Breaking Ground

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  Withycombe RFC celebrated a significant milestone in its rich history with the commencement of construction of new changing rooms at Raleigh Park. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the club hosted a turf cutting ceremony on Boxing Day, just before the much-anticipated Club XV Vs. President’s XV match.
 

The honour of performing the inaugural turf cutting went to two distinguished members, symbolising the timeless spirit and intergenerational bond within the Withycombe family. Ron Snowshall, the club's eldest member, and Morgan Curtis, the youngest, shared this moment alongside Withycombe RFC President Tony Rowe CBE and major donor Martin Gill.
 

The Vision 24 project holds particular significance as it aligns with Withycombe RFC's 100-year anniversary, a testament to the club's enduring commitment to rugby and the local community.
 

The new changing rooms signify a crucial step towards fulfilling Withycombe Rugby Club's mission to create opportunities for everyone in the local community to engage with and enjoy the sport of Rugby. The upgraded facilities aim to enhance the overall experience for players and spectators alike, fostering a welcoming environment for rugby enthusiasts of all ages.
 

Adding an extraordinary twist to this already special occasion is the revelation that Ron Snowshall is Morgan Curtis Great Grandfather. A heartwarming connection highlighting the strong familial ties within the Withycombe community.
 

Ron Snowshall, speaking on behalf of the club, expressed his enthusiasm for the project and the club's centenary: "This is a remarkable moment in our history. The new changing rooms will not only benefit our current players but will also leave a lasting legacy for the generations to come. I am honoured to be a part of this day and witness the future of Withycombe Rugby Club."
 

The completion of the changing rooms is expected before the commencement of the 2024/2025 rugby season, setting the stage for an exciting chapter in the club's storied journey.

Withycombe RFC provides more than just a rugby pitch...it is a community space where our 17 teams, coaches, families and friends come together to support one another. Along with many other clubs and groups, including local schools, who use the facilities. This project will allow us to host more games and more great events, and most importantly meet new safeguarding requirements...making the club an even better place to be!

𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝟮𝟰 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗗𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘!

Here is the page link: https://bit.ly/V24Crowdunding 

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝?

1. Donate! If each of our 500 members donates £20, we will hit our target! If you are Gift Aid eligible, the club will receive an extra 25p for each £1 of your donation. 

2. Spread the word!  Tell your friends, family and colleagues.

3. Run your own fundraiser to support us!  A cake sale, a sponsored activity or any other ideas you may have. You can create your own Crowdfunder page linked to the main Vision24 page - and we can help you do it!

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞?

Every £5 counts! If you pledge £100 or more, you will be named on our shiny Vision 24 plaque which will be placed for all to see for the next 100 years!

£100 - Bronze 

£500 - Silver

£1000 - Gold

£2500 - Platinum

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝?

This project will allow us to host more games and more great events...making the club an even better - and safer - place to be for the next 100 years!

The page will be live for 4 weeks, but 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 - 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰!

If you would like to discuss more about the Vision24 fundraising project and the crowdfunding campaign, please contact Sara Richards on 07877 554978

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨

On the 23rd & 24th June, Withy Under 12 coaches John Neill & Jerry Trump completed a task of mammoth proportions as they completed the Jurassic Coast 100k run to raise money for the club’s Vision 24 campaign.
The epic 100km (62mi) journey took the guys from Weymouth along the Jurassic Coast Path all the way to Exmouth, finishing along the seafront.

Now, we could put together a story full of dinosaur-based puns to explain their challenge, what they went through and why they may still be a little… ahem… ‘saur still (sorry!), but instead it’s probably better to read about the experience first hand with a review from John himself…

We started on the bus from Exmouth to Weymouth on Saturday evening where we arrived at the start point (North Forte). A fast pace saw us head towards Abbotbury in good time and where we turned on our headtorches as the sun faded away. Cool and mild conditions were a blessing as we ran towards West bay. Terrain here was very difficult as the 1 mile of pebble shore line drained the legs.
A quick cuppa soup in West Bay and we were off again trying to get to the midway point at Lyme Regis. Watching the sun come up and reflecting back off the Golden Cap was magnificent and the sound of the birds waking gave some well needed energy.
We had some well earned breakfast (cheese toasties) at Lyme Regis football club and a change of socks…
Then came the underpass which kept us sheltered out of what was becoming swealtering conditions for around 10km with us reaching Seaton. We exchanged our overnight gear for different clothes and with some ice spray and ibuprofen tablets kicked on to beautiful white cliffs of Beer. We met some support who joined us walking up to the checkpoint in the car park.
Then came the climbing and descending part of the adventure through Branscombe, Weston and Salcombe Regis. Where at Salcombe, we had further support in our efforts and positive conversations. We made it down to Sidmouth where we were welcomed with clapping and cheers which again, boosted the mood and familiar faces we knew we were getting closer.
A quick pasty and refresh at Sidmouth prepared us to climb to high peak where we had further support.
By this time the legs were aching and the speed of progress was declining. We also had a few spots of rain, but it was not for long. The heat came back on from Ladram Bay to Budleigh Salterton where we had friends join us on the route and also cycle next to us. The pace picked up here which we were grateful for. Coming into Budleigh to have a ice pop and a coke was mega refreshing as we were at the penultimate stop. We caught up with friends from Budleigh Cricket club and also further support with some of the junior players deciding to join us for the last leg.
We powered up to East Devon Golf Club and then through to Sandy Bay where we had more support help our journey.
Orcombe point was fantastic Welcome as we could see the evening sun hit Exmouth beach and the Exe estuary accompanied by bagpipes!
We made it down the zig zag and on to the promenade where friends and family joined our last 2km
The finish line was welcome but to top it off we could not help but run over the line for impact sake..
“If you run at the start -you have to run at the finish”
A fantastic amount of support and incredible atmosphere. A perfect end to what had been a tough and gruelling event but the time and effort of those supporting made a huge difference! We did it!!

There is just over 7 weeks to go! The plans are coming along nicely and we can't wait to welcome back to Raleigh Park for this year's event!

If you haven't got your tickets yet, don't leave it too much longer as we've already sold 80% of our available tickets!

or more information and to get your tickets, make sure you visit our events page here

Last Saturday (20th November), the club hosted it’s first Sporting Lunch of the season to raise funds for our Vision 24 campaign.
The lunch got underway with a welcome by Chairman, Merv Richards who also awarded 1st XV sponsors, The Worx with a playing shirt as a thank you for their support. Merv then handed over to Sara Palmer from the Vision 24 committee to introduce the campaign to the lunch guests.
Before the sausage & mash was served, there was time for a quick yes/no game for a chance to win a signed Exeter Chiefs ball.
Following a two-course lunch, with the wine (and beer) flowing, proceedings moved on to a great chat with our guest speakers, Exeter Chiefs legends Kai Horstmann & Carl Rimmer who gave us a great insight into life with the Chiefs and also some great advice on success and how to achieve it. Afterwards, the pair hosted a Q&A session to answer burning questions from around the room.
Onto the auction, which was kindly hosted by Scott Gray of 24/7 Property Auctions where there were some top quality lots on offer, including signed rugby shirts, 4-ball golf vouchers, vouchers for local restaurants and many items in between.
The afternoon was topped off with a spectacular game of rugby on the field, with the Withies pulling off the performance of the season so far with a 36-0 win over fourth-placed Torquay Athletic.

Overall, a spectacularly enjoyable afternoon, which was incredibly successful in it’s mission to raise money to improve the facilities for all that use the club.
With your incredible generosity, we raised just over £8,000 in the auction and look to have raised over £10,000 in total for Vision 24. THANK YOU!!

It has to be said though, that these events cannot take place without the amazing people that spared their time to volunteer and make the event run smoothly. To the organising committee that put the plans into place and to the Chefs and members of the Withy Walking Rugby side who put together our amazing meal; to the members of our Withy Juniors who donned their shirts and ties to act as our waiters for the afternoon. Huge thanks to Scott Gray for auctioning off the lots and to Kai and Carl for coming along and entertaining us for the afternoon.

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone that came along and supported the event. Your contributions and support means so much to us and we cannot wait to be able to show you the finished article as we enter our centenary year in 2024!

The club’s Vision 24 campaign got underway in style last weekend with a rather epic challenge. Withies on Wheels saw a group of adventurous cyclists take to their bikes and cycle around Devon… in less than 24 hours!

The ambitious challenge was the idea of ex-Withy fullback and keen cyclist Martin Gill, who recruited a team of six fellow (and brave!) riders for the 426km (264mi) journey across the arduous, undulating roads of the county. The team was made up of Martin Gill, Bill Burton, Rob Clarke, Andrew Cotton, Rob Dustan, Brian Glover & Paul McCarthy. However. they didn’t have to go it alone as they were accompanied by additional members of the club for the opening and finishing sections; with James Bamsey, Justyn Coates, Ian Crook, Paddy Fairbanks, Amy Gillard, Mike Richards & Gerry Trump completing the line-up.

The journey got underway just before 4pm on Friday (23rd July) under the starting orders of East Devon MP, Simon Jupp, who gave the adventurous few some words of encouragement before setting off to the supporting sounds of applause from friends, family and club members.

The early stages of the route saw them travel along the Exe Estuary Trail to Exeter, and then Dawlish where they said goodbye to their support riders before heading down to South Devon where they paid a visit to Paignton RFC and then made their way to Dartmouth where a short ferry crossing gave quick relief from the saddle. With just over 3hrs complete, the group continued north-west as they travelled across to Plymouth and then up to Kingsbridge. With the night setting in, the demanding nature of the route began to show as Dartmoor’s unforgiving terrain began to test the team. If this wasn’t enough, the forecasted poor weather began to roll in with a thunderstorm thrown in to add to the experience. The torrential rain continued for four hours as the courageous seven battled through the night across the hills of North Devon.

By 6am, the rain has finally stopped as they arrived in Coombe Martin before starting the journey home. The next stop on the route was Tiverton; where, waiting for the team were bacon rolls, coffee and more supporting cyclists to help them home. The last leg of the journey saw the peloton of fourteen make their way back down to East Devon with the scenic route through sunny Otterton and East Budleigh waiting for them before taking the cycle path back to Exmouth and arriving back into Raleigh Park to a huge crowd and a tunnel of cheers and applause a little after 3:30pm. Just in time for a pint and a rest before the Lions match!

Journey summary:
Distance: 426km (264mi)
Total Elevation: 6,500m
On bike time: 20hrs
Elapsed time: 23hrs 30min
Punctures: 2
Ferry journeys: 1
Torrential rain: 4hrs
Hazards: Deer, rabbits & frogs avoided on the night section!!

Speaking after the challenge, Withies Director of Rugby, Rick Libbey said: “Make no mistake this was an awesome challenge for the fittest of riders. Now consider that most of the cyclists who completed the whole route were in their 60s. We stand in genuine awe and admiration”. This was a feeling carried through by all the supporters and everyone at the club.

A huge thank you to each of the fourteen riders that took on the gruelling challenge, but especially to the seven ‘core’ riders for taking on the challenge to help support the club in our aim to improve facilities at Raleigh Park ahead of our centenary in 2024.

Another huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored the riders and donated to the challenge as, to date, we’ve raised an incredible £3,135!

THANK YOU!!!