Return to Rugby & Rugby Basics - Saturday 13th December

We've now been running our Return to Rugby & Rugby Basics sessions for nine weeks and they have proven to be popular!

So we are running another session this Saturday again at 10am until 12 noon on Millwall Park, alongside Island Gardens DLR. Tim will be running this week's session for us.

It's ideal for:

• Men & Women who played at school, but haven't played for years, 
• Men & Women who have never ever played rugby before, 
• Men & Women who want to come back to rugby and pick it up again,
• Social members, volunteers or physios curious to learn more, 
• Touch Rugby players who'd like to learn a bit about the full Rugby Union game.
• Current third team players who would like to improve their technique
• Current players who'd like to learn about playing in a different position.

What to bring:

• Yourself ready to have fun.
• Some football or rugby boots if you have them (trainers are OK if you don't)
• Shorts & old t-shirt or rugby jersey that can get muddy
• Something warm and dry to put on afterwards
• a black bin bag to protect your bag if it rains
• Maybe a bottle of water

Please contact rugbybasics@millwallrugby.com for more info.

We plan to run these MOST Saturdays until further notice.

EVEN if you can't make this session but are interested, please do email rugbybasics@millwallrugby.com to let us know you're interested or signup for our club emails here.  

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Regards 

Andrew

Touch Rugby Tournament Tomorrow (Sun 16th Nov)

Just a note to let you know that we now have enough people registered to play tomorrow, so it will definitely be happening.  We would still like more of you to register, and indeed we definitely need some more women to register so we can play proper mixed touch rugby.

Please register here.

Just a few points of admin:

1. No metal studs allowed - you need plastic studded/bladed football- or rugby- or touch-boots. If you don't have boots, trainers are fine, but be aware the ground is muddy and slippery.
2. Bring water to drink. Bring a plastic bin bag to keep your bag dry if it rains (rain will not stop play!).  Bring a warm, dry change of clothes for afterwards in case you get muddy.
3. It's competitive but its about having fun and Flex reserve's the right to mix up the teams a bit to make sure this happens.
4. If you haven't registered please do so. It really helps us plan the teams. Please register here.
5. Registered players need to arrive at 12.30pm so we can warm up and issue instructions for a prompt 1pm start.  The tournament will end at 3pm, so that the quiz can begin at 3.15/3.30pm for a 4pm latest start.
6. If you don't register it's OK to come along still, but please arrive a little earlier at 12.15 to allow us to adjust the teams to accommodate.
7. If you haven't ever played touch rugby before, please arrive at 12.15pm and tell us you're new and that you need to be taught how to play.  (It will be much harder to give you proper tuition if you arrive after 12.30pm).
8. It's free of charge to play this week
9. Bring £2 to enter the puz quiz afterwards
10. Have fun.

If you have any questions, contact touch@millwallrugby.com or phone Flex on 07734 103610.

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

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

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.

Order your Millwall Blazer

If you have ever wanted to own a Millwall blazer, please click here to see a blog post from last year for details on ordering.  If you order now, you might just get it in time for the Club's Annual Dinner on 11th May.