R Newsletter Winter 17.18

written 17.01.18
Cabbage’s Comments
In most team sports
it is fair to say that
if a club is lucky enough
to be in a position
whereby it fields more
than one side,
the lower level sides tend to provide more of a
support act than a main event in their own right.
Whether it is the reserve XI in Football, the
Sunday side in Cricket or a Second XV at most
rugby clubs, these sides (and invariably the
standard they play) tends to veer more towards
social rather than serious.
Bearing that description in mind, Second XV
rugby at Sudbury now could not be further from
the experience described, and from where it was
just a few short years ago. Only 5 seasons have
passed since player numbers were in such dire
straits that the second team played only 6
fixtures during 2012 – 2013, and there were even
occasions in that year where the first XV looked
in danger of calling off games. At the end of that
season our first team nearly dropped into
Eastern Counties One (Level 9 Rugby), saved
only by the skin of our teeth thanks to other
results which went our way.
This season our Second XV have proudly
represented the club in that very league, which
is split into two phases to allow a second stage
whereby promotion to London 3 for the highest
finishing sides is decided. Our Second XV are a
young and well drilled side, and make up for our
lack of size and experience with a
counterattacking style and furious defence,
which can be put down to the commitment
shown by the players (with 72% of the total
games played by the same 18 players) and the
high level to which we are drilled by the coaching
team, who to their credit ensure that no player
who wants to engage with the process is ever
left out.
The social standard of years passed is long
gone. With 22 competitive fixtures taking on
teams as close as Hadleigh to as far away as
Norwich the opposition and organisation is now
on a par with many clubs’ first teams, and the
quality of rugby is where it needs to be to
continue the development of the next generation
of Sudbury’s first team players.
Sudbury are not involved in the battle for
promotion to Level 8 this year, which would put
them just one level behind the first team at the
moment, but have been involved in some
exciting highs and gutting lows during the
season so far, all of which add to the allure of
Rugby. These included stunning victories at
home to unbeaten league leaders, two 90-point
wins and huge defensive performances against
sides which outgun us in size and experience, to
narrow losses of 7 points or less on no less than
3 occasions.
The reasons behind this revolution are numerous,
but riding on the wave of success the club has
enjoyed at large during recent years plays a big
part of it, as it enables us to attract and retain a
greater player base. Our facilities are also some
of the very best in the region, but for me the
main reason has to be the quality of talent that
is now in situ at Sudbury, both with the players
available and the coaching team in charge of the
senior squad.
My opportunities to represent the first team at
Sudbury were always limited. I was never under
any illusions as to the limitations of my talent, and
that availability rather than merit may have had
more of a part to play in my involvement than
anything else, but I am just as proud of everything
that has been achieved by the second XV during
my 7 years as captain as I am of all my
experiences with the first team.
Leading any side is a privilege, but with the
support we receive from our third XV, a correct
policy for youth involvement in senior rugby and
the guidance of the coaching team in general,
it is a role that is now more fulfilling than it has
ever been.
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