You will no doubt be aware that the current season has proved to be difficult for all senior playing sections of the club. From Colts through to our senior men’s and ladies' teams we have regrettably had to cancel fixtures due to being unable to field a full side, which is unprecedented at our club.

Notwithstanding the difficulties faced in senior Rugby, we have some bright spots on the near horizon including the reintegration of the Lions, the May Corporate Lunch (with a trio of excellent speakers), and our Stour Music Fest. In addition, our Mini and Juniors continue to flourish and prosper through a dedicated team of volunteers, with many of our M&Js and Girls players stepping up to play at the representative level.

Our commercial off-field endeavours continue at a pace and we have a sound financial footing that exceeds our expectations, the club is, financially, in a very good place (Financial General Meeting coming shortly). This is despite the current economic difficulties.

We can all agree that we have one of the best rugby facilities in the West Midlands conurbation. However, the difficulty we face is that we have not always historically benefited from a flow of young players into the club.

Few of the secondary schools that surround us play rugby as their primary sport, or indeed at all. Although Old Swinford is a rugby and cricket school, many of their ‘elite’ rugby players circumnavigate Stourbridge and have opted for alternative Premiership Academies. Overall, community rugby has suffered nationally post-pandemic, and, with the odd exception, player numbers are down across the country.

It is our strong belief that to build rugby back better and stronger post-pandemic, it is essential to focus on community rugby development and building cohesive and long-standing partnerships with all in the rugby community.

Our First XV has always exceeded expectations and has sat comfortably in the top 4 levels of the National Leagues for over 20 years. However, this season following league re-organization and continuing to deal with the fallout of the pandemic, following a top-four finish last year, we now sit at the bottom of National Two South West, 13 points adrift.

We have, as a club, been dramatically affected by the demise of the fully professional senior teams in the region, Wasps and Warriors. Previously, we had a long-term symbiotic relationship with them both which last year alone resulted in ten players (Alfie Bell, Tobi Wilson, Noel Heward, Finn Thomas, Greg Fisilau, Tom Bacon, Kofi Cripps, Pietro Turrisi, Emanual Feyi-Waboso, Seb Atkinson) playing regularly in Stourbridge colours. Unfortunately, these players are now no longer available, and the majority are all now playing at either Championship or Premiership level for other clubs.

We have also had an unprecedented injury crisis with both our fly halves breaking their legs in the first 5 weeks of the season and a myriad of injuries followed during the winter months. A similar story can be told with the Panthers whose numbers have been depleted mainly through injury since their promotion last season.

The Colts have struggled at times despite the best efforts of a dedicated management and coaching team, with some players having played a full school game the previous day.

The Lions, who (pending RFU approval) will become a fully integrated part of the main club next season have also suffered with player numbers. Despite a resurgence and some former players coming back into the fold to add to their core player base, they have struggled to mount a competitive campaign. This has not been helped by our collective struggle for player recruitment at all levels.

In December 2022 our director of rugby Neil Mitchell reached out to Leigh Hinton, now one of the lead rugby agents in the UK. Neil was Leigh's mentor in his Moseley playing days and he sought his advice to try and recruit players in the areas where we were depleted.

During the interchange, Leigh put Neil in touch with James Sandford who is part of the Atlas Group and now owns Sixways. Both James and Jim O’Toole, a former Director of both Warriors and London Irish, kindly advised Neil as to various players who may be available, and they began engaging in a wider dialogue regarding our playing infrastructure and current player deficiencies.

These discussions have been ongoing and following the successful appointment of Atlas Group as the new owners of Sixways both respective Committees’ representatives have met with a view to Atlas supporting Stourbridge Rugby Club commercially not only at the First XV level but throughout the player membership with Stourbridge remaining firmly a member’s owned club.

It is our view that following an open forum with our members, a formal agreement can be established to secure Stourbridge Rugby Clubs' long-term future, from the M&J’s through to the First XV.

Atlas Group is proposing a long-term investment into our playing infrastructure to enable our teams to play competitively at all levels, to grow our club to becoming a Championship Level Club (and beyond) to provide a pathway to senior competitive rugby for all, to provide additional player support for players to cascade at all levels in the men’s and women’s game.

This investment will look to provide additional coaching at all levels, assist in strengthening our volunteer coaches, and grow the community-centered game which is the heartbeat of rugby in this country.

We believe that this investment ensures the longevity of rugby at Stourton Park for generations to come. We will be holding a Special General Meeting shortly to present the proposal to our membership, however, an informal meeting will be held at Stourton Park at 7pm on Friday the 10th of February 2023, to answer any questions our members may have, as the timings to advance this potential arrangement is time crucial, which we will elaborate on in more detail. Please note, given the significance of this proposed investment into our Club, this will attract significant national interest.

May I take this opportunity to assure the membership that the proposals being put forward can only be agreed upon following the full consultation and consent of Stourbridge Rugby Club membership at a proposed SGM where full proposals and outlines will be provided with adequate time for the club to fully consider the proposals.

This is an unprecedented opportunity to put SRFC firmly on the map as a leader in rugby development in the Midlands for the foreseeable future and I hope that you will be as enthusiastic as we are in the potential of embarking on a journey that will secure rugby for many generations to come at Stourton Park.

Richard Baron
Club President
Stourbridge Rugby Football Club