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Northwich Festival August 22nd-25th
It is that time of the year again and the organising committee of the Northwich Festival are gearing up for what promises to be the best show yet. There’s something for everyone over the August Bank holiday weekend, either in the giant marquee or on the fields at Moss Farm. See the dedicated web site for more details), this years highlights include :-

Friday 22nd Race Night organised by Northwich RUFC Junior section - see Ken Houghton for more information on the runners and riders call 07740 896845

Saturday 23rd Rugby tournaments for Colts and Ladies teams in the morning with Summer Sessions and Guest DJ’s . again see the dedicated pages for the tournament and contact Amber Lounge DJ Ross Walker 07732 898643 for more information on the big Saturday night event.

Sunday 24th sees the Novice Strongman event organised by Mark Preece 07974 157280, all day competition from scores of North West Dancing Troupes, and on Sunday evening Juliet Brazendale 07967 489487 is presiding over the Talent-North West contest. Also see see www.talent-northwest.co.uk

Monday 25th The big day itself - Bank Holiday Monday will be bigger than ever and have non stop action with a massive car boot sale, the Motor Storm classic (see Angela Birleson on 07706 912826 for more information) and modified car show will commence at 9am and the premier UK North Strongman Contest (see www.ukstrongman-north.co.uk) will kick off at noon. Twelve giants from as far a field as Sussex, York and Manchester will compete for the £500 first prize. Rumour has it that a 22 stone grave digger by the name of Gwynne Richards from Wales is worth an each way bet.

The above will be complemented with an all day bar, fun fair and main arena displays including the Raleigh Diamondback stunt cycle team. The Monday promises to be a real family outing event. Please support this event to help the club raise funds and have a great time along the way.
 
The four day event is supported and sponsored by a host of local companies and such is it’s growing reputation that Vale Royal Borough Council is giving financial support from the ‘Putting Vale Royal on the Map’. This festival is widely regarded as the ‘best value for money event in the Northwich social calendar’ and this year will mark its 24th staging.

Aside from Vale Royal Council we are very grateful for the support of the following sponsors
Vital:Signs - organisers
Fusion - with project car
Vibe - with never seen in any show: Porsche project car G&B Accessories
A1 Motor Store
Celsus Ice
Max Power Magazine
Planet Valet
Vicky Ashbrook Jewllery
More BHP
Mega Watt.co.uk
Stringer Solutions
MTX Audio
However we are still looking for sponsors for this year’s event? Please contact Colin on 01606 891229 if you’d like to promote your company or organisation at any of the events across the weekend or would like some coverage on the club or Festival web site.  

Ladies team is hoping to change the game’s image.
Northwich captain Natalie Wilson hopes to get more girls giving rugby a go, ahead of the new season.
“We need more numbers,” she said. “It’s time to put a stop to the stereotypes, ladies rugby is not just big, powerful players who can run fast – there is a position on the pitch to suit everybody regardless of their ability.” and it’s new recruits she is hoping to attract this time. The team got together four years ago when a group of ex-University students decided to carry on playing after their graduation. They formed Northwich Ladies RUFC. “It seemed a natural thing to do,” said Wilson.
“We wanted to keep playing rugby together so we started the team on our own.” Now many of the original members have moved on, leaving space for newcomers. And Wilson is calling on girls who have partners playing the game every weekend to follow suit and sign up for scrums. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” she said. “I found out quickly that Saturday is sacred for rugby.” Former footballers have turned to rugby and never returned to the round ball, while others play to keep fit. An active social section keeps up spirits after a defeat. The team trains every Tuesday at Moss Farm from 7pm. If you would like to find out more about playing rugby for Northwich Ladies RUFC, call Natalie Wilson on 07788 502682.

Northwich Ladies RUFC have their own web site at www.northwichwomensrugby.co.uk. , plus don’t forget if your are under 18 you can still play in the U18’s girls team we run with Sandbach RUFC. More information about women’s rugby in the region or across the UK is at the following sites - Womens Rugby North West and the RFU for Women

New Coach, new captain, new signings; a new era for the 'Team of the Town'
The 'Blacks' commence official training at Moss Farm this coming Tuesday 1st July (7pm) with new head coach Kevin Greaves in charge. The 47yr old Runcorn based police constable was appointed last Tuesday following interviews and the completion of a coaching session. Kevin lives in Stretton with his wife and two children and in his playing days considered himself as a competent utility back. He has coached at Warrington, Liverpool St. Helens and for the last three seasons at West Park (St. Helens). Last season he worked with ex Northwich coach Chris Chudleigh who highly recommends 'Greavsey' for the top job at Moss Farm.

Kevin will have the support of new club captain Rick Smith who commented, " I and the rest of the squad were really impressed with Kevin’s session and he appears to be more of a players man than Paul Reid. The playing committee have got a good squad together and we want to hit the ground running come September."

The 'Blacks’ have made a number of new signings the most notable being Matt Bebbington from promoted Chester. Matt is a PE teacher at Wilmslow High School and can play at 9 or 10. At 26 he is in his prime and has come to Northwich to develop himself into a future player/coach. The club has also retained Aussie Stacey Hosking who is staying for a second season. He will be joined by at least two additional overseas signings which are in the process of being finalised. The new coach and captain will be available at Moss Farm at 6.30pm on Tuesday evenings from July 1st.

Northwich to stay up!
Northwich battled to a 22-16 win at Leigh on Saturday 19th to stay in the North 2 West league. Well done for a real gutsy performance. For the full match report, click here.
Chairman Sam Naylor would like to thank everyone involved :- “We justifiably retained our league status with a magnificent victory at Leigh yesterday. It was the culmination of a long, tough season which has been both a learning curve and an adjustment to playing at a higher level. Our position does not do us justice but we are where we are and it all means that we live to fight another day. We have the awards evening and the cup final to look forward to but I simply want to play tribute to all who have contributed to this seasons efforts. This means the whole club, the President John Cosgrove, the players, the supporters, the sections, the managers, the committee(s), Paul Reid and Danny and the other coaches, the press and our many sponsors and of course the staff at Moss Farm. As a club, the senior club in Mid Cheshire, we have big ambitions and following the AGM the new committee will continue to ensure that we remain 'THE TEAM OF THE TOWN'. A massive thank you to you all”.                                                                            April 2008

International Player Exchange
Thanks to the successful impact on the club of overseas players like Stacey Hoskin and David Khaniyle, Northwich would like to invite interested players to approach the club for next season. The club is interested in any player that would be comfortable playing in the North 2 West league or higher and is happy to spend the winter here in the England. In return the club are eager to continue to foster relationships with clubs in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand so that young Northwich players can get the opportunity to play and travel safely to those countries to develop their playing career and to compliment their education and/or employment. New web pages (see below) have been added to the web site to help provide information for interested players. Please feel free to contact Colin Johnson at the club if you need more information. His details and more are on the following page :- International Player Exchange - link  

Club AGM
This years Annual General meeting will take place on May 20th at the Hartford Social Club at 8pm. All members of the Club are encouraged to attend this important meeting. The committee reminds everyone that only fully paid up members (2007/2008 season) who are over 18 years of age are entitled to vote on resolutions.The agenda will be issued on the day. This is an AGM so topics should be of a constitutional nature and not operational issues, which should be handled by committees. Formal notice of the AGM is downloadable at AGM notice. AGM minutes are now downloadable at AGM minutes (pdf format)

Bumper Easter for Juniors
An ambitious Easter schedule for Northwich Juniors has already brought in the dividends with silver ware for the U11’s and U13’s. The U11’s faced opposition from all over England, Scotland and Wales to win the Shield in the U11’s competition and the U13’s were winners in their age group of the full competition at the recent Wales International Rugby tournament organised by TeamTours. Consistency and team spirit helped bring both teams success with Northwich U11’s fielding the only girls in the event. Excellent work everyone, let’s see what the U16, U15, and U14’s can produce on their visit to Ireland. Full stories and more pictures on the team pages - U11 & U13.

Junior Colts 10’s Tournament
In August the club will be holding their first Junior Colts 10’s tournament. This will take place during the bank holiday weekend at Moss Farm alongside the club’s annual Festival of Sports. Junior Colts’ teams from across the region and beyond are welcome to participate. Details of the event, registration forms and rules will be placed on a dedicated tournament web page shortly. Please use this link to visit this page where we will put the latest news about the event. If you have any immediate questions please call Ken Houghton on 01606 558677 or email khoughton@northwichrufc.co.uk. Click here for a flyer with preliminary details.

Record number make County & Representative grade
This season a record number of players have been selected for developmental and representative honours. 9 players were selected for Mid Cheshire Development squads, 8 players got County caps, two players North West regional caps and 3 players were selected for places at the RFU Schools of Rugby. 

Collecting Tesco Vouchers
We are registered again with the Tesco web site and have started to collect vouchers for this seasons sports promotion. Last year we were able to get some new balls and although that doesn’t seem very much it all helps us to stretch our meagre resources. We know that you may be already collecting them for schools but please find some spare ones for the club. The collection box is in the club shop. For more details about the promotion click on www.tesco.com/sport/

Club members set up ‘Sportsmates Reunited’ web site
Three locals who come from a rugby, rowing & martial arts background have recently set up a new web site to help reunite old friends who’ve played sports together. After wanting to get in contact with old friends who’d they’d lost contact with and frustrated with the existing web sites on offer, they thought about creating a new website. Specifically sports-based Sportsmates Reunited works like the well established Friends Reunited sites but specialising in sports like Rugby with all UK clubs listed. To find out more here is the link. www.sportsmatesreunited.co.uk

Sale Sharks - special prices on tickets
Last season we were able to get 40 free shirts as part of the Sale Sharks ‘kit back’ scheme. Sale will continue to offer the scheme this year. We get points for all Sale Sharks home match tickets purchased through the club, plus there are now new special family tickets. Please contact Dave Jefford email: djefford @northwichrufc.co.uk to book tickets for any of the Sale matches. More details of the status of the kitback scheme are also on our new page at Kit back. See the Sharks site for details of the next home game or go to the new Premiership web site for more information on the league, clubs and players. www.guinesspremiership.com

Matches looming up over the next few months include :-
 

More Sponsors for 2008-09
The club would like to thank a number of sponsors for their support in the 2007-8 Season and welcome further new sponsors to assist with the cost of running the club for the forthcoming 2008-9 season.

If you or someone you know, would be interested in helping with a team strip, raffle prizes, equipment or with a team tour please contact Colin Johnson at 07831 785972 or email cjohnson @northwichrufc.co.uk and also view the new sponsor pages.