Esher Rugby

Dear One Esher

 ESHER RFC - ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

Phew, what an end of the season! Huge congratulations to Mike, the coaching team, the squad and all our supporters for ensuring Nat 2 Rugby for the 2026/7 season. Now to kick on from here on the pitch, while continuing to develop the Club off of it.

Review of the Year

It has been a tough year in many ways with lots of changes on and off the pitch. Change can often be unsettling. But to improve standards, grow and secure the long-term success, sustainability and development of our great club, change has been 100% necessary. The Club has been very busy across a number of fronts as you will have seen and our “One Club” ethos has been shining through since our last update, not least with so many positive responses to our call to arms for the “Connected Community” helping attract new recruits. I highlight a few here: 

1. We have secured Nat 2 Rugby, signed an amazing new and refreshed Coaching Team and Sporting Director that will raise standards, capabilities and attract new talent to the Club as well as secure existing talent for next season.
2. Our Minis and Juniors have enjoyed some great successes (watch for upcoming comms from Minis & Juniors outlining these) and next year we should have c.60+ in our Colts Pathway, with 2^nd year Colts transitioning to our Senior Squads. We want to see home grown talent play in all our Senior teams, and stay connected with Esher for the long-term, with a few hopefully also playing for the 1^st
3. We have continued to grow our Minis and Juniors, the foundations of any successful rugby club. Senior Squad members and coaches have attended finals, matches, coaching sessions bringing super connectivity within the Club, as well as helping our kids to improve their skills and love for the game. To add to this, we have plans to re-engage with our local Schools and Colleges to help raise awareness around ERFC and attract new joiners. A refreshed new Holiday Camp offering should also maintain momentum.
4. Our Walking Rugby and Vets legends (recent Cup winners!), continue to lead the way, and importantly we have more girls joining the Minis, with future plans to kick start women’s rugby. As a Club we welcome all newcomers and can provide enjoyment for all, be it Touch rugby, 7s or 15s.
5. We have launched, with the help of our Sponsors and in particular Advanta Wealth (thanks Craig!), the Connected Community, to improve our connectivity with all local organisations. Please do keep an eye out for the 3-4 events over the year and invite as many along as possible, we know that new connections have already led to new business leads, new friendships and links to the Club, all of which are positive for us and our wider community.
6. We are about to go out to all our existing Sponsors (a huge thank you to all of them!), without which our Club could not survive financially, with a new approach and packages for next year. We want them to be successful through their relationship with ERFC, so please do make use of their services or advice and ensure they know that business has come through Esher RFC!
7. A renewed Office & Bar Team continue to provide great service and keep us fed and watered while we put on more tournaments, festivals, events for Esher and external hirers. Thank you Team.

None of the above means we don’t have a lot of material things to do at your Club. There are so many brilliant volunteers across the Club (big thanks to you as well) who make the Club work, but there are so many projects that we just don’t have the bandwidth for. So on that note:

Ask not what your Club can do for you (Part 2)!

There are a number of Projects that desperately need reviewing, planning and delivering a solution to before the start of the new season if possible.

1. Chair of Amateur Rugby
1. We need someone with experience to oversee and co-ordinate our ERFC Amateur Rugby offering (Minis & Juniors, Pathway, Vets, Touch, walking rugby, Women’s rugby etc) working alongside the Chairs of Minis and Juniors and other rugby leads
2. Website & Digital Comms
1. We need someone with experience to review, suggest a solution and lead the build of a new website as a workable, easy UX “shop window” and information centre for the club.
3. Women’s Rugby Lead
1. To lead the charge to launch, develop and grow women’s participation in touch rugby, 15s and 7s at Esher.

There are more job details behind these headlines. If you are that person, or know someone or a business that can help pro-bono or in a highly cost effective way, then please do get in touch. Or if you feel you can help Volunteer in a different way, even for a few hours a week, please send your responses to president@esherrugby.co.uk as soon as you can, thank you.

Please also note, that in the coming weeks we will also be sharing with you our exciting vision, strategy and new GC structure of the club. Watch this space.

So finally, thank you again to all our community, volunteers, staff, team, players, parents, sponsors and so many others who make this such a great Club to be part of. Hugely exciting few years ahead of us, see you in pre-season!

With warm One Esher regards

Mark Bennett        Mike Brown
President                Sporting Director