Burnbrae BULLetin - Feb 2022
Friday, 4 February 2022
Dear members & friends,
Introduction
Welcome to the latest edition of the Burnbrae Bulletin providing an update on the latest news from Burnbrae. It has been a while since the last update but all due to the club being at full throttle across the sections which is a great achievement considering the disruption to our lives over the past couple of years. I believe the club is in a good place and I am fully aware of the commitment many of you give and I am most grateful as this is certainly a significant contributor to the success of the whole club on the pitch.
Senior Male Rugby
The Male 1st XV has played 15 league games, winning 11 and currently sit 2nd in National League 3. There are 3 games left with the next fixture away to league leaders Lasswade on Sat 19th Feb followed by the final home game on Sat 5th Mar against Berwick and completing the campaign on Sat 26th Mar away to Strathmore. There are several catch-up fixtures to be played by other clubs which could alter the league placings but with two to promote West remain in the hunt. With a relatively young and mostly home-grown squad the level of competitiveness has been excellent, and it is clear to see how they are enjoying their rugby. As well as the commitment from the boys there has been the excellent leadership by the coaching group in head coach Andy Douglas and assistant coach Robbie Currie. For the final home game, which has a 3pm ko, it would be great to have as many people as possible down to cheer on the team and create a noisy ‘West’ atmosphere so any support would be greatly appreciated. There will be a pre-match lunch on the day but more about that later.
Tennent’s National League 3 as at 29 Jan 22:
The Male 2nd XV play in West Reserve League 2. At the start of the season there were 11 teams in the league which quickly went to 9 and now consists of only 7 teams. This has meant a very disjointed season, but the pleasing thing is that there has been a large squad for every game and in part due to the youngsters coming through the club development programme. The 2s have been superbly marshalled by Allan Snedden (Sneds), West’s answer to Warren Gatland! They have played 7 league games winning 3 and loosing 4 but 2 of the losses were against Glasgow Hawks who were placed in this league by the SRU but given that they are a Premiership team it was obvious that this would not be competitive but hats off to the mighty 2s as they did not take a backward step. Despite the stop start season this has been a good effort from all and with another 5 league games to play here’s to a good finish to the season.
Women’s Adult Rugby
The Women’s 1st XV for the first time are competing in the Women’s League National 1 being the second tier of Woman’s league rugby. Given the step up, the performances have been excellent, and they currently lie 2nd in the league with 2 remaining fixtures being away to Stewartry this coming Sunday 6th Feb and finish at home to Howe of Fife on Sun 20th Feb. This has been an outstanding effort and have taken the step up in their stride, demonstrating confidence and with no little skill. With the head coach Lindsey Smith who is ably assisted by Fergus Matheson again providing leadership and drive in taking the team forward. This was clearly demonstrated by the great win over the unbeaten top of the table Garioch last Sunday. With regard promotion when all fixtures have been played second place will travel to top place in a one-off tie to determine a promotion slot to the Premiership. Given the head-to-head between West and Garioch, West cannot top the table but still all to play for with 2nd place. Additionally, there was the opportunity to run out a Women’s 2nd XV on Sat 29th Jan in a development game against Perthshire and pleasing to see so many being given the opportunity to play. If you have the time, please come along on Sun 20th Feb and cheer the women on against Howe with a 2pm ko.
Women’s National League 1 as at 30 Jan 22
U18
With the relative positivity in the Adult Men and Women, the U18 squad have decided to ratchet it up a couple of notches! Through their positive results in the National Conference league in the first part of the season this qualified them to participate in the National Youth Cup. Having defeated Livingston at Livingston by 43 points to 14 in the Quarter Final, the Semi Final saw West drawn away to Hawick. The tie took place last Saturday 29th January. In a hard-fought game, the final score at full time was 17 all including a Hawick conversion charged down towards the end of the game! The rules of the competition meant that no extra time was to be played and therefore highest number of tries and then conversions would win. Both clubs were level using those criteria. Therefore, the next measure was number of red cards, none for both, so then number of yellow cards. Hawick had received a yellow card for constant team infringement and meant that West were declared winners! A match report is on the club website and the match with commentary is on the club Facebook page.
The final is to be played on Sunday 27th March on the main Murrayfield pitch with ko still to be confirmed. This promises to be a great day out for the boys and best of luck in the final. It also promises to be a great day out for the whole club, and it is planned to run buses from the club through to Murrayfield. It would be great to mobilize as much red and yellow as possible on the day with more detail to be sent out and posted on the club website www.westofscotlandfc.co.uk in due course.
Junior Rugby
Midi Rugby - In the first half of the season the Midi Section (S1, S2, U15 and U16) competed in the Boys’ National Club Conference. Across the ages, 23 competitive fixtures were played winning 15 and losing 8. For the second half of the season there is a series of Regional Cups and Competitions and best of luck to all. The rugby development programme, which is primarily aimed at the Midi section re-commenced properly last Oct and this programme along with match day rugby provides a great platform for our Midi section.
The Girls Midi section continues to grow and develop and are now part of the club development programme. For the first part of the season there was a series of festival days where several clubs would come together to play. It has now reached a point where last week saw a U14 and U16 play competitive rugby in their own right and a fantastic achievement. The coaching team headed up by Graeme Duncan are doing a great job and can only see them getting stronger the more they play.
Mini Rugby – Well what can I say about the mini section! The numbers taking part are phenomenal with large numbers up and down the age groups. There have been many fixtures throughout the season and will continue to be the case for the remaining weeks of the season culminating in the West Mini Tournament on Sun 8th May 22. It takes a massive effort to make this red and yellow machine operate and many thanks to the many coaches and volunteers that do so.
Social
6 Nations – All the Saturday fixtures of this year’s 6 Nations (5 Feb, 12 Feb, 26 Feb, 12 Mar and 19 Mar) will be showing on the big screen in the club bar. The bar will be open from 1.30pm with the ko of the first match being 2.15pm. Scotland’s fixtures are all to be played on a Saturday with this coming Saturday a 4.45pm ko against England and the remainder of the fixtures being a 2.15pm ko.
Club Lunch 5 Mar 22 – As mentioned earlier, as a pre-cursor to the Berwick fixture on 5th Mar there will be a club lunch and available to all members and their guests. Two course lunch with a drink for £20 with a likely sit-down time of 1.15 to 1.30pm. To book your slots please email me Click here to send e-mail
West Fest 14 May 22 – Whilst under Social, we are looking at running our senior 7s tournament that day preceded by a family fun day for the junior section. More to follow.
Club Development
As well as the general running of the club the General Committee (GC) is looking at club development issues (what do we do going forward?) as we can’t stand still. Therefore, there is a separate development gathering made up of the GC and other members from the Mini and Midi sections as they have a vested interest in the future. Various options and ideas have been explored over the previous months with the main project being the proposal to build a new indoor multi-purpose facility to replace the current gym building. It is still in the early stages but several members across the club with the requisite professional qualifications have been brought on board. Suitable updates will be provided in due course.
Volunteers
I have had the honour of being the Club President since 2019 and will put myself forward for one final year at the coming AGM due to be held on Wed 27 Apr 22. The GC has remained constant over the past couple of years and provided stability during the challenging COVID times. However, as we are now back at it properly it is now time for new blood to come onto the committee and take forward how your club is run. There are also specific roles that the club would benefit from both operationally and financially by being filled and I take this opportunity to put them out there.
Social Convenor - Looking for an individual(s) to lead on planning and delivering a programme of social events for the club and its members. There has been little in place in the preceding years other than the odd Saturday Match Day Lunch and quiz. Therefore, the opportunity to start afresh and motivate the members to attend club events and generate funds for the club.
Commitment: to start, an event every one to two months probably requiring 8 to 10 hours per event. No requirement to be part of the committee though very welcome to join if so wished.
Sponsorship Convenor - Looking for an individual to re-invigorate the sponsorship revenues for the club. The traditional methods of generating sponsorship is to offer club advertising on the club website, pitch side hoardings, match day programme, playing shirt sponsorship, player sponsorship and match day ball sponsorship. However, this needs an engaging and enthusiastic individual to start afresh as an area that can potentially raise good income for the club. Commitment: Main effort over the summer months in the lead up to the start of the playing season August/September be it obtaining new sponsors or renewing current for the season. Low key for the remainder of the season. No requirement to be part of the committee though very welcome to join if so wished.
Finance Officer - The main accounting for the club is outsourced to a company called BDO but the club requires an individual to do the day-to-day club transactional business. This involves:
- Payment of authorised invoices, usually weekly, maintaining payments records.
- Link with club officials and BDO for staff (3) gross monthly salaries, review & pay net salaries & Paye/NI monthly
- Maintain 2 bank & 1 paypal accounts and provide regular information to other club officials as required
- Provide BDO with monthly receipts & payments analysis, and supporting vouchers
- Each Quarter - answer questions on accounts from BDO & VAT Return
Commitment: On average this will require 4 hours per week and the FO will normally be part of the General Committee which generally meets once each month for between one and a half to two hours.
General Committee Members - The club is currently managed by the GC who are all volunteers with the best interests of the club at heart. There is a wide range of topics to monitor and maintain and looking for volunteers to come and join the GC to assist and have a say in how the club is run.
Commitment: The GC generally meets once a month and lasts between one and a half to two hours.
If you can help in anyway or wish to know more about the above roles, please do not hesitate to contact me direct.
Summary
As I said at the start, I think the club, right across the various sections, is in a good place. There is still lots of rugby to be played for the remainder of this season and best of luck to everyone and every team. Importantly, whatever capacity you are in, thank you for your support and continue to enjoy your red and yellow rugby.
Yours in rugby
Donald Malone, Club President
E-Mail M: 07584 576034
