Tower and Town, October 2023 (view the full edition)View from the Chair
I joined the Club as a player and, in between other UK and overseas postings, managed to play for ten seasons ending up as Captain of the 2nd XV until injury forced me to hang up my boots. I then coached at the club for some years, until my job took us to France in 2017. We were delighted to return in March 2023, just prior to my retirement from the Army and I was very happy indeed to come back to the Club and see many familiar faces among the new ones. And yet, Marlborough Rugby has come a long way since I first joined. This season our 1st XV plays in the English RFU's fifth tier league, which is a higher standard than any of our teams have ever played at. This is testament to the hard work of my predecessor, Gary Sharp, supported by an outstanding Committee, a team of inspirational coaching staff, and by all those who volunteer so selflessly to make sure everything runs as it should. Of course, the young men who play the rugby have been key to our success! Their commitment to training and matches, week-in-week-out, home and away, and in all kinds of weather has been exemplary. The 1st XV was unbeaten last season, winning all of their twenty-two fixtures and scoring over 1,000 points! Named by the RFU as "Team of the Season for level 6" last year, their success has put Marlborough firmly on the rugby map, and has done much to promote our town across the South-West. Marlborough also has a hugely successful 2nd XV playing in the RFU's eighth tier - the level that our 1st XV was playing only a few years ago. Marlborough II will seek promotion this coming season, having finished runners-up at the end of last season. We also plan to revisit our plans to establish a 3rd XV which was thwarted due to the pandemic. We are keen to engage with the local community and recently established regular sessions of touch and walking rugby for everybody, irrespective of age and ability. We continue to develop our Women's rugby offering, building on the Girls' section we founded four seasons ago and which we hope will be the foundation of a competitive Women's XV. Our Colts (aged 17 & 18) were last season's Dorset & Wiltshire champions, and these young men are our senior players of the future. However, it is probably our Youth Section that gives me the most pride. Every Sunday, from September to May, we welcome upwards of 300 boys and girls to the Common for age-group rugby. The quality of the safe and competitive sporting challenge we offer all these young people places us at the very heart of the thriving community that is Marlborough. The good people of Marlborough can and should bask in the reflected glory of this Club - their Club! I happily summarise what we do and mean for the Town by saying "we are one club, providing 'winning rugby' for all." We are constantly evolving, and we strive for the highest quality rugby - in our Minis and Juniors, through our Colts, to our senior teams. We sit right at the heart of our Marlborough community. We are a diverse, inclusive, and well-connected family of volunteers, players, coaches, and support staff. We are a successful and 'go forwards' club and we offer an impressive range of volunteer opportunities. We are bound together by the rugby values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline, and sportsmanship. We welcome; we inspire; and we excel. Above all, we absolutely thrive on the support of our followers. As such, I do hope that you will come to cheer on the players this season as they battle it out on the Common and fly the Marlborough flag right across the South of England.  Walking Rugby players Howard Wilkinson |
I am pleased to be able to write this short piece for the Tower & Town as the newly elected Chair of fabulous Marlborough Rugby. Firstly, some autobiographical context. My family and I moved to Marlborough from London in 2004 where I had been serving at the British Armed Forces' Permanent Joint Headquarters. Being a newcomer, I was keen to make new friends and, as a former rugby player, gravitated to the rugby club, going up one evening where I was made very welcome.