Season’s greetings to everyone associated with Teddington RFC. The season seems to be flying by and there’s been plenty of fun and successes to reflect on as we reach the midpoint of the 24/25 campaign. Back in September, when the sun was shining, we kicked off the season with our traditional welcome BBQ for the minis and juniors, which was a great success and the first time in a few years that the weather didn’t get the better of us. The youth section have continued to boast strong numbers, illustrated by us being the best represented club at the Richmond festival in terms of the number of teams entered. The club continue to support the growth of junior girls’ rugby and have junior squads competing in league rugby at each age group up to Colts. As a club we are very proud of this level of participation, and it rewards our all-inclusive policy of rugby for all. In senior rugby, the women enjoyed the taste of victory for the first time in a few seasons and continue to work hard and improve results each week. The Fat Stags (veterans) embarked on an early season tour to Swansea, where Gowerton RFC were great hosts. The 1st XV are now playing at level 6 on the RFU league ladder, the highest level the club have ever competed at, and after a tentative start, are now starting to show some real form, with recent back-to-back wins against Grasshoppers and London Irish. The 2nd XV have raised the standards again this year, competing at the top of their merit table, with players pushing for 1st team spots. It’s also been great to see the collaboration between the youth and the senior sections of the club, with senior men and women helping with Sunday coaching, which the youngsters really enjoy. This season we have our U22’s going out for 3 games over the festive period, with the highlight being the annual memorial game at our local rivals Twickenham on the 27th December. Finally, each Friday evening, our Touch Rugby section continues to provide a fun, non-contact version of the game, a great way of keeping fit and active and is open to men and women, young and old. A lot to celebrate.

Off the field, back in November we held a very successful fundraising dinner at the rugby club, where we were fortunate to welcome former Welsh captain and British & Irish Lion Ryan Jones as our special guest. With the help of Ryan, we managed to raise much needed funds for the club. Plans are also underway for the End of Season Ball, details of which will be communicated to everyone as soon as they have been finalized.

As ever all these highlights could not be achieved without the support of our sponsors and the tireless efforts of all our volunteers. There are so many unseen jobs that are getting done to ensure the smooth running of our club. Grassroots rugby clubs, like ourselves, simply couldn’t function without this help. On that note, two of our long-standing volunteers are standing down from their roles at the end of this season. Sam Seward and Barry Williams have done sterling jobs as Youth Chair and Juniors Chair respectively and they will be missed. It does mean, we will need to fill these roles for the 25/26 season, so if you are interested in giving some of your time back to the club, then please consider about whether you’d like to take on one of these pivotal and fulfilling club roles. I can guarantee you, total support from the club if you would like to get involved.

Here’s wishing everyone a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. See you all for more of the same in 2025.

Teddington RFC Committee