WOMEN'S SQUAD

The UBHC W1s sit 4th in a tightly contested England Hockey West Premier Division with one game to play A season of transition in the squad, there have been some excellent results; notably a 2-1 win vs near-rivals Cardiff & Met and a 4-1 win vs near-rivals Isca With a young squad in an incredibly full calendar, the 1s have played some of the best hockey we have ever seen them play (at any level!), particularly in a narrow, late defeat to tabletoppers Clifton Robinsons in Term 1

Ultimately, in a game of fine margins, our number of draws put paid to our promotion ambition, not least with only one team promoted, but once again with a highly talented but young squad, we have much learning to take and renewed optimism for taking on this challenge again in 2023/24.

In BUCS, a campaign of mixed results and yet more fine margins ended with a mid-table finish for our W1s in National Division One (South).

After an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable promotion season in BUCS in 2021/22, the W2s have followed that up with (greater than) consolidation at BUCS Western Division 1 level, finishing 3rd of 6, winning three games including an excellent 3-0 win vs nearneighbours Cardiff Metropolitan W2s

Similarly, in England Hockey West Division 1, the 2s have consolidated their league position with one to play. Taking on 32 games across England Hockey league and BUCS, this has been an incredibly busy season for a group of >66% freshers

Two encouraging consolidations give this young group the opportunity to take a lot of lessons forward, to put us in the best possible place to move forward again in 2023/24

Term 2 Review

Term 2 is very much the business end for most sports and Men’s rugby is no different, with all five BUCS teams competing for valuable points. Term 2 also witnessed the start of a local first-year friendly tournament, where our first years played Bath, UWE, Cardiff and Hartpury in very competitive matches; our first-years had memorable victories over all sides they faced.

The rugby club also saw another prestigious fixture in Term 2 as the 1st XV and Imperial XV headed to Iffey Road to take on Oxford, which was received well by current students and alumni alike. Next season we hope to more-than double the number of prestigious fixtures we play throughout the year, as we aim to change the rugby playing offer slightly, making it more appealing and competitive.

Our BUCS season finish was slightly bumpy this year with a comfortable 4th place finish for the 1st XV, where the financially-backed Brunel University ran away with the league. However, Head of Rugby Joe Goodman and the players can be pleased with impressive wins verses Bath, Cardiff and Cardiff Met, which formed the highlight of term 2.

Sadly, teams lower than the 1st XV struggled with results this season, as well as through injuries; one Wednesday saw the team having more than 80 players injured with rugby related issues Despite this, most teams did have successful Cup runs with the 1st and 5th XV losing out in a narrow semi-finals against Newcastle and Hartpury.

WHAT'S NEXT

In previous years, the noise of spring tends to bring an end to our season, but not this year, as the 1st XV will return in Term 3 excited and ready to play, in what has been advertised as the “real West Country derby"! Both the men and women take on the Bath University respective 1st XVs in what will be a classic under-the-lights at Dings Rugby Club.

Prior to this game the Performance Squad will face the Royal Armed Forces U23s in a competitive warm-up fixture at Coombe Dingle.

It doesn’t stop there for the rugby club though, as Term 3 will see the launch of the Maroon 7 squad; a squad designed to incorporate both current and alumni students who will compete in 7s competitions across Europe The Maroon 7 kick off their campaign in the BUCS 7s tournament in early May.

UBRFC were also incredibly busy off-field last term, with the players supporting the local Children’s Hospice (CHSW) in a variety of fundraising events, pushing our community fundraising contribution to over £5,000 this year

Thanks

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the facility and grounds staff who have worked exceptionally hard to ensure as much rugby goes ahead as possible

I would also like to thank Andrew Lanham and Victoria Dickson who continue to remain calm when I send them my weekly desperate emails!

Finally, I'd like to thank Lloyd Spence in the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO) team who has produced a fantastic online platform for our Alumni 1876 fundraising project.

Olly Slym

Club Manager, UBRFC

Summary

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2. 3

Consistent improvement in performance across all three teams

Retention remains high with new players still being attracted

International recognition of players shows quality of programme

We continue to be one of very few university women’s clubs with three teams in BUCS, and we showed in Term 2 that all can be competitive. Our numbers continue to grow; well over 100 players have attended training sessions, more than 80 have played in BUCS, and 35 players are taking part in the club S&C programme.

Training

Following the introduction of the Coordinator role, we have been able to offer additional skills sessions to our three Maroon Scholars and have opened up these sessions to a wider group of players. Numbers are increasing, which is showing through in the accelerated learning and improved performances of individuals

The reduction of our Monday evening training session on the 3G from 90 mins to 60 mins this season has undoubtedly had a negative impact on our development of shape and structure (particularly in our less experienced 2nd and 3rd teams), but we have been trying to address this through greater use of video analysis sessions - the club were supported by RFU funding to purchase a VEO camera and subscription. We are hoping our matrix score will allow us to increase our 3G training again next season, as this is essential to improving results

Results

BUCS League

1st XV finished 4th in Premier South

2nd XV finished 4th in Western Tier 2

3rd XV improved to 4th in Western Tier 3

Bath Spa 1s were so shocked by the improvement in performance they thought (erroneously) we had played our 1st and 2nd team players in the match!

Cup

The 1st XV had a hastily-arranged fixture versus Newcastle in the National Vase and lost narrowly, 15-17, despite having to play a combination of 1st, 2nd and 3rd team players Although we lost, the performance showed how well the club playing structure, common terminology and coaching enables players from lower teams to step up and perform.

International Recognition

We had two first team players picked for the Wales Celtic Challenge training squad –Chloe Fletcher and Jenna De Vera

Jenna was selected to play and caught the eye of Wales Head Coach Ioan Cunningham. As a result of her performances there, Jenna was part of the 36-strong Wales playing squad for the 6 Nations!

Jenna has made a huge contribution to our team culture and work ethic and has excelled for the 1st XV in a number of positions, so it was no surprise to see her continue her progress with Wales in the Celtic Challenge, and then the full Wales squad.

7s

We travelled to the International 7s university tournament in Lyon in early April, playing amongst the top French, South African and Spanish teams We placed 7th of 12 teams, finishing top of the overseas teams!

We will use this experience as preparation for the BUCS 7s in May, where we will enter teams in the Championship and Trophy.