Esher Rugby

Over each season Mike and I plan to send you regular updates on our club, to ask for your help where appropriate, and to see if you can support the many growth initiatives that we are progressing, in line with our bold vision for our wonderful rugby club.

On and off the pitch our mission statement is to be “One Club” through all the age groups.  So what exactly does this mean?

• We want to improve all standards and be the beston and off the field, from the back office to the front, from the minis section right the way through to the senior sides.
• We will build a clear development and educational pathway through the club alongside our local schools, colleges and community.
• We will continue to invest in our Player Development Pathway so we see more of our little lions and lionesses playing in our senior teams in the future.
• We will deliver to a 5-year rugby plan that aims to get us promoted back to National 1 and create long term structures & behaviours so that this is a sustainable success for the club.

It is also worth noting, and as some of you are aware, we are currently reviewing exciting new proposals for the potential redevelopment of our ground. Many factors are still being considered, all options will be explored thoroughly, before we present the proposal to you, but rest assured we will make certain that any proposed development is aligned with our vision and the best interests of Esher RFC into our second century!

We and the board are fully aligned with this strategy, and we aim to deliver on all these objectives over the coming months and years.  We have an amazing local and rugby community, with members of all ages and backgrounds, many of whom come to watch, play rugby, socialise or enjoy family fun in our best-in-class mini and junior section. All this is the heartbeat of our club. Establishing Esher RFC as the leading community and performance club in the country is our collective goal.

Ask not what your Club can do for you….. Every now and then we will need to ask for your support!

We are rebuilding a 1^st XV squad that will challenge and have the capability to win the league next year. The changes already made have had an immediate impact and whilst results haven’t quite gone our way, we believe we can see improvements in performance week on week.

In order to help us continue to build this squad we need to be as competitive as possible to attract talented new players, and that can take many different forms of incentive to play for the mighty Esher! Our great history is of course a big positive, the location on the outskirts of London and the attractiveness of Surrey likewise. We can also offer a unique combination: the ability for great rugby talent to play at the highest level of Rugby at Esher RFC while also focusing on developing their careers. We will of course continue to be competitive in paying our 1^st XV players (we are proposing a new pay structure to reward players on performance and ability) alongside other tangible/intangible benefits, all on a sustainable level to be clear.

With this in mind we need your help!

We will build on all these ERFC points of differences above. Combined with a credible offer to players, to assist them in deciding what their career may look like outside of Rugby and/or help them along that journey. This could take the form of introductions to individuals or companies in specific sectors to understand more about a potential career path. Or advice and/or introductions to potential employers for work experience or indeed full or part time work. Or even ongoing mentoring for players just out of University or starting their new jobs.  I am sure that across our club we have a vast array of talent, expertise and connectivity across many different sectors such as Financial Services, Health, hospitality , security, tech etc etc.

We are therefore reaching out to all members and community to see whether you are able and willing to spend some time please to guide, provide career advice/guidance, interview / CV skills, with a focus on your specialist sector/area, and maybe even introductions to potential employers. We do already have a couple of areas that are obvious amongst our community such as finance, insurance, real estate, recruitment and marketing but our target is to really broaden this. We firmly believe that this initiative will help Esher recruit and retain the best Rugby talent in the country.

Please could you be so kind to let us know whether you’re able to help and indeed what specific sector or area you could assist with? Please send your responses to president@esherrugby.co.uk as soon as you can, this is an initiative we need to get on with!

Together we really can build a club that is connected from top to bottom, a club where we drive success from minis through U16s, to U21s and eventually the 1^st team. Please do join us in this exciting project.

With best regards

Mark Bennett          Mike Brown

President                Sporting Director