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Season 2019-20 is finally here!

Season 2019-20 is finally here!

Mark Farrell1 Sep 2019 - 11:54
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A letter from our DoR....

Dear Eton Manor club members, supporters, sponsors, & friends.

Here we are, after 10 weeks of solid Pre Season training at the start of another season for our Rugby Club. The club officers, management, coaches and the players themselves have been working extremely hard throughout the summer. With our First XV starting another campaign of London Division 1 North Rugby away to Sudbury RFC next Saturday and our other senior teams starting their own Essex Merit league campaigns later this month, it’s a very exciting time for everyone involved.

Pre Season
Identifying last season that our overall fitness as a club was a weakness, our aim was to push the squad harder than ever before. In May, we introduced for the first time a very successful summer touch Rugby program and our full pre-season training started on 2nd July. Our full senior squad trained twice per week, using a combination of our newly installed rugby boot camp/cross fit sessions, our structured running drills & ball handling sessions. The player’s progress was monitored and gauged with timed Broncos & Hennie drills. Even though last year was a very tough year for our club, I am pleased to report that the players have come back both rejuvenated and hungry for success. The standard of training and commitment to pre season has been very impressive with some sessions reaching over 60 participants!

This seasons campaigns
Will be far tougher than the last; all our senior leagues are full of traditional Rugby Clubs with solid platforms to work from, we need to have more desire and more commitment than ever before if we are to do well in this seasons campaigns. With this in mind, the standard of training has hit an impressive level, our ball in hand work is continually executed at a high level of intensity, however it is the training loads that has impressed the coaches the most, the sessions have been planned to give the boys a tremendous fitness base and the ability to learn and execute at different levels of fatigue. This has shown in our early Pre Season form with very convincing First & Second XV wins against international side, Cyprus RU, London Division 1 South club Old Dartfordians & local club Upminster RFC.

New Players to The New Wilderness
We have worked hard in our off season recruitment this year too and I believe we have signed players with the right ability, aptitude & character that will buy in to the core values of what our club is all about and this has definitely shown in our pre season training. We welcome our new recruits, they are here to enhance our squad, they have given us the opportunity to develop and try new combinations and all of them have easily slipped into becoming Manor Boys! We are excited by their skill levels and we look forward to working with them.

A Big Thank You
I would like to take this opportunity to give all our players a massive pat on the back. To train and play Rugby at the level we strive to achieve requires great sacrifice. Unlike some clubs, our players have to balance full time jobs with the expectations of playing level 6 Rugby. It's not just the 4 hours a week we train together, It's also the time in the gym, road running, giving up on a social life and time with our families, It's a very big ask at our level and yet our players keep their momentum, keep working hard at their game and keep wanting to play for Eton Manor Rugby Club.

I feel this year’s preparation has been as good as can be, our players have worked extremely hard in training and proven that they are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve success. Whatever unfolds this year rest assured that I, the coaches and the players will always be trying our upmost to gain success for not just themselves, but ultimately for our Rugby Club. So please, this year, get behind the boys, and follow their lead and help make our Manor family stronger than ever!

We look forward to your continued support and I also look forward to catching up with you throughout the year ahead, you will find me near the bar areas after most games!

UTM
Mark Farrell
DoR - Eton Manor Rugby Club.

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