News
We are aware that we have not been adding enough news to our website this year. We will try and be better next season. We have been shy about putting on news despite the club doing well.
Overall the Old Ruts Rugby season has been a great success. Juniors picking up a few trophies and the senior sides being expanded to 3 regular teams. The team spirit has been great.
Our 1st XV, promoted last season held their own to finish mid-table in Surrey League 2 (played 23, won 10, drew 1, lost 12.)
The 2nd XV only lost 4 matches in the season with one to play and have won the play-off final and are promoted as champions (played 16, won 12, lost 4, plus 8 winning walk-overs.)
For the first time for years, we were able to field a regular 3rd XV. The team has played well only losing 3 times with still one game to play. They too are champions of their league (played 15, won 12, lost 3, plus 5 winning walk-overs).
Our Under 18s made it through to the last 16 teams in the National Under 18 Cup. On the way we beat Horsham, Wasps and London Irish Amateurs. We fell short 10-27 to Bromley but were buoyed up by the fact that many of our team were Under 17.
On 9th March the Old Ruts ran a successful and enjoyable Rugby Club Day for charity and fun.
We welcomed San Gregorio Rugby Club and their veterans team from Sicily. We started the day with our mini (Kids' First) rugby players demonstrating their skills, Brave mums then played an exhibition game of Tag Rugby. The day continued with with our vets matching the Italian vets in a full game. Finally our 1st XV played a league match against Old Blues and revenged our defeat against them earlier in the season at their ground. Afterwards we all returned to the bar to watch the England rugby team play the the national Italian team at Twickenham in the Six Nations' tournament.
Pictures of the day can all be found at the following links.
Food & friends - https://photos.app.goo.gl/HrWg2CVK5ysJJtt27
Kids & Veterans - https://photos.app.goo.gl/MA95qodVQLaE8qjz9
Ladies - https://photos.app.goo.gl/GfvT6SALnAgkAC187
Junior tours are just ending, but yet to come are sevens competitions, the seniors tour and the Annual Awards Dinner on 18th May.
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- Written by Peter Stokes
Sunday 21st October
In a classic encounter and in front of a large and very enthusiastic crowd at Poplar Road, Old Ruts Colts just edged past an excellent Horsham side in the first round of the RFU U18s Cup.
Both sides played some excellent rugby and tries were hard to come by but in the end Ruts deserved the victory for the mature way in which they absorbed the Horsham pressure and took the chances that came their way. Everyone who took the field can be very proud of that performance.
The 2nd round sees another home draw against Wasps on November 18th.
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- Written by Stu Campbell
Please download our Autumn Internationals 2018 Application Form and then return the completed form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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- Written by Stu Campbell
And just like that, it is the end of the rugby season. In parts, it has gone like a flash, and in others it has felt like a lifetime. For those involved in the 1st XV, that last few weeks have gone at a snail’s pace. But it is with great pride that I can announce we have achieved promotion to Surrey 2, finishing second in the league to a defiant Met Police. 18 games, 14 wins and 4 losses scored. Not only have the boys worked their socks off all season on the pitch, but they have played each week in scintillating fashion –aptly demonstrated by scoring 714 points across their league games. That is just shy of 40 points per game and the most in the league by some distance.
Jack Bricknell, for the second season in a row, is the 1st team top try scorer with 21 tries. I actually wore Jack’s boots the other day, and safe to say there is nothing special about them – the guy is just naturally a try machine. I don’t think I am alone when I say I love watching Jack play and on the odd occasion I get to play with him, it is a huge pleasure. Our resident international Henry Peuble was top points scorer with 171, proving effortlessly reliable from the boot and also scored a lot of tries. Again, if you can keep up with him, it is a pleasure to play on the same side as him.
Off the pitch, it goes without saying that we owe a huge thanks to Stacia and Tim for working tirelessly throughout the season. They have navigated the 1st brilliantly through thick and thin this season, sticking to their guns and playing our own brand of rugby. A well-deserved break over the summer and hopefully a few nice holidays for you two! On the pitch we the boys have had a fierce and determined leader in James Kearney, who has lead from the front in all aspects of his rugby this season. I think it goes a little bit under the radar how much he does for the club and both teams behind the scenes. There will be few men happier and more satisfied with the promotion than him, and rightly so. Hats off to you Mr Kearney and I know you’ll lead the boys high into Surrey 2.
The mighty 2s finished with 7 wins and 11 losses. We had a shaky start to the season but with the addition of a well-established core, we played some fantastic rugby towards the end of the season and 3 of our wins came in the last 5 games. My personal highlight was beating Law Society on our last game of the season, a team who had beat us 79-0 on the opening day. It is safe to say we finished an infinitely stronger team than we started. And for once, the results have backed this up.
As is the nature of the beast, 2s rugby is inconsistent with numbers, style, opposition and level of refereeing. You never know what you are going to get, but the last few months have shown just how good we can be in the face of it all and if we play our style we can beat anyone. Another rather selfish highlight has to be seeing Thom Bricknell back playing regularly in a ruts shirt, a boy I grew up playing with and what a player he is. We have many leaders in our team and Thom certainly leads from the front both on and off the pitch.
A quick public display of thanks to our Clubman of the Year, Paul Cecil. He only spends pretty much all of his free time organising the colts, but he spends his Saturday afternoon helping to coach and lead the 2s – without him my job would have been much more difficult this season. More to follow on Paul.
Awards
1st Team Player of the Year – Ben Robertson
- Ben has been an insturmental part of a league dominating scrum, and is our very own 'new age prop' who plays like a centre.
1st Team Captains Player of the Year – Taylor
- Taylor, from the start, has always been hungry to learn and criticise himself. He has enormously high expectations and he has come on leaps and bounds this season, making sure he is one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Most Improved – Pierre Wedja
- The wrekcing ball. Pierre has improved tenfold this season, adding many different strings to his bow. He started off as a fairly one dimnesional player, but his hands and rugby brain have come on massively. We nearly lost him and we are so greatful that he stuck with it.
Young Player of the Year – Noah Ferdinand
- Noah has been a consistent mainstay in the team this season, despite being away at university. You can rely on Noah on any position on the pitch, and he will always get the team out of trouble. His metres gained will certainly be up there with the best in the league.
2nd Team Player of the Year – Callum Baines
- Cally has been instrumental for me this season. He leads from the front both on and off the pitch. Easily one of the best players in the club.
2nd Team Captains Player of the Year – Gary Forge
- Need i say any more?
Clubman of the Year – Paul Cecil
When Paul isn’t swanning around Italy on rugby tours, and when he isn’t in the office, I can’t see how he does much else other than organise the Ruts. This is no exaggeration; Paul is the glue that holds us all together. The way he accepted his award on Saturday night tells you everything you need to know about the integrity and sincerity of the man, he was genuinely shocked and looked like he didn’t want to be up there. He also quickly diverted attention to his wingman Harry, to whom he gives most of the credit – I think Harry would give it straight back to him.
Perhaps Paul’s most tangible achievement is the development of his Colts, many of whom now are well embedded into the seniors, despite being 17/18. Not only are they brilliant rugby players, but Paul’s humility and determination are firmly part of their mind-sets both on and off the pitch. Look no further than Reece, Robert, Ewan etc, cracking players and even better blokes. Their integration into the seniors has been seamless and for that we owe him.
But what no one sees is the effort Paul puts into other areas of the club, organising pitches, events, player liaison, all on top of being Junior Chairman and 2s Coach. He works tirelessly and maybe there has never been a more worthy winner of the award.
Anyway ladies and gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure to be a part of all it all and look forward to many more of my ramblings next season. You may even get a mid-summer update depending on much I miss rugby.
GVB
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- Written by George Vaughan-Barratt