Our hot weather delayed season is now well underway, and summer already feels like a distant memory! It’s fantastic to see so many people embracing rugby across all the age groups at this wonderful club.
There’s plenty happening both on and off the pitch, so I wanted to share a few updates on the work going on behind the scenes.

Investing in our facilities

Over the summer we continued to invest in our facilities, including drainage work on Pitch 1 at the bottom end, where we have historically suffered from flooding and we’re confident this will give us greater use of the pitch during the wetter winter months.

We’re also delighted to have secured an FA grant providing pitch maintenance funding over the next six years. This will help us improve the condition and drainage of all three main pitches which is a fantastic investment in the future of the club.

Our car park is now nearing completion, and we’ll soon be calling on members to help with some landscaping and planting. If you can spare some time, please get involved as many hands make light work!

We’re also continuing to work on raising the funds needed to complete our clubhouse project, including the planned gym with a roof terrace. This remains a project we are committed to delivering which will strengthen our offering to members whilst enhancing the Rugby Club / Whitemans Green Sports Club experience and its role in our local community.

If you can help, or know of potential sponsors or partners, please get in touch with me or our Commercial Director, Phil Herbert.

It’s everyone’s club

As we head into season, a reminder that we all have a part to play in making Haywards Heath RFC a club we can be proud of.

Our Code of Conduct is available on the website, and it’s important that we all take responsibility for our behaviour, from looking after our facilities and respecting coaches and match officials, to simply lending a hand when help is needed.

We are always short of volunteers, so please be that person who gets involved. Whether it’s putting equipment away after your child’s session or emptying the bins, it all makes a difference.

Club discipline is particularly important when it comes to match officials. The RFU and Sussex Rugby are rightly taking an increasingly hard line on abuse of referees and other officials. If our club is found guilty of match official abuse at any age group, the consequences could include a points deduction for our highest ranked team, currently the Men’s 1st XV. Let’s make sure we are never that club.

Plenty happening off the pitch

The social side of Haywards Heath RFC and Whitemans Green Sports Club continues to thrive, with regular live music, match day lunches, live sport on the big screens and plenty of other events in the calendar.

Please come along, get involved and bring your family and friends. Details and bookings can be found on the rugby club https://www.hhrfc.co.uk/ and Whitemans Green Sports Club https://www.whitemansgreensports.club/ websites and social media.

And finally… back to the rugby!

It’s fantastic to see so many new members in our Minis and Juniors, while we are also fielding three senior men’s teams and our Women’s Hellhounds who are taking their place in the RFU NC3 league.

This Saturday, let’s get behind the Men’s 1st XV at 3pm as they look for their first home win of the season following two narrow defeats.

Then, on Sunday at 2pm, our Women’s Hellhounds play their first-ever home league match against Crowborough — a fantastic milestone for the team.

Finally, I hope all our Under 12 players and parents enjoy Saturday’s tie presentation lunch as they graduate from Minis into Junior rugby. I remember receiving my first rugby tie over 40 years ago, and it remains a milestone memory for me.

Here’s to another great season for everyone at Haywards Heath RFC and thank you to all the volunteers that make it such an amazing club to be a part of!

Your chairman,
Dan