With no league rugby over the Christmas break, the players still had two opportunities to try and run off some of the excess turkey; the annual President’s v Chairman’s game on Boxing Day, and Hibbard’s Heroes v The Club on 30th Dec.

The Boxing Day game is between two teams of club players. It is normally a close-run affair, with the President’s side having the upper hand over the last fifteen years – the best result of the Chairman’s team in that time being a draw in last year’s game. As expected, the game provided good entertainment for the sizable crowd, with some good handling and free-flowing rugby belying the fact all the players were playing out of position.

The score switched from side to side with no team able to build up a substantiate lead, and the compulsory half-time drinks did not favour either side.

As the game came to a close, it seemed the Chairman’s XV would at last close out the game with a win 37-43, but in the dying minute the President’s team mounted one last attack and scored in the corner, making it 42-43. Abbott managed to slot the conversion from the touchline to steal the win by a point. Both teams then retreated to the clubhouse for some much-needed refreshments.

The 30th Dec saw a team assemble to play the Club in memory of Mike Hibbard, the players’ coach while they were juniors. Despite the conditions for this game being poor, as there a lot of standing water on the pitch following two days of rain, the standard of rugby was high and very entertaining for the spectators. The Club ran out the winner at the final whistle but the result of this game is not the important thing, it is the memories of past times.

On Saturday, 6th January, the First team start the new year away at Coney Hill, who are currently top of the table.