ECCLES RFC THE HOME OF HOME GROWN 1897 AUTUMN UPDATE NOVEMBER 2020 FREE TO MEMBERS
CLUB INFORMATION Paul Fleming Junior & Mini Chair Paul Fleming 07366 167396 https//eccles.rfu.club
PRESIDENT’S WELCOME As a club, we have never experienced anything like this before but as a take place at Eccles RFC but that doesn’t mean that nothing at all will means things can change on a daily basis so we’ll endeavour to make in these strange times as our facilities do look excellent. On behalf of the club, I'd also like to offer my sincere thanks to all the local businesses continued support in such difficult economic conditions and look forward to when we’re able to reward your commitment and loyalty with keeps well.
CHAIRMANS’S WELCOME For all of you that follow the club on social media, you will already be aware that with effect from Thursday 5 November, until Wednesday 2 December at the earliest, all Senior and Age Grade rugby activities will cease at Eccles RFC and the club will return to ‘Stage A’ on the RFU Return to Community Rugby Roadmap. Unfortunately, this means no midweek group training sessions, no Senior Touch Rugby on Saturdays, no walking rugby on a Monday and Mini & Junior rugby on Sundays house can open for education and training purposes (so First Aid training this Saturday 7 November will go ahead) but otherwise will be closed. Naturally, this news will be very disappointing to all members. The club is ever mindful of the possible effect of lockdown on the physical condition and mental health of our players. Therefore, the club has already begun working with its coaches to implement a scheme to keep all our players engaged with off-site competitive activities over the coming weeks. announcement on our lockdown plans as soon as details are finalised in the next few days. We are still looking forward to the possibility of a club Christmas event, so please watch out on social media for further updates as we develop your ideas on how this could be done as a safe event for our Rugby family. Until then, please stay safe and stay positive. Paul Thorpe // Eccles RFC Chairman
HEAD COACH NOTES Last Friday the RFU announced there will be no competitive league rugby played during the 2020/21 season, which I’m sure has upset many. Then this week, just as we’re all getting back into the swing of rugby club life again, Lockdown 2 returns us to Stage A on the return to rugby road map!! Not great news. However I’m still convinced we will get some fixtures played before the end of the season, possibly in the way of a localised mini cup competition against nearby rivals, the prospect of which excites me quite a lot, so “watch this space“. RFC has seen this as a good opportunity to show that we are a progressive club and has already begun to explore different ways for us to keep supporting our player members with activity and personal development lockdown' - followed by the launch of a #OneClub league table where all teams within the club can compete against each other for points doing different challenges over the course of lockdown (big points win big webinars to keep all our coaches developing their know how. positive attitude and challenge ourselves and those around us to continue doing what we love, just do it slightly different. I look forward to seeing you all cheering the teams on soon. Stay safe.
SOCIAL EVENTS Good day one and all, The Social Committee hopes to find you in good health, physically and mentally, in these very strange times. It has been a very discouraging time of late, for the Club's Social Committee, as Covid restrictions have tightened, with traditional celebration times such as Halloween and Bonfire Night disappearing off our radar, as Tier 1 went to Tier 2, which then became Tier 3, which in turn has teers from the virus, by minimising time spent in contact with others, and you can understand why our Social activities have all but died a death. Despite all of this, with some careful planning the club was to run a Covid secure screening of the outstanding, decisive fixture between Italy and providing table service and respecting all of the Tier 3 Covid criteria, I am distanced in family bubbles etc, watched England sweep to victory, winning the 2019/20 Six Nations Championship. adapted to provide a take away food and coffee service for the Minis & Junior Section every Sunday morning. Their positive and diligent involved. Going forward, our plans for the next 4 weeks have become victims of lockdown, but Christmas is still possible so we are working on a festive programme, possibly to include an outdoor Christmas Carol Concert complete with Covid restrictions! time, please look after yourselves and each other.
ECCLES PLAYER SPONSORS
ECCLES PLAYER SPONSORS
ECCLES PLAYER SPONSORS
ECCLES PLAYER SPONSORS
ECCLES PLAYER SPONSORS
ECCLES GALLERY Eccles Mini & Junior Sessions
ECCLES GALLERY Eccles Mini & Junior Sessions
WISHING ECCLES RFC EVERY SUCCESS FOR TODAY AND THE 2020/21 SEASON
ECCLES GALLERY
ECCLES GALLERY
ECCLES COLTS November Colts Report: Despite the numerous challenges of Covid-19 and the lack of competitive fixtures, the Junior Colts have prevailed and progressed their development this autumn. Keeping a team together requires commitment from both players and coaches, and it's been a noteworthy benefit that this team have a group of coaches that are able to share the responsibilities and cover for those whose employment commitments prevents delivered training sessions for the lads, keeping them engaged from the keep a colts squad together but they have done so through the toughest have kept the boys playing, interested and engaged with the club and of it stronger than ever before. players really enjoyed it as they got to focus on some new areas that we players and coaches got a lot out of the session. Wade Dutton & James Bushby // Eccles RFC Junior Colts Coaches.
The Duke of Eccles - Still the best Bates to play at the club. Ultra Welding Equipment Proud to support Eccles RFC
ECCLES LADIES Ladies rugby is growing at Eccles RFC, with our senior group numbers growing week on week and our junior section enjoying its first girls only mini warrior morning the feeling around the camp is that we are building something special. We are exceptionally proud to have a number of young female leaders in our group who have taken the essence of what it is to be an Eccles Lady and ran with it. Whether they are off flourishing at the highest level of English Women’s rugby at the likes of Sale Sharks and Loughborough Lightening, or still building their foundations at home at Gorton street, We are proud to celebrate our player's achievements in all of their forms whether that is on or off the field. We firmly believe in creating strong female role models for our junior section to aspire to when they one day wear the blue and white for our 1XV. We empower our players to maximise their potential and to take our message out into our community The bond this group has forged through the love of being in each other’s company and playing the sport is apparent at every session and is infec step through the gate to support, play or coach you are an Eccles Lady and will remain one forever. Now is a great time to take your first step
ECCLES GIRLS The Eccles RFC Mini Warrior Session, an event to engage and celebrate all the Junior female players at the club, was held pride of place on the Although wet, the weather did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the girls, with a fantastic turnout from the Under 6 age group all the way up enjoyable experience, with smiles and an abundance of energy all Although only an hour session, the event was a huge success, exhibiting a clear vision and progression pathway within the Junior sections for obvious there was a high level of talent present from the Girls at all age groups, indicating the promising future that both the Eccles Girls and If your daughter is interested in playing rugby at Eccles RFC please
ECCLES JUNIORS
DUKE OF EDINBURGHS AWARD We don't need to tell anyone how different or difficult this year has been. Undeterred, the Eccles RFC DofE section has tried, when possible to continue with our activities and assist participants who were aiming to complete their goals. A few young people, who had luckily already atttained other sections of their award, were on their last stage needing only to complete an expedition. With the guidance of the North West DofE and working within government guidelines we were able to successfully carry out alternative expeditions over two weekends for the Bronze groups. The young people achieved everything they would normally do - map reading, walking, cooking, field crafts. The only thing they didn't do was camping out over night, instead sleeping at home and returning to carry on the next day. We intended to do the same for the Silver group during October but unfortunately the Greater Manchester area went into tighter lockdown restrictions so this has been postponed until a future date. Eccles RFC was the first rugby club in the UK to run the prestigious DofE award programme and we now have a decade of experience behind us. In this time we’ve seen 48 of our young people achieve the highest accolade of a gold award at a Royal Palace and over 160 more achieve Silver and Bronze recognition. However, in recent years we have seen diminishing numbers of our young people wanting to take up the challenge of a DofE award at Eccles RFC. There is no doubt that the programme requires determination, dedication and a commitment in effort and time to succeed. We encourage participation from our players, as the benefits to personal development and team bonding are clear, but we respect it is not for everyone. We hope, when some kind or normality returns, we will be be able to recruit and do more to keep the DofE going at Eccles. This is not the way we wanted to celebrate our tenth year, but lots of organisations are in the same boat and we will endeavour, as many pioneers and expeditioners have done before, to continue and overcome the difficulties before us. First Gold Group At St James Palace 2nd Gold Group At Buckingham Palace 3rd Group At Buckingham Palace 4th Group At Buckingham Palace
WALKING RUGBY Numbers attending Walking rugby at Eccles are slightly down in the past few weeks due to self-isolating and some very poor weather. We do two former senior players and a new recruit who heard about us from a Eccles RFC were one of the first clubs in the region to embrace Walking We recommenced Walking Rugby activities on the 7th of September and Our challenge in the months ahead will be to re-instate the momentum for those who are not smart phone savvy) We keep in touch through our own What's-app group and new players from within the club are always welcome so why not give it a try!
GORTON STREET GAZETTE Early Eccles 1901-1914 The turbulent early years of Eccles RFC’s history were not untypical for a club of this district. Having begun its activities during the 1880s following the Great Rugby Schism of 1895, Eccles re-established itself in 1897 playing its fixtures in Monton near the Blue at Bell Terrace playing on this site until the Godfrey Ermen Schools In 1901 Eccles moved a short distance south down Edison Road to Road, near the Barton Swing Bridge and were to remain here on Before the Great War Eccles were considered a formidable opponent, holding their own with the principle clubs of Lancashire and enjoying good local support. Regular opponents included Sale, and New Brighton. Each season, Eccles enjoyed an annual Easter Tour to Bedfordshire with a fixture against Bedford RUFC, at that time the home of one the best rugby club pavilions in the country, In the 1903/04 season Eccles were the most consistent team in the Manchester district winning 21 of 27 games; 1905/06 saw 23
GORTON STREET GAZETTE victories from 30 games with 399 points scored and T.S. Stevens and R. Cameron selected for Lancashire. In 1906/07 many ground improvements were made and J. Clerc, three-quarter of the In September 1912, a gate of 3,000 gathered at Barton to watch Eccles v Kendal in the opening match of the season. 1913/14 season. In the Eccles would win 17, draw 6, and suffer just two away defeats at Manchester and Kersal and one home loss to Broughton Park by a single drop goal to nil! Eccles fine 1XV were on the rise and forward Harold Bowker and Half-Back Reginald Lightbrown Bolton contributed nine tries each that season and were selected to represent Following the declaration of War rugby fixtures were abandoned in September 1914. ‘Pals’ battalions were raised to encourage work colleagues and team mates to serve together. Employers displayed recruitment posters, speeches were given at rugby matches, young men lied about their age and queued up to volunteer in their thousands. Many Eccles players were amongst the first to enlist. Harold Bowker joined the Duke of Lancaster Yeomanry and went on to become a 2nd Lt. in the Royal Air Corp, surviving the war and playing for Swinton Lions until 1920. Reggie Bolton, Capt. Manchester Regiment, was killed at sea in 1918 when the hospital ship he was aboard was torpedoed by German U-Boat. His brother John Bolton, goal- kicker for Eccles, was killed
sacrificed their lives in foreign fields and reflect on all those who that can we could enjoy rugby and our way of life today. Of all the GORTON STREET GAZETTE
SPONSORSHIP AND FUNDING Eccles RFC is run by dedicated volunteers. With over 120 years behind us we are a resilient, ambitious, progressive, inclusive, community rugby club and welcome support from businesses who share our ambition and passion. Sponsorship opportunities 2020/21 Community Coaching sponsorship - £15k Platinum Club Sponsorship - £10k Duke of Edinburgh Award Sponsorship - £10k Senior Team Sponsorship - £5k Junior Team Sponsorship - £3k Pitch-side Advertising boards - £500 Programme advertisement - £250 Senior Player Sponsorship - £150 Our sponsorship packages are flexible. For more information please email us at sponsorship@ecclesrfc.org.uk 1897 You can raise money for Eccles RFC every time you shop online by using EasyFundraising.co.uk Just register on the website, name us as your cause and shop as normal. The club receives a donation for the purchases you make. Easy.
CODE OF CONDUCT Eccles Rugby Football Club encourage Spectators to: • Act as a positive role model to all. • Behave with dignity and generosity. • Support your club’s efforts to uphold its reputation. • Respect Rugby’s values. Discipline and Sportsmanship define our game. • Respect the match officials' decisions, even if they appear to make a mistake. Remember, they are volunteers and without them there would be no game. • Encourage all players irrespective of their ability. Never ridicule a player, regardless of the shirt they wear. • Appreciate good performance and achievement from all players, irrespective of their team. • Acknowledge effort and endeavour rather than the desire to 'win at all cost'. • Support the players. Shout ‘for’ them not ‘at’ them. • Never verbally abuse players, coaches, match officials or fellow spectators; such negative behaviour affects the players and referee’s performance and attitude. • Remain behind the barriers. The field is for the competitors. Remember children play rugby for their own enjoyment, not for that of the spectators. 1897
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