The hard work of five Dunstablians U16 players has been rewarded with representative honours. The lads concerned, Reece Marshall, Josh Skelcey, Lewis Jones, Julian Hensman and Clarke Davidson, have all been selected for this years Midlands squad and will now go on to trial for England U16's.

Club Chairman Graham White said “Dunstablians are very proud to have achieved this great honour, with lads that have been associated with the club from a very young age and where they learnt their basic rugby playing skills”

The Midlands U16’s forthcoming games are on the 4th February against the South West and the 6th February against London and the South, both games at Broadstreet RFC

Left to Right Ian Marshall, U16s Coach; Reece Marshall, Clark Davidson, Josh Skelcey and Graham White, Club Chairman.

(Lewis Jones and Julian Hensman were not available for the photograph).

PRESIDENT'S XV v CHAIRMAN'S XV 02/01/11

The Chairman's men

The President's men

Pictures by John Chatterley

Club members rising to the challenge in the 10k run on 7 August ...

    ...and the 50 mile cycle ride on 15 August

Pictures by John Chatterley

Damian Daize, DRUFC Club Captain, is pleased to announce the appointment of Stuart Hall, as 1st Team Captain, and Scott Oliver, as Vice-Captain, for the coming season.

Damian congratulates Stuart ...

... and Scott

Well done to Simon Howard, Simon George and helpers on a terrific float in the Houghton Regis Carnival parade.

Thanks also to Jim Hawkins for the loan of the lorry, to Micky for driving it and to other club members who helped to man the DRUFC stall.

Although many said we had the best float, we came third this time but the day was a great success in attracting interest in the club.

Dunstablians Under 15s selected for England U16 Summer Training Camp

and East Midlands squad.

Congratulations to Reece Marshall, Josh Skelcey and Clark Davidson on being selected for the England Under 16 Summer Training Camp.

These three along with Lewis Jones, Eddie Wiggins and Ryan Brett-Williams have also been selected for next season's East Midlands Under 16 squad.

These are great achievements and a credit to them and the Dunstablians coaching team.

Please come and support the Under 14s in their bid to win the league title.

Dees Under 14s play their final league match on Sunday with all to play for even though the relegation and promotion places are virtually decided. Although Dees are already promoted, their London opponents, from Osterley near Heathrow, will be fighting all the way to stay in second spot or even leapfrog Dees into top spot. Sunday's first v second title decider sees Dees begin as favourites, since to win the title Grasshoppers will have to win by a margin of 16 points and stop Dees gaining a four-try bonus point, or score a bonus point of their own. Conversely, if Dees win by 25 points and stop Grasshoppers scoring four tries, then Grasshoppers will lose their promotion spot to fellow Londoners, Harrow.
 
Dees also have home advantage with an early kick off of 10.30am and will play on the hallowed first team pitch. A win will give Dees the title of league champions for the second year running and will end only their second league campaign with a perfect 100% win record. They would be the only team in the HML U14 league to have achieved that feat.

An added incentive for Sunday's clash, if any were needed, is a trip to Wembley when they would be presented with the league trophy in front of fans at the Saracens v Harlequins premiership game on April 17th.

Alex 'Bernie' Burnett

U14s County Match - Wednesday 17th March

Cambridgeshire U14’s 26pts Bedfordshire U14’s 10pts

The Bedfordshire County U14’s selectors named seven Dunstablians to play on Wednesday evening against Cambridgeshire. Stepping in to the action were David Tuffen, Lewis Taylor, Billy Wagstaff, Jarrad Jerome, Sam Lee, Charlie Burnett and Toby Mead. They all played extremely well in their very first taster of County rugby and although the final result didn't go their way, the newly formed Bedfordshire team displayed some great rugby and were only 7-5 down at the interval.

Cambridgeshire proved to be the more organised and over-powered Beds in the second half by scoring another three tries. A consolation try from Bedfordshire came too late to make any impact on the result and the game ended with Cambridgeshire as clear winners.

The Dees boys should be very proud of their efforts and are now looking forward to a re-match next month.

Bedfordshire U15s Rugby Trials

U15s Play for Northampton Development Group

The Dunstablians were well represented at the end of January when five U15’s played in the Elite Player Development Group (EPDG) at Northampton Saints against Leicester Tigers

Reece Marshall, Clark Davidson, Lewis Jones, Joshua Skelcey and Joshua Taylor

Report and photographs by John Chatterley

A pupil at Lark Rise School, Dunstable has been one of the first to receive an RFU award as a youth volunteer.    Luke Judkins was awarded the silver award during a school assembly in front of the school, teachers and parents, by Mark Bulcraig, Youth Chairman for Dunstablians Rugby Union Football Club and Richard Rochester, Dunstablians' Volunteer Coordinator.   Luke Judkins, 9, was recognised and rewarded for his dedication to the environment around him, both at school and at the Dunstablians Bidwell Park ground.   Lark Rise school offers a stable emotional environment that helps the children thrive and recognise boundaries.   Richard Rochester said: “Dunstablians have just implemented a plan to increase volunteering for the benefit, of not only our membership, but the local community around them. The aim is to provide volunteers with an opportunity to use their strengths and develop new ones”.

Mark Bulcraig said “Luke has been recognised by both his school and the club for his involvement in environmental issues, recently helping with keeping the school clear of leaves and the Sunday morning clear up after matches on a Saturday.”

Left to Right:- Richard Rochester, Mark Bulcraig, Luke and Headteacher Sue Attard

Report by Keith Wilkins (Club Coaching Co-ordinator)

The following players from last season's Academy have been selected for the East Midlands Under 20s squad:

	Sam Wilkins	Reece Bowles	Lukas Chamberlain	Ashley Stackhouse	Paul Trew

                                 
The East Midlands Under 20s participate in the National Under 20 County Championship each season. This is a prestigious national competition with the final taking place at Twickenham in May.  

The club can feel very proud of these young men - well done to them all.

Dunstablians has appointed Andy Chilvers as their new Academy Head Coach.

Andy is an ex Dees player who played alongside Dee's club captain Damien Daize and more recently has been Head Coach for Stewart & Lloyds 2nd XV, where he had a 100% winning record last season.

Andy is also an RFU Level 2 Qualified coach and will be working towards his level 3 whilst at Dunstablians.

Andy said "I am looking forward to being a part of the future of Dunstablians, my old club, and being able to help in the development of these young players.

" I chose to come to Dunstablians as I felt I had gone

as far as I could at my previous position with Stewart & Lloyds. I have been impressed with the set up at Dunstablians and with the quality and commitment of the players and coaches."

Academy team manager Keith Wilkins said "Although we are 7 weeks into the new season we wanted to make sure we appointed the right person for this important role in the development of the players and Andy fits that bill. I look forward to working with him".

Report by Keith Wilkins

Keith Wilkins welcomes Andy to Dunstablians

Kettering Mini’s Rugby Festival (under 7’s,8’s,9’s,10’s,11’s,12’s)
11th October 2009

Despite fielding a largely inexperienced team the under 10s led the way for a successful day for Dunstablians at the Kettering festival of rugby. Wins over Kettering,10-0, Olney25-20 and a 20-0 defeat against Rushden & Higham were enough to secure a semi-final berth for the young Dees. Coach Andy Merkl re-introduced 3 more experienced players for the semi against a well organised Old Northampton team, this paid dividends as the Dees were comfortable 15-5 winners to set up a return with Rushden in the final. Despite going a try behind the Dees came back strongly and were unlucky to have a try disallowed on half time. The second half saw the Dees pour forward and the equaliser soon came, the Dees thought they had won it when Daniel Fitt went over in the last play of the game only for the ref to rule the try out for a dubious forward pass. With the scores level, 5-5 at the final whistle, competition rules stated that Rushden were to be awarded the trophy courtesy of what happened in the group stages. Coach Andy Merkl said " considering the number of new and inexperienced boys we had playing, today was a fantastic achievement and very promising for the future".

Both the under 8s and the under 9s were narrowly beaten in the semi finals, both teams losing to strong Old Northampton teams.

Despite the under 7s and under 12s not getting out of the group stages it was overall a good day for the young Dunstablians with some very promising talent on show.

Report by Vic Hardwick

Under 7s report

Street Athletics was founded in 2005 by Lindford Christie and Darren Campbell. This year, Street Athletics visited 20 different venues around the country seeking out the best raw talent. No runners are allowed to use spikes or blocks. This resulted in a Grand Final held in Albert Square, Manchester, on Saturday 26th September featuring Bedford Modern School Year 11 student, Matthew Anderson, who lives in Houghton Regis, Dunstable.

"I was taking part in athletics at Stockwood Park, Luton, and was told about Street Athletics by my coach. Basically, Street Athletics gives young people opportunities, which do not have the equipment or chance, to take part in athletics for whatever reason. I qualified at a local event in Luton on 23rd July, finishing in the top three, which meant I had qualified for the National Final," said Matthew.

Last Sunday the Dunstablians Mini and Junior rugby enthusiasts were out in force, registering for the 2009/10 season – playing for teams with age ranges - under 7’s to under 12’s in the Mini Section and under 13’s to under 16’s in the Youth Section.

Mark Bulcraig (Mini/Youth Chairman) said: “Registrations went extremely well with new members in most age groups. We are always looking for new youngsters to come and join in or even parents to get involved in what is a family based club with good rugby traditions. We train on Sunday mornings from 10.00am until 12.30pm and on Wednesday evenings 7.15pm until 9.00pm with a compliment of qualified coaches and referees."

Mini Section 9/10 year olds meet up on Registration Day

Picture by John Chatterley

Dunstablians were highly honoured to have Bob Taylor, ex- RFU and East Midlands president, join us for the 1st XV’s game against Wellingborough on Saturday 19 September.

.

Bob Taylor is a former England and British Lions flanker, who played at the very highest level. He then went on to dedicate his spare time to the administration and management of the game at all levels

He played in all four Lions Tests' in South Africa in 1968 and captained the England/ Wales team against Ireland/Scotland at Twickenham when the RFU celebrated its Centenary in 1970.

Bob won 16 England caps, playing flanker or Number 8. His first England match was against Wales in 1966 and his last against France in 1971. He coached Northampton for five years, was a member of the East Midlands Coaching Panel and from 1981 – 85 was a referee for East Midlands.

At Dunstblians Bob witnessed an exciting game but was not totally impartial as he was a school master for 31 years and taught Maths and PE at Wellingborough Grammar School.

Bob Taylor said: "I am a strong believer that rugby is the best team game in the world, with the scope to satisfy all who choose to play".

Left to right: Dunstablians Chairman, Graham White; Bob Taylor;

Dunstablians Honorary Life, Ross Barrington

Picture by John Chatterley

THE CLUB'S TICKETS HAVE NOW ALL BEEN ALLOCATED SO NO FURTHER ORDERS CAN BE ACCEPTED.

The Six Nations England home matches this season are:-

   England v. Wales – 6th February

   England v Ireland – 27th February

Ticket prices are £85, £71, £60, £52 and £41, with 22 out of 35 priced at £71.

All orders must be in by Friday 16th October. With the money!!

Contact Paul Freeman paul.freeman@bigfoot.com for details

What talent we have in the Junior squads

Report by Vic Hardwicke (Club Coaching Co-ordinator)

On Monday (24 August) I travelled to Northampton's Franklin Gardens complex to watch 4 of our under 15s represent Northampton's elite player development group.

Reece Marshall captained the Saints team that also included Josh Taylor, Richard Cobb and Clarke Davis.

Lewis Jones and Josh Skelcey would also have featured but were both away on holiday.

A highly entertaining game against a strong Saracens team ended in a narrow defeat for the Saints 33-34.

The club can feel very proud of these boys - well done to them all.

Two pre-season friendlies have been arranged to test and hone the skills of the 1st team squad. Your support will be welcomed at these matches, which will give you the opportunity to get to know the new squad members.

You can see our players in action as follows:

The first league match for the 1st XV will be a home fixture against Syston on Saturday 5 September. This will be a tough opener for the team - please put the date in your diary and make sure you are there to support them.

The reformed 2nd team are also at home on 5 September, so you are guaranteed an exciting day of rugby to start the new season.

Please be there!!

1st Team Manager

Urgent requirement for a manager for the 1st XV. For full details or to volunteer please contact Damian Daize - phone 07831 403377 or email DamianDaize@aol.com

Level 2 Coach

The Academy are looking for a Level 2 Coach to head up the existing coaching team.

Click HERE to view/print the job description.

If you are interested, or know someone who is, please contact Keith Wilkins phone 07989 466679 or email krwdunstablians@aol.com.

60th Season ends with celebrations

The end of 2008-2009 rugby season, the 60th at Dunstablians Rugby club, was celebrated during Saturday afternoon, 2nd May, with a match between a President’s XV and a Chairman’s XV. This friendly match was won by the Chaiman’s team 42 – 15, with a cameo appearance from the ‘ageing’ Chairman himself.

The match was followed, in the evening, by the annual awards night, when the club honours and pays tribute to those club members who have excelled in their achievement or commitment and dedication to the club both on and off the field during the season.

Team awards went to the following:-

Club Awards went to the following:-

After the awards’ presentations celebrations were completed with the end of season party and disco. Pictures

On Saturday 11th April, in their final match of the season, Dunstablians 3rd XV beat Bletchley to become the 2008-09 Courage Best League winners.

The resounding 34 - 5 win over a strong Bletchley side put Dunstablians clear at the top of the table. The excellent game was enjoyed by a good crowd of supporters.

Well done to the 3rds for another great season

U15s Beds County Cup Final

Bedford Ath v Dunstablians

Sunday 26th April ko 11am

at Bedford Ath

The U15s have reached the Beds County Cup final for the first time

Well done to the U15 players & coaches

Come and give them your support and help them to lift the Cup for the Club

Dunstablians Academy lost narrowly to Old Northamptonians Colts in the East Midlands Referees Colts Cup semi-final.

Dunstablians really deserved the win but were denied by an Old Northamptionian try in the closing minutes of the game. Report

Dunstablians' U13s have achieved the feat of winning Herts & Middx league 5 at the first time of asking.

They did it in style on Sunday and maintained their unbeaten league record with a maximum 45-0, bonus point win over Fullerians.

The win crowned an impressive first season in the HML leagues, overcoming such illustrious names as Ealing, Saracens and Wasps. The final tally reads P6 W6 F186 A15. Only twice did D's Under 13s fail to register bonus point wins. Their nearest rivals Ealing, surprisingly stumbled in their penultimate game at the weekend going down to Wasps, and with one more game to go for Ealing, Ds can do no worse than winning the league by 7 points, and it could well be a whopping 8.

The boys now have a well earned week off before they take on local rivals Leighton Buzzard in a fortnight, hoping to go a little better than a 17-all draw in their last encounter.

On a personal note, the most pleasing aspect of their wins is the favourable comments from oppositions' parents/coaches on the impeccable behaviour and attitude of the boys as they climb the ladder of junior rugby. Congratulations to all the boys, parents, managers and coaching staff.

Alex Burnett
Head coach

Dunstablians Academy have finished in an impressive 2nd place in the East Midlands League.

The Academy were in a tough league with the likes of Northampton Old Scouts, Wellingborogh & Oundle to name but a few.

Dees manged to play their last 4 league games without conceeding a try.

Stats: Played 10; Won 6; Drawn 1; Lost 3: Points for 140 & point against only 83.

Congratulations to the Academy players & coaches on a successful league season.

Team picture of the Dunstablians U9's

(included some 1st Team Players and the Team Coach)

Winners of the Beds Cup Festival (under 9's section) held at Luton