MATCH DAY Programme 10th Jan 2026 Witney III v Buckingham II
The Future’s Bright!
Witney RFC Sat 10th Jan 2026
KO 3 pm Cheltenham
VS
Witney
KO 2 pm
Witney III
VS Buckingham II
Witney RFC Sun 11th Jan 2026 KO 2 pm
Angels
Witney Academy
VS
KO 1 pm
VS
Northampton Casuals
Banbury colts
Chairman’s Welcome I would like to wish all our players, coaches, physios, sponsors and members a very healthy, happy and prosperous 2026. If you’re still feeling a little sluggish after the Christmas break, don’t worry — that just means you did it properly. Now though, the festive dust has settled and it’s time to get back to business as we look to kick off the new year with a couple of wins. Our First XV are on the road to Cheltenham today, leaving Hailey Road in the capable hands of our Barmy Army Threes, who take on Buckingham II and promise plenty of entertainment. The action doesn’t stop there either — tomorrow our Academy welcome Banbury Colts in what should be a cracking contest, and our Angels play host to Northampton Casuals, although I am certain there will be noting casual about the game. Should be a great day and one well worth coming down to support. Whatever happens on the pitch, we look forward to welcoming visitors and supporters alike and hope you enjoy the hospitality of our marvellous clubhouse. I’ll drink to that! Andy Merriman Chairman Witney RFC
Dob in Dabber ! 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 ale or a glass of wine.
Cheers Dabber!
Cheltenham v 1st XV Sat 10th Jan 3PM KO 1 Marcus Reading*(VC) 2 James Merriman* 3 Sam Winstone* 4 Finn Ayris* 5 Matthew Webb(C)* 6 Gareth Jenkins* 7 Josh Rihan* 8 Cameron Ayris* 9 Jon Derrick 10 Charlie Dunbar* 11 Jacob Hayter* 12 Ollie Toner* 13 Angus Brown* 14 Ollie Dawkins* 15 Mark Greenwood Replacements: 16 Jacob Holland 17 Will Phair* 18 Ollie Walker*
Coaches: Matt Carter James Lamb* Tom Phillips Team Manager: Jon Hayter Physio: Ella Dawkins Officials: TBC *Denotes WRFC Mini & Juniors Player Players in Blue on Front cover
1st Things First!
Witney 55 : 17 North Dorset
What a game to see out 2025 from our fabulous First XV. A lot to remember so here goes with our point scorers: Tries: A hattrick from Finn Ayris, well done young man, two each for Captain Matt Webb and Gareth Jenkins, one each for Josh Rihan and Will Phair, with Charlie Dunbar landing 5 of the conversions. Will Phair earned himself a yellow but I suppose after such an action packed display, he can be forgiven. Well done lads! On Saturday our First XV are on the road to Cheltenham. Cheltenham sit bottom of the pile at the moment, but I am sure they have league survival foremost in their minds and will give it their all. The weather looks like it is going to be cold and wet so a perfect day for our game. Come on you Black and Blues.
Cheltenham v Witney
AY D T A E GR
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2 Be or not 2 Be! Faringdon 24 : 12 Vipers It wasn’t the result our Vipers were hoping for, and one that sees the lads slip into the danger zone. Tries from Joe Turberville and Rory Atkins, along with a conversion from Mark Greenwood, accounted for our points. A yellow card for John Mason proved costly and, despite playing some excellent rugby, the Vipers ultimately came away with nothing to show for their efforts. The squad know they’ll need to be more clinical in 2026. There’s no fixture for the Vipers this weekend, giving them an extended Christmas break, more time to get back into shape after all those mince pies. Next week, however, they’re back on the road with a trip to Tadley. Having been beaten at home earlier in the season in challenging conditions, the hope is that the Vipers can master whatever comes their way, get their 2026 campaign off to a strong start, and return with some much-needed points.
Sat 17 Jan 2026
Tadley v Vipers
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Come & Watch Rugby @Witney RFC! JANUARY 2026 10th
Witney III v Banbury II
11th
Academy v Banbury Colts Angels v Faringdon Ladies 2pm
17th
Witney v Keynsham Witney III v Oxford Harlequins III
24th 25th
Vipers v Newbury II Academy v Hungerford Colts
All KOs 3pm unless otherwise annotated
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3rd XV v Buckingham II Sat 10th Jan 2 PM KO 1 Tom Young * 2 Lee Taylor (c) 3Dan Wakeman * 4 Blaine Eason 5 Luke Jackson* 6 Harry Ward* 7 Dan Tyrell* 8 Jordan Brown 9 Jamie Hoyle* 10 Ben Dilks* 11 Alfie McLoughlin 12Liam Cook 13Joe Turberville* 14Eamon Doherty 15Ethan Clarke*
Coaches: Carl Strutt Wayne Caffekey Physio: Mick Dunbar Hannah McGimpsey Officials: Jim WHITTINGTON Graham Robinson *Denotes WRFC Mini & Juniors Player Players in Blue on Front cover
Replacements: 16 Adam Nobbs* 20 Dylan Jenkinson 17 Cameron Mac* 21 Kieren Flack 18 Callum Cope* 22 D ec Duffy* 19 Charlie Gardner*
Who Shall We 3s Beat Again? Witney III 34 : 12 Gosford All Blacks II A great win at home by our Barmy Army, rounding off 2025 in an excellent way. A solid performance from all and a great advert for Rugby For All, a lot of Clubs, including Witney often struggle to field teams in the lower divisions, our Barmy Army are proof that there is a desire and a requirement. Our points came from; Marc Copperwheat x 2, Mark Fuller, Ben McPherson, Nick Dawkins (welcome back), and Kieran Flack. Adam Copperwheat rolled back the years and landed 2 conversions. Well done all. Today sees our Third XV host Buckingham II who gave us a bit of a hiding away earlier in the season. That game saw our lads gift Buckingham 38 points in the first 40, by the time we got our act together it was bit late. Bucks sit 1 point behind us with 2 games in hand. Since then our 3s have found form and cohesion, let’s hope they can continue that in 2026.
Witney III v Buckingham II
On this day 49BC, Julius Caesar defied the Roman Senate and crossed the Rubicon, uttering “alea iacta est” - “the die is cast”. Crossing the Rubicon wasn’t just a military move, it was a point of no return that changed Roman history forever, caused a civil war between Caesar and Pompey, saw an end to the Roman Republic and was the start of the Roman Empire. Today, “crossing the Rubicon” means making a bold, irreversible decision. This year I am closing my bank account. My New Year resolution is to do away with all the negative things in my life.
Angels v Northampton Casuals Sun 11th Jan 2 PM KO Coaches: Kate Nicholls Sarah Dunbar Alex Rosenberg Kieran Flack
1 Sarah Pentecost (C) 2Hettie McNally 3Allie Bella 4Naomi Godfrey 5Sadie Andrews Physio: 6 Eliana Howlett* Hannah Rich 7 Katie Martin 8 Izzy Barker (VC) Officials: 9Ailsa Shaw Nomtha GRAY 10Esther Clifton Adv: Keith LATHAM 11Ella Marshall *Denotes WRFC Mini 12Lily Cope* & Juniors Player 13Tilly Castle* Players in Blue on 14Ruby Bishop* Front cover 15Izzie Pereira* Replacements: 16Becki Downham 17Steph Winstone*
Where Angels Fly! Welcome to 2026, the Year of the Angel. OK, I’ve just made that up, but it certainly feels like something special is building here. The Cherubs continue to train and play, and more importantly provide a steady supply of players ready to step up into the senior game. One such young lady making her senior debut and earning her Angels’ wings is Eliana Howlett, who starts on Sunday in the back row. We all hope you have a great day, hit plenty of tackles, make lots of metres with ball in hand, and above all, enjoy the occasion. Looking ahead, there are plenty of friendlies in the pipeline to carry us through to the end of the season, listed below. As for next season, the plan is to join the Allianz Inner Warrior League, an RFU-introduced scheme designed to support the development of women’s rugby. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/AllianzInnerWarrior/
2026 Fixtures 11th January Angels v Northampton Casuals 25th January Royal Wootton Bassett v Angels 8th February Angels v Didcot 22nd February Angels v Wootton Bassett 8th March Angels v Basingstoke th 29 March Angels v Banbury th 19 April Faringdon v Angels
Academy v Banbury Sun 11th Jan 1 PM KO 1 Jack Norman 2 Owen Davies 3 Rory Mackay 4 George Boswell (c) 5 Will Walker 6 Leo Dolan 7 Matthew Foord 8 George Smith 9 Josh Gibbon 10Ben Dilks 11Ethan Clark 12Harry Smith 13 Osian Wright 14 Seth Muhlanga 15Jacob Hanson
Coaches: Andy Bee Lee Wright Physio: TBC Officials: Alex Bond *Denotes WRFC Mini & Juniors Player Players in Blue on Front cover
Replacements: 16 Leon Young 17 Keagan Muirhead 18Luke Jackson 19Alfie Hall
20Ethan Lam 21 Sam Weldon 22 Harry Fillary
Academy The Future’s Bright! There’s no game to report this week as our Academy took an early Christmas break, but there’s plenty to look forward to in 2026. The new year begins with Sunday’s important home fixture against Banbury Colts at Hailey Road, a league match that could see us climb the table, potentially as high as third if other results go our way. Banbury currently sit 11 points below us, with their sole victory coming against Shipston at the end of November. Hungerford and Chinnor follow next in the league, along with a rearranged fixture against Oxford Harlequins scheduled for early February. With a busy run of matches ahead, there’s no shortage of Academy action coming our way in the near future.
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Lawn Mowing Driveways & Patios Fencing Turfing Pergolas Garden Walls
What’s On @ Hailey Road! QUIZ NIGHT 30TH January 6.30pm Quiz night In Support of U14 Tour. CHAIRMAN’S LUNCHES: 14th February
Witney v Royal Wootton Bassett II
7th March
Witney v Cleve
11th April
Witney v Chippenham
TRAINING: Senior Men Tuesday and Thursday nights 7-8pm. Angels
Tuesday 7-8.30pm
Touch
Thursday 6-7pm
Walking
Thursday 7-8pm
Cherubs.
Tuesday 6-7.30pm
M&Js
Sunday Mornings 10-12
Academy
Sunday 1pm
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A massive thank you to all our fabulous sponsors!
Witney Calling All Savers! 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
Design Modelling Analysis Costing Construction
Building Science, Attaining Excellence
6 NATIONS That Time Again! Twickenham tickets available for England’s home fixtures in the 2026 6 Nations. If you are a sponsor, player or Club Member then you can obtain tickets for the Home of rugby at face value by contacting Ian @ ian.loughborough@witneyrugby.co.uk
T
Uv Wales 4.40 pm O Saturday 7th February England D £152 SOL T
Saturday 21st February England OU v Ireland 2.10 pm D OL£152
S
Limited availability so get your Bid in now. Tickets will be allocated once all of the sponsors have submitted their requirements.
Calling all Golden Oldies? Veterans @ Hailey Road
The Reality is:
Contrary to poular belief, you do not have to have: Served in the Trenches of WWI Be over 60 with a pacemaker! Although being either of those does not preclude you from playing, we do ask for a letter from your parent.
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
Witney Can Do Magic! Join The Witney Wizards Witney RFC Walking Rugby. The Witney Wizards is a group of older players, some with no previous rugby playing experience, all with one aim, to enjoy some fitness in a happy, social environment. We train once a week on Thursday evenings. Skills sessions, tactics, and competitive games, followed by a Supper Club and a social drink in our Hailey Road Clubhouse. The Wizards welcome people of all ages and backgrounds; we do have female players but could always do with more. The Wizards have played competitive matches at home and away, always draws a big crowd and above all else, is always fun. Think this is for you? Why not come along and give it a Try! Contact: Derrick Fox on 07922 626332 Email: derrick.fox@witneyrugby.co.uk
est. 1965
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Phone: 01993 771043 Email: admin@witneyrugby.co.uk Website: www.witneyrugby.co.uk Address: Hailey Road, OX29 9UH