Try, Try, Try Again…
At Rye Rugby Club, we meet two of the players.
Cezz. A car mechanic in Beckley. Position. No. 2 - Hooker. Player for five seasons
Rye Rugby Club appears to be a solid community, a tribe, or even a religion for its members and team; how does it feel to you?
Cezz. Rugby isn’t just about the game that’s happened on Saturday. Rugby is about being here at the club, you are one big family, having group chats or texting anyone up for a beer, and they’ll be there. Three people asked me this week, how am I doing, you know, because they have noticed that I’ve been a bit down this week. You don’t seem to get that relationship in all other groups? Yeah. They’ve taken me to one side and said, I see that you are not looking yourself, is everything OK, is there anything that I can do for you? So the actual family aspect of a rugby club is pretty unique.
I moved from New Romney with my brother because of the community in Rye. It’s different from everywhere else I’ve lived; you can be a tourist or local in the same place; it is brilliant.
Rugby is an inclusive sport where we don’t get issues with sexism or racism or anything like that. We have openly gay players, players of colour, and no one has ever said you can’t play because of XYZ; I’ve not heard anybody have an issue with another person. Lots of straight players now wear rainbow laces in support of the inclusivity of the game.
My first season was a good one, the second season not such great results. Then we got some sponsorship; we got new kits, everything sorted, and brought new life into the club. Our league is Sussex Three East; at the moment, we only play within East Sussex, which has seven teams; we play them all once, and then the table splits with Sussex Three West and central. So the top parts play each other, and the bottom teams play each other.
I finish my day job at 6 pm twice a week, and training starts at 7 pm, so I’ll get an hour between to get home, showered and changed before coming to the club and getting muddy again! Saturday and Sunday, I work at the club’s cafe and play the game on Saturday. Most of my time is spent here at the rugby club because I love it so much. This club has built itself from the ground up; it’s brilliant.
The ladies team started two years ago now. So they’re up to about 10, 11 players. You need people to fit each position in a rugby team. So currently, that is the target to fill the positions. Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes; if you look at the men’s team, we’ve got 6’ 7” players, and we’ve got barely five feet players, we’ve got a guy, he must be about eight stones, and another guy who’s 18 stone. But on the pitch, in a team, you need that diversity. You might have an injured defender in a football team, but you’ve got a spare striker that can fill his position; you can’t do that in rugby. If you play in the front row in the scrum, you must be trained for that role. You can’t just go in and do it. You can swap players with some positions, but you need the big plays upfront. So our ladies team is looking for big strong, warrior-like women to join our talented team.
We have players come and say, I enjoy training, can I play on Saturday. But you can’t do that; it is dangerous to put someone in fresh. You’ve got to respect the laws of the game; they are laws, not rules. You need to know how to tackle safely and ruck safely; so many things could go wrong. First of all, you’ve got to experience contact in training to get you ready. Honestly, the way you feel the following morning, after playing in a match and celebrating in the clubhouse, you’re in pain, but you know that you’ve worked hard. So on the day, you’re OK, but the following day is a whole other situation.
Everyone helps and advises each other. The more experienced players might say to a teammate, that was good, but you could come in this way next time. We have a team coach called Big Smudge and three assistant coaches, Mossy, BT, and Moose. Everyone’s got a nickname, like, BT and RBT. We’ve got Big Tom and Really Big Tom. So Big Tom was here first, then when a bigger Tom turned up, he had to be christened Really Big Tom. RBT also plays as number 8; he’s in our back row; he is a farmer. Number six, Adam is also a farmer. Charlie makes jeans and has a store in Rope Walk, Noqu Rosie. We’ve got office workers, two guys who build railway fences all over the country, and Paul, a London firefighter. Paul played his first-ever game for us when he was 46 years old and now is one of the first names on the team-sheet. Our player’s ages range from 18 to 58.
Good mental health awareness is an important topic in rugby; you rely on everyone, you know everyone so well. If we can get some organisations, involved that would be great. Being part of a club is about looking out for one another at the end of the day.
“I get so much support from my friends at the club. Good mental health is essential, and this place to me is like my church, you know, this is where I come to be with friends, this is where I come to be social, drinking, playing, or whatever. It is a safe space for all of us. And I don’t know what I’d do without it.”
Alex. Designs and manufacturer promotional vehicles. Position. No. 9 - Scrum-half. Also, Fixture Secretary. Player for six seasons.
“Once you’ve played with someone for several years, there can be a gap in time when you don’t, but then when you start again, there is this connection, a strong link. Life can take you away from the club sometimes, but you’ll always be welcomed back with open arms.”
What first interested you in coming to the Rye Rugby Club and what kept you coming back?
Alex. I grew up in Rye; a mate’s dad, who played when he was younger, said to us, why don’t you go down to rugby club? So we went down with a few mates, and it built into something quite special. Back then, there would be loads of kids down there on a Sunday. A mate’s dad takes you down there, have a runaround and a hot dog, and that was your Sunday morning, and that was just the way it was. You have to work a lot harder to create the atmosphere and get people to want to commit; these days. So it shows when you can get that good group of people, you know that we are doing something right and making it attractive.
Then I went off to uni; I also played a bit of rugby there. Then when I came back after sorting a job and other life stuff, I came back to the Rye Rugby Club, that’s been five or six years now. I became part of the committee and the running of the place. There are never enough people; it would be great to have some of our local community involved in running the club, rather than just being the players and people directly associated with the team.
Currently, Rye Rugby Club doesn’t have a youth team. Are there plans to bring that back?
Alex. We would love to get that started up. I have a baby boy, three or four other guys have kids, so in maybe five years, they will all be interested. When I was starting for the adults, there was a kid’s team, which meant more families came to the club. So I think that is the next step in the sort of natural evolution of the club. It is essential to keep this place going for future generations.
Financing a club like this can be tricky; it’s only the hard work and effort of people running events here during the summer, bands playing, live international rugby on the TV, parties, and things like that, that keep us going. But, unfortunately, players and membership fees don’t come near covering costs; in fact, it wouldn’t cover cutting the grass for the year, never mind the maintenance costs and insurance. I think the assumption is that the council funds the club, but it doesn’t.
Rugby can be a rough game, and you need to be tough; what keeps you going?
Alex. Today was my first game since the summer; the last few years have been a bit of a battle; I am always hurt, it’s my shoulder. Someone else that isn’t so into rugby would probably have hung their boots up by now. But the worst feeling is coming down and just watching when you know you want to be out on the field.
Generally, a scrum-half will be the smallest person on the team, and I was when I was playing at 16 years old. So you can get knocked around, occasionally a player from the other team might stick a boot in. But your teammates always have your back, and they will look after you and help you out; it’s that team spirit.
When the game is over, it’s great coming into the clubhouse and having a beer with everyone. There is always food and drinks after the game, and the other team will always hang around. So there were times in today’s game where it felt like things could escalate, but as soon the final whistle blew, both teams thanked and congratulated each other. And it was a good game; it was pretty even, which is better than beating the other team easily.
“I do love the game. I keep getting drawn back into it; I can’t help myself.”
Visit Rye Rugby Club
There is always something going on at Rye Rugby Club, you can become a club member, visit the cafe, hold your own events in the clubhouse, you can watch the local rugby games, international games on TV, host a party with DJs or watch a band live!
Rye Rugby Club
info@ryerugby.com
07434 570299
ryerugbyclub
ryerugby.com
Venue hire and events: 07803 817272
jeremynobbs@btinternet.com