After doing such a stellar job of the Junior fixtures, Craig Rixon will need to step down at the end of the season due to work commitments. The club is truly thankful to Craig for his fantastic efforts in coordinating the youth games.

This means that as of next season, the club wil need a new Youth Fixtures Coordinator. In the role, you’ll be responsible for organising rugby fixtures for all age groups within the Maidstone Youth section. Players will rely on you to ensure the fixtures provide the right standard of rugby, reflecting the needs of each age group. As it’s all about playing rugby, it’s safe to say it wouldn’t be a rugby club without you.

Ideally, you’ll need to be:

• ♦Well-organised & Conscientious
• ♦Good at communicating
• ♦Patient
• ♦Enthusiastic
• ♦Knowledge of Excel 
• ♦Familiarity of Maidstone Youth Section volunteers and lead Coaches would be helpful but not necessary

The role is not as daunting as it sounds and we guarantee that you'll receive the gratitude of the players, coaches and supporters alike. You’ll be the source of all knowledge about upcoming matches, keeping the season alive and on schedule. The skills needed to do this role are transferable to any walk of life, so having something like this on your CV is attractive to potential employers.

A full role description can be found here.

Bath Rugby host West Country rivals Bristol Bears in The Clash: a Gallagher Premiership showdown at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 6 April 2019 (KO 2pm).

This is a great opportunity for young, aspiring rugby players to see world-class rugby on the biggest stage and members of Maidstone FC are able to take advantage of an exclusive ticket offer:

• Adult Category 2 tickets: £15 (save 50%)
• Under-16 Category 2 tickets: £10

As well as watching England’s rising stars Joe Cokanasiga, Sam Underhill and Zach Mercer, you'll also be able to see the likes of Taulupe Faletau, Jonathan Joseph and Charles Piutau in action. There will also be a whole host of entertainment on offer before and after the match making this a fantastic day out for the whole family.

Tickets can be purchased individually or collectively by clicking the link HERE or for group sales of 20 or more, please call the ticket office on 0208 831 6666 (option 6).

Recognition for Volunteers, do you have an unsung hero?

The Kent RFU Volunteer awards are in their 5th year. There are 9 categories and a chance to say thank you to those volunteers that go the extra mile to give a great rugby experience.

Do you know of an unsung hero, a person that has made a valued contribution at your club?

Anyone at your club can nominate a volunteer, to show their appreciation of the time and effort and the contribution they make.

Please share with your club members (why not post it on your website or share on your Facebook page), so they can nominate their volunteer of the year

Nominations close Saturday 6th April 2019, to nominate your volunteer, please go to:

 https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2V83MGL

Awards dinner is Thursday 6th June 2019

NB: If you do nominate someone within the club, out of courtesy and so the committee has a handle on nominations, please inform the Hon Sec, Melanie White of your nomination. Thank you.

Maidstone Rugby Club Quiz night

 ‘Raising funds for club tours’

Saturday 16^th February 2019

         7:00 for 7:30 start

Tables of 7 max, £6 per brain

Tickets available from the bar

Bring your food of choice!!

ALSO!

Raffle auction & heads + tails game

National 1:  After a week at the top Rosslyn Pk slip back to third following a 28-22 loss at Elthamians who now sit second with both level on points, whilst Blackheath’s 24-29 win at DMP sees them top the table again. Ampthill sit level with Elthamians & Rosslyn Pk  in fourth place after they posted a 48-15 win against Plymouth Albion.  Rotherham and Chinnor sit 5-points back from the top four, with both posting wins, Rotherham tight 21-20 winners against struggling Moseley and Chinnor 17-20 winners at Caldy.  At the foot of the table Loughborough St lost out 45-36 at Cinderford with Bishops Stortford moved off bottom spot with a 29-15 win against Sale.  Esher occupies the last of the relegation places following a 28-20 loss at Cambridge in the last of the fixtures.

National 2(S):  A 36-21 win for leaders Rams against O Albanians keeps them 15-points clear at the top, but Canterrbury’s 23-20 loss at Dings sees them slip to third with Taunton, who won 27-27 against B&S in second spot.  Fifth placed TJs narrowed the gap on fouth club Henley with a 23-12 win in the clash between the two, with the top five well clear of the midfield pack.  At the foot of the division it might be possible that the relegation places are already decided (still very early) as the bottom three are 15 points adrift of safety with Guernsey , who lost 32-5 at Redruth, locked together with B&S in the bottom two places.  The other relegation place is occupied by Ldn Irish WG who were sunk 37-22 at O Redcliffians. In mid-table Worthing lost out 29-49 to visiting Clifton whilst Barnes and BSE fought out a 24-24 draw.

London Premier:  Pretty much the top half clubs all won and the bottom section lost with the top v bottom clash seeing a 74-0 hammering of Shelford by leaders Wimbledon. Second placed S&E were 36-15 winners against Dorking whilst third placed Westcliff won 30-10 against T Wells.  The top three are well clear of fourth placed Hertford who were convincing 11-45 winners at Guildford.  At the bottom, winless Shelford are well adrift from Bedford Athletic, who lost 47-19 at CS Stags; and Chingford who went down 23-3 at Tring.  Brentwood were one of the few lower half teams to post a win with a welcome 49-17 win against Sidcup to move them out of the bottom three, and whilst two of the relegation places may look to be decided, there is likely to be a weekly churn of positions for the last of the drop zone spots as the run in continues.

London 1(S):  Back to winning ways for leaders Brighton in what was another close encounter  that saw them on the right side of another 2-point margin as Cobham pushed them close in the 39-37 scoreline.  Second placed Sevenoaks had a comfortable encounter, winning 45-7 against bottom club Hove, whilst in third place Medway won out in a high scoring 55-33 encounter with visiting Thurrock. Camberley stay fourth following their 38-11 result against struggling Chichester. At the bottom, Chobham sit above Hove and look to be in deep relegation trouble after a heavy 70-12 defeat at Westcombe Pk, whilst Chichester are level on points with Tottonians who went down 20-25 to visiting Ldn Cornish.  In the last of the fixtures, a 34-15 win for Havant sees them move clear of the danger area, whilst their opponents, Dartfordians could be in danger of slipping into the relegation battle.

London 2(SE):  At the top of the table the big clash was between leaders Beckenham who hosted 2^nd placed Charlton Pk with the visitors taking the spoils 27-29 to inflict Beckenham’s first league defeat  of the season and close the gap to 8-points at the top.  Third placed Horsham also narrowed the deficit with their own  42-14 win against Thanet Wdrs who drop a position as a result.  The foot of the table saw H&W travel to Maidstone in what was an important fixture for both clubs; in the end Maidstone contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, losing out 25-27 in a result that combined with Aylesford’s 29-0 loss at Haywards Heath was enough to lift H&W off the bottom.  In the mid-table fixtures, they went with league position as Colfes were 27-18 winners against D&B whilst Gravesend beat Dover 43-13.

London 3(SE):  As in the division above, the leaders went down to a narrow home defeat as visiting Vigo took the spoils by the odd point in the 12-13 scoreline and were the only side in the top four to post a win.  Second placed Beccs lost out 29-22 at Pulborough whilst O Wills went down 117-23 at struggling Bromley.  The foot of the table now sees park Hse who had no fixture prop up the table with H&B posting a welcome 10-26 win at Lewes, a result that moved them off the foot of the division and drags their opponents into the relegation battle. In the last of the fixtures, Folkestone -maintain their recent form with a 25-14 result against Dunstonians and continue to climb the table; and could yet feature in the promotion battle with a couple more positive results.

Kent 1:  A triple figure 105-5 win for leaders Ashford against struggling Foots Cray sees them stay 8-points clear of Anchorians who were also big winners with a 0-71 result at bottom club Sheppey.  OGs stay third after they had to work hard for their 17-19 win at NAG, before a significant gap to fourth placed Southwark who beat Whistable 26-10.  In mid-table Cranbrook were 17-22 winners at HSBc whilst Kings Coll had no fixture.

Kent 2:   Leaders Cliffe benefitted from a HWO against Askean with Sittingbourne’s 20-12 defeat of Bexley keeping them in second spot with third placed Faversham having no fixture. Brocleians posted a 7-27 win at bottom club Greenwich, whilst Lordswood just edged a tight result with a 22-26 result at Dartford Valley.

There is planned to be a pre-match lunch taking place on Saturday 9^th February which is when we host local rivals Aylesford for the second of this season's league fixtures. Unfortunately they seem to have had the upper hand this season just edging the cup & league encounters so far by the odd couple of points in matches where we seem to have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. 

So every incentive to set the record straight in what promises to be another competitive and close encounter.  The cost for lunch is £22 per person and these lunches are always a great occasion and in many ways the essence of what grassroots community rugby is about.  If you wish to attend could either contact Paul Ehrhart by close of play on Monday 21st  January to allow us to plan accordingly.

Timings are: 12:30 for a 12:45 sit down.

National 1:  The mid-season break can sometimes throw some sides out of their stride and in what is a closely fought battle at the top of the table that is what happened as both Elthamians and Blackheath stumbled, with Elthamians falling to a 41-26 loss on their long away trip to DMP whilst ‘Club’ lost out 27-32 to visiting Plymouth Albion.  With fourth placed Ampthill losing by the odd point, 49-48 at Esher in a high scoring match it meant that Rosslyn Pk were the only one of the top five to post a win and sees them take over top spot after they beat Rotherham 46-24.  At the bottom end of the division a welcome 53-19 for Loughborough St over Caldy lifted them off the bottom, to be replaced by Bishops Stortford following their 41-31 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Moseley. In mid-table Chinnor just edged out visiting Cambridge 27-26 whilst Sale beat Cinderford 31-17.

National 2(S):  Rams stay 13-points clear at the top following a narrow 12-19 win at third placed Henley, whilst Canterbury head the leading group of three clubs with a 47-12 win against struggling O Redcliffians, with Taunton in fourth after a 42-48 win at Clifton.  This group of four sit 7-points clear of fifth placed TJs who lost out 44-31 at struggling Ldn Irish WG, a result that at least meant that at the bottom end of the table they hadn’t let the gap to safety widen.  B&S also won, with a  25-15 result against visiting Dings which with Guernsey losing out 19-27 to visiting BSE means that they now prop up the table. In the other results, O Albanians lost out 20-24 to Barnes whilst Redruth also fell to visiting Worthing 17-28.

London Premier:  No change at the top as leaders Wimbledon eked out a narrow 20-22 win at struggling Bedford Athletic, with S&E 15-30 winners against a Chingford side just above the drop zone.  Westcliff sit third following their 16-23 at fourth placed Hertford to now open up a 9-point buffer between the top three and the rest.  At the bottom of the table Shelford remain winless, going down 26-10 at Tunbridge Wells whilst Brentwood also fell to defeat, losing out 26-11 at Dorking, Bedford Athletic complete the bottom three with Chingford just above them and then CS Stags who posted a morale boosting 46-19 win against Tring.  The last of the results saw Sidup start the year with a solid result as they ran out 41-19 winners against Guildford.

London 1(S):  Leaders Brighton stumbled after the Xmas break, going down to a narrow 29-27 defeat at Havant which meant that Sevenoaks in second spot closed the gap after they were 0-40 winners at struggling Chobham.  A 19-30 win at Chichester keeps Medway in touch in third from Camberley after they beat Dartfordians 12-20.  The foot of the table sees Hove still looking for a first win after losing out 24-58 to Cobham, with Chobham just above them and Tottonians in the last of the relegation places after they lost 25-20 at Thurrock, Chichester and Havant sit just above them and realistically the relegation places look like being filled by three of the current bottom five clubs. In the last of the fixtures Ldn Cornish were 27-17 winners against Westcombe Pk.

London 2(SE):  A 22-27 win for Beckenham at Thanet Wdrs keeps them clear at the top of the table, with Charlton Pk in second following a 32-24 result against a Maidstone side unlucky not to take something from the fixture. Horsham’s 33-13 win against Gravesend keeps them in third spot with Colfes in fourth after a 24-52 win at bottom club H&W.  At the bottom end of the table, H&W sit 2-points below Aylesford who lost out 17-22 to visiting Dover, whilst Maidstone and Thanet sit above them.  In mid-table Haywards Heath were 5-19 winners at D&B.

London 3(SE):  A 13-5 win over mid-table Pulborough keeps Crowborough well clear at the top of the division from O Wills who, with Beccs having no fixture, move into second spot after they were 13-16 winners against bottom club H&B.  At the bottom, above H&B sit neighbours Park Hse and Bromley locked together on points after Park Hse posted a 22-27 win at Dunstonians whilst Bromley fell to a 14-30 loss to Folkestone, whose recent run of form has seen them steadily climb the table to fifth spot. In the last of the fixtures fourth placed Vigo were 26-7 winners against Lewes who look like they could well get dragged into the relegation battle.

Kent 1:  In what was the key clash of the day second placed Anchorians fell to narrow 19-17 defeat at O Gravesendians which sees them narrow the gap on the top two, but also sees the leaders Ashford stretch to an 8-point advantage after they were 7-20 winners at Kings Coll.  Aside from the clash between OGs and Anchorians, the other news of the day was RBS’s withdrawal from the league, leaving Sheppey at the foot of the table following a 69-0 hammering by HSBC, all of which was not helped by a points deduction over the break and sees them 17-points adrift of safety. In the other results Southwark posted a 5-29 win at Foots Cray, whilst Whitstable posted a useful 27-15 win against visiting NAG.  RBS’ withdrawal meant that Cranbrook had no fixture this week.

Kent 2:   No Fixtures

The club committee is charged with ensuring the best possible coaching and playing environment for the growth of all its players and it is with regret that tough decisions have had to be made regarding the coaching structure and personnel.

In November Director of Rugby Andy Golding, sat down with Head Coach Mike Hebden and it was apparent that two backs coaches and no dedicated forwards coach was causing an imbalance in the coaching approach, which was ultimately affecting team performance. As a result, it was agreed that the existing backs coach would depart at the end of December and Steve Millward would come on board as full-time forwards coach. The backs coach agreed to see out his months’ notice until the end of December. The club would like to thank him for his contributions and dedication to Maidstone over the past 3 seasons.

At the start of the season, the club committee set targets for Mike Hebden which were agreed and that a full review of performance would be undertaken by Andy Golding in his capacity as Director of Rugby with Mike at the end of December. Against a back-drop of injuries and with players having left that could not be readily replaced, it has been a difficult first half of the season and despite Mike’s best efforts, the targets for the season are now not achievable this term. It has therefore been agreed by all parties of the committee, that Mike will be released from his role with the result that a new coaching structure will be put in place that is better suited to where we currently are as a Club and allow Mike to seek new opportunities. Mike has kindly agreed to stay on until the end of January to assist with the transition and hand-over.

For the remainder of the season, Steve Millward will continue as forwards coach & Dave Charlton will assist as specialist backs coach. Pete Barford will also be involved in an interim capacity, overseen by Director of Rugby, Andy Golding.

The reasons and timings for this have been carefully considered and discussed internally. The committee feels that the release of the head coach now, allows the club time to plan for the new season early. In addition, we will have sufficient time to recruit new players that we feel are needed, as well as look to cement our place in London 2 by building upon our existing player base.

The club would like to thank Mike for all of his hard work, effort and commitment over the past 3 seasons with the 1^st XV and before that with the Mustangs .We wish him well in his future coaching endeavours.   

You may have noticed on the top right hand side of the club website, that there is a button for information on the development plan at Binbury Park.

The online support method has now closed, but you can still write a letter of support to the council. The club has also prepared three draft versions that members can download and send to show their support. Although you are under no obligation to do so, the club needs as many letters of support as possible in order to succeed with the development plans. If you can spare some time to download a letter, sign and add your address before sending it onto the council, it will go a long way into securing the future for the club.

As things move along, the members will be informed of the club house design and amenities in due course. This development brings the club the opportunity to not only have a state of the art facility, but the chance to be able to grow for the benefits of its members today, as well as for many years to come.

You can access the Development page on the website here.

Date: Saturday 23^rd February 2019 @ 1.30 for 2.00pm

Venue: Maidstone Rugby Club.

Guys; has the Mrs always moaned that it’s you that gets to go to all the club lunches, its you that gets to enjoy a drink on a Saturday afternoon and it’s her that has to drop you off and pick you up, probably somewhat the worse for wear!!

Well here’s an opportunity to turn the tables and treat your lady to lunch and drive her home afterwards – this is your chance to build up those brownie points again!

Cost will be £20.oo pp including a glass of prosecco on arrival and wine on the table. We will also be holding a raffle.

Club bank details Sort code 30-95-37 Acc no 00062872

Reply to Paul Ehrhart by 9th February to book her place.

Email paul.ehrhart.rugby@gmail.com

After 14 years long service and an incredible amount of money gained for the club, Bob Hayton will be stepping down as Sponsorship Officer at the end of the season. Over the years Bob has built up a network of relationships that have benefitted the entire club. From shirt sponsors to Mike Tindall & Lawrence Dallaglio visits, his efforts have reaped such reward for the club. With his everyday work load becoming more pressing, coupled with the multiple hats he already wears for the club, he has reluctantly decided to pass one of hits hats on.

The club is obviously looking for a replacement as soon as possible. Bob will be on hand to help transition the existing relationships across to the new incumbents. With the groundwork laid over so many years, maintaining these relationships is key, but should not be to arduous if picked up quickly.

This is not a role that needs to be filled by one person and we do have a couple of volunteers willing to help out. However, the club still desperately needs a lead in which to coordinate the tasks and oversee the role. The club is also looking to offer a commission base for the Sponsorship role as an incentive to any and all volunteers willing to help the club.

If you are interested in coming on board, then please contact Bob Hayton in the first instance.

The only thing left to say is to thank Bob wholeheartedly for his efforts and persistence throughout his tenure, which without, the club could be in a far different place.

London & South East Division

London & SE Division 2 (SE)

Other Fixtures