Chairman’s Update
As we welcome everyone back to rugby this weekend, I hope you have all enjoyed the summer break and are looking forward to another busy season at Royal Wootton Bassett RFC.
Whilst many of our players, parents and volunteers have enjoyed a well-earned break, there has been plenty happening behind the scenes at Ballards Ash throughout the summer. It will be fantastic to see the club busy again over the coming weeks as our Minis, Juniors, Girls, Women’s and Senior sections all get their seasons underway.
A Busy Summer at Ballards Ash
Although the rugby calendar has been quieter, the clubhouse certainly hasn’t been.
It has been an extremely busy summer commercially, with Ballards Ash hosting a wide range of business events, private parties and wakes, alongside a number of other bookings. We have also been delighted to continue hosting Bath Rugby Academy and welcoming their players and staff to use our facilities throughout the summer.
The commercial use of our facilities throughout the year is hugely important to the club and helps us continue to invest in our rugby, facilities and the wider development of Ballards Ash.
None of this happens without a considerable amount of work behind the scenes. A huge thank you must therefore go to all of our staff and volunteers who have worked throughout the summer months to keep the club running, prepare and host events, maintain our facilities and ensure Ballards Ash continues to be a welcoming venue for both our members and the wider community.
Find out more about how our facilities are used outside of rugby at meetatbassett.co.uk
Pitches and the Start of the Season
As many of you will have seen, the start of the senior league season has been delayed due to the condition of rugby pitches nationally following the exceptionally dry weather.
We have had some welcome rain over recent days, but there is still a considerable amount of work required to get our pitches back into the best possible condition and, most importantly, to ensure we can safely resume contact training and matches.
We are hoping to complete some further reseeding shortly, giving the new grass the best opportunity to establish before traffic across the pitches becomes too heavy.
We would ask everyone using Ballards Ash over the coming weeks to help us look after the playing surfaces and follow any guidance provided by coaches, team managers and the club. A little bit of care now will hopefully make a significant difference as we move further into the season.
Improvements at Ballards Ash
Despite the challenges with the pitches, we have managed to complete or progress a number of projects around the club during the off-season.
The clubhouse has now been completely re-carpeted, while our new pitch-side dugouts are due to be installed within the next few weeks. A huge thank you must go to everyone who contributed to our crowdfunding campaign and helped us raise the funds required to complete the dugout project.
We have also installed a new air-recirculation system in the gym, which is now awaiting final commissioning. This will make a significant improvement to the environment within what has become an increasingly important and well-used facility for the club.
Our kitchen has also benefited from the installation of a new oven, made possible thanks to a generous donation from our sponsor HK Engineering. We are extremely grateful for their continued support.
Our major floodlighting project, which will provide training lights across Pitches 3, 4 and 5, also continues to progress. There have been some delays involving SSE, but the project remains on target for delivery within the next few months.
All of these projects form part of our continued investment in Ballards Ash and our ambition to provide better facilities for every section of the club.
Senior Rugby
Our senior men finally get their pre-season match programme underway this weekend, with our 1st and 2nd XVs travelling to London Scottish Lions.
Following the postponement of the opening weeks of the competitive season, our 1st XV will begin their league campaign away at Sidmouth, while our 2nd XV start at home at Ballards Ash against Chippenham 1st XV.
There has been a huge amount of work put in by our players and coaches since pre-season began at the start of July. The delay has naturally been frustrating, particularly with the limitations the pitch conditions have placed on preparations, so everyone is looking forward to finally getting back onto the pitch and playing some rugby.
We wish all of our senior teams the very best as their respective seasons get underway.
The production of updated Fixture Cards is underway, reflecting the changes to the delayed senior matches. Please watch this space for news of when they become available.
Coaching Team
We are also pleased to welcome a number of new faces into our senior coaching structure this season.
Stephen Barber joins us from the Bath University BUCS programme and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the group. Alongside his work with our senior squads, Stephen will also be helping us with coach education and development throughout the season, something we hope can benefit coaches across the wider club.
We also welcome Gavin Russ and Steve Johnson, who join the senior coaching group with a particular focus on leading and developing our 3rd and 4th XVs. Strengthening the pathway through our senior teams remains an important priority for us, and we are delighted to have Gavin and Steve involved.
As we welcome new faces, it is also important that we recognise those who have contributed significantly to the club.
John Kimberley’s time within our senior coaching structure has now come to an end after being part of the group since 2020. John has given a huge amount of his time and energy to the club and has been part of an important period for our senior section, including two promotions.
On behalf of everyone at Royal Wootton Bassett RFC, I would like to thank John for everything he has contributed during his time within the coaching team and wish him and his family all the very best for the future.
Our Sponsors
As we begin the new season, we are delighted to welcome The Waste Connect as our new main club sponsor.
The support we receive from our sponsors and commercial partners is hugely important. It allows us to continue investing in our rugby, facilities and wider club, and we are very much looking forward to working with The Waste Connect during the season ahead.
As one partnership begins, we would also like to place on record our thanks to Imagine Cruising for their support as our previous main sponsor. Their backing has been greatly appreciated by everyone at the club, and we thank them for their contribution to RWBRFC during our partnership. Read more here
We are fortunate to have a fantastic network of businesses supporting the club at all levels and would like to thank every one of our sponsors for their continued backing.
See the full list of Club Sponsors, Major Advertisers and Support Partners for the 2026-27 season here: rwbrfc.club/information/club-sponsors
Looking Forward to the Season Ahead
Most importantly, this weekend is about welcoming everyone back.
Whether you are pulling on a RWB shirt, coaching a team, managing an age group, volunteering behind the bar, helping with the pitches, bringing your children to training or simply coming along to support, you are an important part of our club.
After a challenging summer for rugby pitches across the country, it will be fantastic to see Ballards Ash full of players, parents, coaches, volunteers and supporters again.
There is a huge amount happening across the club and plenty to look forward to over the coming months.
Thank you, as always, to everyone who gives their time, support and energy to make Royal Wootton Bassett RFC what it is.
I wish all of our Minis, Juniors, Girls, Women’s and Senior teams the very best for the season ahead, and I look forward to seeing you all back at Ballards Ash.
Here’s to a great season!
