July 2010

Montrose and District Cricket and

Rugby Football Club

Welcome!
It was clear at the club AGM that the members were keen to receive regular communications from the club. To support
this, I am delighted to launch the club newsletter.
After much discussion and debate during the SRU AGM at Murrayfield in June, the league restructuring proposal prepared
by the independent Forum of Scottish Rugby Supporters (FOSRS) was rejected. Whilst there is definitely merit in some of
the changes proposed in the motion, the overall plan did not appear to have been completely thought through and didn’t
look good for the club. If the motion had been approved, Montrose would have be moved out of the Midlands into the
North District “temporarily”.
For 2010-2011, Montrose will play in Caledonia League 3 Midlands. This is a 6 team Midlands league comprising
Montrose, Atholl, Bannockburn, Panmure, Stobswell and Waid. Each team will be played three times and the season
should also see the return of a Midlands Cup competition.
Please forward this newsletter on to anyone who might be interested in our club. If you has have ideas for the newsletter
or would like to contribute content to the next edition, please let me know.
Alistair Grove-White, President

Senior Rugby Cricket Report

As the weather has changed and the summer has finally
decided to make an appearance, my thoughts drift back to
the previous season and the games played by the 1ST XV.
Every game I had the pleasure to watch and some even
played in, I was aware of one key thing. That as the
coach of the senior team I was responsible for changing
the way people think about rugby in Montrose, and the
players who were committed to Montrose RFC were the
answer.
The season ended with games against some of the so
called stronger teams within the league, and I was moti-
vated by what I observed both on and off the field. Initially
I watched teams that were fitter, well drilled and dare I say
it more skilful play against a group of individual players
wearing Montrose 1st XV shirts, but the all teams we
played against were missing something that we had by the
bucket load! That is bottle, and as a coach I consider this
key to any teams success. Skills and fitness I can change
but that that dogged determination is intrinsic to individuals
and difficult to develop.
On that note the 1st XV will start pre-season training ini-
tially once a week on 7th July 7pm at Union Park.
I will also be organising a players meeting to discuss the
forthcoming season and elect a captain and other roles.
For more information regarding training and the player
development please give me a call on 07738 543252 or
email me at stephen.oakley@angus.ac.uk
Steve Oakley
The cricket XI have had an up and down season so far
with the eight league fixtures so far resulting in the follow-
ing standing in the league, 6th of 10. Played 7, won 3 and
lost 4 giving us 95 points out of a possible 175 - 54.29%
Unfortunately, one of the defeats was as a result of being
unable to raise a side versus Rossie Priory on Saturday
19th June. The following day Strathmore XI reciprocated
the favour and relinquished the points to us.
We were also knocked out of the mPower Trophy at the
quarter final stage by DHSFPs after beating Strathmore XI
in the previous round.
Practice continues on Tuesday evenings from 1830hrs.
All members are welcome.
Kenny Christie
Youth Coaching
Five Montrose junior rugby players have recently com-
pleted the Scottish Rugby Youth Coaching Course. The
course was led by Stewart Ross, Angus Rugby Develop-
ment Officer and was achieved over six sessions. During
the sessions they took part in theory and practical coach-
ing lessons then concluded with successfully completing
the Scottish Rugby Foundation Coaching and Refereeing
award.

Prize Draw

The annual prize draw winners are J. Starchan (£250.00),

J. Shakespeare (£100.00), Iain Watt (£50.00) and R.
Proven (£50.00).
The June prize winners are E. Ladbrook (£60.00), J. Mills
(£30.00) and C.Brennan (£10.00).
If anyone would like to enter the monthly prize draw,
please contact Gordon Clark (gordon.s.clark@talktalk.net). Stuart Ross, Angus Rugby Development Officer with the newly quali-
fied Youth Rugby Coaches - Daniel Waghorn, Nathaniel Sieunairine,
Findlay Christie, Jasper Rodgers and Stewart Ruxton.

Season 10/11, Issue 1

Ladies’ Rugby Calling New Members

We have been training for seven weeks now. Having
started with five Ladies and now we have twenty from
Montrose and Angus area.
To support the redevelopment of the club, we are keen to
drive up membership numbers this year. We also recog-
nise that we have let former members slip away and it
would be great to get them re-engaged as members of
MADCRFC.
Please encourage everyone you know to join the club this
season. Full membership is only £45 or £40 if you set up
a standing order. For more details, contact Jamie Shake-
speare (Jamie.Shakespeare@nov.com).

Junior Rugby

There will be rugby development days for children from

P4 to S3 on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th July. These
will run from 9.30 to 12.00 at Union Park and will cost £3
per day. Newcomers and experienced players are very
welcome. Anyone interested in attending these sessions
should contact Caroline on 01674 830763.
Some of the Montrose Ladies

We train on a Monday and a Wednesday evening from

6.00pm - 7.30pm at Union Park. The Ladies Rugby is
open to any female fourteen years and over.
We welcome newcomers who want to come along and
give it a try. If you are worried about your fitness level,
don't be! We all train together and help each other.
If you wish any further information you can email me at
montroseladiesrugby@hotmail.co.uk or contact me on
07588 441650.
Arlene Dickson

North Angus U15/16

Following the launch of North Angus U15 last season, we

are looking to continue to work with Brechin to promote
youth rugby. We will be fielding a combined U15/16 team
in the Midlands Youth League.
The team has secured sponsorship for new strips from
Bardon Aggregates.
The junior rugby season is still some way off but a full pro-
This will be for players born in September 94 or later. gramme of training and fixtures is in place for our younger
Training will start at Montrose on Tuesday 10th August players.
6pm.
Training for Minis, S1/2 will start on Sunday 15th August.
New players are very welcome and we would be very More details to follow.
keen to hear from anyone who would like to support the
coaching team. For more details, please contact Caroline
on montrosejuniors@tiscali.co.uk. Forthcoming Cricket Fixtures

Our cricket 1st XI will be playing on the following dates. All

Newsletter Content Required
matches will start at 1pm.
We will be issuing another newsletter before the start of
the rugby season. If anyone has any photos or articles to Date Opposition Location
be included, please send them to: 11th July Brechin Away
montrosejuniors@tiscali.co.uk 17th July Arbroath 3rd XI Home
25th July Arrowdawn Gordonians Home
New Rugby Website Coming 31st July Perth Mayfield Away

We are preparing a website to link all of the different web- 8th August Rossie Priory XI Home
sites (Minis, Juniors, Ladies, Pitchero, Facebook…). 15th August Clackmannan XI Home
More details will be in the next newsletter.
22nd August Strathmore XI Home
The cricket website can still be found at: 29th August Strathearn XI Away
http://montrose.intheteam.com 5th September Strathearn XI Home

Final thought
The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle
Anon