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Witney RFC

Sat 24-26 Apr th

KO 11 am

I wanted to draw your attention to an amazing weekend of rugby taking place in Oxfordshire, the Main element being KatieFest 2026, taking place at Wallingford on Saturday 25 April. Katiefest was hosted last year by Witney RFC and is one of the biggest SEND rugby competitions in the country. th This year Witney are proud to host Mirano Dragons, from just outside Venice. Funds to host were not forthcoming and so the good people of Witney RFC got into gear, and their pockets, and from an initial target of £400, you lot smashed it and the total quickly rose to over £1000. Well done to you all.

The weekend is set to be a huge success, BBQ social on Friday evening followed by KatieFest Saturday, and a training session on Sunday here at Hailey Road. If you can spare some time to help, or if you just want to come along and support, you are most welcome. We hope all Dragons enjoy their time at Hailey Road.

Chairman’s Welcome

Dob in Dabber !

Dabber Willis has taken up hiding in the programme. All you have to do is find him and win a pint. Dob in Dabber at the Bar on match day, and if you’re the first to do so, you win a pint of ale or a glass of wine. Cheers Dabber!

A massive thank you to all our fabulous sponsors!

Player Sponsors

We have secured tickets for all 3 England Home games and both Saturday and Sunday Finals Days. Want to be there?

Sponsors, Players and Members contact:

Nations Championship Cup

england home games and finals day tickets

As a Club we have secured tickets for each of the England home games in November, and in addition, tickets for the Saturday and Sunday Finals’ Days. The England Home games are as follows:

Sunday 8 November Australia

14 November

Saturday 21 November

We have tickets for the Saturday and Sunday Finals as follows:

Sponsors, Players and Club Members wishing to attend should in the first instance contact me at:

Fiji have decided to play their summer home fixtures here in the Northern Hemisphere with the England game being played at the Everton FC ground on 11 July. Tickets for that and for the games in Wales and Scotland can be obtained at:

2 Be or not 2 Be

Last weekend’s game against Farringdon was cancelled and so nothing to report.

Today our Vipers are on the road to Grove. Grove sit in 4 with 11 wins from 17, however with a win and Chippy stumbling they could move into 3 , a lot to play for. We however have an outside chance of overtaking Abingdon in 7 . We would need to get a 5 point win by more than 10 points to unseat Abingdon.

th It is also coach Simon Copperwheat’s last game in charge, no more motivation than that needed to send him off with a win, although something tells me he won’t be going far.

Come on you Witney Boys.

Player Sponsors

A crowd of 30,498, a record for a standalone women’s sporting event in Scotland, witnessed a 35th consecutive Test win for the Red Roses. Despite changes to the line-up, England’s superiority was never in doubt. Scotland now travel to Parma in search of their second win, while England return to Ashton Gate to face Wales. France kept their championship hopes alive with a convincing win in Cardiff. The match was finely poised at half-time, but a dominant second-half display saw them pull away. François Ratier’s side ran in 31 unanswered points to make it two wins from two. Wales showed resilience but couldn’t match France’s intensity. Wales now face England in Bristol, while France host Ireland in Clermont-Ferrand. In Galway, an unusual but welcome international venue, over 9,000 fans packed into the home of Connacht Rugby to see Ireland overpower Italy. A 57-point haul, including nine tries, marked a clear step forward. Italy will take encouragement from a try bonus point ahead of their clash with Scotland. Ireland, meanwhile, must maintain the momentum, and raise their intensity over the full 80 minutes if they are to challenge France away.

Player Sponsors

Who Shall We 3s Beat Again?

Where Angels Fly!

Whilst not an Angels game, our very own Ella Scarffe was involved with the RAF ladies’ team as they produced a commanding performance against the Royal Navy Women. Whilst the RN produced some early strong defence the RAF fly girls dominated and came away with a convincing 7 : 36 victory. Well done ladies and well-done Ella. Their next game is against the Army at Kingsholme on Saturday 16 May, which should th prove a bigger challenge, but one that the girls are relishing the opportunity of.

If you are looking for mid-May rugby fix you could do a lot worse than getting along and supporting PropElla and the RAF girls in their endeavours.

M & Js

Investing in the Future

Player Sponsors

Witney Can Do Magic!

Our Wizards travelled to Thame on Saturday for a clash with Chinnor Walking Rugby. We were very well hosted by Francesca and her team, who played with great enthusiasm despite fielding several players new to the sport. While the result may have been a little one-sided, the commitment shown by Chinnor was a real credit to them.

As a club, they are new to this format but are already looking at ways to grow their numbers and will no doubt have benefited from the experience. We look forward to welcoming them to Hailey Road soon.

The final score was (we think!) 8 : 23 across four sets, with several players grabbing hat-tricks. Ian claimed two of those in classic fashion, stationed out on the wing and patiently waiting for the ball to come to him. Reg earns a special mention for a previously unseen, more reserved style of play. Jez, Scottie and Duncan are owed an apology from me, they should probably have had asterisks next to their names on the team sheet, having last played together some 40 years ago in the Academy.

Jez was a deserving Man of the Match, producing some exciting, penetrative walking, along with a set of jazz-hand dummies that were a thing of beauty, perhaps a move for the rest of us to learn in training.

Well done to everyone who played, supported and organised, a credit to Witney RUFC and the wider rugby community.

What’s On @ Hailey Road!

Veterans @ Hailey Road

Contrary to poular belief, you do not have to have:

Served in the Trenches of WWI

Be over 60 with a pacemaker!

Although being either of those does not preclude you from playing, we do ask for a letter from your parent.

A massive thank you to all our fabulous sponsors!

How would you like 10% off everything you buy over the bar? With a WRFC Members Discount Card that’s exactly what you get. 10% off all your beers, teas, coffees, sandwiches etc. For a small anual fee, currently £25, you get a year’s worth of discounted products. That’s approximately 50p a week, so one pint of lager a week and you have made your money back, 2 pints and your saving at a level appreciated by Yorkshiremen.

To qualify for the card you need to be a signed up member of the Club.

Interested? email me or speak to any of the marvellous bar staff. ian.loughborough@witneyrugby.co.uk