Clubhouse openings and Social events (w/c 29/9)

Club Openings/Social Events: 

Monday - Open from 7pm 
Fisher will be opening the club on Monday before training starts at 7pm so you can use the club to change etc. and Ed will be there post-training to quench peoples thirsts. 

Wednesday - Open from 7pm 

Wiggy will be looking after you this week. So make sure you come down to the clubhouse and celebrate reaching the mid-point of the week and refreshing yourselves after the training session. 

'Thirst' Thursday - From 6pm @ Millwall Park Oktoberfest 
Yes, that time has come around again, but this time we are staying local and are going to be partaking in oompah music, bier and sausages at the Oktoberfest on Millwall Park (which is there for the next 2 weekends). The organisers have agreed to accomodate us and are willing for us to advertise in the beer hall itself. 

This is a prime opportunity for us to gain a local presence and get some free advertising whilst looking to recruit to help our team numbers for both men and ladies teams. Therefore it would be great if as many people can make this (ideally in Millwall attire/colours).

A few of us may be wearing our Bierfest shirts from our trip to Germany last year if you want to get one here? - LINK

Remember to accept and share the event on facebook - LINK TO FACEBOOK EVENT HERE

Here is a bit more information about the event on their website - LINK 

Friday - Open from 7.30pm 
Cuddles will be opening the club this Friday. So come down and celebrate the end of the working week. 

Saturday -  Opening times - 3.30pm if home games, 5pm if away games Karen will be your host for this Saturday, so make sure you come down and make the most of the weekend. Our 2 mens teams have cup games pencilled in for this day, but we are awaiting location and times, please keep an eye on facebook for updates.




Date for your diary:
 
Saturday 11th October - 3.30pm till late (extension applied for)
Make sure you keep the night of Oct 11 free for a night of merriment and downright tomfoolery when we hold a party for our new physios, student phsyios and others who'll be looking after players and members this year!

Party games, drinking games to get people mixing, food, drinks and the biggest party tunes. There are two home games on Saturday, one a local darby with our friends East London, so it will be a lot of fun.

Its also a fundraiser to subsidise physio for players and members,buy physio and first aid equipment, training courses etc.

Remember to accept and share the event on facebook - LINK TO FACEBOOK EVENT HERE

About Subs and Membership fees

Just a reminder if you’ve been in a deep slumber for the past few weeks that our membership fees and some match day subs have increased. Astute playing members will have noticed that the new price of £50 is more than the experimental £40 we charged last year, but this is still less than the £60 we were charging for men’s playing membership a couple of years ago.

Why?

Well we looked at what we think we will spend in 2014/2015 on transport, coaching, equipment, ref fees, pitch hire, physio support, first aid supplies, strapping tape, balls, shirts, laundry, post-match free food, free beers, and more. And in short: we realised what we were charging at the moment together with what we expect to make in profits from the clubhouse wasn’t looking like it would be enough to cover it.

I’m hoping to get these numbers presented nicely soon to show you what we mean.

Hopefully sponsorship wins and cost savings throughout the year will enable us to review the charges again.

Membership Options this year

Our standing order scheme is usually the best value way of paying for your rugby at Millwall. It’s £25 per month paid over a 12-months making a total commitment of £300 over the year. This figure includes membership and all subs. If you play more than 16 matches this season this is better value for you and in the past the club has let members on this continue year-after-year without increasing the amount. Contact treasurer@millwallrugby.com to set it up.

If you’re feeling flush this month… Life membership is £1000 and includes all membership fees and subs for life.

Really can’t afford it?

If you really can’t afford your club membership (as opposed to just preferring to spend your money elsewhere), our treasurer (alone) has the discretion to waive it or reduce it on a special exception basis if you approach her with a persuasive case explaining why it’s too much for you. Contact treasurer@millwallrugby.com – If you don’t do this, your team manager will expect you to pay what is due in line with other members. If you are struggling to pay your match day subs too, please contact the treasurer as she has the discretion to approve a waiver for a limited period.

Isn’t the committee listening?

Yes. And we’re really busy trying to do something about the finances. We want the club to enjoy another 20 years on the pitch with all of you playing.

We want to make rugby affordable and will do all we can to encourage more people to play. Your playing chairmen/women all sit on the committee and have been involved all the way in the decision making and understanding the issues voted for the changes. Many of the management committee are current or recent players anyway.

We are currently looking into costs and charges as a matter of urgency to keep them as low as we can afford to. In the meantime, please do what you can to support the club and make your team manager’s life easy by making yourself available and paying the amounts they ask you for as contribution to the club’s costs.

PS... Don't forget to read Robin's post from Wednesday too for more on this topic.

Andrew
Communications Officer
communications@millwallrugby.com

Press Coverage - The Wharf - 25th September 2014

We got a brief mention in The Wharf again this week!  Thanks everyone who contributed content for this. - Cheers Andrew

Press Coverage - East London Advertiser 25th September 2014

Our 1s, 2s and ladies all got a mention in this week's edition of the East London Advertiser, and we got one of our photos printed!  Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Will you collect for the Poppy Appeal?

Last year we raised over £2000 for the poppy appeal (£1500 in 2012) by collecting at Canary Wharf DLR and Tube Stations for 2 hours each weekday over a 2 week period.

In total over £105,000 was raised in Poplar and Millwall. This year we have been asked to help again and hopefully raise even more money as 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of World War One.

We need 2 volunteers each evening Monday – Friday between 5pm and 7pm at Canary Wharf DLR / Tube stations from 25.10.14 to 10.11.14 selling poppies to the public.

Can you assist by giving up 2 hours or more for this year’s appeal ?

I am currently putting a rota together - so please email me on paulfisher@millwallrugby.com with your availability.

Many Thanks for your support

Paul

Team Sheets are now on the site

Team sheets for the weekend are now published in the usual place.

Let's go get them boys!

Cookie

Update from the Chair on Subs

Dear all

No one likes a price rise and the higher subs has created some noise in some quarters - so here is some background to the decision:

• subs hadn’t risen since 2011
• since 2011 what we spent on playing rugby per player rose by substantially over 50% to £16.50 per game
• or another view: transport and coaching went from £7,700 in 2011 to £14,000 last season and a projected £16,200 this season

To put things simply - we were heading towards a loss with no guaranteed respite. Clearly something had to change.

I have heard a couple of questions so to air them here in case you also wondered about this:

• How come we could afford buses last year but didn’t have to pay extra subs?The committee arranged the transport as an experiment and attempted this without raising any prices to cover the cost. the club absorbed the additional expense but this is not a sustainable outcome.
   
• Isn’t the only reason we have to pay more now is because of the massive loss on the annual dinner?
  No. That loss was absorbed by the club as a one-off hit. The rise in subs relates to the ongoing higher costs of running rugby teams.

We are looking urgently at alternative travel arrangements where we could borrow buses for almost no cost and drive ourselves around. If our application to join the scheme is successful the committee will review the financial projections with the view to reversing some or all of the subs increase. We will do what we can when we can. Volunteer drivers step forward to Ronan/Fisher please!

While player numbers have remained fairly steady since last season, the additional games scheduled in the new league structures mean that we are struggling to field three full squads in one weekend.

Can everyone please think if you have any friends or contacts who would like to join you at Millwall. James Gough desperately needs some recruitment help if we are to remain with a 3’s team? Contact thirdteammanager@millwallrugby.com

All the best and see you at the club

Robin Poynder
Chairman
robin@millwallrugby.com

Press Coverage - East London Advertiser 18th September

This week, we've got a great write up and a full-length column in the East London Advertiser. There's also a mention to try and recruit some more players to come and join the club.

Thanks to GG, Iwan, Sean, Shaun and Ed for their post-match videos that enabled the press to do this for us.

Physiotherapy tomorrow, Monday 22 September

Physiotherapy - Monthly Triage Clinic

Monday Sept. 22  7.30pm - 9pm

If you've picked up a knock from the weekend, Laura, lead Physio from Fusion Physiotherapy will be in the clubhouse tomorrow night, Monday September 22 from 7.30pm until 9pm for a triage clinic

Laura can give you an initial assessment for £20.

Contact Kate or Tim on physio@millwallrugby.com to book a slot.

Clubhouse Openings (w/c 21/9)

Club Openings: 
Monday - Open from 7pm

Robin will be opening the club on Monday before training starts at 7pm so you can use the club to change etc. and will be there post-training to quench peoples thirsts. 

Wednesday - Open from 7pm 

Gareth will be looking after you this week. So make sure you come down to the clubhouse and celebrate reaching the mid-point of the week and refreshing yourselves after the training session. 

Friday - Open from 7.30pm 
Lucie will be opening the club this Friday. So come down and celebrate the end of the working week.

Saturday -  Open from 3.30pm until 11pm 
Gareth will be your host for this Saturday, so make sure you come down and make the most of the weekend. All 3 mens teams have away games this week but we have a bonus Venus home match for you on Saturday (venue and KO TBC) if you can't make it to any of the away games, so make sure you are around to show your support for one of the 4 games we have on this Super Saturday.

Don't miss GG's match interviews from our Burnham Win!

Can't see video? Click here.  Should we start calling this "GG-Grandstand"?

Don't forget to hit LIKE (ThumbsUP) on YouTube and share this with your mates!

Press Coverage - The Wharf 18th September 2014

We got another mention in The Wharf this week covering our 48-5 win against Burnham.  There's also a nice bit of promotion for some more members to join us.

If you'd like to get a match write-up or one of your photos featured in The Wharf, please talk to your team manager.  We're also starting video interviews with players after the game, so if you'd like to be featured, let your team manager know.

Games Saturday 20th September

Teams and Details have been posted in usual place - Link to team sheet

Best of luck lads, let's get two huge results

Cookie



Problems paying your membership or subs? Just let us know.

Can't afford to pay your membership or subs?

If you are unable to pay your membership when it becomes due or are unable to pay your match subs, we don't want to stop you playing rugby. But you need to let us know about your circumstances.

What you need to do

If you are finding it hard to pay, all you need to do is email Adrienne the club's treasurer at treasurer@millwallrugby.com explaining your circumstances and why you are finding it hard to pay the full amount.

Provided you email Adrienne by Tuesday midday, there is no reason why you cannot be selected to play for that week if she agrees a waiver.

Don't forget, regular volunteers at the club can also claim a 50% discount off membership and subs if they want to.

Why do we do this?

It has been the policy of Millwall Rugby Club for quite some time to be fully inclusive. By that we mean that we do not want to exclude anyone by reason of background, ability or financial circumstances. The club's treasurer has discretion to waive membership fees if he/she feels it's appropriate to do so. The treasurer can also waive subs for a limited period without referring it to the committee.

After a number of years without increasing subs (and even experimenting with a 50% decrease in membership from £60 to £40 last season), we have found it necessary to increase charges this year to make sure our money lasts the whole season. This decision was taken collectively by the management committee after much deliberation and was not taken lightly. Full info published on our blog at the end of August here.

We'll be putting out some more information about the costs the club has in the coming weeks, to help you understand more about why this was necessary after keeping charges down for so long, but if you have any questions don't hestiate to ask any of your committee who can explain more about it.

We are also inviting suggestions from members on where to apply for funding and which large companies to approach about sponsorship.

Press Coverage - East London Advertiser

Some recent press coverage in the East London Advertiser

Players - Physiotherapy and Sports Massage Sessions

As you may have seen, the club has been busy organising various things to help keep players on the pitch fit and healthy and get injured players back playing as quickly as possible.

Sports Massage - weekly, starting Wednesday 17th

Starting this week, we'll be offering sports massage on Wednesdays by our physio students from Kings College and others to all members. They are all qualified in sports massage and are keen to get more practise. Massage, as well as being quite pleasant most times, is important not just for rehabilitation but also injury prevention.


It will be free to members but there will be a suggested donation of £3 to go towards costs and buying the students a few drinks at Christmas. Sessions will be about 20 mins and will happen 7.30pm to 9.30pm subject to demand and availability of therapists.

Contact Kate or Tim on firstaid@millwallrugby.com to book a slot.

Physiotherapy - Monthly Triage Clinics starting Monday September 22

We've partnered with Fusion Physiotherapy to provide players and members with Physiotherapy this season and lead Physio, Laura  Rathbone, will be in the club each month. The first session will be Monday September 22 and it will then run on the third Monday each month. Normally City and Canary Wharf Physios are £50-£90/half hour but Laura will provide triage clinics where you can get an initial assessment for £20. After that treatment will be at her clinic for £30/half hour.

We'll run these on a trial basis for September, October and November. If there is a demand, we can extend them to the rest of the year and possibly increase the frequency to weekly.
http://www.fusionphysiotherapy.com/

Contact Kate or Tim on firstaid@millwallrugby.com to book a slot.

Other Discounts

If you are based in the City and want to attend a Physio there, Kinetic Clinics near Mansion House provide a 20% discount to Millwall Rugby club members
http://www.kineticclinics.com/

Baseline Assessment and Consent

To get an idea of what everyone's normal, non-injury affected performance is like, Laura will run a baseline assessment of your fitness, strength, agility and stamina. This will be scheduled as part of a normal training evening, possibly as early as this week on Wed 17th.

So that we can provide physio services, you will need to provide your consent to be treated by Laura so expect some form filling at some stage. This is optional if you chose not to use any physio services

Dedicated 2s and 3s Coaching

2s and 3s Coaching Sections - Starting Monday September 22  

This year, we'll have supplementary 2s and 3s coaching on Monday nights which will run in parallel with the normal training. All players will warm up and do initial drills together and then split along squad lines for about 30 mins to allow teams to practise items, look at problems from the Saturday game and plan for the following Saturday before all squads come together again for the rest of the session. Tim McDonagh will be putting his Level 1 and 2 coaching courses into action for you.

In particular, the emphasis will be on skills and technical work, both at an individual and team level, we'll do a mix of forwards and backs skills with everyone taking part as it sometimes happens that people switch or play out of position for some reason. We'll also focus on what the different positions are and what players do in them The full list of items is below and there will be a calendar of training that we will base sessions off with some tweaks to allow for game feeback.

Monday September 22

The first full night will be  Monday September 22 and will focus on
1. Technical - Tacking
2. Position Focus - Scrum half
2. Move - Scrum, Blind side winger creates an extra man

We'll do video analysis and review it in the clubhouse afterwards



Rest of the year Items - 2 of which will be the focus for a night

Areas of Focus

• Tacking
• Passing - switch, loop, pop, drift, over, under, quick hand, receiving the pass
• Rucking
• Mauling
• Lineouts
• Scrums, Play from Scrums
• Back row moves
• Backs moves, A1, A2, A3, Jockey, 
• Kicking (as much as the light allows), territorial, tactical, positional
• Defensive, basics, rush (Millwall 2014) difference to drift, umbrella 
• Continuity in Attack incuding Support
• Attacks - deep and shallow alignment, "fix" defenders
• Restarts

Scenarios

• Attacking wide from left hand scrum
• Attacking mid field from left hand scrum
• Attacking left off a midfield scrum on halfway
• Attacking right from a midfield scrum inside opponents 22m line
• Attacking wide from left hand lineout
• Attacking wide from right hand lineout
• Attacking midfield from left hand lineout
• Utilising a blind side wing in attack (small, fast and agile player)
• Utilise a large powerful wing in an attacking strike play
• Utilise your unfit but powerful fullback

Play from Scrum Tasks:

1. Backrow move going right
2. Backrow move going left
3. No8 pick and go
4. Blindside wing as a penetrator
5. Blindside wing creating an extra man
6. 12 coming short
7. 13 coming short
8. Rangi- outside centre switches with 10
9. 10 and 12 switch
10. 8 to 9 going left
11. Box kick form scrum
12. Play from scrum on centre of half way way line.
13. Play from scrum 5 metres from the opposition tryline

Play from Lineout tasks:

1. Ball off top middle
2. Front ball
3. Back ball
4. Catch and drive
5. Back peel
6. Quick ball 9 to 12
7. 10 loops 12
8. Miss pass 10 to 13, 15 hits the line
9. Cut out pass to blindside wing
10. Slice – 10, 13 comes short and 12 runs behind 13 and receives the pass from 10
11. Only forwards used to go with the flow
12. Get the ball quickly to the wings from 1st phase
13. Using 15 on the narrow side , 20m space.
14. Front peel

Play from a restart tasks:

1. Receiving a kick off going left
2. Receiving a kick off long going right
3. Receiving a short kick off
4. Regaining a short kick off
5. Regaining a 12m kick off
6. Receiving a short 22m drop out
7. Receiving a long 22m drop out.

Minibus Community Transport Scheme – Can you drive for us?

We're looking for volunteers willing to drive a minibus to take our players to away games. Can you help?

Tower Hamlets Community Transport is a small charity based in Limehouse (near the 5 Bells) set up to provide transport to voluntary and community groups in Tower Hamlets. We have identified that Millwall can apply for membership of THCT.

The scheme has a fleet of minibuses from 11 to 16 seaters, membership costs are minimal and the only cost to the club would be petrol @ 0.94p per mile – this is a massive saving on the current expenditure for minibus hire on a Saturday which is no longer sustainable; at present the club is having to spend between £200 and £400 per team per match for some away fixtures.

Without willing volunteers and your help we will not be able take advantage of this scheme – Please, please could anyone with D1 on their current driving license and willing drive the bus to away games on a Saturday put their name forward -with enough volunteers we hope to put a rota in place and participation will be minimal – the club and players need you!

Volunteers will be required to complete a ½ day assessment by Tower Hamlets which the club will be funding.

To volunteer for the scheme or for further information please contact our volunteer coordinator - paulfisher@milwallrugby.com

(Posted on behalf of Paul Fisher)

Chairman's Newsletter September 2014

I am very pleased to introduce you to a new season at Millwall Rugby with the first of (hopefully) many newsletters to come through the season.

Click here to download or view the newsletter (PDF 1.7Mb)

We have a very exciting season ahead of us, where I fully expect that we will encounter and overcome some challenges, enjoy success on the field and enjoy the usual mix of fun and camerarderie off the field.

This season we approach our 20th anniversary so prepare yourself...

With best regards

Robin
Chairman
Millwall Rugby Club

• View Previous Club Newsletters

Team Sheet for Saturday 12th September 2014 - now published

Morning all,

Team sheets have now been published for both firsts and seconds here - https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ppFCSTPo_9Xas8xKswKDkHg 

1st XV - meet time is midday

2nd XV - meet time is 1.15pm

Shirt and Millwall/rugby tie after the games

Both teams - learning Disney songs is essential for post match, otherwise our Welsh disciplinarian Iwan will be doling out the punishments.

Let's get two big results on the weekend and start the season with a bang

Cookie

Games this weekend - 13th September 2014

Games this weekend -

1sts @ Burnham on Crouch
2nds @ East London II's
3rds v Upper Clapton IV @ Millwall Park

Email selection@millwallrugby.com with a yes or no for your availability

See everyone at training tomorrow

Cookie

Arrangements for Mens Pre-Season v Greenwich - THIS SATURDAY

Guys,

Details for tomorrow's match at Millwall Park against Greenwich RFC.

Meet time at the club: 12.30pm

Kick Off: 2pm

Please ensure you have club shorts and socks with you.  Those that don't have these yet, you can purchase from Paul Fisher in the Clubhouse pre-match.

Please feel free to come down to the club earlier if you can and support the Open Day from 11.30am onwards.

See you tomorrow.

David

LATE THIRST THURSDAY! - 11TH OF SEPTEMBER - BRODIES IN CANARY WHARF

Due to a men's players meeting on Thursday the 4th of September we have moved Thirst Thursday to the 11th of September.

This month it will be at Brodies in the Wharf and we have an area booked in the name of Ed (me) from 17:30 onwards.

Link to the bar below:
http://brodiesbar.co.uk/


cheers

Ed

Changes to Touch Rugby from 1st September

From 1st September our club's touch rugby activities will run under the banner of O2 Touch. This is part of a sponsorship deal between Millwall Rugby, the RFU and O2.

Nigel Webb (Flex) has kindly agreed to manage the club's touch rugby activities for this year and will be present each week to run the sessions.  If you'd like to find out more about Nigel's plans, you can reach him at flex@millwallrugby.com

One of the changes that takes effect from 1st September is that we will be charging £3 per session to play touch rugby; that is unless you're already a member of the club, or you join as a member.  For members it will continue to be free of charge to play.

Membership currently costs £50 per year for adults with discounts for volunteers, students and unwaged people, and entitles you to participate in all the clubs activities and gives you access to our clubhouse.

Posted on behalf of Nigel Webb
Touch Rugby Coordinator
flex@millwallrugby.com

Touch Rugby Tournament - Sat 6th September

The club will be organising a friendly club touch rugby tournament this Saturday on Millwall Park.

The tournament is open to current and new players and play will start promptly at 12 noon.  If you'd like to play, please make sure you arrive no later than 1130 to register, warm up and be allocated to a team. Beginners are welcomed especially, so don't be afraid to come along and meet us.

It's being organised by Nigel (Flex) Webb, who was recently named lead organiser of the club's touch rugby activities, which are now running under the sponsorship of O2.  You can find out more about when we play touch rugby on our website at http://www.millwallrugby.com/touch which will soon be updated to reflect the new sponsorship.

Posted on behalf of

Nigel Webb

flex@millwallrugby.com