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BRITISH LIONS player, Craig Chalmers has left Chinnor RFC as its Head Coach, just a couple of weeks before the season begins and just four months after joining the club.
In a statement today, the club said: “The Board of Chinnor RFC accepted on Wednesday the resignation of Craig Chalmers from his position as Head Coach.
“Following the non-attendance of Craig at many of the pre-season training sessions a meeting was held with Craig on Tuesday evening at which he advised that due to personal matters and pressure of his other commitments he felt unable to carry out his obligations to the club. He assured us that it had nothing whatsoever to do with the prospects of the Club that he considers to be excellent.
“Whilst it is of some regret and disappointment that the Club has been let down at this late stage we wanted to act quickly. We are very lucky to have Matt Goode and Andrew Smith on board who have been at the frontline of Chinnor’s success over recent years. They have shown great leadership at this difficult time and we are very pleased that they have accepted our unanimous request to become joint Head Coach.”
Director of Rugby, John Vaughan commented: “We will very quickly get over this setback and continue to be genuinely excited to be going into the our second consecutive season in National Two, with our committed, retained squad and some very promising new additions.”
The club’s secretary, Carol Bradbrook-Taylor, added: “Matt and Andrew have been a major part of the coaching set up for some years at Chinnor and this is a great opportunity for them to fully take the helm and light the touch paper of talent and enthusiasm that is here.”
GOOD NEWS from the dug-out by John Vaughan, Director of Rugby:
“Despite the surprising news regarding our coach there is much to be positive about from the training field. The whole squad starting training at the beginning of July and indeed many of the players had carried on training at the clubhouse right through so the retained squad are looking fitter and meaner. We unfortunately had to say goodbye to the following players Matt Holyland (Hooker), Simon Tattersfield (Hooker), Dave Hughes (2nd Row/Back Row), Evan Sawyer (Back Row), Jordan Wood (Back Row), Joe Kava (Back Row), Sam Stoop (Centre), Henry Colver (Full Back), Tommy Gray (Wing).
“Most of these were either retirement, family commitments or needing to move for jobs. We thank them of course for their massive contribution and wish them well. There has been a good recruitment drive and some great new talent arriving and we list here a few – Nathaniel Tichard-Jones -aka Turkish (Prop), Sam Rawstone (Hooker), Kai George (2nd Row/Back Row-wasps), Andy Tibbats (Back Row), Oskar HJ (Back Row-wasps), Dan Barnes (Centre-wasps), Alex Harrison (Centre/Full Back-wasps), Joe Marston (Wing-leicester lions), Sam Portland (Wing), Ben Farr (Wing-ex chinnor) and Connor Hull (Fullback). The whole squad are training well and looking sharp.
THE CHINNOR SPIRIT WILL PREVAIL
“We always saw Craig as a one year and possibly two appointment and with the strong policy of recruitment from within had hoped that Andrew Smith and Matt Goode would then step forward. They now have the opportunity to do so and are incredibly keen to get cracking. They will need help on the administrative side and on match days and we are looking at making an appointment to suit.
“They have been a major part of the coaching set up for some time and this is a natural progression albeit a little more soon than we thought.
“We have a tremendous pre-season challenge and the key is for us to hit the ground running. This is a very exciting season for us and despite the set-back and in the face of it, the true Chinnor spirit will prevail. The players appreciate incredibly the support of the Chinnor ‘massive’ and look forward to providing the fast flowing spirit of Rugby that is Chinnor.”
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A couple in Thame, both owners of Assistance dogs, are opening their garden to the public to raise funds to enable others to have the benefit of these dogs.