Update on 10th October

Hi Everyone,

Things are moving on well for the ex players/members sponsors day.

Iain Johnston (young one) is coming and both he and Davie Murray are trying to identify a folk band to give some music after the game. Spoke to Jock Murdoch who is phoning round all the ex players from the Kilmarnock area to bring them along.

The league fixtures have been re-arranged. Unfortunately we are now playing the Police on the 10th. Spoke to Ally Nichol last night and Millbrae were looking forward to coming. They would have been ideal. Maybe we could look to do something similar at the end of the year when we play them at home?

Can you get names and contacts of those going to me as soon as possible? ardwell@zetnet.co.uk

Cheers,


Morton

2nd XV friendly games

The 2nds have TWO pre season home matches arranged. On 15th August the visitors will be Renfrew RFC and on 22nd we will host Hyndland RFC. Both matches should be good tests for us before the season starts. Fixtures for the 2nd XV league will be available this weekend.

Cumnock chatboard thread

Scottish Hydro Regional Bowl

The cup competitions have been revamped and we are in the West Regional Bowl. The draw has just been made and we have been given a home draw against Braidholm on 14th November. The winners will then play either Cowal or Hyndland away on 28th November.
The final of the competition will be played at Murrayfield in the spring.

Article from Jim

Cumnock Chatboard thread

IRB Launch Interactive Laws Website

This week saw the launch of an exciting new IRB web based offering. The new site www.irblaws.com is an interactive website which teaches and tests the Laws of the game. SRU are convinced that this will revolutionise Rugby Law education.

The key features are:

All compliant with 2009 Laws as approved by IRB Council on the 13th May.
Hundreds of video clips to illustrate the laws
Animations to support learning
Videos to illustrate all Referee and Assistant Referee signals
Self-test capability which covers:
All 22 laws
7's and Under 19 variations
Referee signals
Video tests

The test can be taken over multiple visits to the site. On completion you can download an awareness certificate. Access to the site is free to everyone and a registration is only required when you want to undertake the tests.

Why not log on and give it a go?

Link to chatboard

If you are planning (or not) to play Senior Rugby when you are Under 18 you have to have certificate from IRB website as part of you playing Senior Rugby.

Please see Alex Dunsmuir (Cumnock RFC President) in Cumnock RFC for more details.

Attention - 10th October

Hi Again Everyone,

As with all things that you organise (or rather that I organise) things don’t always run smoothly.

The first league game was indeed the 5^th but I unfortunately a wedding has been organised at the club (how the 2 events are not compatible is beyond me…Ace can dance with chairs and wee Hughie could serenade the bride). I digress…

The new and final date for the former players and friends of CRFC is Saturday the 10^th of October. This is a home game against Millbrae Rugby Club (based at Ayr ). This is ideal as many ex Cumnock players and friends play for this club…Kenny Stobie, Phil Manning etc.

So things are now moving ahead. Davie Murray is practicing his public speaking to compare the event and I am working on increasing my alcohol tolerance to stay the pace with Podgie.

There is already a great interest in this and I want to make it an unforgettable day.

If anyone can think of any ex player or member of CRFC can they please let them know about this. It is going to be a fantastic day to catch up with old friends.

Where are they?

Gav the Swav

Bob Bryson

Willie Smith

Bod

Alex Warnock

Snebber

Jakey Johnstone

The Torrances

The Kray twins

Gordie McMillan

There are loads more. Get in touch with them and let them know. If you can think of any other names put them on the chat site below.

The day will involve turning up at CRFC. Having a 3 course slap up meal, a free bar for 3 hours and the pleasure of Davie Murray as a compare. In addition there will be a feast of rugby as the young skilful Cumnock team takes on the experience and might of Milbrae. Tickets are £45 each and all profits (if there are any) go to CRFC playing side.

Cheers,

Morton

Cumnock chatboard link

Related articles by Zemanta

• Attention - 5th September (cumnockrugby.blogspot.com)

Scotland Under 17 Squad set to train in Spain

Cumnock Chatboard thread

As part of their development to U18 age grade level, a squad of 30 Scotland U17 team members will set off for Valladolid
in north-central Spain tomorrow (2 July).

The players, management and support staff will spend an intensive fortnight at the camp where the focus is on technical,
tactical, mental and physical (strength and conditioning) training.

An 8am start each day for physio and gym work, an enforced rest in the middle of the day given the climate, then training again at 6pm,says Bryan Easson, Scotland U17 Head Coach.

Added to that there are unit sessions, group sessions and one-on-one goal setting sessions with the coaches an intensive programme, designed to teach the players how to be professional athletes and to give the coaches an all-round idea of the players.

The camp led by Scotland U18 Head Coach, Grant McKelvey, with strength and conditioning from Val Houston acts as the transformation period for the young players from the U17 to U18 development side, where they will move into the hands the U18 coaching team following a further assessment camp in September.

This is the third year that Scotland under-17 squad has benefited from the facilities at Valladolid. The 30-strong squad includes 12 players new to the group due to injury, unavailability and deselection since their successful participation at this year Millfield Festival. The camp is run through Cumbernauld College with funding from the European Community programme, the
Leonardo da Vinci Trust (the criteria of which prohibits team travel within a teams own country).
Catch up with the Valladolid training regime via a players blog on the Scotland U17 web site.

Scotland U17 Development Squad
Robin Hislop (Hawick Wanderers) Prop
Gavin Robertson (Earlston HS / Melrose) Prop
Alex Allan (Sedbergh School) Prop
Struan Cessford (High School of Dundee) Prop
Jack MacFarlane (Gourock HS / Greenock Wanderers) Hooker
Ryan Hood (Strathallan) Hooker
George Turner (Stewart’s Melville College) Hooker
Fraser Wem (Hampton School / Wasps) Second row
Craig Ferguson (East Kilbride) Second Row
Sean McDevitt (High School of Glasgow) Second Row
George Barnes (Chesterfield) Second Row
Mitchell Eadie (Filton College) Back Row
Malcolm Peathingy (George Watson's College) Back Row
Matthew Walker (Boroughmuir) Back Row
Andrew Nagle (Jed Thistle) Back Row
Adam de ste Croix (Boroughmuir) Back Row
Murray McConnell (Lenzie Academy / West of Scotland) Scrum Half
Johnny Adams (Aberdeen Grammar School) Scrum Half
James Munro (Edinburgh Academy) Scrum Half
Fraser Gillies (Edinburgh Academy) Stand Off
Jack Bradford (Worksop College) Centre
Michael Crawley (Stewart’s Melville College) Centre
Murray Beckwith (Marr College) Centre
Mark Bennett (Cumnock RFC) Centre
Jamie Urquhart (Dollar Academy) Centre
Stewart Hogg (Hawick Wanderers) Centre
Douglas Day (Paviours RFC) Centre
Harris Jones (Robert Gordon’s College) Back 3
Aidan McCall Hagan (St Aloysius’ College) Back 3
Ross Inglis (Calderside Academy / Hamilton) Back 3

Scotsman article from 1st July:-

Scotsman article link

Public school system provides bulk of Scots under-17 squad


View Gallery
Published Date: 02 July 2009
A 30-STRONG Scotland Under-17 squad will fly out today for a two-week training camp in Spain.
A glance in the brackets after the names of those selected reveals Scottish youth rugby remains reliant on the public school base, with more than half of the squad coming from that system, but only four players come from another traditional heartland – the Borders.

There are 16 players from private schools – 11 Scottish and five English. Of the rest, six come from state schools and eight from clubs. The regional breakdown is pretty even with Borders (4), Glasgow (8), Edinburgh (7), Caledonia (5) and England (6).

The players, management and support staff will spend an intensive fortnight at the camp in Valladolid, north-central Spain. The focus will be on technical, tactical, mental and physical strength and conditioning. The camp, led by Under-18 coach Grant McKelvey, acts as the transformation period for the youngsters from U17 to the U18 development side.

Attention - 5th September

Hello Everyone,

Hope everyone is well

The reason I am contacting all the former players and friends of Cumnock Rugby Club that I can think of is to see if I can organise a big get together for the first home league game of the season (either the 5^th or 12^th of September).

I decided to do this after 2 events which happened over the last year.

The first one was a sponsors day at the club when I was in the company of Jock Murdoch (these prawns are crunchy). There were a few old faces we hadn’t seen for a few years and we were both discussing how good it was to catch up. John suggested getting together the players from his time playing at Cumnock for a sponsored day at the club.

The second event was much sadder at Nan Murray’s funeral when loads of old faces turned up in really unfortunate circumstances. I was talking to Harry Reilly (now our Youth President) who suggested that we should try and get these ex players and members together on a more regular basis to catch up with each other and also to add something to the club.

It is sometimes only when you meet these old faces or look at old pictures that you remember what fantastic times we all had at CRFC over the years. The number of people that have passed through the club over the years is enormous and is always great to bump into them.

I have decided see if I can pull together a big reunion of all these old faces (your own included) for the first home game of the season. The idea is that we come together on a sponsors day catch up and also see the crop of really good young boys that are moving into our senior team this year.

I have spoken to Davie Murray (Ernie Bilko) about this and I am really pleased that he has agreed to be the compare for the event. I know giving Davie a microphone is a recipe for disaster but I honestly can’t think of anyone who represents the good times at Cumnock Rugby Club so well over the years.

As you know Davie has played rugby at Cumnock for over 50 years starting in the late fifties. He is the self confessed best kicker the club ever had and sacrificed an international career as a cabaret star to focus on captaining the Mean Machine.

In order to get as many people as possible to come along I would appreciate it if you would send this email on to any ex member or player that you know or send their details to me and I’ll contact them.

Also I am looking for old pictures relating to the club. If you have any could you scan them in and send them back to me.

I really hope that if I can pull this together it will be one of the best days we have ever had at the club. It will also show the new young players the number of people out there who are supporting their efforts.

Hope to see you all soon,

Thanks to Morton Houston for above post.

Cumnock chatboard link

Related articles by Zemanta

• Cumnock Rugby Club History (cumnockrugby.blogspot.com)

Asda Bag Pack - Thanks to all helpers

The Mini Midi section were involved in a Bag Pack at Asda in Kilmarnock on Saturday the 20th June. Although Asda claimed it was a quiet day due to the opening of a new Tesco's in the town our volunteers put in a sterling effort from 1000 until 1700 and collected £1,391 on the day.

This is a great piece of fund raising and a huge vote of thanks to all that helped to make the day such a success.
Cumnock chatboard link

Attention - Mini Midi Fund Raiser 20th June

The Mini Midi section have a bag pack arranged @ Asda in Kilmarnock on the 20th June. This has historically been a significant fund raiser for the section and as such needs as many people as possible to lend a hand. We will need to cover bag packing from probably 0900/1000 until 1700 or so - approx 7 hours. If we can get three shifts then it is only about a two hour stint for each rotation however that will need about 60 people or so. Coaches are asked to heavily canvass parents and produce a list as soon as possible for Karen to collate. Find out if morning or afternoon siuts best as well.

Any questions a call Karen Watt or Harry Reilly

Link to chatboard

News from Annual General Meeting

Link to Chatboard

After tonights Annual General Meeting the following fees have been set at the following for season 2009/2010:-

Yearly Membership
Senior playing £40
Under 18/Student playing £20
Social £20

Also if anybody is looking to become a life membership you can 10x senior playing membership you can do this until 31st July (£400)


Senior Match Fees
£5 per game (includes students/unemployed)

Pre Season Training

Lnik to chatboard thread

Pre-season training:- Start Sat 4th July 1pm (Lions game@ 4pm)

A coaches meeting was held last Wednesday so that plans could be made for the coming season. As you can see pre - season starts on the 4th and will continue until the start of the season, three sessions a week.
A sample of what was spoken about can be read below.

Teams to be put on board Tuesday evening chosen by selection committee.
Possibility, at least once a month 1st and 2nd team coaches will swap giving
The opportunity to evaluate other players.

Players meeting pre-season, put up some ground rules.
Candidates for team captains to be proposed by coaches, then voted on by
players at players meeting.

Put a plan in place as to where/what level we are trying to coach to, and
as to what style of play we are trying to achieve.

Coaches Stewart Bennett, Alan Hill, Steven Miller, Alan Hall & Morton Houston.

Team managers Alec Dunsmuir (1st XV) Jim Morrison (2nd XV)

OBJECTIVES FOR IMPROVEMENT


A number of areas were highlighted for improvement by the coaching team and these areas should be used by coaches and players on and off the field to set standards.

1. Dress code More professional approach to dress code by all player and committee. Club tie, white shirt, black trousers, black shoes.
2. Selection Policy Teams to be picked by selection committee consisting of all coaches. Teams lists to be up by Tuesday night.
3. Lineout Objective to improve lineout throwing, jumping and lifting techniques.
4. Rucking Improvements to be made in body position and technique at ruck, options from the base of ruck and defensive alignment at ruck.
5. Attitude Improve attitude of forwards in getting around the park and getting to breakdowns and winning the ball.
6. Leadership Improve the leadership of all the players by getting them to set standards.
7. Scrum Half Options We need to improve option runners for the scum halves at the breakdown area and give them alternatives to a pass to the stand off.
8. Mauling Players will have to have good mauling technique and more importantly be able to counter maul effectively .
9. Communication This has to be improved on the park so we can improve team play. Off the park has to improve as well with players having to contact team managers/ coaches re non availability for games and training.

We hope that this year we will be ready to compete from the start of the season and that the club will reap the rewards from everyones hard work.

Enjoy your summer the hard work starts soon.

Stewart.

Training 9th and 18th June

There is a fitness session at the club at 7pm - 8:15 tomorrow night (tuesday). This is for all boys going to Perpignan and any seniors who want to attend.

On Thursday the 18th there is a speed session being taken by Paul Tyler, Head Coach of GHA. He will use the Perpignan boys and the seniors. All coaches are invited along to pick up speed techniques to use on their teams through the summer.

This is a 6:30 start and will last for 2 hours.

Article from Houstie on chatboard

Link to chatboard

Paul Tyler : Speed Session at Broomfield this month

Morton Houston has managed to get a commitment from Paul Tyler to take a 2 hour speed session at Cumnock Rugby club, as a coaching update, on Thursday 18th June.

Paul is the 1st XV coach at GHA, the speed and conditioning coach for the Perpignan training camp as well as a contributor to a number of rugby skills publications/websites. This guy really knows his stuff and is a huge opportunity for our coaches to see one the countries best in action. This session will give some great ideas for any coach looking to build more speed into their players.

All coaches are encouraged to come along as this is an excellent opportunity to improve your coaching skills. Paul will be using the senior squad to deliver this session.

Coaches should meet at 6:30pm on Thursday 18th June.

Please let Morton know if you will be attending (or not) to give an idea of numbers.

Link to chatboard

New Scotland Head Coach

Robinson new Scotland head coach

Former England coach Andy Robinson named as the new head coach of the National side.

Newsletter

Cumnock chatboard thread

There is a newsletter for all Members of Cumnock RFC behind the bar, which will give you notice of the Annual General Meeting on Friday 5th June.

I have now emailed all of you on my membership list the newsletter:-

Following is an extract:-

Newsletter
Cumnock Rugby Club will hold it’s AGM on Friday 5th June 2009 in the function room. Due to the present economic situation there are some important issues going to be raised and the opinions of members will be looked for. It is essential that as many members as possible attend to voice their thoughts.
Playing/Coaching Report
Again our very successful Mini/Midi Section of the club have continued with great success. This year, from the youngest teams winning local festivals, to the under 17 players who represented Cumnock Rugby Club at Glasgow and National level we have a youth section which is the envy of many larger clubs . Once again many congratulations go out to the coaches, players and parents alike who contribute to the huge success of our youth teams. Long may it continue!
The 1st and 2nd XV have had a mixed year with a lot of young players coming into the senior teams. With a blend of experience and youth we have a much brighter future on the horizon. Our 1st XV have secured their position in the West Division 1 League for another year. With the young players now coming through in ever increasing numbers, with ever improving skill levels, we are hopeful the glory years are just around the corner. Well done all the players and the coaches, for a hard and sometimes difficult year, where everyone stuck to their task!

Finance
It’s been another tough year for the club in terms of finance. The club is primarily surviving on function income, with the rugby side not contributing enough to the finances of the club. Obviously there is a core of the membership and players that do support the club either with maintenance, financially and the support of functions, plus playing for the club. For this we are grateful.

To give you a flavour of the costs associated with the running of the club, we are looking at a cash outflow of over £2,000 per month just to open the doors. Including trading profits over the bar we take around £1,200-£1500 per month. This means we are looking at funding another £1,000 per month from other sources. In the past we have been lucky enough to fund this through grants and donations. However, it is now time to hope the players and all members step in with their support. Not necessarily through cash donations (though these are always appreciated), but to assist in some way with the day to day running of your club. We cannot afford to continue to operate in the manner we are at present.
From a membership of over 100 senior members, we have 7 members who regularly do a shift behind the bar. Paid bar staff cost us around £10,000 per year and we are looking to reduce this next year to enable the club to continue to operate successfully. So please support your club and if possible help out with the bar rota. A separate letter will be issued to all members looking for their support and for volunteers on a regular or one off basis to help behind the bar.

So please read it. If you any questions, comments you can put them on chatboard. That isnt a thread where I want to do all the typing, lets have a debate.

Anybody who wants the newsletter and I haven't sent it to them message on chatboard thread or email me on trobert_c@yahoo.co.uk

Coaches Forum

End of Season Report

2008/09 has been a testing season as CRFC continue their transition phase. After a few late season concerns about the conclusion of the national leagues, we have managed to maintain our position in West Division 1. Credit must go to all the players who have contributed over the season despite some heavy defeats which did not always reflect the endeavours shown by the players on the park. A big thank you to these stalwarts and a special mention to Kenny Barr and Bobby Horton for dusting off their boots in times of need. Both of these players have one final game to play against the Under 17's on Awards Day on 24th May. Thanks too to the Team Managers and the coaching teams for their hard work and perseverance over the season.
...and so to next season. With the introduction of a number of quality players from the youth section to the senior teams, there is an air of optimism for the coming year with the prospect of a place in the top 4 of the league. This will, however, require a lot of hard work and committment from coaches and players. Thanks to a successful Grant application, we are in the process of installing a larger gym within the Club which will allow the players to work on their strength and conditioning throughout the closed season. This is vital if we are to compete with a young side against less skilful but physically heavier and stronger teams. Individually tailored weights programmes will be drawn up for any player who wishes to participate, starting from 5th May and access to the gym will be facilitated through Alex Dunsmuir by a fob system at the front door of the Club.
Information on pre season training will be posted on this site at a later date and players should check this site regularly for updates.
Finally a big thank you for all the support I have received in my first year as club coach. It is fair to say that this has not been the easiest of seasons but I have high hopes for the coming season and the future of the Club.

Forthcoming Events

- Strength and Conditioning Training - starts 5th May at 7pm
- 1st XV v. Under 17's 24th May 12 noon kick off followed by
- Awards Day BBQ. Awards will be presented to Youth and Senior Players. Tickets available from Harry Reilly or behind the bar

Thanks to Stewart Bennett for article

Cumnock chatboard

I have done some unlocking on the chatboard

I have set it so that anybody can view it.
I have created sections for senior, mini/midi rugby and general chats.

You have to be a member to post on the boards. When you join you will notice your account has to be approved. This has happened previously, and is still the case. There is spam on the previous club chat.

Any comments email me
or send me a message or even post on the chatboard

Thanks

Tommy

Cumnocks try

This is the last pic. The girls tied the game. When ì spoke to mark the team did very well. We won 2/3 games. Won our section. We were also runners up in under 18 girls comp including fair play.
We had representatives in 2 other games as well.

I know i had a good day.