With 2025 coming to a close, its appropriate to give you all a club update from the General Management Committee as it marks the midway point in the season.

The 2025/2026 season to date has been a very hectic one both on and off the Field.

On the Field

The Senior Men have been able to field 3 sides on a regular basis. After an indifferent start due to players being unavailable during September, the Men’s 1st XV have won 3 out of their last 5 league matches and currently sit in 10th place in Regional Thames 2.

The Dev XV are sitting top of the Tribute Counties 3 BBO League South with a great chance of securing promotion. The Men’s 3rd XV are enjoying themselves in Tribute Counties BBO 4 League South. However there have been some frustrations due to opponents being unable to field a side.

The key for a successful second half of the season will be player availability so that the club can field 3 strong settled sides.

The Senior Women have had an influx of new players, many of which are new to rugby. It has therefore been a challenging first half of the season with players gaining match experience as well as learning the game.

The foundations are good, however, for a good second half of the season.

The Youth Section continues to thrive. Successful Minis and U12s Festivals have been held. The Junior Boys sides are all fielding two sides from U13s to Colts. For the first time the club are also fielding Girls sides at U12s, U14s, U16s.

Please see below overviews from the respective Chairs of Senior Rugby, Senior Women and Youth Rugby below

Overview from Andy Bailes ( Chair of Senior Rugby)

‘We are at the halfway point of the season and lots to enjoy and look forward to for Men’s Rugby at Windsor.

The 1st XV have produced some good results recently winning 3 out of the last 5 games.
This included a great result beating Aylesbury 43- 28 at a busy and noisy Home Park. It was a shame that the side could not get any points in their last match of 2025 away at Beaconsfield, one of the strongest sides in the league.

At present we sit 10th in a very competitive Regional 2 Thames league. But with plenty of Ex Colts returning to the team we are confident we can move up the table and stay in the League.

Dev XV have also produced some good results and wins against Wallingford and Phoenix last week the side is now leading Tribute Counties 3 BBO League South. The Dev XV are getting stronger by the week, lots of competition for places and the aim is to still be top in April and win promotion.

3rd XV are finding things tougher, mainly because opposition are struggling to raise sides. We gained 5 points Saturday without playing. So much to play for in the New Year but its mainly about playing fixtures and enjoying some wins.

Overview from Sharon Richards ( Head of Women)

‘The Dames have welcomed 12 new players since the start of the season, with most of them new to rugby. It’s great to see more women joining the game we love!

Whilst our match results have not gone our way, I’m proud of the drive, commitment and determination of our new team - it’s also great to see new players playing with confidence and really growing into their positions. I’m really excited and looking forward to the second half of our season to showcase how we are developing as a team.

We’re also channeling our energy in some really exciting projects off the field too. We’re driving player and team sponsorship opportunities, organising league lunches for some of our home games, looking at fundraising incentives for both our team and our club, we’re providing training courses and qualification’s for people in new roles and we’ll be creating a new recruitment plan to drive player numbers.

Bring on 2026, some great stuff on its way - watch this space! ‘

Overview from Anisha Oram ( Youth Chair)

‘The Youth section at Windsor RFC has made an excellent start to the 2025/2026 season. We now have over 450 youth members supported by approximately 100 dedicated volunteers who ensure the smooth running of the section.

In October, we successfully delivered our Minis (U7–U11) festival, followed by our U12 festival on the first weekend of December. Both events were extremely well attended and highly successful. Our U12 team worked diligently to provide food and refreshments for both festivals, with all proceeds contributing towards our annual Minis Tour to Mersea Island in March.

This season also marks a historic milestone for Windsor RFC and our Damsels as we welcomed three girls’ teams U12, U14, and U16 for the very first time. We also hosted our very first U16 Girls’ league fixture. Our Head of Girls, Becs Curley, together the Damsels coaching team, have invested significant time and effort over the past three seasons to achieve this growth. With further development plans already in place, we hope to welcome U10 and U18 girls’ teams in the coming season’s, creating a strong pathway through to our Dames.

Our Youth teams have been exceptionally active. The Minis have attended seven festivals, while our Junior teams have collectively competed in over 82 fixtures since the start of the season. There have been many memorable moments, along with a few challenges, but the players’ enjoyment and enthusiasm continue to drive us forward each week. A well-earned festive break will no doubt be welcomed by all.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the clubhouse staff for their continued support, and an enormous thank you to all our volunteers for their commitment and dedication. I hope you all take some time over Christmas to reflect on our achievements so far and look forward to an exciting second half of the season.’

Off the Field

Off the field the club has had a number of challenges with the most significant being the state of the Home Park pitches following the hot dry summer. At the start of the season the main two pitches and training area were unplayable and despite a number of meetings the club were unable to secure any assistance from RBWM, Crown Estates, Royal Windsor Horse Show, Dog Show or the Rugby Football Union. The club , therefore had no option but to invest in the pitches and get them reseeded. It was also agreed to re-instate a full sized pitch the other side of Pitch 4 to take the pressure off the existing pitches and to ensure that we had sufficient pitches for Senior Men, Women and Junior Girls and Boys matches. This pitch will be operational by the middle of January. A big thank you Barry Jordan for doing the groundworks this week for the posts to be installed early in the New Year.

The total cost of this investment is c£13K. All these costs were unbudgeted , hence why the club launched a Fund Raising Campaign in September 2025. This campaign is ongoing to try and recoup the investment.

To date we have raised c£3K. If we are unable to recoup the investment, then the club may need to look at how it generates additional fund in the 2026/2027 season.
If you would like to donate please see link below.

https://www.windsorrugbyclub.com/news/windsor-rfc-pitch-fund-appeal-update-2945465.html

The planned Redevelopment Project is still paused. However, it is recognized by the Board that improvements do need making to the clubhouse in the short, mid and longer term as the current facilities are not ‘fit for purpose’ for the modern game.

Discussions have been taking place with both RBWM and the Crown Estates and the future management of Home Park should become clearer in the New Years. This will enable the club to look at some initiatives and projects.and explore funding options.

The Club’s commercial activities have been very much focused around the clubhouse. On behalf of the club, a big thank you to Jennifer McGeachie for all her hard work as Clubhouse Manager. The clubhouse has been very busy at weekends and the number of private hires has increased. A big thank you also to Tony in the kitchen and all the bar and kitchen staff and Bev and the volunteers working in the Club Shop at weekends. It is much appreciated by everybody.

As regards club activities , the club has held a number of well attended League Lunches including the Old Windsorians Centenary Lunch and the Club’s Christmas Lunch. The Club was also well supported during the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Autumn Internationals. Again a big thank you to those volunteers who arranged the events and to everybody who supported these events.

Commercial income in other areas is still a challenge especially in the areas of club sponsorship and fund raising. The Club’s Board will be looking at these areas early in the New Year as this is where the club is underperforming.

The Club’s operating costs are increasing due to rising prices and increases in labour costs following the recent Budget. In addition rugby costs are continuing to rise as the more rugby the club plays at all levels the bigger the rugby costs.

To enable to the Club to continue to invest in rugby on and off the field the club needs to significantly grow its income streams. If we do not the club will not be able to invest sufficiently which will be to the detriment of rugby at Windsor RFC.

Before advising you of some changes in the management structure, its time also to recognize the importance of volunteers and the role that they play at Windsor RFC. On behalf of the Club I would like to thank all volunteers,- members of the Board and General Management Committee, Managers, Coaches, First Aiders, Referees and all volunteers playing their part in helping Windsor RFC to be the focus of rugby in the community whether that’s in the club shop or support roles on and off the field across all sections of the club.

Remember the Club has a Volunteer Co-Ordinator – Tanya Snooks. The Club is always looking for volunteers so if anybody would like to get involved please contact Tanya. volunteering@windsorrugbyclub.com.

To finish the Club has made some changes to its management structure following the Club’s AGM. The Club still has a Board of Directors and a slimmed down General Management Committee.

Anisha Oram, I am delighted to announce has been co-opted onto the Board of Directors responsible for Youth Rugby. This is well deserved for all Anisha’s hard work over the last few seasons and she will be an asset to the Club’s Board.

To enable more volunteers to have some input a number of sub-committees have been created – Finance and Governance, House Committee, Rugby Committee, Youth Committee and Commercial Committee. These changes will help to improve the management of the club.

The Club’s Board have been working very hard since the start of the season to focus on ‘One Club’ to highlight that all sections are as important as each other to ensure Windsor RFC thrives as a community club.

The Board is committed to continuing to build a club that is inclusive and safe for everyone to enjoy themselves both on and off the field. The club has made significant progress over the last few years and the atmosphere in the club has become one that all players, members and families can enjoy. The Club has a zero tolerance to any discriminatory behaviour whether that is against a man, woman, boy or girl.

On behalf of the Board and General Management Committee I would like to thank you all for your support in the first half of the season and to hope you and your families had a Merry Christmas and we wish you all a Happy New Year.

Mike Crawshaw
On Behalf of the General Management Committee