HORSHAM v HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM HORSHAM v WIMBLEDON
Maurice Jones
1st March 2025 Kick Off 3.00pm — 2024/25 Season Regional 1 South Central
Photograph Courtesty of Das
Sport Photography
President’s Welcome to Wimbledon
Please welcome Wimbledon Rugby Club to Horsham. The game at Wimbledon a few weeks ago was a belter with Horsham winning with a few minutes to go. Wimbledon showed real class with a 25 metre rolling maul followed by a storming try under the posts. Like England against France, they won with the final kick. A tough defeat for us to swallow. I wonder what drama we have to look forward to today.
Before we get into the usual dialogue, I’m afraid it has been a harsh few weeks at Horsham with 3 stalwarts of the game passing away within a few weeks of each other. Please join me in wishing the families of Maurice Jones, Don Balfour and Dave Murray our condolences. All three will be sadly missed.
There is a tribute to Maurice elsewhere in the programme. We will remember Don and Dave in later editions.
Wimbledon’s first recorded match was against Richmond F.C. in November 1865, making the club one of the oldest in the country, and one of just twelve surviving clubs that founded the Rugby Football Union in 1871. They played on Wimbledon Common until World War I, using the Rose & Crown in Wimbledon Village as changing rooms and clubhouse. The club then went into suspended animation during the First World War, and was only re-formed in 1927. They moved to the current clubhouse on Barham Road, Wimbledon in the 1987–88 season.
Walking Rugby has taken a leap recently with a Sussex league being started in April for the first time. Sussex are very proud to be the leaders in the country for this. I understand participants currently are Horsham, Barns Green, Burgess Hill, Seaford, Crowborough, Hastings and East Grinstead with more clubs showing interest as time passes. For us at Horsham we are looking for more players: Male and Female, any age over 18. We regularly meet at 6pm on a Monday for an hour. If interested, please contact me on alanfisher.ajf@gmail.com
So once more Welcome Wimbledon. Let’s hope for a cracker of a game.
Alan Fisher President, Horsham RUFC
Maurice Jones
1938-2025
A few weeks ago Maurice Jones, a longstanding participant in all that was to do with Horsham RFC, passed away after a long illness. This is the first chance to remember him in this way since then.
Maurice arrived at Horsham Rugby Club during the 1971-2 season. Of course, like any true Welshman he loved rugby. He was an enthusiastic player not only playing for Horsham, but for Basildon and earlier on for the County Grammar School in Port Talbot. Initially he played for the 1st XV as a centre or wing.
Although competitive, he played the game he loved with integrity and fairness: a true gentleman player. He established many life-long friendships and participated in the first Horsham tour to St Maixent. When he eventually hung up his boots, he coached mini-rugby and was later Horsham’s Under 16 Coach along with his long time rugby friend and fellow Welshman Phil Allen.
However, what many people don’t know is that Maurice holds the record for the oldest Horsham Rugby Club Colt or Under 19 player. On arrival at Crawley’s ground with only fourteen players, like a flash he announced that he had his boots in the car and was happy to play at the age of 49! He played inside centre and his son, Richard at outside centre. A memorable game that was only slightly marred by him colliding with our prop and him ending up with a bruised and cut nose!
He continued to play for the Vets, enjoyed supporting the 1st XV and playing golf with the Horsham RUFC golf society. He will be sadly missed by his wife Nancy, his family and of course by all his friends at Horsham Rugby Club.
Richard Jones
Alan Fisher
HORSHAM RUFC Men’s Fixtures 2024/25
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HORSHAM RUFC - REGIONAL 1 SOUTH CENTRAL RESULTS
& SCORERS 2024/25 SEASON
Horsham 10–16 Maidenhead
Tries: Johnson T
Pen: Chennell
Conv: Chennell
Old Alleynians 18-0 Horsham
Horsham 27-41 Tunbridge Wells
Tries: Greatwood, Howard, Warwick
Pen: Chennell 2
Conv: Chennell 2, Warwick
Hammersmith & Fulham 25-27
Horsham
Tries: Sanders 2, Johnson T, Viol
Pen: Johnson T
Conv: Johnson T 2
Horsham 20-7 Brighton
Tries: Thompson
Pen: Chennell 5
Jersey 69-17 Horsham
Tries: Jeavons, Johnson T
Pen: Chennell
Conv: Chennell 2
Horsham 3-24 CS Stags 1863
Pen: Chennell
Horsham 26-26 Bracknell
Tries: Whittaker 2, Chennell, Greatwood
Conv: Chennell 3
Wimbledon 31-29 Horsham
Tries: Whittaker 2, Greatwood, Thompson
Pen: Chennell
Conv: Chennell 2, Whittaker
Horsham 7-54 London Welsh
Tries: Standing
Conv: Chennell
Camberley 44-7 Horsham
Tries: Sanders
Conv: Chennell
Horsham 25-23 Old Alleynians
Tries: Johnson T, Linfield, Maunder
Pens: Chennell, Johnson T
Conv: Chennell 2
Tunbridge Wells 21-16 Horsham
Tries: Thompson
Pens: Chennell 3
Conv: Chennell
Horsham 20-24 Hammersmith & Fulham
Tries: Linfield, Sanders
Pens: Chennell 2
Conv: Chennell 2
Horsham 7-26 Jersey
Tries: Warwick
Conv: Chennell
Brighton 25-28 Horsham
Tries: Blake, Earle, Miller
Pens: Chennell 3
Conv: Chennell 2
CS Stags 1863 31-0 Horsham
Bracknell 39-15 Horsham
Tries: Maunder, Osgood
Pens: Chennell
Conv: Chennell
Tredgett
Boczek
REGIONAL 1 SOUTH CENTRAL LEAGUE TABLE
THIS WEEK’S LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday, 01 March 2025
Brighton vs Maidenhead
CS Stags 1863 vs London Welsh
Hammersmith & Fulham vs Old Alleynians
Horsham vs Wimbledon
Jersey vs Camberley
Tunbridge Wells vs Bracknell
LAST WEEK’S LEAGUE RESULTS
Saturday, 15 February 2025
Jack Osgood
Freddie Kilfeather
Taylor Morris
Jacob Denhart
Owain McLoughlin
Tom Bishop
Jordan Smith
George Howard
Aaron Linfield
Oli Chennell
Josh Fisher
Tom Johnson
Tom Whittaker
Seb Maunder
Joe Blake
Luke Standing
Joe Johnson
Henry Warwick
Nick Stocker
Adam Halsey
Josh Drauninui Richard Tredgett Tim Margrett
Regional 1 South Central
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HORSHAM RUFC SQUAD 2023/24 SEASON
Nick Bell
Joe Blake
Oli Chennell Jacob Denhart
Josh Earle Maximilian Greatwood
George Howard
George Jeavons
Joe Johnson
Tom Johnson
Freddie Kilfeather
HORSHAM RUFC SQUAD 2023/24 SEASON
Taylor Morris
Jack Osgood
Jordan Smith
Henry Warwick
Ben Murphy
Luke Powell
Tom Sanders
Luke Standing Jack Thompson
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TODAY’S VISITORS
A HISTORY OF WIMBLEDON
A founding member of the Rugby Football Union.
The year 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of Wimbledon Rugby Football Club. The first recorded game was played on 26 December 1865 against Richmond Rugby Club and was reported in the Surrey Comet. At that time, the team were called the “Wimbledon Hornets”.
In 1871, our then captain, Leonard James Maton, was called upon to represent Wimbledon at a meeting of 19 rugby clubs (including Blackheath, Richmond, The Law Club, Guy’s Hospital, Harlequins and King’s College Hospital) which were formed in England at the time. The purpose of the meeting was to form the Rugby Football Society and it was held on 26 January at the Pall Mall Restaurant, Cockspur Street (now the site of the Canadian Embassy and a branch of Barclays Bank!).
Leonard Maton (an Old Rugbeian) was elected to the Rugby Football Society’s Executive Committee and, single-handedly, wrote the first Laws of rugby at his address on Homefield Road, Wimbledon Village. In 1874, he went onto become the third President of what was by then known as the Rugby Football Union. By this time, we had changed our name to Wimbledon Rugby Football Club.
Another of our captains, H.J. Graham, became Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the RFU in 1877. It was to him that the first letter was sent from a rugby club in India that was folding due to lack of membership. They were offering £60 to the RFU which would pay for a trophy of “Indian workmanship” to be made. The trophy would be played for annually between “the last few remaining members of the [RFU]” so that this Indian rugby club could be remembered in rugby history…and so the Calcutta Cup was born. The originals of these letters are held in the RFU Museum at Twickenham but we do hold copies.
We played on Wimbledon Common until the First World War, using the Rose and Crown in Wimbledon Village as our changing rooms and clubhouse. We then went into suspended animation when the First World War started and re-formed in 1927. It was at this time that we changed our colours from broad blue and white to the colours we all know and love, maroon and blue.
More recently, the club moved to its current home at Beverley Meads, just off Copse Hill, in 1987 coinciding with the setting up on amateur league rugby in Britain.
The Ladies club was born in the 1990/1991 season by John and Tina Ambler and in the 1997/1998 season, club stalwart Jim Green was tasked with setting up a minis (and later youth) section.
With the 1st XV being placed, somewhat arbitrarily, in Surrey 2 in the first year of the leagues, Wimbledon began its rise through them:
1987/92 - Surrey 2
1992/93 - Winners of Surrey 2
1993/94 - Winners of Surrey 1
1994/95 - Winners of London League 3 South West
1995/96 - Winners of London 2 South. (With 26 consecutive league wins on the way).
1996/99 - London League 1
1999/00 - Although coming back strongly after an appalling start to the season (9 straight defeats), finished 6th from bottom in London 1 and, due to the re-structuring of the leagues, were relegated
2000/05 - London 2 South
2005/06 - The club was moved to London 2 North
2006/07 - Back in London 2 South and looking for promotion.
2007/08 - Club moved to London 3 South West
2008/09 - 1st XV promoted into London 1 South
2009/10 - Consolidated position in London 1 South
2010/11 - Finished 3rd bottom and were relegated back to London 2 after a season decimated by major injuries to 1st team players
2011/12 - Finished 2nd in London South West 2 and were promoted back to London 1 South after a play-off win over Charlton Park
2012/2013 - Finished 4th in London 1 South
2013/14 - Finished 6th in London 1 South
2014/15 - Finished 1st and promoted to National League 3 London & South East
2015/16 - Finished 8th National League 3 London & South East
2016/17 - Finished 2nd and promoted (won playoff v Dings Crusaders) to National League 2 South
2017/18 - Finished 15th in National League 2 South and relegated
2018/19 - Finished 3rd in London & SE Premier
2019/20 - Finished 3rd in London & SE Premier (covid shortended season by 4 games)
2020/21 - NO LEAGUE RUGBY DUE TO COVID
2021/22 - Finished 7th in London & SE Premier
2022/23 - Finished 1st and promoted to National League 2 South East
2023/24 - Finished 12th in National League 2 South East and relegated to Regional 1 - South Central
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Phillip Allen
David Ashby
Horsham Rugby Club Vice
Presidents
Rob Clegg
Nigel Goward
Dave Green
Giles Atkinson
John Clery
Deborah Collins
Nick Greenwood
Nigel Ayre
Giles Barber
Alan Croucher
Elaine Croucher
Ashley Grimsey
Alan Hallowes
Dave Batchelor
John Baulch
Sandra Curtis
Michael Davis
Paul Halsey
Richard Hamley
Chris Bayley
Derrick Belcher
John Dent
Helen Denton
Guy Hannell
Paul Harding
Richard Bell
Clive Dolan
Carl Harman
Nick Bell
Paul Birch
Kate Dold
Stephen Driver
Rick Harman
John Hasson
Norman Blower
Richard Bond
Damian Earley
Mark Elliott
Phil Hawley
Andy Hepworth
Craig Boswell
Graham Boswell
Dennis Emson
Bob Essex
Barry Hillicks
Neal Holden
Matt Brown
Richard Brock
Peter Everitt
Pete Howard
Janet Callaghan
Martin Fairs
Kevin Faulkner
Barry Johnson
Susan Johnson
Otto Carlisle
Matt Carter
Andy Carvell
Roy Cass
Gareth Chamberlain
Simon Chennell
Alan Fisher
Michael Fisher
Darren Francis
Robert Gates
Emmy Goode
Jonny Goode
Alan Jones
Andy Jones
Karen Jones
Derek Jones
Terry Jones
Tony Jones
Howard King
Trish LeFevre
Brian Lewis
Steve Lewis
Jonny Ordidge
Jacquie Patterson
Gary Pearce
James Penny
Graham Stapley
Brian Stickley
Nick Stocker
Matthew Stone
Tony Lewis
Kate Leyshon
Alan Lord
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