February – February saw more of the same with league defeats as the tough season moved into its later stages. March – March saw a great rugby tour to Holland, with Jim Froud excelling as usual putting on a fantastic trip for the 40 guys who atteneded. Rugby tours are a great tradition of Hornsea rugby club, hopefully they can be carried on in the future but they need to be supported by players and members alike if they are to happen and be a success. April – April sadly saw the 1st team officially relegated into Yorkshire 5 following a very tough season, it was hoped that the lads would find their rugby enjoyable again in Yorkshire 5 and to hopefully get back to winning ways. The club hosted a schools megafest with help from the RFU at the end of April which was again a success thanks to those that helped out. The Club held their annual awards night at the Bowls club, an excellent night was had by all. Deserved winners of awards included Andy Keyworth and Jim Froud sharing the clubman of the year award, Harry Sangwin getting the player of the year award and Jack Foster getting the players player of the year. May – May saw the Mini / Junior section hold their summer Presentation / BBQ Day that was well attended and a success thanks to Andy Keyworth and all of his great volunteers. June – June saw the club hold our AGM, below was the new committee for this season:
President: Paul Skinner
Chairman: Nick O’Mahony
Secretary: Steve Crook
Treasurer: Nick O’Mahony
Fixture Secretary: Nick Butterill
Mini / Junior Coach / Organiser: Andy Keyworth
Administrative Trustee: Nick O’Mahony
Press Officer: Steve Crook
Website Manager: Steve Crook
1st Team Captain: Jim Richardson
1st Team Vice Captain: Mark Thomas
Congratulations to former 1st XV Captain Paul Skinner for becoming the Club President, knowing Paul, I am sure he will ensure the President’s Day’s are a huge success and he will support and get behind the club. Congratulations also to Jim Richardson for carrying on as 1st XV Captain for the second year running. Following a tough baptism, I am sure Jim will be as determined as ever to succeed, and it is now up to the players to get behind Jim and ensure the season is a success.Great to see former 1st XV Captain Nick Butterill on the committee and of course for Nick O’Mahony who continues to steer the good ship Hollis forward. July – July saw the start of pre season training for the senior section of the club, numbers slowly improved as the month wore on. August – August was a very busy month at the club and also a sad one. The sad news was of the passing of Don Copley, he sadly lost his brave battle with cancer on Thursday 20th August 2015 at Castle Hill Hospital, in Cottingham, aged 75. Don Copley was a Hollisman through and through, older members will know how much work, time and effort Don dedicated to not only the rugby club but also to the tennis club and the Sports Association. Our thoughts remain with Eileen, Phil and Alison and the rest of Don’s family.
The busy month saw us host our 7’s Tournamen t, that was well attended with 8 sides competing from the local rugby scene, with Hullensians coming out on top, due to the success of the bar and BBQ we raised over £600 for the club. The Rowing Regatta was the next event of the month, organised by former captain Jon Dexter, again this was a great event and super fundraiser for the club, many thanks to all at the Mere for helping to make this happen. The final piece of excellent news from August was, through a huge amount of hard work from our Chairman, Nick O’Mahony, We were awarded £10,000 form the RFU Social Spaces fund and £9,800 from East Riding Council commuted sums. The funds were used to decorate the clubhouse and kitchen, replace the heating system and windows, new clubhouse furniture and upholstery & replace vital catering equipment. In addition, much needed replacement & repair work will be carried out on the bar floor, the cellar extension and cellar roof. September – September saw the 1st team kick off their league season in Yorkshire Division Five, an air of optimism was present, with three wins out of three, seeing them defeat Garforth, Thirsk and Hallamshire to sit at the top of the table. The Mini / Junior section again fronted by Andy Keyworth and his band of great volunteers, saw them have their registration day, with increased numbers due to the world cup effect and the spreading of the Hornsea word. We also set up a rugby satellite club at the school assisted by the RFU, huge thanks to Joe Andrew who runs this on behalf of the club, 70 schoolchildren have been attending this and we hope they enjoy their rugby and look to join the club. We were able to do this as we successfully gained some funding from the Humber Sports Partnership to assist. October – October saw the Hollismen gain a home walkover against rivals Stanley Rodillinas as they could not raise a side. Later in the month we suffered our first defeat of the season at lowly Wibsey, reminding us of the need to be at our best if we are to win matches. November – November was another good month on the pitch, with three wins out of three against Knaresborough, Rossington and Thirsk. The Knaresborough game was our Vice Presidents Day (this was very kindly sponsored by former 1st team capatain, John Clappison, and a good day was had by all who attended). The Mini / Juniors had an excellent matrix fixture event, with excellent comments from visiting teams on the hard work gone into organising the day, again thanks to Andy and his helpers. December – On the pitch December was an indifferent one, with defeat at new league leaders Stanley Rodillians, a postponement after Hallamshire reportedly dropped out of the league, this was followed by another postponement with Wibsey being unable to bring a side to us. The month will be remembered most for the rebirth of the 2nd team, not playing for a year, the team was resurrected and featured 8 former 1st team captains, along with some former great players and young starlets who had drifted away, on the 19th December the 2nd team defeated Beverley by 27 points to 12. Also on the 19th our local MP Graham Stuart, officially opened the newly refurbished clubhouse, cutting the ribbon like a true dignitary! Boxing Day saw the traditional fixture take place, more form was shown in the bar than on the pitch it must be said! But a good time was had by all! So the year started off in difficult circumstances but has ended on a relatively positive note with the 1st team being just a few points away from gaining promotion, the mini / junior section continuing to thrive and the clubhouse having a refurb. There are a small band of people who should be thanked for their efforts over the year to keep the club moving forward, notably our Chairman, Nick O’Mahony, President Paul Skinner, Mini / Junior leader Andy Keyworth along with Joe Andrew, Ray Badcock and all of the parents / coaches who assist so well, Fixture Secretary Nick Butterill, Jim Froud, senior players Jim Richardson, Phil Walker, Tom Copeland and Mark Thomas, Gary the bar steward, Gordon Taylor and all other unsung heros! For the club to continue to move forward it must be supported by the players , former players, VP’s, members and the local community, so please do all you can to support it / us in any way you can, wether by playing, supporting events, sponsoring us or just spreading the good word HRUFC. We have some talented players at the club, continue to put the work in, everyone is behind you. The Hollis Recreation Ground is a superb facility, it has a magnificent atmosphere when it is supported and it holds many special memories to a lot of people – support it and this can all continue! Don’t forget the RFU Grand Draw, I’ve managed to get some of the money in, but if you committed to buying tickets, it would be great if you could pass on monies to a club member. Here’s to a healthy, happy, successful and safe 2016 to all members of the Hornsea RUFC Family. See you in 2016!! SJC – Hon Sec Three Wins on the Trot for Hollismen
Hornsea 31 Knaresborough 12
Hornsea produced a five try performance to dispose of a determined Knaresborough side, which saw the Hollismen return to the top of Yorkshire Division Five.
Hornsea had the majority of the possession in the opening quarter and with trys from Phil Walker and David Ashbridge they took an early lead, Rich Pooley converted Ashbridge’s try well. Knaresborough hit back with two well worked try’s to bring the scores level. In the final minutes of the first half Hornsea regained the lead when man of the match Jack Foster powered his way over the line to score.
Hornsea proved to be quite dominant in the second half scoring two further trys to ensure they collected a bonus point victory. The trys were scored by centre duo Sam Bergan and Jack Foster who continue to grow into becoming an excellent partnership. Both trys saw the centres combine well with speed and power being the essence of the scores.
Speaking after the game Hornsea captain Jim Richardson said, “It’s great to be back at the top of the league, we had to work hard against a decent Knaresborough outfit. A couple of our trys were of great quality and we certainly bounced back well after our defeat in our previous game”.
Rossington 5 Hornsea 14
The Hollismen stayed top of Yorkshire Five with a fine 14 points to 5 win away from home at third placed Rossington. With a very even first half, with defences being firmly on top, there was a very rare 0-0 score line at the interval. The second half saw the game come to light, with Hornsea scoring two try’s to the home sides one. The Hollismens Try scorers were Rich Pooley and Phil Walker. Man of the match was Hornsea RUFC President and former 1st team captain, Paul Skinner, who played the full game at Prop, despite not having played for a few seasons, alongside Hornsea RUFC Chairman Nick O’Mahony.
Speaking after the game, O’Mahony said, “We had to battle for the points today, last season we would have buckled under pressure, but this seasons the lads seem to be stronger physically and mentally, and I feel we deserved the points. We’re now at the half way stage of the league season and we are where we won’t to be at the top of the table. If we continue to work hard there is no reason why we can’t stay in the top two and gain promotion, but we have to deserve it, and the lads are starting to understand this”.
Try scorers were Rich Pooley and Phil Walker. Man of the match was Hornsea RUFC President, Paul Skinner, who played the full game at Prop alongside Hornsea RUFC Chairman Nick O’Mahony.
Thirsk 17 Hornsea 28
Hornsea produced a professional performance to make it back – to – back away wins and secured the four try bonus point to stay top of Yorkshire Five.
Hornsea took control of the game early on and held a 14-5 lead at the interval thanks to try’s from man of the match Martin Dosdale and Mark Elliott, both converted well by wing Tom Copeland. Thirsk enjoyed more possession and territory in the second half but another try for Dosdale and one for playmaker Matty Smallwood, both again well converted by Copeland, was enough to see Hornsea home.
Speaking after the game, Hornsea captain Jim Richardson said, “We’ve had a great fortnight, with three wins from three. We knew the weather would be a bit of a leveller today, but we stuck to the task and got the points, all be it Thirsk giving us s bit of a scare towards the end of the game. We’ll keep applying ourselves and now with only six league games remaining the lads are focussed into what we want to achieve”