It's been fantastic to see all the happy faces back playing rugby. Welcome back to rugby friends old and new.

Next week (1 October) sees the first Wimbledon Minis Rugby Festival of the season. Please look out for volunteer requests to help with cake baking, parking, raffle prizes, pitch marshalling and all the other jobs that need doing as we welcome 1200 kids from clubs locally and further away in Surrey.

Onto this Sunday. A relatively quiet day with most people at home. The key things for you to know this week are...

By Friday evening (22 September) - Please consider supporting your club by buying an advert in the programme for our Autumn Minis Rugby Festival. Taking place on 1 October, we will be hosting 1,200 kids from 12 different clubs (Esher, Cobham, Warriors etc). A great opportunity to promote your business to the parents of those kids playing. Just £250 for a full page. Contact benbrown885@gmail.com by EOP on Friday to book your slot.

Sunday (24 September) - Minis and Youth training from 10am for most, a few start a little later as advised by managers. New and second-hand kit is available for sale. Please bring any old kit so it can be resold. The under 5/6s are running parking and the cake sale stall. Please support both. Remember to pick up your Members Card from the clubhouse if you haven’t done so yet (there will be a table run by volunteers).

And if you haven't paid your subs yet, please do! Too many subs are still outstanding. All fees can be spread over two months if that helps and your team manager is here to help you if you are struggling to pay. Every year we support parents who need help.

Also this Sunday: DBS checks - Sophie will be at the club on Sunday and this is the last Sunday to get your check done. After this Sunday, any coach without a current DBS check, or a renewal/new DBS check that is in process, WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO COACH.

Adult rugby update The Men’s First XV and Women’s XV both had important wins last Sunday. For the men it was a big bonus point win and for the women it means their streak of being unbeaten in 2023 continues. Well done to all concerned. Both teams are away this weekend.

Volunteer update Thanks to Scott and Tayo we have found our new fixtures secretaries. This means we will be able to run minis fixtures and festivals from next season. A huge thank you to both for stepping up.

However, we are yet to have names put forward to help Sophie Castle with Child Safeguarding. THIS IS NOW BECOMING CRITICAL. Please put your hand up to help - the time needed for this role is not that significant but the impact on the club is huge. Full training and support will be offered and Sophie is still staying in role so there will be two people to cover the work that needs doing.

Similarly we are still waiting on offers of help for…

First Aid Officer - to organise two First Aid courses during the season and make sure the First Aid kits are well-stocked

Treasurer/membership Secretary - to help administer our subs

Two club events to look forward to

Saturday 14 October - Club President’s Lunch. As we welcome Bury St Edmunds to play our Men’s First XV everyone is welcome to enjoy a delicious pre-match meal. Just £40 per head, sit down at 1pm. Email ahodgo@hotmail.com if you want to come.

Thursday 16 November - London Lunch. The club takes over a bar off the Strand and hosts our annual celeb-starred lunch. This year we are proud to have England legend Sarah Hunter as our VIP guest. 12 noon until 5pm. Tickets are £100 per head (or why not book at table of 10). Booking information here: events@greyunicorn.com

Pitch Plan