Witney RFC Match Programme 20122025

MATCH DAY Programme 20th Dec 2025 First XV v North Dorset

Witney RFC Sat 20th Dec 2025 KO 3 pm

Witney

VS

North Dorset

KO 2 pm

Faringdon

VS

KO 2 pm

Witney III

VS

Witney II

Gosford AB II

Chairman’s Welcome I extend a very warm welcome to everyone attending Hailey Road, and to our third Chairman’s Lunch of the season, also our final one of 2025.

It promises to be a full and enjoyable day. Our First XV host North Dorset RFC, while the Third XV take on Gosford All Blacks II. The Seconds are on the road, travelling to local rivals Faringdon. Rugby will be followed by live music from The Bontemps, along with the club’s traditional Christmas Jumper Night. The day will be capped off with the grand draw of the Christmas Squares, if you’re lucky, there may still be spaces available, and you could be heading home with a whole Gala Pie! My guests at today’s lunch include two of our valued sponsors: Michelle Tanfield from Gigaclear, and Stefan and Simona Voloseniuc from SF Stefan. We are extremely grateful for the support you give our club, and we hope you get a real sense of the community you are part of this afternoon. I also welcome our visitors from North Dorset RFC and hope you enjoy your first visit to West Oxfordshire.

Joining us as well are club stalwart Bob Fisk with his wife Sally, and our Minis & Juniors Chairman Dale Heast with his wife Lanette.

Our final guest is Doug Bosley from Harwell RFC and the Oxfordshire RFU. Doug, you are most welcome, and I look forward to sharing a beer with you during the day.

Chairman’s Welcome

On the field last weekend, the First XV recorded an excellent away win at Longlevens, while the Seconds were unable to contain a strong Didcot side at Hailey Road. The Third XV, however, have been awarded Tribute Ale Oxfordshire Team of the Month after going unbeaten throughout November, my admiration to all involved. This award highlights the importance of supporting every team we field, from our Under 4s through to the Wizards Walking Rugby Team. We should continually remind ourselves of our purpose: to enable rugby, in all its forms, to be played by anyone who wishes to participate.

The future continues to look bright. I was delighted to watch the Academy on Sunday as they delivered a fantastic performance to defeat Shipston-on-Stour. Further good news came from the Angels, who produced an outstanding display in their win away at Banbury— brilliant efforts from all involved.

Please do support vocally this afternoon, while also keeping in mind the values we represent; fairness and respect, ensuring everyone enjoys the day.

Finally, I wish everyone, along with your friends and family, a peaceful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Andy Merriman Chairman Witney Rugby Football Club.

P R I D E

O F

T H E

C L U B

AWESOME!

R E N N I W h t n o M e h t f o m a e T 5 2 0 2 r e Novemb

3RD s n o i t a l u XV t Congra ! y m r A y Barm W W W . W I T N E Y R U G B Y . C O . U K

1st XV v North Dorset Sat 20th Dec 3PM KO 1 Marcus Reading*(VC) 2 James Merriman* 3 Connor Pummery* 4 Matthew Webb(C)* 5 Finn Ayris* 6 Gareth Jenkins* 7 Cameron Ayris* 8 Josh Rihan* 9 Jon Derrick 10 Charlie Dunbar* 11 Josh Whitehead* 12 Ollie Toner* 13 Angus Brown* 14 Ollie Walker* 15 Sam Turboville* Replacements: 16 Sam Winstone* 17 ⁠Will Phair* 18 ⁠Ollie Dawkins*

Coaches: Matt Carter James Lamb* Tom Phillips Team Manager: Jon Hayter Physio: Ella Dawkins Officials: Chrissy CLARK *Denotes WRFC Mini & Juniors Player Players in Blue on Front cover

1st Things First!

Longlevens 31 : 43 Witney What a performance on the road from our amazing first team, by all reports the performance was the one they have been showing signs of all season. Points came from; Tries: Jacob Hayter, James Merriman, Ollie Walker x2, Gareth Jenkins, and of course captain Matthew Webb. Charlie Dunbar had his kicking boots on landing 5 conversions and a solo penalty.

Today our First team are hosting North Dorset who gave us a bit of a thumping when we visited them in the early part of the season. Back then, we were younger and in parts naive, the Team have grown together since then and can put in a controlled performance over 80 minutes and can certainly make a better account of themselves Sat 20th Dec 2025 Witney v North Dorset 3pm

Match Ball Sponsorship A huge thank you to today’s First Team Match Ball Sponsor, Chris Delaney.

Your ongoing support to our wonderful Club is greatly appreciated.

y e n a l e D s i r Ch Want your name here? Get in touch with John Williams @ john.williams@witneyrugby.co.uk

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!

AY D T A E GR

Player Sponsors Want to do more for your Club? Why not sponsor a player?

Packages start at £199+VAT Get your name in the match programme, but more importantly you are helping develop WRFC players!

A massive thank you to all our fabulous sponsors!

Player Sponsors

Player Sponsors

Farringdon v Vipers Sat 20th Dec 2PM KO 1 ⁠⁠Adam Nobbs*(C) 2⁠⁠Tom Young* Coaches: 3⁠⁠Jacob Holland Simon Copperwheat* 4⁠⁠George Smith* Matt Clarke 5⁠⁠Zach Way* Rob Phair 6⁠⁠Charlie Gardner* 7⁠⁠Owen Fillary* Physio: 8⁠⁠Arthur Whitehead* Will Sperrin 9⁠⁠Jamie Hoyle* 10⁠⁠Ben Dilks* Officials: 11⁠⁠Ethan Clarke* Sean FRANKCOM 12⁠⁠Joe Turberville* 13⁠⁠Rory Atkins* 14⁠⁠Jacob Hayter *Denotes WRFC Mini 15⁠⁠Mark Greenwood & Juniors Player Replacements: 16 ⁠⁠Simon Copperwheat* 17⁠⁠Dan Tyrell* 18⁠⁠Blaine Eason 19⁠⁠jack Strong* 20 John Mason

2 Be or not 2 Be! Witney Vipers 26 : 48 Didcot First XV Vipers took on lead leaders with a mixed side! A centre combination with a combined age of 86 was packed full of experience! Our youthful 9 & 10 pairing had never heard that there was such a think called a CD player. Both 17.

When playing top of the league it helps to not give them 19 point head start but that’s what we did and never fully recovered. However a bonus point was very welcome!

Tries: George Smith - 1st senior try. Now matches dad Tian’s record!

Rob Coe, Jakey Edwards, Penalty Try. Conv: Ben Dilks x 3.

Today our boys are on the road to Faringdon. Faringdon sit just two places below us in the table. Come on you Vipers!

Sat 20th Dec 2025 Faringdon v Witney Vipers

Player Sponsors

Player Sponsors

3rd XV v Gosford AB II Sat 20th Dec 2PM KO 1 Alex Bellenie 2 ⁠Mark Fuller* Coaches: 3 ⁠Wayne Caffekey (c) * Carl Strutt 4 ⁠Ollie McLoughlin Wayne Caffekey Physio: 5 ⁠Luke Jackson* Hannah Rich 6 ⁠Harry Ward* 7 ⁠Marc Copperwheat* Officials: 8 ⁠Ben Mcpherson Douglas HAGGART 9 ⁠Nick Dawkins *Denotes WRFC Mini 10 ⁠Adam Copperwheat* & Juniors Player 11 ⁠Alfie McLoughlin Players in Blue on 12 ⁠Callum Godfrey* Front cover 13 ⁠Jacob smith* 14 ⁠Eamon Doherty 15 ⁠Dylan Jenkinson Replacements: ⁠16 ⁠Ian Burton 17 ⁠Dave Jackson 18 ⁠Jordan Brown 19 ⁠Declan Duffy*

20 ⁠Connor Carle 21 ⁠Alfie McLoughlin 22 ⁠Kieren Flack 23 ⁠Ned Smith*

Who Shall We 3s Beat Again?

No game to report on from last weekend, but plenty of news as we can reveal that our Barmy Army are the Tribute Ale Southwest Team of the Month for November.

Well done lads, thoroughly deserved, now to continue the good form and see out 2025 properly.

We welcome Gosford All Blacks II to Hailey Road today and want to see out 2025 in style. Gosford sit two places below us and just 6 points adrift, a win would put some clean air between us them and Oxford IIs. Come on you Black and Blues.

Witney III v Gosford All Blacks II 3 pm

Angels Fly Again!

Banbury Belles 5 : 56 Witney Angels Wow, just wow! Our Angels were back in action at the weekend and they lit up Bodicote Park with a scintillating performance all round.

Despite a mix of brand new to rugby, long-standing Angels and cherub graduates the ladies all pulled together and put everything learned in training the last couple months straight into action with a dominant performance against Banbury Belles.

A big thank you to Ailsa Shaw for stepping in to play 10 (one of the positions she surprisingly hadn’t tried yet!) and kicking off the first of 10 tries within the first 5 minutes. As a Witney Wizard I have to mention how proud we are of you.

A flurry of tries continued with captain Izzy Barker scoring a hattrick and leading by example in a fairly new pack that eventually went on to turn Banbury’s scrum over in the second half.

Our latest cherub graduate Tilly Castle sprang into action at centre and scored on her senior women’s debut, attacking hard and fast she fought her way over the try line with ease.

A highlight was Hettie McNally’s try for which she ran from our own 22, cheered along by the ever-loyal Witney supporters, who travelled with us to Banbury and have been there for us through thick and thin.

Angels Fly Again!

Banbury Belles 5 : 56 Witney Angels As coaches, score line and performance reflected the commitment and determination by everyone - all the cold miserable Tuesday nights brought us to this point! Thank you to the club and chairman Andy Merriman for the continued support as we navigate the season out of league, ready to come back bigger and stronger for 2026!

A welcome festive break is on the cards for our Angels as we look to keep building our ladies game into 2026. Keep an eye on the programme for future fixtures and, if you think you have what it takes to fly with Angels, then please get in touch with either Kate Nicholls or Sarah Dunbar.

20 December 1894 England beat Australia by 10 runs in the first six-day cricket Test, Australia needed 177 to win but were all out for 166. Oh, how times have changed.

On this day in 1955, Gwilym Lloyd-George, then Minister for Welsh Affairs and Home, proclaimed that Cardiff was the capital city of Wales. This put an end to other claims by Swansea, Aberystwyth, Caernarfon, St Davids and Merthyr Tydfil amongst others. For me Gloucester should be the Capital as it has more Welsh players playing there than in Cardiff.

To the person that stole my bed.

I won’t rest until I find you!

Come & Watch Rugby @Witney RFC! DECEMBER 2025 20th

Witney v North Dorset Witney III v Gosford All Black II

JANUARY 2026 10th

Vipers v Wheatley 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

Vipers v Newbury II

25th

Academy v Hungerford Colts

All KOs 3pm unless otherwise annotated

Academy The Future’s Bright!

Witney Academy 57 : 3 Shipston on Stour Colts A Witney ran out convincing winners in the latest OBB League fixture, scoring nine tries in a dominant home performance. While the scoreline didn’t fully reflect the physical contest, resolute defence and clinical attacking play ensured Witney were well worth the victory.

The home side started fast, with Ben Dilks crossing inside three minutes and converting for a 7–0 lead. Tries from Harry Smith (Basil) and Owen Davies, plus another Ben Dilks conversion, extended the lead to 19–0. After a brief dip in discipline allowed Shipston to respond with a penalty, Witney finished the half strongly with converted tries from Jacob Hanson and Osian Wright to lead 33: 3 at the break.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with tries from Leo Dolan and skipper George Boswell, along with two more from Osian Wright to complete his hat-trick. Two further conversions from Ben Dilks completed the scoring.

Academy The Future’s Bright!

A strong all-round team performance saw Witney dominate at set-piece and in defence, with two tries coming from catch-and-drive lineouts. Quick ball at the breakdown, slick handling and big defensive hits ensured Witney stayed firmly on the front foot throughout.

A superb way to sign off 2025, making it three wins on the bounce and building real momentum for the second half of the season.

Scorers: Ben Dilks (try, 4 cons), Harry Smith (try), Owen Davies (try), Jacob Hanson (try), Osian Wright (3 tries), Leo Dolan (try), George Boswell (try) MOTM: Basil – outstanding in defence with huge tackles and a deserved try.

Player Sponsors

Wizarding World Tour 2025 St Foy

Eden Park

Llandudno

Llandudno

Hampshire

Antigua

Sweden

Wizarding World Tour 2025 Lanzarote

Cornwall

Twickenham Kos

Bath

Rhodes

Player Sponsors

Lawn Mowing Driveways & Patios Fencing Turfing Pergolas Garden Walls

What’s On @ Hailey Road!

Saturday 20th December

Chairman’s Lunch & Christmas Jumper Party.

Big game day, Witney host North Dorset who did an attritional number on us down in Gillingham, so we will be looking for revenge before donning outrageous jumpers and dancing to party music from the Bontemps.

This is the last home game of 2025, so make it one to remember.

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

Player Sponsors

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 Saturday 7th February England v Wales 4.40 pm £152

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

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Phone: 01993 771043 Email: admin@witneyrugby.co.uk Website: www.witneyrugby.co.uk Address: Hailey Road, OX29 9UH