send these to Becky Hill secretary@bournemouth-rugby.co.uk


If you no longer wish to receive information from Bournemouth Rugby please email operations@bournemouth-rugby.co.ukand we will remove you from our mailing list.

AGM Minutes 2020-21
End of Year Account
AGM Agenda
Chairmans Report
AGM Election of Officers and Nomination 2022
AGM Proxy Form

New Girls Coaching Team 2022-23

We are delighted to confirm the new BRFC Girls Coaching team for the forthcoming 2022-23 season to follow in the footsteps Paige, Rob, Molly and Chris and their outstanding work executed across the previous seasons – and wish them well in their future endeavours both on and off the pitch. Their support, dedication and passion for the development of Girls rugby has been greatly appreciated by all at BRFC.

Looking ahead to the forthcoming season we have been able to confirm a new coaching team to support the Girls section moving forward and are delighted to be able to confirm the following coaching team.

KATIE HEENAN (LEAD COACH)

“I started playing rugby when I was 12 and fell in love with the sport! I’ve been playing for 11 years now and I’ve played in 5 different countries, for 7 different teams, even playing at Twickenham.

I’m now the vice-captain of EDDRFC, where I play second row. It’s really important to me that young rugby players see strong female role-models, as we are the future of the sport! I’ve been lucky enough to train and play with amazing rugby players like Rocky Clarke MBE and Sarah Hunter, who show that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.

I’m looking forward to bringing my passion and experience to Bournemouth RFU, and having lots of fun on the way!”

Ami Cairns (Assistant Coach)

“I’ve always been interested in sports and pushed for girls teams whilst growing up. I have a keen passion for physical education and science, so when I’m not working in a lab I like to be doing exercise and team sports.

Currently playing wing and fullback positions, but the occasional fly-half in training has been known to happen. At the end of last season I was award most improved player / the Golden Boot!

Alongside rugby I am an assistant instructor for Tae Kwon Do and also SUP and sea swim as much as possible. I have competed in a local triathlon two years running and want to continue to promote and teach sport to young people. Before moving to the coast I was a Girl Guiding Unit leader for over six years and worked with children in sports and activity backgrounds.”

Conrad Carkeet (Assistant Coach)

Conrad has played for Bournemouth as a Mini and Youth player. Conrad has played through the DW county system at youth level and trialled twice for SW U20s (injury and covid stopped further advances). He has also has 4 caps for Hampshire senior men’s team.

He spent time at the Bath academy and also trialled for Wales at u18s level while regularly playing for The Welsh exiles.

He made his debut for Bournemouth 1st XV at the age of 17 and apart from last season where he went and spent a season with Roslyn park in National 1 he continues his playing career back in red and black at Bournemouth.

Conrad is a Level 1 coach and referee and looks forward to being part of the Girls coaching set up this season.

The team are very much looking forward to meeting the BRFC Girls and moving their rugby development and enjoyment of the sport forward across next season.

The first session back for the 2022-23 season will be on Sunday 11th September at Chapel Gate (1100-1300hrs) – and is open to existing and new players. Further information will follow across the next two weeks – please contact Greg Pike (greg.pike@bournemouth-rugby.co.uk) for any immediate questions/enquiries.

We look forward to welcoming the Girls back and are excited for the what the coming season will hold!

Thank you Andy

For any rugby club, the well-being of the players in this physical contact game is a matter of much importance and we have been blessed, over many years, with any number of first-class practitioners in this field of taking care of their charges. None more so than Andy Curtis. It is with much regret that we have to say ‘goodbye’ to Andy who is moving on to focus on the opening of a large new clinic location and projects in his ‘day job’.

Andy, a former player with Bristol, joined us in July 2011 and has looked after the performance squads ever since, including two promotions to National 2 South (Level 4) in that time.

Throughout this period, he has loyally supported Bournemouth, home and away, and, I know how grateful many players have been for the treatment they received at the hands of Andy himself, but we must not forget the others in Andy’s team. All members of the Bournemouth Physiotherapy Clinics team that have worked with our players so diligently and expertly.

However, circumstances change and regrettably things have to change but at least I, on behalf of the Club, can say ‘Thank you Andy’. You have been a great friend and we wish you well in your new venture.

2022/23 Season Fixtures

The Lions (Bournemouth 1st XV) have been confirmed as playing in the Regional 1, South Central league for the 2022/23 season. This is a move from South West to London & South East maintaining our position at level 5 within the league structure. 

Our Nomads (Bournemouth 2nd XV) will be following the Lions into the London & South East leagues after a number of years in the Raging Bull league. We have been placed in the Counties 1 Hampshire League which is 2 levels below the Lions. Coming back into the league structure will provide the Nomads with consistency of games, high level of competition with promotion opportunities.

The Wanderers (Bournemouth 3rd XV) maintain their league place, in the Counties 2 Tribute Dorset & Wilts South. They will be playing within the Southwest leagues unlike the Lions and Nomads. For those asking the question where does this fit into the new league structure, it is level 8 which is the level below our Nomads.

The Bedouins (Bournemouth 4th XV) will continue to play in the Dorset and Wilts Merit League, playing the local clubs in the area. We are still awaiting the fixtures for the upcoming season for the Bedouins, we are hopeful to give you a mixture of Friday night and Saturday games.

Home fixtures the kick off times will be at 3pm, away fixtures may differ from club to club. During the winter months kick off times maybe brought forwards. Please keep an eye on our social media pages for the latest information.

If you are interest in playing at any level for Bournemouth Rugby we welcome you to get in contact. You might be a new player, player moved in the area, someone looking for a new challenge at a higher level, whatever you level or experience we welcome you. You can get in contact with our head coach Mike Pope at mike.pope@bournemouth-rugby.co.uk or give us your contact details on social media. 

We are also on the lookout for anyone who would like to join our coaching team or volunteer team with us, just drop us a message on social media.

Our season’s fixtures are below.*

*Subject to change.

Lions Fixtures 2022/23

03-Sep-22LionsRoyal Wootton Bassett
10-Sep-22Oxford HarlequinsLions
17-Sep-22LionsWimbledon
24-Sep-22HavantLions
01-Oct-22LionsSutton & Epsom
15-Oct-22BracknellLions
22-Oct-22LionsBanbury
29-Oct-22CamberleyLions
05-Nov-22LionsBrighton
12-Nov-22LionsMaidenhead
26-Nov-22London WelshLions
03-Dec-22LionsOxford Harlequins
10-Dec-22WimbledonLions
17-Dec-22LionsHavant
07-Jan-23Sutton & EpsomLions
14-Jan-23LionsBracknell
21-Jan-23BanburyLions
28-Jan-23LionsCamberley
11-Feb-23BrightonLions
18-Feb-23MaidenheadLions
04-Mar-23LionsLondon Welsh
11-Mar-23Royal Wootton BassettLions

Nomads Fixtures 2022/23

03-Sep-22Gosport & FarehamNomads
10-Sep-22NomadsEastleigh
17-Sep-22WinchesterNomads
24-Sep-22NomadsHavant II
01-Oct-22BasingstokeNomads
15-Oct-22NomadsPetersfield
22-Oct-22Jersey AthleticNomads
29-Oct-22NomadsAndover
05-Nov-22PortsmouthNomads
12-Nov-22AltonNomads
26-Nov-22NomadsTrojans
03-Dec-22EastleighNomads
10-Dec-22NomadsWinchester
17-Dec-22Havant IINomads
07-Jan-23NomadsBasingstoke
14-Jan-23PetersfieldNomads
21-Jan-23NomadsJersey Athletic
28-Jan-23AndoverNomads
11-Feb-23NomadsPortsmouth
18-Feb-23NomadsAlton
04-Mar-23TrojansNomads
11-Mar-23NomadsGosport & Fareham

Wanderers Fixtures 2022/23

24/09/2022BridportWanderers
01/10/2022WanderersEast Dorset Dockers
15/10/2022Lytchett MinsterWanderers
22/10/2022WanderersOakmeadians
29/10/2022PuddletownWanderers
05/11/2022WanderersSwanage & Wareham
12/11/2022Weymouth & PortlandWanderers
26/11/2022WanderersWimborne
03/12/2022WanderersBridport
10/12/2022East Dorset DockersWanderers
07/01/2023WanderersLytchett Minster
14/01/2023OakmeadiansWanderers
28/01/2023WanderersPuddletown
11/02/2023Swanage & WarehamWanderers
18/02/2023WanderersWeymouth & Portland
04/03/2023WimborneWanderers

RFU announce leagues for 2022/23 season

Yesterday saw the release of the league structure from the RFU. We have conformation on the teams we will be playing for our 1st, 2nd and 3rd XV and the 4th XV will be confirmed shortly. These leagues are now formalised and fixtures will be released at the beginning of June as normal.

This season will see the most significant changes in 30 years to the Adult Male Competition Structure. There are new league structures for 2022/2023 as well as the introduction of our exciting new cup competition that will take place at the end of the season.

The positive changes will deliver:
• reduced travel time and distance for the majority
• more localised matches
• new Cup competition to begin in March 2023

These changes have been designed following feedback from clubs and players responding to their needs and changes in society. The changes are intended to reboot and re-energise community rugby, improving player retention and attracting new players to the adult men’s game

Bournemouth Rugby are delighted face the new challenge that the First XV will face against new clubs Brighton, Camberley, Havant, London Welsh & Wimbledon of which we have not played before in the League, so look forward to welcoming them to the Chapel Gate this season. The 2nd XV are now entered into the League structure as before we have not been able to due to the level that our 1st XV play at. This is an exciting opportunity for the club and will see more consistent games for the 2nd XV and a great steppingstone for players to extend their development and progress through the teams of the club.

First XV - Lions

second xv - Nomads

Third xv - wanderers

Alex Sutherland – Bournemouth Rugby

Alex joined us for the 2013/4 season and scored, as left wing, on his full League debut against Dings Crusaders in N2S.

He quickly established himself as a 1st XVer largely on the wing but anywhere really, outside fly-half. In 2014/4 was Man of the Match, FB/2tc4p v Old Patesians h 38-31. In his third season Alex was awarded a 1st XV Honours tie, passed 50 starts and scored 100 career points. He was also selected as full-back for Hampshire in the County Championship Shield campaign, playing full-back in the final at Twickenham when they won 33-11 against Staffordshire and kicking four out of five conversions.

Alex wasn’t around much for the next three seasons but did play for the 75th time against Dings Crusaders in January 2018.

In 2019/0, now largely established as the full-back, Alex played his 100th League game when he was full-back against Bury St Edmunds in March.

This season, which has proved to be his last, his two tries against Old Centralians in March took him past 200 points. Man of the Match, FB v Royal Wootton Bassett, 9 April 2022.

Alex has been a loyal supporter of the Bournemouth cause over these past nine seasons although latterly, for reasons outside anyone’s control, we have not seen as much of him as we would have liked. This loss has only been compounded by Alex hanging up his boots so early in his career, perhaps even prematurely. ‘Thank you’ Alex for being with us and we wish you well for the future.

Doug Warren

Career Stats

Full-back: 46/12t20c6p

Right Wing: 13

OS Centre: 20/4t4c

IS Centre: 6/3t

Left Wing: 5/t

Started: 90/23t28c6p

Substitute: 38/3t

Played: 118/26t28c6p

1st XV Honours Tie: 12 Sep 2015

Joe Rees – Bournemouth Rugby

Joe joined us for the 2013/4 season introduced by our No 8 Tommy Booth. From the Isle of Wight, Joe initially commuted from the island but eventually settled over here. Joe quickly established himself in the 1st XV despite going in at the deep end as we were in National 2 South (level 4) at the time and set a club League debut season record of 28 starts. His value as a team member was recognised by fellow team members when he was awarded The Yarwood Trophy, the winner of the award being decided by the players.

His consistency of playing for the 1st’s was recognised when in only his second season he was awarded a 1st Honours tie in March, recognition of the loyalty shown by a player having made, in Joe’s case, 50 1st XV appearances. At the end of the season, he was awarded his second trophy, this time The John Plank Trophy, awarded to the Player of the Year as decided by the committee. Joe also played for Hampshire in the County Championship Shield. A back row player it was in this his second season that Joe established himself as the first choice No 8.

The following season Joe captained the side for the first time and established a new record of 27 consecutive starts as a No 8, overtaking Gavin Hart’s mark of 24 set in 2011/2. In May he played Openside flanker for Hampshire in the County Championship final at Twickenham, winning 33-11 against Staffordshire. Perhaps almost inevitably Joe was awarded The Bill Johnston Cup as captain of the year.

In April the following season, Joe played for the 100th time for the 1st XV and was again selected to play for Hampshire in the Bill Beaumont Senior Men’s County Championship (Division 2). For the second time Joe was awarded The Sam Yarwood Trophy and was a nominee for the The John Plank Travel Trophy.

In the first game the following season, Joe started his 100th game for the 1st XV and a couple of games later, overtook Andrew Freeman’s record of 64 appearances as No 8 set in 2004/5. In the South play-off away to Guernsey, Joe sets a new record of 87 appearances as No 8 and is captain for the 50th time and, at the end of the season, awarded The Bill Johnston Cup for the second time.

In March the following season, Joe set a new record of 99 appearances as No 8 and was nominee for The Bill Johnston Cup.

In September of the following season, Joe started his 100th game as No 8 and in November, started his 150th game.

This season Joe has reached 129 starts as a No 8 and will register 175 starts if selected for the last game of the season away to Weston-super-Mare,

This is a remarkable 9-season record, one of which was voided by the coronavirus pandemic, and Joe has been one of the most consistent players for the 1st XV, never having a ‘bad game’. We hope he has enjoyed his rugby with us at Bournemouth, but it is always a matter of some regret that we have to say ‘goodbye’ to such a player. ‘Thank you’ Joe, you have been a great servant to Bournemouth. You will be missed of course but we all wish you well for the future.

Career Stats

Lock: 13/4C/t

BS Flanker: 12

OS Flanker: 20/2t

No 8: 129/70C/12t. This is the club career-appearances record for a No 8.

Starts: 174/76C/13t

Substitute: 3

Played: 177/76C/13t.

5 Bournemouth Players selected for Bath U17’s match

This weekend will see 5 Bournemouth Rugby players make the squad for Bath Under 17’s as the take on Harlequins. Andrew Eary, Adam Dew, Rory Crum are in the starting XV, Ryan Woodford is on the bench and Ollie Vincent is the travelling reserve. No other club is represented within the Bath academy with 5 players from one team for the match. We are incredibly proud of all 5 boys for their achievement to make the squad.

Steve Eary Father to Andrew he has had the opportunity this week to watch them all train at Farleigh House yesterday. ‘’Its great to see all of them train. I have said it before to Greg, but he must be immensely proud to think he helped 4-5 boys to that level. And especially my lad who got there is such a short space of time due to Gregs time and taking a chance on him. As he didn’t have a clue 4 years ago what a rugby ball was.’’

The opportunity of a pathway that the players take to further their rugby careers is down to their hard work and dedication as a player and the hard work and dedication that all our youth team coaches and managers put into their teams. It goes beyond just turning up up to train players, it arranging games, planning sessions, individually looking at players and seeing how they can be developed and development of the whole team and attending CPD’s and courses to further their own development to be able to pass the skills onto the players.