With National 2 having a rest day last Saturday, and the Titans game being cancelled late Friday evening, I was even more enthusiastic than usual to watch the Colts and Sirens take the field at OBR on Sunday. The Colts lost to Twickenham, and the Sirens lost their inaugural cup fixture, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment one bit. I saw some great rugby from us, and from our visitors, who deservedly took the spoils in both contests.
The Sirens were, of course, minus Dani Watts, their back-row dynamo who is sadly in her 7th week of being hospitalised and fighting for every fraction of improvement. Dani has a tough road ahead of her, and she knows it. This makes her guts and determination truly inspirational and on each occasion that I have visited, I leave the hospital motivated by Dani, our own rugby club and the rugby community generally, who have been fantastic in rallying around.
A particularly inspirational gesture came from Rams 1st XV before our match against Redruth. Skipper, Robbie Stapley rang me in the week leading up to the National 2 home fixture to say that the players had decided to give their match fees and win bonuses to Dani. That, with some other donations on the day, raised over £3,000, and I know that Dani was blown-away by the gesture. So was I. Our squad of senior players is one to be proud of for what they do both on the field, and off it.
The Rams family is special. This is my 27th year at the Club (and compared to lifers like John Cook, Andy Lynch, Ian Duncan, John Taylor and Roger Batchelor, I am still a “newbie”) and it continues to inspire me as much as it did way back in 1991 when I joined. You make deep, life-long friendships if you spend time at Rams and you get the added bonus of being part of a sports organisation that truly engages with its community.
A family that supports each other, especially those that are hurt, physically or emotionally, by circumstances, and that unites behind a common goal is unstoppable. Our challenge is to provide a family atmosphere for players and members of all ages and to grow the game amongst adults and children, and especially among children so that they have the opportunity to be part of a team, build life and social skills and flourish as individuals. And, of course, we work hard to develop core skills so that our players can attain the highest level that they strive for. If we continue to focus on core skills and ensuring that our players have fun, then the future is bright and we will find many more of our youngsters becoming equipped to take the field for Rams at National 2 level and, hopefully, beyond.