Esher Rugby

On Sunday June 7^th Esher Bishops held our annual walking rugby festival, in company with nine other clubs from all over the southeast of England. A time for great enjoyment, but also for reflection, as we take stock how much the walking version of rugby has boomed in popularity since we started out ten years ago, with over 200 registered participant clubs now in England alone.

The weather on the day was kind – overcast, cool and a slight breeze – and ideally suited to walking rugby. The Esher organising team met at 9.00, with Barry Kolodkin securing the coveted role of Meeter and Greeter and the hi-vis jacket and clipboard that came with it.

By 10.00 as the guest teams started to arrive, everything was in place – three pitches marked out, Control Tent erected, PA and match start/finish Klaxon tested and operational. Reprising their roles from last year, Bob Patten and Helen Taylor ran the Control Tent all day like a Swiss watch mechanism.

Led by Simon Marshall, our very own Societies Ref, our three refs – including Esher Sec and Surrey Chair Ty Lawless – controlled 36 fifteen minute games flawlessly between 11.00 and 3.30, issuing only two yellow cards in the process.

The bar and barbeque did steady business all day, with thirsts and appetites stoked by the mix of fresh air and exercise, and at the end of the final game, all the teams gathered under the posts for the traditional mass photograph.

Esher were delighted - and surprised - to emerge at the end of the Festival with a record of Played 6 and Won 6, and win the trophies for most tries scored and fewest tries conceded.

The awards were presented as all the teams feasted in the Downey on jacket potatoes and chilli. Shout out here to the Catering and Bar Teams, who played an absolute blinder all day, and drew envious comments from visiting clubs.

Also consumed greedily was our Bishops 10th Birthday cake, again thoughtfully supplied by Stuart.

In closing – a wonderful event, made possible by Bishops organising team and also by the larger Esher Club team, with Nicola deserving a mention for all her hard work in running the registration and invoicing process in the planning stages.