September 2011
Global Warming Must Have Taken the Wrong Turn
I know it is not politically correct to talk about sunbathing and clearly too much exposure to the sun’s rays is hugely damaging, but as a pale Northern European, of Irish descent, I have really forgotten what that golden globe up in the sky is all about. Still, it’s only August! Given the difficult times we live in it would be nice to be distracted by a decent period of sunshine. I am not suggesting that there could be an economic benefit of achieving Mediterranean temperatures on a semi-permanent basis but it would take away the unbridled joy of playing Russian Roulette with the holiday location by trying to pick a destination whose economy is least likely to collapse within the next few weeks.
What has all this to do with rugby you may ask yourself Dear Reader? Well, the Rugby World Cup is upon us and all eyes will turn to New Zealand where Wales will be pitched against the truly exotic teams of Samoa, Fiji, Namibia and South Africa. Sport is so professional these days and so in order to acclimatise themselves, our heroes have been to a training camp in Poland and played a couple of games against England. Nothing like keeping it real! We wish them well in their endeavours and with 3 games on a Sunday and one on a Monday, family life in Wales should not be too disrupted.
Of course the weather has not really helped with our preparations for the new season but nevertheless turnout at pre-season training at the Club has been excellent and there has been a confident mood amongst the players and coaches. We have just hosted a Cardiff Blues Under 16’s match which was very well attended and many parents remarked how much they liked the quality and ambience of our facilities. We are also about to host a Youth Ten-a-Side competition with a number of Clubs from across South Wales due to attend. Our 1st XV will kick-off their season at Aberdare with the 2nds hosting Llandaff and the Youth travelling across the City to Fairwater. By the time the next edition of this magazine is printed I will be in a much better position to give you a view on what sort of season we are all likely to have.
Matters off the pitch are now firmly focussed on our attempts to make permanent a temporary agreement to extend our opening times on weekends to normal licensing hours. This column is not designed to provide a soapbox to support our aspirations in this area as that will be pursued through the appropriate channels. One of the most important supporters are the Police. Nobody could fail not to be deeply concerned about the recent rioting experienced in other parts of the country and perhaps more so about the underlying reasons behind it. Mercifully we have not experienced this in Cardiff but there are large numbers of disaffected youngsters locally. One only has to look at the lanes around the Minsters to see that they have security gates to protect people and property. This problem has been around for a very long time and of course has nothing to do with the rugby club. However, we are very mindful of our responsibilities at the heart of our community and would strongly argue that by providing sport for over 300 youngsters from ages 7-19 we are doing something extremely positive and at our own expense to make a real difference to their lives and that of the community in which they live. This is probably best summed up in recent written correspondence from our local Police who confirmed that “reports within the area have decreased significantly since the rugby club has been built and since you have increased your presence in the community”. Praise indeed, but there is no room for complacency on our part and we will continue striving to ensure that youngsters see our organisation and its people as a safe haven and a place to grow up in a family environment.
Enough of the heavy stuff but no doubt you can tell that we care passionately about what we are trying to do and will continue to invest our time, money and energies into achieving our goals.
If you have any questions, issues or ideas please do not hesitate to contact us at the Clubhouse on 029 20 460461 or e-mail: admin@stpetersrfc.co.uk
Our website can be found at www.stpetersrfc.co.uk
Vince Nolan
Director of Rugby
St.Peter’s RFC
