After securing three bonus point wins in a row, our 1st XV are determined to continue their streak. This week the hotly anticipated Brentwood game has arrived! There's often no love lost between these two sides so prepare yourself for a physical and exciting game! Join us at pitch 1 for the 3pm kick off and cheer our boys to another victory!

The Ravens are also at home as they take on Tring II XV. Our Ravens are courageously battling through the extremely competitive Zoo Sports Shield and your support this weekend will make all the difference! Cheer our boys on pitch 2 at 2.15pm.

Our unbeaten A XV play their third game of the season against Ipswich Magpies at home on Saturday. After a fantastic 49-0 victory last weekend our A team are on a roll, so come over to pitch 3 to check them out at 3pm.

Our Cavaliers travel to the coast this weekend as they take on Felixstowe. With two bonus point wins under their belt the Cavs currently sit at the top of the Eastern Counties 2 table and are raring to go as they kick off their game at 3pm.

Our Roundheads are also off to the seaside on Saturday as they head to Mersea Island to play the Rhinos. After a tough game last weekend the players are determined to remain top of the table so a win at Mersea is just what they need! Catch the game at the Glebe at 3pm.

As always our bar will be open from 12 noon for you to fill your belly with Bavarian beer and join in the celebrations!

#COMEONCOL

1st XV: The Preview, with John Smith

From now on, Senior Chairman Jon Smith will be writing a review of the 1st XV's last game and a separate preview to the next game. These articles will give you the behind the scenes low down on what goes on with our 1st XV and in an insight into the inner workings of our club. Jon's review of last weekend is already up on the website here. In this week's preview Jon explains the team selection for the Brentwood game and what our players can expect to come up against.

"The next ten days will be absolutely critical. A quick look at the London North Division 1 table shows that there is clearly a group of teams breaking away from the pack, albeit just three games into the season. Our opposition over the next two Saturdays, Brentwood and Chingford will undoubtedly provide us with the sternest of tests.

Brentwood finished the 2016-17 season third in the London 1 North table, just one point behind Chingford, so promotion will clearly be their target. Brentwood will bring with them a uncompromising and robust set of forwards. They were narrowly defeated by Amersham and Chiltern on the opening day of the season, but since then they have secured convincing wins over the two newly promoted teams, South Woodham Ferrers and Diss. As a team, we know this will be a huge test, but we are focused and we are more than ready for the challenge.

Joe Reid comes back into the starting line up after a week on the sidelines. The most significant changes come in the back row. Danny Whiteman returns to his customary position at openside flanker and Rob Pickard comes in at blindside for his first 1st XV start of the season; Rob has been putting in some incredible work in training, tackling anything that moves! Rob is a great clubman - until the end of last season he was the lead coach of our cup-winning Under 16 side; he richly deserves his opportunity and it is great to see him back in a 1st XV shirt.

In the back division Brett Cutbush returns at scrum half. We are so fortunate to have such strength in depth with Brett, Matt Wadling, Jamie Murray, Will Tillett, Lewis Williams and recently arrived Australian overseas player Will Chapman, all vying for the No.9 shirt. Unfortunately David Brennan is forced to miss our clash with Brentwood. David needed hospital treatment and several stitches for a head injury he picked up in our victory at Saffron Walden. George Liversidge came off the bench to replace Brennan and he retains his place at outside centre after a strong display in very challenging conditions. The rapid back three of Crozier, Brown and Barton remain unchanged for the fourth game in a row."

You can read Jon's full report, including an exclusive look at the 1st XV line up on our website here.

#AllOneClub

As Colchester is such a large and busy club, we often struggle to cover everything that's going on across all the various teams. That's why we love it when you send us your photos and news from all over our vast and brilliant club.

This week, we were sent a photo of a piece of writing Joshua Aiken had done in preparation for his 11+ in which he wrote about the 5 core values of rugby. We were so impressed by his work that we invited Joshua to present his work to DoR Ant O'Riordan and Liam Pickett and as a group we decided to frame the work and hang it in the clubhouse so everyone can see the core values that CRFC hold so dear.

So thank you again to Joshua for this brilliant piece of work and we wish him good luck in his 11+ exams this Saturday!

If you have any news or photos from any part of the club, we'd love to see it! Just email us here and we'll include it on our website.

Throwback Thursday

In honour of our guests tomorrow we throwback to 1995..
This week the 1st XV host Brentwood RFC in what is set to be a physical and exciting clash.

This is, of course, not the first time the two teams have met, as way back in 1995 (before some of our 1st XV players were born!) the 1st XV played against them in game that included all round bad boy Ross Kemp! Ross can be seen pictured with two has-been captains Richard Ackland (L) and Richard Parker (R).

Here's hoping Ross will make an appearance this weekend!

CRFC in the Community

As we're sure you're aware, we have a charity collection every lunch for the four charities chosen by Brian Borges; Headway Essex, The RFU Injured Players Association, Holidays for Heroes, and The Tom Bowdridge Foundation. This week received an email from Holidays for Heroes Jersey to let us know what your money is doing to help…

Dallas Meakin was severely injured in Afghanistan and was one of the beneficiaries of the Holidays for Heroes. Here’s an email from his wife Zoe..

“We have just arrived home from an amazing time! At times my husband was emotional and taken back with all the support he was very humbled at the kind words said to him! He couldn't believe how warm and welcoming everyone was. He has had a great time and Dallas Meakin you are my hero! You always have and always will be! Very proud of your achievements this week! But most of all it's been amazing for the children to have their daddy back

It was lovely to see all the heroes on the trip enjoying themselves for them be given something back something in return for what they have all done for our country. I am proud of my husband for what he has achieved and here's to the next chapter. A heartfelt thank you to Dawn and Richard because without them this wouldn't have been possible and you made the holiday more than we could have ever imagined! Our children had a fantastic time and we had a holiday that we will never forgot and we feel very humbled by it all!! Once again thank you for everyone we met along the way! Thank you for those who gave my husband time and wanted to talk to him and show your appreciation for his 17.5 years’ service. Thanks again for all the memories you have giving us we had an amazing time! We will be back next year without a doubt!
XX Zoe”

Support your club and get a free pint? Take a look at our new Patrons scheme...

Established some years ago by two former 1st XV Captains, the CRFC Patron's Scheme is a revenue generator to support our 1st XV squad and helps pay for items the Club finds harder to afford from our other income sources. This can include after training food, physios and legitimate travel expenses. It is a great way in which individuals can help sustain our 1st XV at the current level and provide a springboard to move higher back into the National Leagues.

For £150* per annum, you'll get

- Free entry to all 1st XV matches at Mill Road
- Patron’s name alongside the shirt number in each Match Programme
- Patron’s name on the Patron Board in Clubhouse
- An invite to one of 2 home games with a pre match complimentary private reception and lunch
- Entered in a Draw for 2 complimentary tickets to a Pre Xmas England game

So, that free pint we were talking about..

Brand new to the patrons scheme, if your shirt scores a try during a home game, or is awarded Man of the Match, you'll get a free pint! You must be in the bar after the game when the announcements will be made in order to receive your beer, so make sure you're at every 1st XV home game and cheer on your number!

*plus the cost of a CRFC membership

Colchester RFC's Fireworks Evening: 5th November

We've got exciting news as we launch our new, annual Fireworks evening for Colchester RFC Supporters and their families!

We're packing Mill Road full of delicious food & drink, fairground rides, fun activities, and most importantly; FIREWORKS on Sunday 5th of December.

Keep an eye out on our website and social media as we reveal in due course all you can look forward to on that day. However, we can confirm there will be a Forwards vs Backs eating competition so rally up your teammates to get involved so we can finally put to rest who's the best!

You can purchase an adult ticket for £7, child ticket for £5 and a family (2 adults, 2 children) for £20. Tickets will be available from the bar tomorrow, and you can also reserve you tickets by emailing here.

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch? Not at Colchester RFC

If you join the CRFC Double Centurion Club then you can choose one of our club lunches to attend*, and we’ll treat you to a three-course meal- on us!

We still have plenty of numbers available in the DCC and if you sign up before next Saturday you will be entered into September’s Draw which boasts a 1st prize of £250 and a 2nd prize of £50.

Why would you want to join?

+ It’s only £5 a month (less than an cup of coffee!)
+ You’ll be entered into monthly draws with prizes of £250 and £50
+ The October draw 1st prize is £750 and April’s draw 1st price is a whopping £1,500!
+ Best yet, all the profits go straight back into Colchester RFC

So now’s your chance, find Kim at the club or email her at kim@amnesiaflowers.com and bag your ticket now!

*Subject to availability

Stock up on all your CRFC stash at our Club House Shop

Our CRFC club shop is open Wednesday and Thursday evenings 7pm-8pm and Sunday mornings 9.30am to 12.30pm for you to grab all the CRFC goodies you need.

We've got playing kit, hoodies, socks, gumshields, new hats and scarfs and much more all ready for you to buy. With the weather getting colder, we recommend you check out the shop so you can stay warm in CRFC style!

Colchester Rugby Club gets social...

There's plenty going on across our social media all the time. Keep up to date with all CRFC news, rugby content, events, and video highlights. We announce the Man of the Match every weekend over on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so make sure you're following us to keep up to date! This week Joe Mac was awarded the title for his sturdy performance in the scrum and great carrying in the loose.

So, make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop. You can also find videos of all the tries from this season and last on our YouTube channel and all the behind the scenes action and live game highlights are on our snapchat: colchesterrugby.

Good luck to all our players in action this weekend and we look forward to seeing you at Mill Road soon!