Why it's a very Merry Christmas at Chichester RFC

Chichester have enjoyed their most successful first half of the season ever throughout the whole club.

The first XV have played their highest standard of rugby and lie third in London division one south. They have beaten teams of the calibre of Portsmouth, Cobham, Haywards Heath, Sutton & Epsom and Beckenham.

Anyone who has watched a game at Oaklands Park this season cannot fail to have been impressed by the standard of skill and physicality shown by the first team.

The development side, part of the first-team squad, play in the Hampshire Senior Merit table for second XVs. They have played seven and won seven and top the table having beaten Portsmouth, Havant, Basingstoke and Bournemouth along the way.

Our other three teams play in Sussex leagues. The third XV have played ten, won nine and lost one and lie second, one point behind Bognor seconds. The fourth XV have won seven and lost two of their nine games, and the fifth XV have won six, drawn one and lost two of their nine.

This means our senior teams have played 48, won 37 drawn three and lost eight – an outstanding set of results.

Not to be outdone, our mini and junior section go from strength to strength. We now have more than 450 registered young players aged six to 18. This puts us in the top two sections in the county.

We held a very successful festival in October with more than 1,000 youngsters competing and are proud to have been asked to host the West Sussex Festival on March 13, 2011. All our mini teams have started well, with the under-11s winning the silver cup at the Pulborough festival.

The junior teams are racing ahead in their respective leagues, reflecting the remarkable level of coaching and participation through the club. The colts are mid-table in a very strong league.

As a club we know we cannot stand still so we have developed strong links with local junior and secondary schools as well as Chichester University. We are truly a community club and we are proud to cater for everyone.

Because of the demand for rugby, the club will soon publish plans to develop areas of the clubhouse as well as strengthening our playing development in the long-term.

We are delighted by the support of local businesses, who play an important role in keeping us one of the top clubs on the south coast, and the support of Chichester District Council, with whom we have a very strong partnership.

Chichester are run by a team of very able volunteers and they must also take credit for our success.

Our next home first XV game is on January 15 against Hove. All are welcome. Merry Christmas to all who support Chichester RFC.

by Keith Martin, Chairman