On behalf of the county, may I thank all clubs for their support at the two Eastern Counties SGM’s. These were followed by the RFU Council’s approval of our application to become a CB. We now anticipate a good turn-out at Twickenham for the RFU AGM on 13^th July, when I hope that Essex Rugby will have cause for celebration.

May I thank the Management Committee for their support and also acknowledge the valuable time and effort put in by the many sub-committees and volunteers, without whom representative sides and county competitions would cease to function. Thanks also to those clubs who have hosted fixtures and committee meetings.

To all those clubs that I have visited this year, sincere thanks for the hospitality and friendship you have shown. I look forward to meeting many more people around the county during the forthcoming season.

Report by President Elect – Michael Norris

I feel that this year the social side of the Counties activities got off to a good start with the friendly against United Banks hosted by Bancroft’s. This year we decided to combine the match with the annual committee dinner and had over 40 members and guests sitting down to the pre-match dinner. With this success we went to Southend who hosted the sub-county game against Cambridgeshire. Again this match was preceded with an excellent meal for our members, sponsors and guests and this in turn created a good response for the last home game against Norfolk at Thurrock. With a draw in-between at Colchester against Suffolk we came away from this match as Champions. Our thanks go to our host clubs for their excellent hospitality and dinners. As ever I thank the match sponsors, Steve Foster, AB Taxis, Andy Thorne, Kestrel Liner Agencies, and Andrew Barry, Fineart Mouldings.

We held our Annual Dinner on the 13^th June at the Holiday Inn at Basildon with 114 players, members and guests sitting down to a three course meal. Malcolm Watson, President of ECRU, presented the Biro Bic Sub-county Cup to Garry Smith ( Basildon) captain of our Senior XV and ties were presented to four of our youth members from Westcliff who had recently represented the County in the RFU National colts sevens.

I must thank all those clubs who this year have made their facilities available for our County competition finals and matches. We can be justly proud of our clubs who put themselves out to ensure that our needs are catered for. They have all done that this year without cost to the County – thank you.

I would also like to thank all our associate members for their kind donations and support they have given the County throughout the season. I sincerely hope they will continue that support next season and join us under their new title of Patrons of EssexRugby at the many events which we shall be staging.

Hon Secretary’s Report - Mike Drinkwater

Last year I said that I would be standing down as Hon. Secretary but in view of our impending addition to the list of Constituent Bodies I have decided to carry on for my 15th year to help Essex County RFU in its transition to Constituent Body. It has, I must admit, been an eventful year. The Eastern Counties Special General Meeting in September last year produced a majority vote in favour of Essex but the RFU Council, in their infinite wisdom, decided that a simple majority was not enough and we should go back and get a two thirds share of the vote. Although I was not happy at the time it did nevertheless give us a pathway to success. The RFU Council's reasoning was impeccable. If Essex want to leave Eastern Counties then the constitution of Eastern Counties must change and that requires a special resolution which specifies a two thirds majority.

The Council had in effect boxed itself in and if we could get the required majority our application would be "almost" bound to succeed. The rest, as we say, is history and with a massive 66 votes representing 71% of the vote at the Eastern Counties SGM in April 2003 the Council had no hesitation in approving the application subject to agreeing the allocation of clubs between Eastern Counties and Essex and approval at the RFU's AGM to be held on Sunday 13th July 2003. You will be pleased to hear that the RFU Council approved the allocation of clubs on 13th June 2003 leaving just one hurdle, the RFU's AGM.

Constituent Body status will bring with it an increase in work load for the County's officials and of course participation in the national County Championships. There are considerable challenges ahead and the County is on a steep learning curve. We will all have to be more professional.

From a rugby point of view Essex has had a good year with Barking winning the Eastern Counties cup again and Essex winning the sub-county Championship for the second year running. Of greater significance ,perhaps ,is the elevation of Southend to the national leagues alongside Barking. As a County we need to ensure that both clubs get our support to keep them in the national leagues and hopefully advance through the leagues.

Each of our home games was preceded by a splendid meal, organised by Mike Norris and attended by club representatives, committee members and sponsors. We are indebted to Steve Foster, Andy Thorn and Andrew Barry who so kindly sponsored the matches and ensured that the players, in particular, were rewarded for their endeavours on the park.

My thanks again go to Scott Liebenberg, ably assisted by captain Gary Smith (Basildon), and Paul Lovewell, the physio. I hope that, with our independence gained, we can strengthen the current squad of players and make a serious impression on the Tetley’s County Shield competition. It will take a great deal of commitment and honesty on the part of the clubs and the players for us to be successful.

I look forward to next season and hope that I can be reporting on a similar level of success in everything we take part in.

Youth and Development – Chairman Peter Howard

I am pleased to report that this has been a very good year for Essex Youth Rugby.  Despite the occasional abstractions of some players to the ECRU development squads, our County teams have given a good account of themselves wherever they have played. The future of Essex Rugby looks sound and we have a firm foundation upon which to build.

The success of our boys is revealed in the number that were called up to play representative Rugby for Eastern Counties, London and South East Division and England. We also have a large input into the Saracens EPDC at Cockfosters. Many of our coaches are also involved with the representative sides and should our application to become a CB be carried at the RFU AGM then they have all committed themselves to help with our Squads next season.

It is due to their work, commitment and dedication that our boys have done so well this year and I thank them all. I must also thank the parents, without whose support many of these lads would not have had the opportunity to attain their potential and achieve such high standards. It is difficult to pick out someone for special mention but I could not let this seasons report go by without making special mention of two lads from Essex who have excelled themselves this season. From Thurrock Steve Jay has worked his was through the player pathways at Eastern Counties, and London and Southeast division before being selected to represented England at U18. At under 16 Adam Powell of Romford and Gidea Park and Hedley Walters School was selected to Captain the England U16 Group A Squad in their match against Wales.

Whilst talking of success, there has been a downside and that has been with some of the other sub-county teams, our traditional opposition who have not been able for one reason or another to honour some of the fixtures. However, the upside of this led us to start looking at other Constituent bodies and the response from them has been favourable with Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Hampshire and Lancashire all taking the opportunity to play us. I am pleased to say that our lads have given such a good account of themselves that these fixtures are likely to be renewed next season either as friendlies or as part of the London and South East Division youth competitions and trials.

It has long been recognised that within the Clubs and Schools County structure the same boys were playing representative rugby and in many cases ended up playing the same opposition in the second half of the season after the schools fixtures had concluded. This has led in some cases to boys being overplayed, having to decide upon who to play for and testing their loyalties. Following consultations with the schools committee we have agreed that for this season, where possible the two squads will be merged including coaches and managers.

To help this merger go smoothly I have asked the Schools Secretary Bob Whittle if he will become the County Youth Secretary next season and I am very pleased to announce that he has agreed. Bob will bring with him a wealth of experience of schools and youth rugby, as will his committee of teachers, competition organisers and coaches. This will only strengthen and help develop the wealth of young talent there is in our county for the benefit of all the players.

County Rugby can only succeed with the help and support of our clubs. We have 27 clubs in Essex who all boast fairly strong youth sections. It was pleasing to see the number of clubs who this year entered our youth competitions, from the Mini-midi, U13’ and U14’s festivals, to the U15, U16, U17, U19  cup competitions. The levels of skill and fitness displayed in these matches were a credit to all the players and club coaches involved.

Though there appears to be a lack of understanding regarding the registration of players in the county Harry Hicks our RFU county registrar has been working hard behind the scenes.  This year there were over 690 new registrations and this appears to be growing year on year.  Some clubs are better than others in this administrative process but through Harry’s hard work we are getting there, and he will be communicating with the clubs at the beginning of the season to try and ensure that we have a 100% up-to-date record in the County.

Several of our clubs are now working hard towards obtaining the RFU Seal of Approval and some are nearly there. Our new RDO will be taking up the mantle started by Nick Greenhall in the County and the clubs will soon achieve their award.

In welcoming Matt Davies to the County as our RFU RDO I would like to thank Nick Greenhall for all the hard work he has put in to the County during the time he has held responsibility for Essex and Norfolk. We all know how difficult it has been for him with all the travelling but he has made an impact on the county and I wish him, on behalf of the county, well in his role of RDO of the other three Sub-counties. Matt who comes to us from Bedford has a sound Rugby background and we look forward to welcoming him at our clubs.

In developing the game in Essex Darrell Edwards has worked hard in his role as Community Rugby Development Officer for Rochford and also as the Active Sport Coordinator for Essex Active Sport. The main focus of this work is in primary and secondary schools, working with the Boroughs Sports Development Officers and Clubs and in the organisation and implementation of a series of Inter School and Borough Festivals culminating in the Essex Youth Games in June. This year, as part of the year two plan some of that focus has been on girls Rugby up to under 12. Though the enthusiasm from the girls appears to be there, we do not yet have a proper structure in place in all our clubs to carry on that work in the 12 – 16 age group, under 18 and seniors. With our new RDO we hope that this is one area in which we can improve upon.

Essex County RFU U16’s - Andy Mason

The season 2002-2003 was one of uncertainty for the Under 16’s as is always the case with GCSE’s being at the forefront of all of the players’ minds. However this did not stop the players who were available from being anything but wholly committed to representing their County with pride.

Whilst this was my first season in the position of Manager of a County side I feel that the following observations must be made.

Whilst the above points are negative there are positive points that can also be made.

Now that Essex is due to gain C.B. status, there is sure to be a period of bedding in. It is of paramount importance to give the players a focus on what is possible for them in terms of development and ambition. Whilst budgets still have to be agreed I believe that as a County we should be ambitious in broadening the horizons of all players, who step up to representative rugby and offer them something that has not always been possible in the past.

At this age group I think that an end of season tour would not be appropriate, as many players will be doing something with their own clubs. Some form of function to celebrate/cement on field relationships might be a solution, or create/host a tournament that other Counties could be invited to, so that all the hard work that has been put in by players and coaches alike, will give our lads something tangible to aim for

It is my intention to start preseason training as soon as the players have finished their exams to re-establish the camaraderie and team spirit that was developed by the squad in the previous season.

Essex County Schools Rugby Football Union – Bob Whittle ( Hon Sec)

Once again it is very pleasing to report a successful past season for the County Schools’ Union. Against a background of Youth & Schools Review, Constituent Body status and integrated rugby the bread and butter input of the Union has continued to flourish.

16 Group: completed a clean sweep of victories against Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire at the E.C. Festival. As a result thirteen Essex schoolboys went on to represent Eastern Counties who in their own turn recorded three victories over Kent, Middlesex and Hertfordshire. Four Essex players went on to represent the London & South East Division: Jon Mason & Adam Powell (Hedley Walter/Romford & Gidea Park), Gareth Hoadley (William De Ferrers/Romford & Gidea Park), Paul Redford (Gt. Baddow/South Woodham Ferrers). A. Powell went on to captain the England 16G A XV; G. Hoadley, a year young, went on to represent England South.

Congratulations to players, schools and clubs for what has been a vintage season. Thanks are also recorded to the management/coaching team: Jon Roberts (St.Helena), Michael Eyres (Gt.Baddow) & Paul McManus (Wm.De Ferrers).

15 Group: Only two fixtures of three were played both resulting in victories over Norfolk & Suffolk. Some thirteen players have been involved with the E.C. development squad. This process is likely to play a more important role in the 15 to 16G pathway next season!

18 Group: a squad of nominated/invited players represented the County in a three way festival played at Royal Hospital School. Both games against Cambridgeshire & Norfolk were lost. Twelve Essex schoolboys represented Eastern Counties; Stuart Philpott (Campion) went onto represent London & South East and England 18G(1st.Jan).

Competitions

Seven tournaments were well supported by member schools with the following results:

U17 John Phillips Trophy (X aside)

St.Martins S. beat Coopers Company & Coborn S.

U16 Chairman’s Trophy

William De Ferrers beat Colne H.S.

U15 County KO

Saffron Walden beat William Edwards S.

U15 KO Plate

Coopers Company & Coborn S.beat Barking Abbey S.

U15 County Seven Aside Tournament

William Edwards S. beat Brentwood S.

U14 Mike Dargon Trophy

St.Martins S. beat William De Ferrers S.

U13 Alan Lewin Trophy

Gt.Baddow S. beat Saffron Walden S.

Our thanks are recorded to the Campion School, Romford & Gidea Park RFC, Colchester RFC and May & Baker RFC for the use of their grounds and help in staging our finals. None of these competitions would have been organised without the organisational skills and commitment of Bill Coley (Hon. Comps. Sec.). A big thank you!

Daily Mail: congratulations are recorded to Coopers Company & Coborn School, who were runners up in the national U18 Vase Final played at Twickenham. Not quite a double headed day for Essex schools as Campion were defeated at the semi-final stage of the main competition. Other thanks are also recorded to Alistair Newton, Essex Referees Society, for his and their continued support. To Campion and Coopers Company & Coborn School for supporting our trials.

Integrated Rugby: Schools and Clubs representatives have met throughout the past season exploring pathways which would, in effect, integrate schoolboy/youth rugby within the County.

It goes without saying that all youth players under the age of 16 are at school and therefore have the right to follow the schools’ selection pathways leading to county representation. The County clubs have also run U14, U15 & U16 age groups which lead to county representation. Many players are in both squads!

Single strand rugby would avoid duplication and overplaying; would allow shared coaching and development by practising teachers and club coaches; would be to the players benefit in all respects.

Essex RFU are currently seeking Constituent Body status from the RFU. This, in its turn, would have implications for Schools/Youth rugby with the possible appearance of the County Schools’ Union in the London & South East Division fixture pattern. As this decision will not be made until July 2003 it is unlikely to effect us this coming season.

Competitions - Tony Guest

The season's climax was a Senior Cup final which ended with the trophy being shared. A very rare event in rugby football. In general all the competitions went off smoothly despite the restrictions imposed by the limited number of dates available. It was disappointing that a few clubs decided to withdraw from competitions, sometimes at very short notice but the majority of clubs completed their games without fuss . As usual we were grateful for the efforts of those clubs who offered their facilities for holding the finals of our competitions.

A big thank you to all clubs involved and my congratulations to all winners. Once again youth registration proved a problem for some clubs. Four clubs were called into meetings with the competitions sub-committee to explain their shortcomings with youth registration. Basically the reasons fell into two categories, those who knew the regulations but failed to check if their club were complying and those who claimed to be ignorant of the rules. Considering how hard we worked last season to publicise the registration and competition rules, I can see no excuse for either.

The number of competitions run by the Essex County RFU would not take place without the enthusiastic involvement of the members of the Competitions Sub-committee, especially Harry Hicks with his responsibility for Youth registration and Michael Norris who worked very hard to arrange venues.

We must also not forget the members of the Essex Referees Society. Next season there will be changes to competition rules and should our bid for CB status be achieved, there will be a new structure for the Senior Cup and the introduction of an "Intermediate" cup competition.

As we become a Constituent body the committee will take on responsibility for our own CB leagues Essex 1, 2 and 3. The Essex Merit tables will also continue to be organised by the BL Merit table committee and I thank Brian Larman and his company BL Office Systems for his continued sponsorship and support which is so essential for grass roots rugby in our county.

Once again the turnout for the sevens was disappointing even though the afternoon was enjoyed by all those players and clubs who took part. This year all the competing teams were given a rugby ball courtesy of our sponsors, Shepherd Neame. I would welcome comments from clubs about the future running of the sevens, especially from those clubs who have not entered in recent seasons.

Discipline Huw Davies. (Chairman ECRU Discipline Committee)

The figures for this season show a great similarity to those of last season. One hundred and eleven players were dismissed across the whole of Eastern Counties. The geographical split was again the same in proportion to the number of clubs in each sub-county, with Essex responsible about 50% of all offences.

This season has seen an increase in the number of occasions where coaching or back-up staff were involved in abuse of the Referee. These were dealt with by a deduction in League points and suspension from the touchline. In the future, if these reports are proved, that type of sanction is likely to be adopted throughout the Counties. Please remember that good behaviour of your Club is a corporate responsibility.

The number of Citings has also increased. Players must be made aware that if they cause injury to another, even if it is not seen by the Match Officials they can still be called to answer for their misdemeanours if they are Cited. This season three alleged assaults on the pitch in EC have been reported to the Police and criminal proceedings are pending investigations in each case.

I convey my thanks to the members of the two Committees. Martin Warren and Graham Feest at Bury; and Gerald Mansfield and Lawrence Crispin at Chelmsford. They have all put in a great amount of time and effort as of course our Secretary Ivor Smith. Good luck to the Essex Committee for the future!

Press and Publicity - -Ivor Smith

I have also incorporated quite a few functions from the RFU web-site. The league match results can be viewed from 8 pm on a Saturday night, club directories and links to club information are now also available. All the information that is currently on the RFU web will be transferred to us as a new CB after the 13^th July. Most importantly the RFU events calendar is incorporated into our site and clubs will be encouraged to enter their information into it as well, thus developing a calendar of events right across the County. Clubs may also use the site for player information, team selection and shortly there will be a facility to SMS (Text Message) players directly from the site.

We have started to develop our brand "EssexRugby" and our logo "Essex the Gateway to Rugby". It features prominently in all our publications, correspondence, and advertising. Working with the finance committee this will be developed over the coming years as part of our marketing strategy in conjunction with our need to attract a greater number of sponsors to the County.

Blackman Action - Mike Youngman (Chairman ECRU Blackman Action Group)

The Blackman working group was established in September 2001 and in liaison with the RDOs is responsible for the implementation of the RFU strategy to halt the decline in the number of participants and amateur administrators in the game in England.

Each sub-county is represented on the working group ( Norfolk – Ian Forton, Suffolk – Cambridgeshire – John Taylor and Essex – Ivor Smith) and provides the local link for the RDOs with the clubs.

The exact role of the Group has been difficult to define and this will be one of the priorities for the coming year. Among the ideas under consideration is for the group to cover the role of Club Development. In spite of this it has been a busy and productive season with a number of successful initiatives.

We started with the ECRU conference at Cambridge in early September. Though the numbers attending were disappointing it was thought to be a very successful venture by all those who attended. A bigger and better conference is planned for Sunday 7th September 2003 and all that is now required are the delegates from every club.

Meetings were also held at a number of venues throughout Eastern Counties. These provided coaching development sessions in various aspects of the game and discussions on sources of funding and volunteer recruitment.

RU ready 4 RU saw eight clubs selected for assistance in producing a development plan and its implementation with guidance from the RDOs.

Valuing the Volunteer has been another initiative which the group has sought to develop. There are so many unheralded volunteers out there that recognising them all is an impossible task. Recognition came in various ways. Roadshows to raise the profile of the work done by the Volunteers and to provide them with information on support. The RFU President invited a representative from each CB to attend an England home game and the after-match dinner, hospitality at an England "A" game, as well as tickets for the Barbarians game and Value the Volunteer ties.

There is still a lot of work to be done and the group looks forward to making more progress next season.

Constituent Body Working Party.

The working party has achieved its objectives on behalf of the Essex clubs in gaining approval from the RFU for Essex to become a Constituent Body. As you will have seen from Mike’s report there is just one more hurdle to jump and that is at the RFU AGM.

A lot of hard work has been put in by your working party who have attended numerous meetings and discussions both within and without the County. I would like to thank, on your behalf, the working party - Alan Stobbs who presented our case so eloquently to the ECRU committee meetings and SGM’s. Mike Drinkwater who fought so hard on our behalf at the RFU Council meetings, Dai Davies who when he became President carried on the mantle from Alan and chaired our meetings. Beiron Rees whose counsel and judgement were invaluable in planning our campaign, Neil Harding for coming up with our Logo and of course to all the clubs and their Hon Secretaries who have supported our application.

At the last ECRU SGM we had a 99.9% return of votes from our clubs. The only vote that was missing was from a club whose secretary was away on holiday and we could not break open his rugby locker. They were with us on the first vote anyway and with that level of support from the clubs we could not fail.

We must remember also, that we had tremendous support from Cambridgeshire RFU, their Chairman Alec Motts and we are also grateful to the Essex Clubs who are still affiliated to Suffolk as their votes were gratefully received.

There is still a lot of work to be done in the County to ensure that having achieved our objectives we are able to sustain our status as a Constituent Body. We have already been well received by the London and South East Region committees and that should ensure our entry to their regional competitions and trials which will benefit the Youth of our County. We now await confirmation of our entry to the RFU U20’s and Senior County championship competitions.

Thank you all for your support