Dan Protherough, Director of Rugby – End of season report

As the 2023/2024 season draws to a close the senior squad can look back at the season with immense pride at a good campaign with a number of stunning victories for the 1^st XV but also some other metrics that show the club is in good health moving forward.

We regularly put out 4 sides and this is testament to the work of all the captains and coaches but in particular Steve Rose as 3^rd XV Captain and Martin Lakeman as Crusaders Captain.

The 1^st XV finished in our highest league position in a number of years with exceptional wins against Stourbridge and Oxford Harlequins. One of the highlights of the year though was our stunning away victory at Kenilworth where with 20 minutes to go we were 21 points adrift and staring down the barrel at a heavy defeat. Up stepped Ed Spalding to inspire one of the most dramatic comebacks I’ve been part of and we walked off 43-38 winners in front of the stunned Kenilworth crowd. When you dive into the figures you can only applaud Oxford’s record which was exceptional but I think within the group we believe we should have finished above Stourbridge. The reason we didn’t were numerous but basically come down to not being clinical enough in the red zone and also losing 3 games after Christmas all in very unlucky fashion. Being clinical will mean we score 4 tries more often and gain more bonus  points and it will hopefully mean that if we keep improving our defence which was the 2^nd best in the league that we won’t go into the last 5 minutes of games with the game in the balance, and this is the real lesson for the season. If we want to be challenging at the very top of the league we need to be more ruthless and disciplined to pile on the points.

The 2^nd XV had another good season in Counties 1 West competing against large conurbations 1^st XV really well. As the season progressed the buy in and understanding of what it takes to win games at this level improved and we got better and better. Certainly Nick “Nocker” Wright’s calm manner seemed to resonate well with the team and the influence of Callum Megram certainly made a big difference. Big wins against Old Leamingtonian’s and Broadstreet were some of the highlights of the season. This team is only set to improve further as the pathway of players improves thanks to Jamie Rodden’s work with the Academy.

The 3’s were once again superbly led by Steve Rose who has had a very difficult year personally off the pitch, so to achieve what he has this year with the 3’s is true testament to a remarkable man. His biggest achievement by far though has nothing to do with results. He has managed to break down the barriers between the 3s and the 2^nd’s and what makes me most proud this year is seeing the likes of Liam Colgan and Dan Cooper dominating games for the 2^nd XV. This fluidity is not one way with regular 1^st XV players also happily playing for the club and not any one team with Will Harris, George Amphlett, Bobby Green, all playing for whichever team they are picked by that 1s, 2s and even the Crusaders!

With a cup final on Sunday we have one final hurrah and a chance to bring home some Silverware. The last two times we have come up against the Newport Juggernaut and whilst we have given a good account of ourselves they have outpowered us. On Sunday we play Luctonian’s 2^nd XV who are on a remarkable 50+ winning streak so we will have to put our best foot forward to gain the victory.

Whatever the result Sunday I will look back on a successful season for both the senior and junior sections of the club on the rugby side and would like to thank all who have made it possible.