MATCH DAY
Witney Academy Farringdon Colts Programme Sept 28th
Chairman’s Welcome
Today, Saturday 27th, we welcome all to Hailey Road as we cheer on England’s Red Roses in the World Cup Final. Come on girls, you have already made us proud with some brilliant rugby, now see it home.
Tomorrow, we welcome players, staff and supporters of Faringdon U18 Colts to Hailey Road. We trust you have a great day and enjoy the hospitality here at Witney RFC.
It is a great honour to be Chairman of Witney Rugby Club, a responsibility for which I don’t take lightly. What I appreciate most is the fantastic support given to me from all the volunteers, committee and staff who work tirelessly to ensure that the facility is what it is, one of the best community clubs in the country.
Particularly today though I would like to introduce and thank the Academy Team, coaches Andy Bee, David Hanson and Derek Hall and Sonia Fillary, Val Norman, Mathew Gibbon and Sophie Smith for their unwavering support. Thank you all for all you do for bringing our M&Js through to adult rugby.
Andy Merriman Chairman Witney Rugby Football Club.
Witney RFC
1st Things First!
Academy XV v Farringdon Colts
Sun 28 Sep 1PM KO th
1. Jack Norman
2. Owen Davies
3. Keagan Muirhead
4. Luke Jackson
5. Will Walker
6. George Boswell (c)
7. Matthew Foord
8. George Smith
9. Jamie Hoyle
10. Ed Bee
11. Ethan Clark
12. Sam Weldon
13. Harry Smith
14. Reuben Owen
15. Jacob Hansen
Replacements:
16. Rory Mackay
17. Leon Young
18. Leo Dolan
Coaches: Andy Bee Lee Wright
Officials: Ian WALKER
19. Alfie Hall
20. Josh Gibbon
21. Ben Dilks
Academy The Future’s Bright!
No game last week so let us concentrate on this week’s fixture as we welcome Faringdon Colts to Hailey Road. We hope you have a great day and enjoy the hospitality Hailey Road has to offer.
Faringdon sit above us in the table as they won a very close fought battle 17 : 7 against Banbury, who sit one place below us by the fact that we scored 8 and they scored 7 , couldn’t be closer.
A massive thank you to all our fabulous sponsors!
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OCTOBER 2025
Witney v Cheltenham
Witney II v Tadley
Witney Angels v Crowthorne Ladies TBC
Witney III v Harwell
Witney v Old Centralians TH. Witney II v Abingdon
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William the Conqueror landed in England at Pevensey, on the Sussex coast, on September 28, 1066, after an invasion that had been planned for months. He immediately advanced to Hastings, establishing a base and raiding the surrounding area, which prompted King Harold, who had just defeated a Norwegian invasion in the north, to quickly march his exhausted army south to confront William. One in the eye for Harold.
The word ‘incorrectly’ is spelled incorrectly in every dictionary.
Witney Calling!
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
What a great competition we have experienced in the Women’s World Cup. If you managed to get along to any of the games you will have experienced an unrivalled welcome, support and fun and the standard of rugby has been exceptionally high.
I was fortunate to get to 2 of England’s group games but missed out on the knockout stages, a measure of how well supported the Red Roses have been. As I write this, I am cautious not to get overly confident about Saturday’s final. Canada is deservedly in the final on merit, 2 in the World Rankings and following a comprehensive win over current World Cup Holders New Zealand, they have every right to feel confident. nd
As you read this, the result may well be known and our Red Roses will hopefully have extended their winning streak to 33 games, oh, and be World Champions! Wouldn’t that be nice? Semi Final Results: SF1 New Zealand 19 : 34 Canada SF2 France 17 : 35 England
Witney Calling!
There are new global law trials implemented for the 2025/26 season. These include banning the "crocodile roll" at rucks to enhance safety, players in offside positions after a kick, a time limit for players contesting a lineout, and the removal of a scrum option for free kicks, Additionally, the 20-minute red card for technical offences is moving to a global trial, and there's a new law "protecting the 9" to prevent players from being played at the base of scrums and rucks.
More details on the Rugby Laws can be found Here
Whilst we are on the subject of the laws of the game, we feel duty bound to remind you of the terrific support we get from the guys in the middle, the Referees. These men and women give up their time to officiate and make the games possible. They cannot possibly see everything and whilst we support with line runners, they cannot help with the real time decision making required. They don’t have two officials running the line and a 4 TMO with video playback so cut them some slack. th Mistakes will be made, offences go unseen, and sometimes it can appear from the sidelines that we are getting a hard deal. By all means voice your support for our wonderful teams, but abuse of the officials will not be tolerated from players, coaches, supporters or Club members. Let’s keep it good natured, enjoy the game and make the officials want to visit Hailey Road.
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What’s On @ Hailey Road!
A massive thank you to all our fabulous sponsors!
Dob in Dabber !
From next week, our own Dabber Willis has taken up hiding in the programme. All you have to do is find him and win a pint. Dob in Dabber at the Bar on match day, and if you’re the first to do so, you win a pint of
How would you like 10% off everything you buy over the bar? With a WRFC Members Discount Card that’s exactly what you get. 10% off all your beers, teas, coffees, sandwiches etc. For a small anual fee, currently £25, you get a year’s worth of discounted products. That’s approximately 50p a week, so one pint of lager a week and you have made your money back, 2 pints and your saving at a level appreciated by Yorkshiremen.
To qualify for the card you need to be a signed up member of the Club.
Interested? email me or speak to any of the marvellous bar staff. ian.loughborough@witneyrugby.co.uk
The Reality is:
You have to be over 35 years old and have been a member of Witney RFC for at least 4 weeks before match day. Sound like this could be for you? Why not come along to Club training night; Tuesdays and Thursdays.
If you need to ease back in gently, we have Walking and Touch Rugby on Thursday evenings. Contact Simon Copperwheat on: 07904 360561
