Upminster
Upminster
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2nd and 3rd XV will look to continue in their respective
leagues consolidating their positions.”
Youth
Upminster
RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
Upminster RFC enjoyed a fine season last time around as their first XV
claimed a league title. Rugby Club Magazine recently caught up with
their Director of Rugby Scott Murphy to find out more about how the
club has been getting along lately.
Involvement Atmosphere
He told us, “Having initially started my playing
career at the club at the age of 5, I played my age group
and Senior rugby at Upminster before taking on the 1st
XV coach role. Following a coaching spell at Cambridge
and Chingford, I returned to the club as Director of
Rugby in July 2016.
For me, the attraction is the potential that is available
at the club’s disposal - hosting one of the largest Mini
and Youth sections within Essex the opportunity for the
club to progress and develop the younger players is a
big motivation. The Challenging aspects come with any
role involved within the rugby environment. For me,
player/coach development is always a challenge but
when it works the rewards are huge!” “The mood at the club is very good at the moment,
lots of members within the Mini section, the Youth
section is going from strength to strength - every age
group played in a County Cup final, and the current
U16’s played in their 3rd consecutive Essex Cup Final
and won back to back finals. On the senior playing front,
the 1st XV won the league and the 2s and 3s had strong
seasons. The future is looking bright for the club.”
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“Youth rugby is really important to
the club - we work with our local
secondary schools to help with
the transition from school to
club. The youth of today are
the future of tomorrow, so it
is really important to aid the
development and support
the youth rugby within the
club.”
Integration
“The challenge comes
when the young lads reach
the end of the Youth pathway
in the way of work, 6th form
work and rugby and the sudden
appearance of lady friends. In all
seriousness, I believe we have a great
programme in place for the transition of these
lads into the senior setup.
The seniors train twice a week and from Christmas,
the current U16s are invited to join in with the seniors
on a Thursday to aid with the transition. Come pre-
season the lads will join in with the training and will
be fully encouraged and supported should they wish to
play senior rugby providing they meet the regulations
around safeguarding etc.”
Community
“I would 100% say that we are a
community club, we work closely
with our local primary and
secondary school as well as
promoting and supporting
local and regional businesses
in the area. We have a
player database of just short
of 500 members in the Mini
& Youth section and the
majority of the players are
within a 5-mile radius of the
club.”
Ambitions
“We are in the process of
building a girls team and that is a
long-term ambition in the hope that we
can then build a ladies XV on the back of that.
On the Senior playing front, the 1st XV are looking to
play at level 6/level 7 something that has never been
achieved in the club’s history. From a 2nd XV and 3rd
XV perspective, the main aim is to keep the numbers and
build consistency throughout the section.”
2019/20
“Looking ahead to the 2019/2020 season the 1st XV
will be looking to continue with the impressive work
from this season and look for a top three finish. The
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