Welcome, one and all, to the great Barnes RFC,
The local village rugby club, nestled in the big city!
We know once you’ve spent time here, you’ll understand all the fuss,
But let me take this chance to tell you a little about us.

We’re a thriving, growing, happy club who have been around a long time, Historians tell us that our first (unofficial) games took place in 1839,
And although the Guinness Book of Records says other clubs do us precede,
Here at Barnes, we prefer our Guinness to drink, rather than to read!

We ‘play in the original spirit’ here, while enjoying good lunches and social dinners,
We are ONE CLUB... (while comprising also of the Occies and the Sinners!!)
There’re lots of peeps behind the scenes, who make this club such a big deal,
You may have met our esteemed Chairman, Mr Michael Whitfield! (aka Rhino!)

There’s Ken Macrae, who in the 70s, played blisteringly on the wing,
Now he’s the drive behind the First Team - he, quite simply, does everything! We’ve got Roy taking photos, while Peter documents the games,
And let’s not forget our Marty, club VP - he’s of Junior All Black fame!

Andy handles the accounts, sorts out the VAT,
Ashley does the website, Charles is in charge of IT;
Camilla and Bubba find sponsorships, both stalwarts of the club,
Then there’s Jason Bacon, with the thankless task of getting members to pay their subs.

Ben is in charge of inserts, gets them sorted every week,
All of these people behind the scenes keep us at our peak!
There’s another key member of the team, whose attention to detail is never dense, Yep, of course I’m referring to our mate, irritating Spence!

Kenny and Colum do lunches, always boozy and lots of fun,
And when our supporters come in, on the gate, they are greeted by Abbey, Zoe’s mum! Gus plans annual lunches for the vets and sorts our England tickets too,
Rich F is our Discipline Officer - well, it’s a job that someone’s gotta do!

There are lots of ladies in the club who make sure that it ticks,
Such as Zoe who runs the bar and food - and puts up with us when we are... foolish!
Christy does our fixtures, Camilla also sorts social events,
In fact to have ladies such as these, we are very lucky gents!
We’ve got two thriving ladies’ teams, who, on the pitch, always do us proud,
And yes, when they get into the bar, as the men they are just as loud!

The club is all inclusive: no one is too old or small;
We’ve a superb group of minis, excellent at rucks and mauls,
There’s talent in our Youth team and we’ve an enthusiastic group of Vets,
(Though often, the morning after, the aches and pains cause them regrets!)

Let’s not forget our leader, who keeps players from getting hollow,
The one and only inspiration - our club Captain, Collo!
We’ve top coaches; Belly, Joe and Jack; who train hard, whether it’s dry or wet, And another to turn out in all weathers is our fab Physio, Collette!

There are lots of other key people; but alas too many to name!
We’ve a plethora of alickadoos, who come to every game.
So what I’m trying to tell you, is that you all are welcome here,
Team BRFC hope you’ll stay and grab yourselves a beer!

And let’s remember, no matter what the score, it’s about the spirit of the game,
So bring your spirit, pride and camaraderie -and we will do the same!

Enjoy the Craic and Have a great match, everyone!

Dave Doonan Proud President of Barnes RFC