CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME A warm welcome and a Happy Christmas to all our supporters and visitors at Eccles RFC today. With our 1st XV home games being rare so far this season I’ll probably struggle to squeeze in all of the club’s good news stories into one page (so please do regularly check out our website and social media which have updates daily!). Let’s begin with rugby. Our mens teams have struggled to find consistency with their results and line ups but recent performances have shown we can play exciting flowing rugby, we have great potential with our young homegrown talent and the welcome return of some experienced former players should I believe see a continued improvement in our form and fortunes on the pitch as we head into winter. The lads will be looking to build on last Saturday’s hard fought victory and I hope to see two Ws chalked up on the board. It’s great to have both 1XV and 2XV at home today. Emerging from the pandemic lockdown there’s certainly a renewed camaraderie within the squad and the atmosphere in the clubhouse on Saturdays is now back to buzzing. Since the summer, the club has taken big strides forwards too with its Mini & Junior rugby, with increased numbers in every team and we’re now bursting at the seams on Sunday mornings! Next weekend our Junior teams will compete in Lancashire Cup ties and we hope you can join us to cheer them on. Speaking of which, our Ladies are also progressing positively with their rebuilding and their fixture vs Didsbury Toc H will be our marquee game at Gorton Street next Saturday afternoon, so get down to the club early to give your vocal support to the girls before the Brass Band strikes up and the singing starts at tea time! This is the season for celebration and togetherness. COVID hit community rugby hard and many clubs across Britain are facing uncertain prospects. We’re working hard here at Eccles to promote the game and really appreciate the invaluable assistance we receive from our sponsors in encouraging participation and maintaining our facilities. Our Community Rugby Coach is engaged with local schools and the club is now growing at a healthy pace with over 400 members. None of this of course would be possible without the continued dedicated commitment of our volunteers. Donating your time to support the club's activities can be very rewarding so if you’d like to get involved and put something back in to your community please do step forward. Whichever team you’re supporting this weekend, I hope you enjoy your match experience and you keep returning throughout the season. Thank you for your support of Eccles RFC and I look forward to seeing you down at Gorton Street in 2022, which will be our 125th Anniversary. Let’s get stuck in! Chris Gaffey // Eccles RFC Chairman
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