OswesTRY Line - Issue 3

OSWES TRY LINE ISSUE 3 THE SEASON IN SIGHT

Player Spotlight

Emillie Hann

Contents Sponsors

3

Covid-19 & RFU Info.

4

Club News & Events

5

Season Info

6

Seniors & Colts

8

The THJ Blog

10

Minis & Juniors

12

Agritel Spotlights

14

Club Contacts

15

Coaching Aid

16

Sponsors This weeks Spotlight Sponsor is Agritel. Oswestry based Agritel Packaging Supplies offer free local delivery on an extensive range of packaging supplies for your business. They also supply pallet wrappers, waste compaction and recycling equipment. If you are a supporter or associated with the club please let them know and they’ll make sure you are well looked after!

Oswestry Agency

To make a sponsorship or advertisment enquiry, please email: join-in@oswestryrugby.co.uk

Covid-19 & RFU Info

News & Events SEPTEMBER

FINTAN GROGAN

Despite there being no competitive rugby played by any of the clubs senior, girls or youth sides, September has been a busy month at Oswestry Rugby Club.

The first weekend of the month saw the annual return of the Natwest Rugby Force, where clubs across the country aim to "clean up and sort out" ahead of the (hopeful) coming season.

The weekend is always a great display of camaraderie and community with 2020 being no different.

Before the weekend even started, the club was given some helpful tools to make our hospitality even better. Terry Hampson donated 2 beautiful wooden benches through his company Dudlewood Rustic Furniture. These will be placed outside the bar for the perfect view of the chaos that occurs on a sunday. Craig Hughes of Chrisbeon Office Supplies also donated an abundance of chairs for the clubhouse to allow the players a comfy post-match meal after a hard afternoons graft.

The ever reliable faces within our great club were there as usual with Lisa and Terry orchestrating the action, Mike Owen displaying his unstoppable energy digging, second teamer Conor Crompton using his not-so handyman skills on the doors and senior Johnny Hughes strimming down the grass on the touchlines ready for the flocks of fans to return for the first game (again, VERY optimistic!). Alongside this, the club saw an influx of help from the juniors, with Sam Hodgson cracking the whip on his sides to ensure they were down lending a hand with the barrel painting and weed digging. Data officer and all-round club helper Phil McKechnie finalised our membership packages on GMS (see page 6) before jumping on ladders to sort the gutters.

The weekend was a huge success and the club wouldn't look the same without the help from the club volunteers who came along. Thank you for all your help and hopefully the season gets up and running sooner rather than later so we can all sit on a sunny weekend to watch some average rugby, with a beer, on our glossy red and black benches

Want your say in next weeks magazine? email your ideas to: media@oswestryrugby.co.uk

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Season Info SEASON HELP

PARENTS/GUARDIANS By way of an update, the 2020/21 Rugby season has officially started, and as

such we have to ensure we follow UK Govt. and RFU guidelines to ensure we're Covid safe and secure. These new measures are needed to protect rugby, and ensure we can progress back to contact rugby, in due course. To this end, there are 3 things the club needs to get in place before official training can resume.

You will note that training for the week commencing Monday 14th September has now been canceled, to enable time for the club to get organised.

Training will resume for all teams on Sunday 20th September, with the exception of the Seniors and Colts Teams who have arranged Ready4Rugby 10 aside matches to be played on Saturday 19th September, at Granville Park, kick-off at 2 pm.

1. Player Registrations on GMS All players intending to be involved in rugby at Oswestry RFC this season should now register on GMS BEFORE 20th September. If you registered last season you will need to ‘re-register', if you are new to the club, you will need to create a GMS account. There is a GMS help Portal service (https://help.rfu.com/support/home) should you get stuck.

Alternatively, please ask your Age Grade Team Manager for assistance.

Payments can be made no later than 1st October 2020 and can be done online via GMS (https://gms.rfu.com/GMS/Account/Login). Any problems please message me separately.

2. Heja App For the 2020/21 season, Oswestry RFC has chosen a single communication platform. The Heja App (https://heja.io/). This is available on Android and Apple devices and can be downloaded and installed easily. Heja is Oswestry RFC’s communication platform of choice for all rugby communications for all teams.

Please contact your Team Manager to gain access to your account.

3. ProActive - Pre-screening Covid Questionnaire In addition, we have also introduced a new specialist tool called ProActive.

This has been developed at speed to allow Oswestry RFC to comply with NHS England track and trace requirements.

This follows our move from stage C to stage D of the RFU Return to Rugby Roadmap. This guidance provides detailed information on what activity is and isn’t now permitted. ·Stage D Return to Play Infographic (see page 4) The guidance provided has further been interpreted and applied to our club in the form of a risk assessment document, written by Michael Farrow, dated 31st August 2020.

Please read this document which details the measures needed to be undertaken by the club members to ensure we are compliant with NHS England, Health & Safety and, UK Govt Law. The ProActive system is very straight forward.

PROACTIVE

HOW TO GUIDE

1. A unique link for each team has been created and is available now via your Heja schedule.

2. Each Parent/ Guardian, Player, Volunteer, and Spectator must first complete a registration to attend rugby by indicating, “Going”, or ”Not Going” via the Heja Schedule.

3. Next, you must click the unique ProActive Link on the Heja schedule and complete a questionnaire for each individual attending, before leaving home.

IMPORTANT: It is critical you do this before leaving home to avoid any possible transmission of the virus at the club. This must be completed, no later than 5 hours on the day, before training. This should be done each week.

4. The completed questionnaire is date and time-stamped. Should you answer “Yes” to any questions, we ask that your Parent/ Guardian, Player, Volunteer, or Spectator does not attend the club.

Should things change between completing the questionnaire and training, please contact your Team Manager to discuss and do not just arrive at the club.

5. On successful completion of the questionnaire, answering “No” to all questions, the Team Manager or Coach, who has access, will view the dashboard (https://app.proactivereporting.com/dashboard) to review the status of each individual and ensure everyone is symptom-free on arrival at the club.

6. Each Parent/ Guardian will need to handover their Player / Child. No Player / Child can simply be dropped off without a handover. Most occasions it will be your Team Manager meeting you on arrival.

7. The ProActive system will email and provide traceability for each completed questionnaire. Providing Oswestry RFC with the relevant information for a maximum of 21 days, As per the RFU requirements.

We appreciate this may be an adjustment for some Players/ Parents/ Coaches/ Team Managers, but this is very important to ensure we keep Rugby Covid safe and provide an exceptional rugby experience!

Your assistance is very much appreciated. If you have any issues, please contact me through Heja App. I look forward to seeing you all next week, registration, and covid questionnaire completed.

Let's work together as a club to create a safe and fun environment.

Best regards Oswestry RFC

Seniors & Colts EAGLES

TOUCH TOURNY

With the season opener within touching distance (hopefully), Coach Jordan Davies is seeing an insurgence of competition around the squad. "There is a real good atmosphere and environment amongst the boys in training at the moment. We are hitting a bit of a stride in terms of setting high standards and cohesion and great to see the regulars and leadership team leading that from within."

With sky high numbers and everyone itching to play does come with it's downfalls he explains. "There is a danger however with high numbers training it masks the progress being made and we don't want anyone being left behind in skillset, fitness or understanding of our game plans".

Doddy has laid out his expectations early and has thrown buzzwords into the mix which are being thrown around training regularly. "The philosophy has been grounded now, in bith attack and defence, with the foundations being laid for a solid 1st and 2nd XV season. Contact is starting to spice things up with boys fighting for positions."

With murmurs of dream starting XVs being heard around Granville, Jordan throws further spanners in the works. "Paul Jehu is sure to be a club favourite and looks like he will be mixing it up in the backrow moving forward, there is a lot of contest for some key positions, in particular the spine of the team. The first couple of squad selections will be interesting and probably tell us a lot about our season ahead in terms of how individuals respond to the challenge".

"There is certainly enough talent, power and spice within the squad to do some real damage and I cant wait!"

With a squad bolstered with new faces and brimming with confidence, it's a shame that the season still hangs on a knife edge with the COVID issues still present. Nevertheless, there are signals of a new found energy around the senior set up with great prospects of competing in higher leagues in seasons to come.

With an in-house game being called off due to COVID rules, depriving many lads of a true opportunity to prove themselves in their shirt, a touch tournament was arranged. This not only gave the seniors the chance to show their worth, but also an opportunity for the colts to prove that they are gunning for shirts in coming years.

The tournament saw 4 teams battle it out. With many of the colts players being stuck in revising for their mock exams, the youth entered 1 side into the tournament. From the seniors, 3 teams were fielded, each representing different colours. The yellow team, despite whinging about the colour not suiting them, had a strong side with 1st team Vice Captain Nick Clay supplying fast ball to club veteran Nick Carlton who in turn fed new club favourites Tom Hill and Paul Jehu. Alongside their pack and (extremely) healthy set of subs, this was always a force to be reckoned with. The blues were set strong from the off, following touch wizard and hot stepper Mike Evans Jones's example. With a mobile pack including Zack Morgan, Gaz Ellis and Wayne Jones, complimented by the speed of Craig Howell and Gaz Hughes, another tasty team arrived. The red team had a ripe set of first team forwards with Andrew Smith, Adam Beattie and Connor Blair with some flair in the back line including Fijian flyer Kele Raturoko and Os School's Lauriw.

With some hectic running rugby, a sprinkle of magic and a plethora of dropped balls, the rugby was underway. The Colts held their own with a solid gameplan, executed well by the two halfbacks Aiden and Jacob. They showed how dangerous they can be and training sessions between the colts and seniors could see a real improvement in both sides. The Reds were down to a bare 10 men after the first game with Smith and Kele dropping injured. This, accompanied by their failure to catch a ball, saw them receive the wooden spoon. The blues and yellows appeared fairly equal however the deadlock was decided by a forwards drop goal competition which inevitably saw the Yellow team crowned the winners of the day.

With some tired legs and tickling lungs, the day was wrapped up by a swift pint and a beautiful BBQ (which could put Ordy well out of a job), cooked by the ever chirpy Terry.

A great day all round and thanks to those who came to spectate and put money behind the bar. Great to see old timer Dan Samuels attempting to ease his family back into the club!

SENIORS

INTERCLUB

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The THJ Blog THE CLIMAX

THOMAS-HENRY JONES

The climax of rugby’s elite leagues in the Northern Hemisphere is coming to an exciting end. Both the Pro 14 and the English Premiership, as well as the European competitions, are all due to crown winners in the coming weeks.

Similarly both the Pro 14 and the English Premiership are witnessing equal domination from forces Leinster and Exeter, who look set to secure league titles this autumn. While Leinster have gone all beaten in the league this season, Exeter have appeared equally as formidable as they runaway at the top of the Premiership, looking set to obtain a home semi-final for the playoff places. Beneath Exeter in the table is where the real battle lies. Four teams, Bath, Sale, Wasps and Bristol are all vying for the last three remaining spots in the playoffs.

With only a few points separating the sides, the season looks set to conjure up an exciting finish.

Meanwhile, Saracens, who are doomed to relegation to the English Championship, showed remarkable spirit and strength to overcome the previously undefeated side of Leinster in Dublin, in the Champions Cup. Saracens, without banned Owen Farrell, following his RKO style tackle which saw him receive a five-match ban, shocked the favourites Leinster by taking a 22-3 lead at the half, allowing the defending Europeans Champions to pull off a famous victory. Maro Itoje, with an inspired performance, set the tone for his team, as the Saracens now look to finish their torrid season with a successful flourish.

The decision by the Government to also ban ‘trial crowd events’ also came as a shock to many in the sport. Harlequins and many other teams across the UK had run a few trials which had, on the whole, been considered a success. The governing bodies of rugby will hope situation improves, if not, world rugby faces a very bleak 2021.

Ultimately what is most disappointing about the fans exclusion from the games is not the financial hit, it’s the affect it will have on atmosphere. No amount of fake crowd noise will make up for the bellowing hymns of ‘Bread of Heaven’ in a packedout, boozed up Millennium Stadium or the rallying call of ‘Swing Low’ at the home of rugby in Twickenham. Everyone knows it is the fans that makes the Six Nations the best sporting competition in the world, but nevertheless I am sure the sight of just some international rugby is better than nothing at all.

Tom's political blog just had a new entry. Head over to his facebook to find out more.

While the domestic season is coming to an end, the international season is ready to return. The first few fixtures of the autumn window will see the remaining matches of the 2020 Six Nations being played with the first fixture being Ireland vs Italy. However, the home nations were dealt a massive blow following latest Covid-19 measures, which restricted fans from attending live sport. The international teams, who were hoping to earn the much-needed revenue will be massively affected by this decision, with the chief executive of World Rugby, Brett Gosper stating he is "extremely worried" about the Six Nations if crowds do not return. Gosper estimates the Six Nations will lose more than £100m if paying fans are excluded from matches. This blow will ultimately have huge repercussions, not just for the elite level of the sport but for all amateur levels of rugby who are so reliant from RFU financial support.

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Minis & Juniors TRAINING

SEASON START

With the season all set to go at the snap of a finger, we have made a chart which will be released every week to tell you where you need to be and when.

Here is how it looks at the moment (there really are no excuses to be doing press-ups for being late now!).

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Agritel Spotlights PLAYER

WAYNE JONES

Ironically, despite time in the Welsh leagues and in Cheshire, Wayne's rugby started at Oswestry following local hero and ex captain Andy Howell down to the club. It was Warrens keen eye for a 'dumpy posture' that placed a ball in Wayne's hands rather than his feet! With a Tom Brady-esque one arm lineout throw and a love for hassling at the breakdown, he found himself at 2 for his first game against future club Rhos.

Having moved to Wales for secondary school. the hooker switched clubs. Being an early developer, he was playing for Wrexham and counties, alongside his hero Scott Quinell's brother and Andy Powell ("before he made a name for himself on the golf buggy"!). At 15, a car crash resulted in the first of a plethora of injuries for the front rower and, with doctors telling him he wouldn't play again, left rugby for 7 years.

Working in Ellesmere Port, Wayne signed for Capenhurst playing many of our well known opponents, Vagabonds and Port Sunlight. In an attempt to gain pre-season fitness, he attended open trials in the inaugural season for the North Wales Crusaders under coach Brian Noble. With the switch of code suiting his physical playing style, Jones was selected for the first game unfortunately ending in a replacement knee surgery.

This time, Wayne didn't wait the 7 years and returned to Rhos 9 months later. He then joined Llangollens seeing promotion, however joked that new coach Doddy's side was too strong (not a bad player and all so we hear?!). The versatile front rower has tried his hand in the back row and even at prop in recent years.

"Not getting any younger", Wayne looked for a new challenge in the 2020 season and with his handful of games for the Eagles second team and living closer to the mighty Gradnville Park, he says "it was always in my mind to end where it started". He has been impressed already with the sessions, stating "Preseason has given me the buzz I needed, the way the lads at Os have welcomed us new guys with open arms, coupled with the ambitions of the new head coach and the vision of Warren I have no illusions I’ve made the right move". "I love the training, the banter and the work rate of everyone, Jordan is starting with a blank canvas and with that you would normally see stigmas or silos among the local boys but there is nothing of that nature which shows everyone has the right attitude and are all out to fight for their shirt and more importantly one another".

PLAYER

EMILLIE HANN

Emillie is a member of the clubs growing girls teams, initially picking up the sport as a fitness substitution for swimming.

The now outside centre was previously balancing competitive swimming with her tennis and decided to switch the water for an egg based alternative. Modestly brushing off the racket sport, Hann won the county championships for her age last year securing herself a place at the infamous Junior Wimbledon Championships. Having joked about having to get white gear and new grass shoes, Emillie said it was an "incredible experience being able to play at possibly the most famous tennis venue in the world, I got to go in the players changing rooms and see where they all stay between matches. And then actually being on the grass was an amazing experience as I felt I'd achieved something that only a very few amount of people will get to do, as well as play on the same courts that some of the most famous and successful sports stars in the world have been on".

Clearly an incredible athlete, the new found egg chaser picked up rugby at Under 15 level and has been playing for almost 2 years and says she has quickly been welcomed in, improved her game play and tactics as well as learnt teamwork. She mentioned how important teamwork has been in winning various Os matches and loves that aspect of every training session and match she is involved in.

Emillie went on to mention how good rugby is for girls. "Personally (as a female) I find playing rugby very empowering as it shows girls can be strong, skilled and competitive. It is also a good way to keep fit whilst having a group of similar minded people around you in support". She followed "I think that it's good to have women's rugby at the club because it encourages girls to challenge gender stereotypes as well as provide them with the opportunity to find a sport they can be passionate about and good at".

The girls section of our club is thriving more than ever and is always looking for new faces.

Be sure to get down and see why rugby is so good for all genders.

This weeks Spotlights are sponsored by:

Club Contacts CLUB OFFICERS

MINIS & JUNIORS

Chairman - Warren Howell chairman@oswestryrugby.co.uk Vice-Chairman - Rich Hughes richard@hughes-bros.co.uk Treasurer - Nicola Jebb nicolajebb@yahoo.co.uk Honorary Secretary - Kelly Mansell kelly.mansell@abchr.co.ukÂ

Head of Mini's (Under 6's to Under 8's) Neil Holmes Head of Midi's (Under 9's to Under 11's) Ben Wilson Head of Juniors (Under 12's to Under 15's) T.B.C. Head of Colts (Under 16's to Under 18's) Mike Owen Mini & Junior Manager Rep - Jane Jones Mini & Junior Fixtures - Lisa Williams lisapotts1803@hotmail.co.uk Schools Liaison - Mark Fosbrook fossy@fossy.co.uk Coach Development - Mark Durham mark.n.durham@btinternet.com

COMMITTEE Safeguarding & Welfare Officer - Sandra Wynn wynn.sandra@googlemail.com Data Officer - Phil MacKechnie phil.mackechnie@gmail.com

SENIOR & VETS Senior Chairman (and 1st Team Manager) - John Gibbs johngibbs4@aol.com Club Captain - Gaz Ellis gaza25@hotmail.com Head Coach - Jordan Davies heartofwales7s@gmail.com Fixtures & Refs - Martin Ord martin.ord@hotmail.co.uk 2nd Team Captain - Tudor Jones tudorwynjones@hotmail.co.uk; Vets - Gaggs Marriott gm1801@outlook.com Treatment - Becky Ashurst treatment@oswestryrugby.co.uk Magazine & Media - Fintan Grogan media@oswestryrugby.co.uk

LADIES & GIRLS Ladies & Girls Chairman - Robert Kershaw Girls Manager - Clare Hann girls@oswestryrugby.co.uk Ladies & Girls Fixtures Secretary - Sam/Steph

CLUBHOUSE House Manager - Lisa Richards leezerr@googlemail.com Sponsorship - Alex join-in@oswestryrugby.co.uk

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