With the season brought to a premature end because of Covid19 the last match was played on the 14th March, leaving 5 league games still to play. Westbury Men’s team were top of the table, heading the second placed team by 13 points and so were declared league champions, giving them promotion to Dorset & Wilts Division 1.
The club says, “Not the most satisfying way to gain promotion but with only one league loss all season, it was well deserved.
“Like all clubs and pubs, the clubhouse had to be shut down, thus taking away the main funding for the club. Also, several fund-raising events have been cancelled. Luckily the club managed to arrange a small grant from Sport England to help toward paying some of the bills.
“To help in keeping their fitness levels up, club chairman Gareth Vaughan, issued a challenge to the Men’s team, for them to raise funds for NHS charities by virtually running to Twickenham and back, with a goal of £314 which would be approximately a pound for every kilometre. The players took on the challenge and with much lonely pounding of pavements, they exceeded the target and raised over £1,050. Well done to the guys that took part.
“To prepare for the coming season, whenever it starts, both the men and women have up to now just been working on their own personal fitness. Now though they will be able to work on their fitness in groups of six, but with social distancing maintained. This is following the guidelines set down by the Rugby Football Union where, subject to government restrictions, there is a planned road map for the return to full training and match play. This is likely to be over a long period; possibly the end of the year. It is hoped though that the restrictions on the bar may be eased at some stage so that the club can try to recoup some of its lost revenue.
“The coaching regime will again be run by Gareth “Foggy” Vaughan, alongside his other duties as club chairman.
“The Ladies team will this year be playing their rugby in the Women’s South West Division 2, having found last season in Division 1 very tough. They have a new head coach in Millie Fenton-Brown, who was last year’s backs coach. Millie has a wealth of experience, having played rugby since the age of 16 and went on to captain Liverpool University Ladies Team and has her level 2 coaching award. To assist Millie in her endeavours, the ladies have gained ex-Westbury player, Lyn Lamb. Lyn has been playing rugby for more years than she cares to remember and her experience is boundless. The club wishes them both well for the coming season.
“Both of the teams have set up chat groups on social media to help keep everyone together, with quizzes and virtual social evenings being arranged. The feeling within the club is very positive and the players, both male and female, are eager to get the season started. Also, the feedback from many of the club supporters is also positive, with several people offering to become more involved in the running of the club.
“During the lockdown, work on improving the clubhouse with new ladies’ and gents’ toilets and a new beer cellar have been ongoing. Pitch maintenance has been continued – all done with the added difficulty of social distancing.
“The one sad note, is the death of our bar manager Pete Earney, who passed away earlier this month. Pete was a great supporter of the club and will be sorely missed by everyone.”
