On Friday 10 May, the Blackheath Rugby squad, coaches, medical staff and distinguished guests gathered at the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich to celebrate the past year, to present the season’s awards, and to say goodbye to a few players.
We congratulate those who received awards, and thank everyone who took time to nominate.
The awards we gave out on the night were:
PLAYERS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR won by Tom Baldwin
Ed Taylor, the Club Captain, says “Balders consistently performs at the highest level, regardless of the opposition or game situation and, most importantly, he sets high standards for his teammates to follow. He has so much respect from all of the lads and that is the greatest recognition any rugby player can get!”.
COACHES’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR won by Tom Baldwin
James Shanahan, Director of Rugby, says “Balders leads by example. When he is at his best, so is the team. Dominant ball carrier who gets us on the front foot. Great influence around the pitch, and aided Ed in leading the team this season. Was an easy choice from all the coaches!”.
CLUB XV PLAYER OF THE YEAR won by Ben Charnock (received on his behalf by Alex Witchell)
“Charnock — raw and powerful,” says Shanners. “What’s impressed me most has been his ability to develop and learn: he’s performed for Club XV and has taken that into the 1st XV in the last few games. Blackheath’s very own Waterboy (google the film)!”
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR won by George Daly (received on his behalf by Andy Denham)
Talking about George, Shanners says “George has a great work ethic, working on his game his before and after training with Jack. Rarely a poor game, and that has been shown in the Club XV as well in the matches he has played for the 1st XV this season.”.
THE PHOENIX AWARD won by Blackheath Women
Blackheath Rugby wanted to recognise the strides the Women have made this season, and felt the Phoenix Award reflected the journey they’ve had in their first year back at Rectory Field.
James Fleming, Chairman, presented the shield to the Emily Rutter, Chair of the Women’s section, and said “We’ve all been really impressed at how the Women have grown this season — in numbers, in belief, in strength — and we wanted to mark their season with this truly special award. Emily and team have worked so hard to bring success to the section, creating a strong bond not just within the section itself, but across the Club as a whole, and it’s been fantastic to see. We’d like to congratulate the Women on being given this prestigious award.”
On the evening we also presented Ed Taylor, Stevie Clark-Leonard and Mark Cooke with hip flasks and photo books of their years at the Club, to commemorate their time playing for Blackheath Rugby.
And, finally, there were the obligatory ‘fun’ awards, given out to Archie Holland, Tom Baldwin, Shanners, Russ Ticehurst (received on his behalf by Rory O’Sullivan) and Mark Cooke.
Not forgetting, of course, that Alan Thompson presented the following awards on the evening of the last game of the season (click here for details)
BEST NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR won by Billy Harding
SUPPORTERS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR won by Tom Baldwin
Congratulations to all!
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