National 1: DMP maintained their perfect record at the top with a 35-18 win against Cambridge with Coventry second after a tight 19-21 win at struggling O Albanians.  Blackheath are third after an equally close 16-15 win against Ampthill.  Plymouth Albion sit fourth in the early season table with a 17-36 win over newly promoted Bishops Stortford.  At the bottom the early season stragglers are Hull Ionians who lost out 38-24 to Moseley in a match played on the Friday evening, whilst Fylde are also struggling following their heavy 7-43 defeat to O Elthamians.  In the early season mid-table battles Esher were 32-17 winners against Rosslyn Pk, with Caldy posting a good 26-31 win over Loughborough St.

National 2(S):  Word is that due to Hartpury’s rise, Cinderford is again the club of choice for Gloucester’s academy players and another big win, this time 17-90 at Henley does little to dispel that theory as they head the table.  Taunton are level on points after they beat Barnstaple 52-3, with Chinnor as the only other unbeaten club after a 24-43 win at Ldn Irish WG.  City club Canterbury sit in the top half of the table after a 41-7 beating of new boys Broadstreet, whilst TJs sit in the middle of the pack after they posted a solid 14-24 win at Clifton. The early season basement boys are O Redcliffians who lost 28-20 at BSE who along with Wimbledon who lost out 24-16 at Redruth are still looking for a first win.  The remaining result saw Worthing lose out to Redingensians in a high scoring 30-40 scoreline.

London Premier: Guernsey sit top of the table, one of only three clubs still unbeaten as they just edged out new boys Tunbridge Wells 24-26. Sidcup sit second after a 33-28 win against Westcliff who are now fourth with Tring in third after they beat S&E 22-27.  Hertford, who would have been many people choice as promotion candidates fell to a 17-23 home defeat to Barnes whilst Dorking also sit amongst the front runners after a 30-27 win over struggling Shelford who sit in the bottom three.  At the bottom end of the table Towcestrians anchor the division after their match against fellow strugglers Westcombe Pk was abandoned due to an electrical storm, whilst Southend continue to struggle, going down 19-38 at home to Guildford.

London 1(S):  Cs Rugby lead the way after a 17-38 win at Brighton with Chichester are second following a 30-17 win against Havant.  Medway slip to third after failing to pick up a bonus point in their 15-20 win at Thurrock.  By far the result that caught the eye was newly promoted Ldn Cornish’s 57-10 dismantling of Cobham whilst Maidstone’s poor record against Tottonians continued with a 22-37 defeat. Gravesend picked up their first win of the campaign with a 24-30 win at Chobham whilst Colfes are still waiting for their first win after losing out 17-24 against Sevenoaks.

London 2(SE): Hove and Dover sit at the head of the table after two matches with wins against Pulborough (25-54) and D&B (23-22) respectively.  Dartfordians sit third after beating Beckenham 11-15 with Horsham fourth following their 19-36 win at Alleynians.  Barking share bottom spot with Pulborough after a 7-31 loss to Charlton P, with D&B and H&W just above them after the latter’s 38-24 loss at Haywards Heath.

London 3(SE):  It is the two clubs that started their campaigns a week early that head the table with newly promoted H&B top following a 14-14 draw at Folkestone whilst Bromley were 10-43 winners against next door neighbours Park Hse. Thanet sit third after they hammered Sheppey 7-75, with Aylesford in fourth after they were held to the division’s second draw, a 15-15 result against O Wills. The remaining result saw Crawley 12-10 winners against Crowborough and Lewes convincing 43-15 winners against Dunstonians.

Kent 1: Perennial challengers Beccs head the table following a 0-34 win against OGs, with Kings Coll in second after a 34-10 win over Southwark.  A tight 37-35 win in the local derby with NAG sees Vigo complete the top three.  At the bottom Sittingbourne are still looking to get their campaign rolling after they lost out heavily, 46-7 to Anchorians. In the battle of the banks the honours went to RBS by a single point as they edged HSBC 24-25.  In mid-table Ashford lost out 5-19 to Cranbrook. 

National 1: Coventry are the early pace setters after a 50-11 win over Moseley, with DMP on their heels following their 15-27 win at Hull Ionians who prop up the table.  Newly promoted Bishops Stortford sit third after edging out the side they came up with in a 13-19 scoreline against Elthamians.  Blackheath posted another good result with a 6-25 win at Rosslyn Pk to complete the top four.  Of the other likely contenders Plymouth Albion beat Esher 43-10 whilst Ampthill were 28-24 winners against an Albanians side yet to win.  A 37-19 defeat for Fylde at newly promoted Caldy sees them at the wrong end of the table whilst in the last of the fixtures Cambridge lost out 9-14 to Loughborough St.

National 2(S):  Taunton sit atop the division as they did in the early stages of last season after a 10-48 win at Redcliffians, whilst a solid 29-24 win for Barnstaple against Redruth sees them second, with Worthing in third after their 15-31 win against newly promoted Wimbledon.  Cinderford are the other undefeated side in the table and they hammered Clifton 57-5.  The county interest was in the derby between TJs and Canterbury, with the spoils going to the visiting city club with a 24-36 score, a result that sees both clubs in the middle of the table. Above them Redingensians were convincing winners at Ldn Irish WG by 44-16, the remaining fixtures saw Chinnor 39-20 winners over Henley whilst Broadstreet went down 16-20 to visiting BSE.

London Premier: As was probably to be expected it is the sides that challenged last season,  that even at this early stage look like being the front runners as Guernsey and Hertford head the table after wins against S&E (25-17)and Shelford (19-37) respectively.  They are joined by two of the newly promoted sides in Tring who were 42-19 winners over fellow promotes Towcesterians, whilst Sidcup beat a Westcombe Pk outfit that finished fourth last time out with a 23-32 scoreline.  At the bottom end despite only two fixtures, it is looking like Southend who battled relegation last season may do so again after they were thumped 69-5 by Essex rival Westcliff.  Guildford also sit in that pack after they lost narrowly to visiting Surrey neighbours Dorking 31-32. In the remaining fixture Barnes brought newly promoted Tunbridge Wells back down to earth after last week’s win with a 35-7 defeat.

London 1(S):  Medway sit top after week two with a convincing 49-8 win over Colfes who now prop up the table. A convincing 34-67 win for Chichester over Tottonians keeps their perfect record as does CS Rugby’s 34-18 win against Ldn Cornish to complete the top three, with Cornish yet to get off the mark.  Havant also look leading challengers this terms after they beat Brighton 17-13 and are the last of only four sides to be unbeaten after two fixtures.  In the early season mid table melee, Cobham were surprised 17-19 at home against Chobham whilst Sevenoaks put in a good performance to beat Maidstone 43-17.  In the last of the fixtures Gravesend just came up short against Thurrock, losing out 11-14

London 2(SE): In what is the opening round of fixtures in the division, again it was the sides that challenged last season that were expected to be the fast starters, and so it proved, as  Dartfordians posted the biggest score of the day with an 83-0 hammering of the once mighty Barking, for whom it might be a long season. Beckenham were also convincing winners as they beat Pulborough 49-3 but Charlton Pk were beaten 23-35 by Alleynians.  Hove also won, with a 10-33 win at D&B whilst Dover were 20-27 winners at H&W.  In the Sussex derby, Horsham just edged newly promoted Haywards Heath by the odd point in the 13-12 scoreline.

London 3(SE):  Oddly there was a single fixture played in this division last week which sneaked under the radar of the author and will be dealt with now as newly promoted H&B hosted Bromley for what was their first fixture at this level and ran out comfortable 51-22 winners.  That result combined with this week’s 27-16 win over Park Hse sees then top the table followed by Crowborough who beat O Wills 34-15 and Aylesford who were 33-22 winners against Folkestone. Sheppey came away with the points after a 20-25 win at Crawley whilst Bromley recovered from last week’s loss with a 42-15 win over Lewes.  The last of the fixtures saw Thanet Wdrs edge out Dunstonians 19-22.

Kent 1: After a torrid time last season leading relegation, Ashford got their season off to a flyer with a 0-60 win over newly promoted RBS, a 15-28 win for Kings Coll over HSBc sees them in second and rounds off a bad day for the bank sides.  Beccs also look certain to challenge again this season after their opening day 31-21 win against Anchorians.  Cranbrook lost out 24-27 to OGs in what is always a tight contest whilst the narrowest winning margin in the division was between Sittingbourne and Vigo, with the villagers just shading the 31-32 score.  In the last of the fixtures NAG posted a solid 20-5 win over Southwark Lancers.

RFU have changed the method of allocating away tickets. Please see below (in italics) on the new allocation system.

“Historically, we have based the ticket allocation to the clubs on the number who have expressed an interest on their Six Nations home application form, with typically around 850 clubs expressing an interest each season. This season, in the interest of fairness we will be offering an initial allocation to all clubs. There are currently 1,397 Clubs, CBs and Societies entitled to apply for tickets and your (MFC) initial allocation is as follows:

• Italy v England: 2
• Scotland v England: 2
• France v England: 4

This first allocation may be less than you have received previously for the reasons detailed above. After the initial sales window, we will release any tickets not taken up enabling you to purchase additional tickets, subject to availability.

This first allocation may be less than you have received previously for the reasons detailed above. After the initial sales window, we will release any tickets not taken up enabling you to purchase additional tickets, subject to availability.

 "The initial sales window for Club Six Nations away matches will run from 10am on Monday 9th October until 10am on Monday 16th October."

The additional sale will open at 10am on Wednesday 18th October. Further details on this will follow.”

The club will purchase those tickets available in the first allocation. A random number draw will decide which member gets the limited amount of tickets and rather than wait until just before the actual fixture before allocating it would be good to know who wishes to be included in the draw so that if they are successful then they can make early travel/hotel arrangements.

Members applying for tickets should forward applications for tickets to Steve Vincent by 18^th October at the latest. Please note Steve will be out of the country from 20^th October for 10 days, so it is important that your applications are submitted promptly.

What more could you wish for?  An opening day that gave us some glorious weather with a great game of rugby and a solid win for the 1st XV  to boot (not to mention a pleasant game of cricket also taking place).  In addition we also had Phil Brown, Marketing Director from new Platinum Sponsors, Millwood Designer Homes on hand to watch the action.

Whilst he was there club President Jim Tinsley and Chairman Craig Tuffrey took the time to present him with one of this season’s 1^st XV shirts in addition to getting Phil to present the Man of the Match award after the final whistle.

Those who attended the AGM will have seen the section on Volunteering in the Annual Report, in addition a piece about the need for volunteers was also included in the latest circulation of the club newsletter.

The club is looking for volunteers to commit to a few hours a week on a regular basis to assist with ground & pitch maintenance.  We already have a small pool of committed volunteers, but need others to step forward to cover absences and unavailability; this is not a lifetime  or life changing commitment, just a request for people to step forward and give some time.

You don’t need to be horticulturally minded, just demonstrate a willingness to help; and for those of you who’ve never driven a ride-on mower, tractor, or connected a 3-point linkage then full instruction can be given.  It’s not that onerous and in many ways is a pleasant way to spend a morning, afternoon or evening on a sunny day.

If you feel you can help in this area then please contact a member of the committee, please don’t leave everything to the committed few.

Matchball Sponsorship

Matchball Sponsorship opportunities @ £50ea are also available for all home league fixtures, Kent Cup fixtures once they have been announced will also available for any home fixture.  If you or your company would be interested in being the matchball sponsor for one of these fixtures then please contact Bob Hayton in the first instance:

2^nd Sept v O Colfeians (Sold)

16^th Sept v Tottonians (Sold)

30^th Sept v CS Rugby 

21^st Oct v Gravesend (Sold)

4^th Nov v Chobham

25^th Nov v Brighton

9^th Dec v Medway

16^th Dec v Sevenoaks (Sold)

13^th Jan v Havant

17^th Feb v Thurrock

10^th Mar v Ldn Cornish (Sold)

7^th Apr v Chichester

London & South East Division

London & SE Division 1 (South)