Survive, sustain, revive: the three phases getting Chichester Rugby Club through lockdown

It’s been three months since the Oaklands Pavilion shut its doors and matches and training came to an abrupt halt, and it’s too early to say when rugby and other club activies will resume.

But club chairman Paddy McApline says CRFC have moved from a ‘survive’ phase to a ‘sustain’ phase – and are working on the ‘revive’ period that will follow.

Plans are being laid for the new season, when Chi’s first XV will again play in London one south and will again be supported by a network of other teams at the club, including youth and ladies’ XVs.

In a message to CRFC members and supporters, McAlpine said it had been an ‘extraordinarily challenging time’.

He said: “CRFC has safely progressed from a ‘survive’ phase as a rugby club to one of ‘sustain’, in other words, keeping the facilities available for our eventual return without burdening ourselves with excessive debt.

“Paul Stanton (honorary treasurer) and Jo Pulleyblank (his designated relief) have worked wonders to agree with local authorities, all our service suppliers and financial partners to minimise the monthly cost of owning, maintaining and running Oaklands Pavilion.

“Notwithstanding an unforeseen event beyond our control, the work Paul and Jo have done means the income provided by our pre-lockdown business model and a government grant, should see us through to the end of August.

“After that date we will approach the RFU and our club sponsors and use annual membership subscriptions to help re-establish our rugby life up at Oaklands again. We will continue to closely monitor our cashflow.

“Sustaining CRFC is not just about looking after Oaklands Pavilion, it’s also about staying connected with all our members, young and old. It’s about retaining that sense of community and the strong bonds of friendship that lie at the very core of our values as a rugby club.”

McAlpine said the senior players’ Team Support Group (TSG – those that make Saturday rugby happen off the pitch) have had regular virtual meetings to assess last season, recruit others into the fold and prepare for the 2020-21 campaign.

Paul Colley (director of rugby), Scott Ashley (head coach) and Mark Norton (senior coach) are hosting weekly senior player webinars analysing past performances and discussing future strategies with senior players. Tim Cook and Ben Polhill (both now coach-players) are monitoring individual players’ training programmes and there’s a huge collective effort to make Chi RFC players become the fittest in their various leagues.

Alan Chambers (senior team manager) is stocktaking senior kit to ensure it is ready for next season and will have to manage without the usual quantity of summer purchases.

McAlpine said: “Iain Collyer is now colts manager and is starting to bring that hugely important and much-missed part of our rugby club back together again after a two-year absence. Greg Mahon has stepped forward to sponsor the colts.

“Jules Boyce, who singlehandedly brought women’s rugby back to Oaklands last season, is recruiting players and actively looking for sponsorship.

“Walter Womersley (mini and junior chairman) is working with a core planning team to make the co-ordination of the huge M&J section easier, more efficient and ultimately more enjoyable for all involved.

“And our president Gareth Webb and Nigel Creasy (vice-presidents’ chairman) are working on plans for the introduction of the 1926 Club, with informal gatherings before home matches and other events. The ‘1926ers’ will be launched in June and more details will follow.

“In summary, much is being done to ‘sustain’ CRFC such that we are as prepared as we can be for the new, ‘better normal’ post Covid-19 lockdown world.

“I expect CRFC to start the ‘revive’ phase later this summer that will set us up for the eventual return to playing community rugby in accordance with government and RFU guidelines. It is too early to speculate how this might look and whether safety and medical guidelines will allow the top floor of Oaklands Pavilion to be used in September.

“However, we are working with Johnny Jones (catering and events manager), Sam Dallaway (bar manager) and Jack Knight (cellar manager and licence holder) to offer a safe, outside alternative.

“The TSG are planning on preparing our car park and pitch-viewing areas such you can safely watch rugby when it returns while following the guidelines.

“We will all need to adapt to these very changed circumstances, improvise as best we can and overcome the many challenges we will face as a rugby club. When it returns, rugby will not be like it was, at least in the early months.

“We have survived the strategic shock of Covid-19, we are sustaining collectively as a club and we will revive rugby as soon as we are allowed to. “There is much to look forward to with the continued resurgence of women’s rugby, the continued excellence of the M&J section, re-establishment of colts rugby at CRFC, our 2nd XV heading into the Hampshire Premier League and our 1st XV providing high quality rugby and huge levels of entertainment at Oaklands.

“Even with very recent, slight lifting of the early lockdown regulations, there will still be some of our members who might need our support. If you cannot get to the shops, or know a member in this position, contact the club and we’ll get the help that’s needed.”

“Stay safe, stay healthy, stay Blue & Blue.”