President’s Word

The University of York Rugby Club is one of the largest and most successful clubs on campus. The 1sts currently play at the highest level of any team sport at the University, situated in Northern 1A. Over the past two seasons the 1sts have narrowly missed out on promotion twice whilst the 2nds have secured promotion and consolidated their position in Northern 2B. The thirds meanwhile have continually pushed for promotion in Northern 4B. In addition York once again whitewashed fierce rivals Lancaster in the annual Roses competition, winning all six of the games played. It is the third year in a row that they have achieved this and displays the strength in depth the club has. This year’s competition was a particularly big occasion with the 1sts game being played on a Friday night in front of nearly 2000 people, the largest attendance to any game over the entire Roses competition.

The forthcoming season sees the arrival proper of new 1st team coach Kerry Wood. Kerry is a young and passionate coach from New Zealand with a long Rugby playing pedigree behind him and he is looking forward to coaching all the teams this season. He believes that promotion is a very realistic possibility.

The club manages to balance itself with a hard working, professional approach to Rugby and a number of lively and well-attended socials. Whether on or off the pitch the club is very inclusive and offers Rugby to all levels of players. The club is always looking for new players no matter what level of Rugby they have played before and those joining will soon realise that it is a great way to meet people from all across the University. With such a good balance both on and off the field I believe that the 2011/2012 season will be the most successful in UYRUFC’s history.