Newbury Rugby Club Options

[Guest_NWNREADER_*]

Do the good people of the Newbury area care about the wellbeing of Newbury Rugby Club, currently one of the top 40 sides in the country
Do they see the club as worth supporting, the games worth playing to watch, the clubhouse worth visiting - let alone the activities worth participating in?

[regor]

No

[Iommi]

It is quite a good Saturday afternoon.

Friends of mine, however, booked a table upstairs for a pre-match meal, which was OK, but they got ripped-off by the tab behind the bar. There was, for example, 10 pints of Guinness that they had not drunk. there were other discrepancies, but were not able to 'prove' they didn't drink them.

[On the edge]

No

Great response - for me it's the motto of old Newbury!

[GMR]

Great response - for me it's the motto of old Newbury!

It makes you wonder; this is the first I've heard about it so the media of Newbury are not blowing the Newbury trumpet about Newbury's achievements. Without the media starting the ball rolling to inform the people what is going on then it is not surprising people don't know anything of their town.

[Guest_Bill1_*]

It makes you wonder; this is the first I've heard about it so the media of Newbury are not blowing the Newbury trumpet about Newbury's achievements. Without the media starting the ball rolling to inform the people what is going on then it is not surprising people don't know anything of their town.

Trouble with rugby is the ball doesn't exactly roll does it?

[GMR]

Trouble with rugby is the ball doesn't exactly roll does it?

True, but it also seems that the ball (round) hasn't been rolling in favour of Chelsea of late

[Guest_Bill1_*]

True, but it also seems that the ball (round) hasn't been rolling in favour of Chelsea of late

Still top though.

We'll be getting told off for not putting this on the footie thread next!

[JeffG]

What point is the OP trying to make, anyway?

[Iommi]

What point is the OP trying to make, anyway?

I suspect they were trying to fish for opinion, or trying to encourage a discussion (free publicity, etc).

[GMR]

Still top though.

We'll be getting told off for not putting this on the footie thread next!

And we are still chasing you.

[Strafin]

I went to a function there which was pretty good, and they hosted a comedian for the comedy festival once as well which was nice! Not a fan of Rugby though so don't watch the games.

[user23]

Newbrarians can be a strange lot sometimes, perhaps it's because there's been an influx of people who weren't born here over the years, but they do seem more ready to knock the town rather than get behind it's achievements.

Despite being in the second division of English rugby for a time Newbury, the Blues don't enjoy the support they should. As for the town's football team(s) the least said the better.

[Guest_NWNREADER_*]

Jeff G asks "What point is the OP trying to make, anyway?"

No real 'point' - yes, I do support the club, but have no role - except that so often people around the area moan about lack of facilities, lack of community and so on. I was merely wondering if the rugby club (as with the football club, I agree) suffers from newbury-itis and will never be a place worth a social visit etc by the public at large: only a place the 'members' go to; only for 'Ruperts'; only for ex-Barts, and so on - all of which are wrong.
I've lived here for close on 40 years and wonder if the population can sustain any major social/cultural/sport facility. My observation is it cannot, or at least does not have the will to ensure anything happens long term.

[user23]

Jeff G asks "What point is the OP trying to make, anyway?"

No real 'point' - yes, I do support the club, but have no role - except that so often people around the area moan about lack of facilities, lack of community and so on. I was merely wondering if the rugby club (as with the football club, I agree) suffers from newbury-itis and will never be a place worth a social visit etc by the public at large: only a place the 'members' go to; only for 'Ruperts'; only for ex-Barts, and so on - all of which are wrong.
I've lived here for close on 40 years and wonder if the population can sustain any major social/cultural/sport facility. My observation is it cannot, or at least does not have the will to ensure anything happens long term.

I've always found the Rugby Club very welcoming whenever I visit for a match or other event.

There were thousands of people there when Newbury played Harlequins a couple of years ago, surely they couldn't all have been Quins fans? Sadly as far as I know this has never been repeated and it seems people are keener to ask what is being done to support them, rather than what they can do to support their local community.

[Iommi]

I've always found the Rugby Club very welcoming whenever I visit for a match or other event. There were thousands of people there when Newbury played Harlequins a couple of years ago, surely they couldn't all have been Quins fans? Sadly as far as I know this has never been repeated and it seems people are keener to ask what is being done to support them, rather than what they can do to support their local community.

Most people don't like Rugby; by anyone, but having the Harlequins is akin to hosting Chelsea or Arsenal, so one cannot legitimately say that that is a good indication for the hunger for Rugby in the area. To say also that this is indicative of a lack of community spirit and a selfish attitude is just cods wallop when you take into account things like the popularity and the effort put into things like the Crafty Raft and the Newbury Carnival.

It is true that there is a better family atmosphere for Rugby than, say Football, but my feelings are people just don't have the time on a Saturday afternoon to go regularly to the match. If they did want to go and not only for an excuse to have something to watch while having a few pints, they are more than likely to go to London Irish, or in deed, the Harlequins anyway.

On top of that, the club house faces North making it really cold up there sometimes.

[user23]

The Crafty Raft and the Newbury Carnival are two days of the year. I'm talking about continued and consistent support throughout the year.

Oh and Harlequins were in the same league and Newbury at the time, I doubt the local football club and Chelsea or Arsenal will ever play at the same level.

[Iommi]

The Crafty Raft and the Newbury Carnival are two days of the year. I'm talking about continued and consistent support throughout the year.

Two days a year with months of prep, mainly by volunteers and for charity.

Oh and Harlequins were in the same league and Newbury at the time, I doubt the local football club and Chelsea or Arsenal will ever play at the same level.

Harlequins are a natural Premiership side (1st tier), who slipped a division, The Blues are a natural National League side (3rd tier) who at the time received significant investment to enable them to 'artificially' climb the divisions to a position that they really struggled to maintain.

All this is besides the point, the Harlequins are a big national side. Last year 50,000 people went to see Harlequins v Leicester, a Guinness Premiership record.

As for Newbury and the football analogy, we have to rely on our county cousins, Reading FC, to aspire, or maintain Championship status. And while we are at it, if Reading RFC cannot succeed in maintaining respectable national status, with the potential pool of support they have, what chance has Newbury.

I think this a regional thing, not solely a Newbury thing.

[spartacus]

Well I'm a club member and have been for the past 12 years through having my son play in their Minis & Junior setup since a 6year old. It's only been the past two or three seasons that I've been watching the first team matches and am now an avid follower. (Been to all their away games too so far this season, including a 500 mile round trip to see them get stuffed at Redruth and a 580 mile round trip up to Blaydon to see them lose there too!! )

I used to watch the Cockney Micks at the Madejski but came to the conclusion (having forked out £28 entry, plus parking) that a smaller club suits me much better. At Monks Lane you are at the touchline watching the action rather than trying to follow play from up in the gods at Madejski....... and the queue at the bar is much easier to cope with during halftime at Newbury! AND ... paying nearly three times as much on the gate DOES NOT guarantee three times the entertainment value ('tis only £10 at Newbury)

Must be mad, but I enjoy it. In much the same way as supporters of lower league football really get behind their team and couldn't give a monkeys about the Big Boys, I don't really care for the Premiership lot.

But it's a real shame that Newbury only gets an average gate of around 350. Even when we were in the League above last season (and the season before) our gate was this pathetic figure. Played Northampton Saints and nearly beat them TWICE but still cannot attract an increased following.

Perhaps we're just not a sporting town. I used to think that a fair proportion of the local population felt no real connection to the town because they were Vodaclone imports, perhaps less true these days.

Don't know what it is. But all rugby clubs outside the Premeirship are suffering. In the second tier this season a number of the teams have gone into various forms of administration or are struggling to pay off debts (London Welsh, Birmingham & Solihull and Coventry) So bigger town teams also struggle to find the support.

In Reading there are at least three different rugby clubs (Reading, Redingensians, Abbey)

But for those looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon in the Newbury area it is great entertainment. The club also has one of the best development programmes in the South for kids between 6 and 16 every Sunday. They also have an Under 17 and Under 19 squad who are doing very well in the National Cup competition.


Newbury play Blackheath this coming Saturday 2nd Jan. They're the oldest rugby team in the England. Come along and support a decent local team and see what you think... (It may be a life changing experience!)

[user23]

Harlequins are a natural Premiership side (1st tier), who slipped a division, The Blues are a natural National League side (3rd tier) who at the time received significant investment to enable them to 'artificially' climb the divisions to a position that they really struggled to maintain.

There are probably 8 or 9 leagues difference between the highest ranking football team in the town and Arsenal or Chelsea, there were none when Newbury played Harlequins.