As the start of the new season is fast approaching I thought this would be a good time to update you on what has been happening within the club and on our plans for the new season.

Senior sides
As you may be aware there has been a major change in the league structure for the 1st XV. Although we remain at level 5 in the RFU system what was the North Premier League has now been split into 2 regional leagues. We will play in the North West region which effectively includes the North West teams from last season together with the top North West teams from last seasons level 6. This means that we will no longer face lengthy and expensive trips to such places as Alnwick and will instead have far more local fixtures. The size of the league has been reduced from 14 to 12 teams. Accordingly, our last league fixture will be on 11 March. We will then be entered into a cup competition although as yet
we do not have any details of the precise format We now have a new management structure in place. Halfway through last season we appointed Paul Lewis and Craig Harvey as joint 1st team coaches. I am delighted to confirm that we have renewed their contract
for the new season. The other good news is that Phil Crowley has agreed to join our management team. Phil will be concentrating on player recruitment and development and will be happy to help and support to Craig and Paul whenever they need it. Craig has now stood down as 1st team captain and has been replaced by Chris Crowley. We also have a new physio. Our previous physio, Afonso Vera, decided not to renew his contract and we have now appointed Katye Edwards as his replacement. Richard McNeil will continue to compile all the statistics for the 1st team but has stood down from match day role of looking after the kit. Ross Page has kindly offered to step into that role. You will also see some changes in the players on the pitch. At the end of last season we lost Ryan Stead due to retirement and Jack Yarker due to a move down south. We have also lost another stalwart of the first team as Tom Parry has decided to move to a Championship level and has joined Caldy. I am sure you will all join me in wishing all 3 of them good luck for the future. We have though signed a new prop, Steve Brookes, and for the coming season Mark Williams and Chris Burrows are returning to the club. We will also continue to develop our crop of
talented young players. We approach the new season with a strong squad and in a confident mood.
Last season was a very successful one for our 2nd XV, winning the league and narrowly losing in the cup final. They have now been promoted to the NOWIRUL Premier League. This will be a very competitive league involving Caldy and Chester 2nd XV’s. It will present a huge challenge to our 2 nd XV but is one I am sure they will meet. Once again the team will be managed by Ben Cornford with the assistance of team captain, Mark Gidman.
For many years now we have been very proud of the fact that we have been able to put out 4 senior teams every week. We aim to do this again this season. We have not, however, been helped by the organisers of the NOWIRUL Leagues. Our 3rd team has again been placed in Division 3 South which will involve a ridiculous amount of travelling for a social side. Despite the fact that there are so may rugby clubs in our locality, our 3rd team will not have any fixtures against sides based on the Wirral. I first raised this issue with League organisers back in January and was given assurances that the situation would be reviewed this season. Sadly, they have gone back on their word and, after a lengthy exchange of
emails, it would appear there is nothing more we can do.
Our 4th team will play in Division 5 West which is fine. Unfortunately, however, if the 3rd team cannot fulfil their fixtures this will have an impact on the 4th team. We will though be doing all we can to fulfil all fixtures and have contingency plans in place should we not be able to do so.
This coming season, Graeme Phelan and Mike Ludbrook will take charge of the 3rd XV, Tim Hodson and Richard Ritchie will be in charge of the 4ths. Over the years these 4 have worked tremendously hard to get full sides out and will no doubt continue to do so. We should all be very grateful for their efforts.
Over the years the success of the club has largely been based on bringing young players up through the M&J’s structure and into senior rugby. Last season our 2nd XV regularly put out a side where the vast majority of players were under the age of 20. We need this to continue. We have therefore started a new project, Wirral Futures, run by Josh Connolly together with Steve and Bev McCann. The aim is to liaise with players from Under 16’s upwards to ensue a smooth transition through Colts and on to senior rugby.
Wirral Warriors, our ladies team is growing thanks to Grace Baird, Stephanie Whitehead and their merry band of helpers.  They have secured sponsorship for their kit from Nautilus International. The Wirral Warriors team has flourished and grown since it was established in 2017 and joined the official competitive rugby league in 2021. They are extremely proud and excited to promote the Fair Ferries campaign and look forward to a new even more successful season ahead. See you on the level-playing field pitch!
Finally, but not least, we have now started a touch rugby team, which trains and plays touch rugby on Wednesdays; in the summer.  Thanks to Tony O'Brien for starting up this team and bringing some older players back to the fantastic game of rugby, where they can enjoy the less physical, but still energetic game and a pint afterwards.  All players are welcome, young and old, female and male. 

Membership Subs
Mark Gidman is dealing with the players subs so I will concentrate on the non-playing membership. Standard non-playing membership remains at £70 if paid in full or £6 per month if paid by standing order. We will though be increasing match day admission to £7 in line with most other clubs at our level.
We then have the following packages:

1. Bronze which includes
 Your membership subs
 Admission to all home games
 Club Dinner ticket
The cost is £195 or £16.50 per month

2. Silver which includes
 Your membership subs
 All pre match lunches
 Admission to all home games
 Club Dinner ticket
The cost is £325 or £27.50 per month

3. Gold which includes
 Your membership subs
 All pre match lunches
 Admission to all home games
 Club Dinner ticket
 Player sponsorship
The cost is £525 or £44 per month

The simplest way to pay your subs is by an online payment or standing order. If you have online banking, you can no doubt do this yourself. Payments should be made to the account of Wirral Club Ltd, Sort code 60-17-08, Account number 85536822. Alternatively, please request a standing order mandate from Mark Gidman which you can complete and send direct to your bank.

Match Day Lunches
We intend to continue to have a lunch before all first team games. The cost is £22 which includes match day admission. There will not of course be a charge for members who have taken the Gold and Silver packages. The charge for lunch for those members with the Bronze package will be £15. We will continue to send out emails prior to each match so that you can book your place. It would be great to see more of you at these lunches!
Last season we also had a lunch before one of the 2nd XV games. We would be happy to do this more often if there is sufficient interest I think this would be a good time to mention our caterer, Rob Milligan.
He continues to provide excellent meals and support the club. This season he is providing food for the players after training on Tuesday at his own expense. Anyone who has attended a function at the club will no doubt agree that Rob provides an excellent service.
He also does outside catering. If you ever need a caterer for an outside event why not have a word with him (His email address is
wcs2012@hotmail.co.uk)

Sponsorship
The Gold package does include player sponsorship. Over recent years we have had a lot of success in getting sponsorship for the first team squad. There is no reason, however, why this should be limited to those players. You can though sponsor a player without having to take one of the packages. The cost of player sponsorship is £200. If you are prepared to sponsor a player, please contact Dave Van der Zwan or Ben Cornford Sponsorship though is not just limited to player sponsorship. Dave Van Der Zwan and Ben Cornford are looking after sponsorship with help from Geoff Astle. Dave has put together a sponsorship brochure. If you would like a copy, please email him on dvdz@firtree.uk.com . If you know of any company who might be interested in some form of sponsorship, please contact Dave or Ben. If you do introduce a new sponsor who agrees to take an advertising hoarding around the ground or an advert in the match day programme, we will add £20 to your bar card. Our running costs are higher than ever. Any offers of sponsorship are always gratefully accepted

Bonus Ball
For some years now we have been running bonus ball competitions. It only costs £2 per week (payable by monthly standing order of £8.66) and if your number comes up as the bonus ball in the National Lottery you will win £50. We run 3 such competitions but at present there are a lot of unused numbers. If we could fill all 3 bonus balls this would make a huge difference to the clubs finances. We would therefore urge you to consider joining. If you are interested all you need to do is fill in the attached application form and email it to Christie Harvey. If you have a particular lucky number let us know and, if that number is free, we will allocate it to you, or if not, we will allocate the next available number.
The competitions are not just open to members. Why not see if family or friends are interested?

Donations
We are aware that in the past some members have made donations to the club. As we are now a charity gift aid can be added to any donations. Accordingly, for example, a donation of £50 would produce a further £10 for the club. If you are able to make a donation, please let me know and I will send you a gift aid form to complete.

Help on match days
Last season I appealed for volunteers to help man the gate on match days. A number of you came forward and I am very grateful to you for that. Your efforts did make a difference as we saw a significant increase in match day income. Hopefully you will be prepared to help again. Either myself or Bev McCann will be contacting you to sort out a new rota. We do though still need more volunteers. We had hoped that we would get sufficient volunteers to make sure that we only had to do this once a season. A number of those ended up doing it twice. All we need you to do is give up a couple of hours of your time on one Saturday per
season. If you are prepared to volunteer please email me.

This is now the longest document I have ever typed so enough is enough! If though you have any queries about anything relating to the

club please do not hesitate to contact me. You will find my email
address below.

Best wishes to you all
Graeme Roberts
Wirral RFC Chairman
Graeme.roberts@wflms.co.uk

Wirral Rugby Club
Memorial Ground, Thornton Common Rd,
Clatterbridge, Wirral, CH63 OLT
T: 0151-334 1309

Wirral Club Ltd is a registered charity (No 1177821) governed by its memorandum and articles of association. The charity is a company limited by guarantee.

Registered Office : The Memorial Ground, Thornton Common Road, Clatterbridge, Wirral, CH63 0LT