My vision of rugby is that we need to ensure that the sport is accessible to everyone. It shouldn't matter about experience or fitness; we have a level for all who want to give the sport a go.

Team spirit should be at the heart of all teams. We cannot play this sport as individuals; we can only win, enjoy, and grow as a club if we all pull together.

Andy has worked wonders getting the senior men's squad to work together on and off the pitch, and I agree with Andy that this is paramount to our success.

Ollie has continued to grow the confidence and experience within the ladies' side. The ladies have had a tough season with many injuries, taking some of our key players out for most, if not all, of the season. Players playing in different positions can be very daunting for less experienced players.

What strategies are we employing to tackle the current recruitment challenges?

Recruitment is a difficult one! Many people who have never played, myself included before I actually played, have misconceptions and seem to fear giving the sport a go. They think it is a really difficult sport to play and learn, but in my opinion, it's not overly complicated.

As I found out myself, you can take this sport to whatever level you wish. With the correct coaching and body conditioning, anyone can play, but we have to show this to people and get them along to meet us as a rugby family.

The seniors are leading by attending the Park Run on Saturdays, donning kit so people see our brand and will hopefully ask for more information about us. Word of mouth and bringing family and friends along is another way of getting players to take a look and give it a try.

The summer camps are a great idea for the youth teams. I think we should do a similar thing and hold small touch competitions during the summer. Maybe we can get businesses to enter teams, put seasoned players in teams that have never played before, and generally have a good time.

As a club, we fully support any ideas that anyone has. Getting into public places is key, and talking to potential future players is what is needed. So any ideas anyone has, please feel free to share, and we will support them.

How are we addressing the lack of male players in the Sussex Squad?

Again, another difficult question. We have had players who have got into the County squad in previous years. We have to remember that at the moment, we are rebuilding after a few challenging seasons.

Once we grow our player base and grow our player experience, there will be players that will want to go to trials, and I would expect them to get a look-in.

Also, I think we need to remind ourselves of our honours board and how many players, even though they may not play at Crawley now, started their rugby journey here and progressed to higher levels within the county. Some players have gone on to achieve high standards.

Can you highlight some of the recent achievements and challenges faced by our senior teams?

Let's hit the challenges first.

The weather has hindered us immensely this season. It has been stop-start for the whole club, with many sessions cancelled and sometimes difficult to find an alternative location to train that suits rugby.

Growing numbers at training is key to making sessions enjoyable, technically challenging enough, and ensuring that all players are fit enough to play and enjoy their game time. Teamwork, cohesiveness, and knowing your team and teammates' capabilities is paramount.

All of these things are starting to come together with the hard work Andy, the coaches, and the leadership team in the squad have been doing over the past season. The improvement in performances has shown that things are coming together nicely, but as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day!

Looking at some of the scores, we have come so close to winning this year. We just need that last little bit of focus, fitness, and teamwork, and we will be there.

We have recently, and earlier in the season, had some new players join us, which will bolster numbers and experience. So, 2024/2025 is looking exciting, and we hope everyone will get down to pre-season in July to get us all ready for a good start to the season.

Do you have any personal anecdotes or stories from your time with the club that you'd like to share?

Probably too many, and some not printable.

More like advice: when I started playing, I had no clue about the laws or how to play; I knew nothing. I made some very basic rules:

1. Run forward.
2. Pass the ball backwards.
3. Don't fiddle with the ball on the floor.
4. And anyone running the wrong way with a different shirt, just tackle them.

Keep it simple, and the rest will come. Enjoy, make new friends for life, and have a second home for life at Crawley RFC. Any other club in the world you walk into will make you feel welcome.