Chairman's Update and this Weekends Games

Hi All,

I hope you've be enjoying the great weather, although its a little for warm for playing it is great for the supporters so why don't you take advantage of it and come down and watch our teams this weekend?

This Weekend The 1st XV are at home on Millwall Park tomorrow for their crucial and last home game of the season, kick off is at 2pm so come down and show your support, a win will secure our position in Essex 1 for next season.

The 3rd XV are also playing their Merit Table Plate Final, so if you fancy escaping London why not head down to the seaside and watch them at Southend Rugby Club, kick off is at 1pm and I'm sure Ralph and the boys would appreciate the support. The Clubhouse will be open so we look forward to seeing you the bar to celebrate a couple of victories and some Silverware.

Upcoming Events

Rest of the World day is fast approaching, scheduled for Saturday the 28 th of April , so make sure its in your diary! This is one of Millwalls great traditions, with a whole day of dedicated to Rugby. We are looking for volunteers to help with planning as well as on the day, so if you want to help make this another great day for the Club, please get in contact with darryl@millwallrugby.com more details are on the blog (http://millwallrugby.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/can-you-manage-rest-of-world-day.html)

Thanks for all the support during the Six Nations, there were some great afternoons and evenings spent in a packed Clubhouse watching one of the closest tournaments in a long while, none of these things happen without the hard work of our volunteers and you, our members showing up. Special thanks go to Ryan, Edna, Wiggy and all

We are also in the process of finalising the details for our end of season dinner at the House of Commons scheduled for the 30 th of June, tickets will be limited to this unique event and we continue to be very lucky and privileged that Jim Fitzpatrick is willing to host it. More details to follow shortly.

80's Night at the Clubhouse on Friday the 20 th of April, Dan our Social Secretary has posted this event on our Facebook page and it would be great if you could let us know whether you can attend as it will make organising the final details a lot easier.

Other stuff

Sponsorship - Can you and your Company help us? Do you want the chance to win some free tickets to an England International? If so Sophie sent around a survey asking for some basic contact details for a contact at your Company that may help secure future Sponsorship or Support, remember is not necessarily just about Cash, equipment and services are just as useful. Please have a look on our blog (http://millwallrugby.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/got-sponsorship-contact-get-chance-to.html) and fill in the form or drop Sophie an email.

Honorary Life Membership – I’m very pleased to announce that the Committee recently awarded one of our founding members, Larry McCabe an Honorary Life membership, so pass on your congratulations to him the next time you see him.

We are also looking for Coaches so if you are interested on know anyone who maybe please have a look at the advert we’ve posted on the blog. http://millwallrugby.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/were-looking-for-coaches.html

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and I look forward to seeing on the sideline or in Club over the weekend.

Regards
David
Chairman
Millwall Rugby Club

We're looking for coaches

Millwall Rugby Club is a friendly community rugby club based on the Isle of Dogs, near Canary Wharf in London. We currently field 3 men’s teams, a women’s team and 3 youth teams and our 1^st XV is currently in Essex 1 (division 9). We’re looking for: 

• Head Coach (or Director of Rugby) – Minimum RFU level 2 qualified and appropriate CPD courses
• Forwards Coach – Minimum RFU level 1 and appropriate CPD courses
• Backs Coach - Minimum RFU level 1 and appropriate CPD courses
• Assistant Coaches – to support one of our Men’s, Women’s or Youth Squads – on a rota basis.

To start as soon as possible – later starts can be accommodated if we are sure you’re the right person for our club.

In all of the roles, you will be part of our club coaching team and support volunteers who produce successful teams on and off the field. We anticipate the roles to be voluntary positions but we will reimburse you for reasonable expenses.  We are also very keen to develop skills within our coaching team so we will fund your on-going coaching development, which benefits both you and the club.

We’ll expect you to:

• Be reliable and flexible
• Inspire and develop players, coaches and team managers in the game and skills of Rugby (beginners and experienced players).
• Plan training sessions (or support other coaches training sessions)
• Advise team managers on how to select the strongest teams possible, whilst keeping within the ethos of Millwall Rugby Club.
• Represent the club professionally at all time.
• The Head Coach/Director of Rugby role will be expected to lead the coaching team and work closely with the club’s officers to plan continuous improvement of coaches and players, at training and on match days.

You will be accountable to the elected Club Management Committee (CMC) and will report on a day to day basis to the Men’s/Ladies’/Youth Chair as appropriate and to the Club Captain who has overall responsible for all playing matters.

Please apply by email to info@millwallrugby.com, submitting a completed RFU application form together with a covering letter, outlining why you’re suitable for the role and why it interests you.

Can you project manage Rest Of the World day?

The annual Rest Of the World day is fast approaching.

It's always a great day and is a chance to celebrate the end of a long season by rubbing it in the face of the English or Rest Of the World players - depending on how you swing...

Anyways, we need someone to volunteer to project manage this day.

It's not very difficult and you'll have plenty of help from people (myself and Wiggy included) but it just needs you to take charge and make sure that anything you delegate actually goes ahead.

It would be a sad day if it didn't go ahead due to nobody stepping forward. It's been an annual fixture for so long I think the England side are almost due a new wooden spoon ;-p

So are you willing or able to manage it?

The list of things that need doing isn't very long and it almost takes care of itself. We don't want to end up with a bunch of shoulder shrugs and blank looks when people ask who was in charge of such and such.

Anyways, please email me to indicate your interest (darryl@millwallrugby.com).

Cheers,
Daryl Gera

Sunday Touch Rugby moves to 4pm

The clocks change this Sunday 25th at 0100 - jumping forward by 1 hour.

Now the days are getting longer, Sunday Touch Rugby will move to its Spring/Summer time of 4pm. This will happen from this Sunday 25th March.

Hopefully anyone who forgets the clocks changing will still be there about the right time!

St. Patrick's Day and the Six Nations at the Clubhouse!‏

St. Patrick's Day 2012

It is St. Patrick's Day this Saturday and we are gearing up for what promises to be the largest and "friendliest" for many a year! Saturday also sees England take on Ireland at Twickenham in the final weekend of the 6 Nations. So to help you celebrate we have obtained a late license for the day.  So you can party on through to the early hours and beyond! (Although the clubhouse will close when our lovely volunteers need to sleep!)

As a little extra treat we will also be selling Guinness for £2 a pint from the Kick Off of the first game through to the final whistle of the England fixture!  So make sure you come down this Saturday, bring your friends and celebrate with us, and the best tasting Guinness in London (so we say).

Millwall Rugby Proudly Presents Sir Larry McCabe

Well not really, but we do have an announcement to make on Saturday Night, so make sure you are around.

It is with a tear in our eye that we announce Larry will be leaving London for a couple of years imminently.  Larry has been offered job in a foreign land and has decided to give it a try!  As one of the founding members of our club Larry has been around since it all started in 1995.  There are far too many stories to put here, but needless to say he has played a massive part in bringing our club to where it is today and has taken on many roles within the committee over the years.  Those of you who have been on Tour with him will also know that he knows how to let his hair down and also enjoys wrestling with bulls and concrete floors alike.

We wish him all the best in his new role and look forward to his leaving drinks THIS SATURDAY at the Clubhouse.. Another great reason to turn up!

Cheerio the nou, Guid Luck!

Six Nations This Weekend & Club Double Header!

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot? It makes a refreshing change to be an English Rugby fan and see something worth smiling about.  With the wind in the English sails it is the turn of the Irish to travel to Twickenham in the final game of the Six Nations championship.  A number of members are at Twickenham on the day so hopefully MRFC will be well represented!  If you are not going along make sure you come to the clubhouse and watch the game live!

Not satisfied with just the one game on Saturday the RBS Six nations have decided this weekend will contain a "Super Saturday" with all Six teams taking to the field.  Scotland will take on Italy for the Wooden Spoon and Wales look to finish out the championship in style against an out of sorts French Side..  The French however will be looking for revenge, who will prevail.. Make sure you are at the clubhouse to find out.

So here are your Six Nations fixture details for this weekend ;

DATE:	K/O GMT:	HOME:		AWAY:	VENUE:	C/H OPENS:
Sat 17th	12:30	Italy	V	Scotland	Stadio Olimpico	12:00
Sat 17th	14:45	Wales	V	France	Millenium Stadium	all day....
Sun 17th	17:00:	England	V	Ireland	Twickenham	all day....

  

Six Nations Drinks Promotion (Over 18s Only)

As a special promotion for the Six Nations, we will be selling all our Draught products for only £2 a pint during ALL live Six Nations fixtures (from K/O to the final whistle and not including recorded fixtures)

Bring the Noise

Are you a DJ trapped in a City Slickers Body? Why not fill one of those new fangled iPod thingys with music and bring it down to the clubhouse on Saturday night.. Its either that or we will be forced to listen to Wiggy's favorite, Vintage TV :-(

Well that's it from me, i hope you have enjoyed my Six Nations Emails this year.  We have had some great days (and late nights) down at the club this tournament and we look forward to finishing it off with a massive day this Saturday.

If you have any feedback on this years events feel free to email me, ryan@millwallrugby.com

Ryan.

Additional Bar Staff Team

We're looking for some new bar volunteers to join our bar team.

You'll may already be aware that for our bar to open we now insist upon having a "duty manager" present at all times.  Their job is to open up properly, close up properly and ensure that anyone working on the bar is using the till correctly.  They change barrels, make sure fridges are restocked and make sure that the bar is cleaned and closed down properly ready for the next opening.

So far this year, this has worked really well. But we now need to get some extra volunteers, who don't want that responsibility yet, but who can help our running the bar at busy times as additional bar staff. Then, these additional bar staff might end up being duty managers for next season.

If you are willing to join our Bar Team as an "Additional Member of Staff", please contact Ryan (ryan@millwallrugby.com).

If we don't get any volunteers, we will have to look at revising our opening hours to limit them just to the hours we have enough committee volunteers.

Got a sponsorship contact? Get a chance to win tickets to Twickenham!

Do you work for a company, or know an individual, who could sponsor us or support the club in some way?  

If so, you could be in with a chance to win free tickets to an England international at Twickenham and even receive your club membership for free!

I would like to collect the contact details of the best person in your company to speak to, in order to see if there are any opportunities for us to work together. Can I therefore ask you all to take a moment to think about who that would be? Whether it's your boss, the owner, Sponsorship Manager, Marketing or even Finance.

Taking a moment to find out who this person is could make a huge difference to the club. So, as a special incentive, all responses received before the end of March will be entered into a prize draw to win 2 tickets to an England International at Twickenham.

Any replies that lead to a sponsorship agreement will be rewarded with a free membership for you and your partner (or nominated other) for the duration of the sponsorship




If you have any questions about this, please email sophiemorris@millwallrugby.com

Summary Minutes from March CMC Meeting

A meeting of the club's management committee was held on Sunday 11th March.

Here is a summary (edited) version of the minutes and actions.

A full unedited version is available to club members upon request by email to the Secretary.

The topics include:

• Sponsorship Contacts incentive
• Hon Life Member Process
• Training
• Progress recruiting coaches
• Incorporation
• CASC
• Transport
• Petrol costs for drivers

Andrew
Club Secretary

Pearly King & Queen make donation to Millwall Rugby Club

We are delighted to have received a generous donation from Pat & Carole Jolly of £200.

Pat & Carole, Pearly King & Queen, are local celebrities being members of The Pearly Society and work tirelessly each year to collect money for charities and good causes (like our club).

After learning about the club's work at a recent reception for local organisations at the Houses of Parliament, Pat and Carole decided to make a donation to us this year.

Thank you, on behalf of all of the members of Millwall Rugby Club!

RFU Grand Draw brings in donation for the club

A big thank you to Chris Copping for administering this year's RFU Grand Draw.  Thank you also to those of you who've bought tickets.

We've sold a total of £210 worth of tickets, which has resulted in a £189 donation to the club from the RFU.

Dates for Diary - ROW day, AGM and HOC dinner

Here are some confirmed dates for your diary:

• 28th April 2012 - Millwall vs Rest of the World Day (and Festival of Rugby)
• 23rd June 2012 - Club Annual General Meeting and Election of Officers

The following date is provisional tbc:

• 30th June 2012 - Houses of Parliament Dinner & Annual Awards Night

New Social Secretary Appointed

Daniel Bellinger
Social Secretary

We are delighted to announce that Daniel Bellinger has been appointed social secretary of the club by CMC. Thanks Daniel for taking on this role!

You can contact Daniel at socialsecretary@millwallrugby.com.

Summary from February CMC Meeting

A meeting of the club management committee was held on Feb 13th 2012.

Here is a summary (edited) version of the minutes.

The full unedited version is available to members upon request by email to the secretary (secretary@millwallrugby.com).

Clubhouse - Thursday 8th March 2012

Ryan, our usual Duty Manager for Thursday night is miles away, HOWEVER, the clubhouse is OPEN.