Every year I am taken aback by how quickly the new season comes around, and I guess this perception appears to accelerate as you move into your dotage, as I most certainly am!

So here we are, on Saturday we have our first game of the season after a very full nine weeks of pre-season, and we are pleased to extend a very warm welcome, for the very first time, to Oxford Harlequins, known as Quins, to Barnes Rugby Club

Our visitors were formed in 1996, following the merger of two of the city's oldest rugby clubs, Oxford Marathons RFC and Oxford Old Boys RFC. The new club took the name Oxford Harlequins and adopted the colours of the "Marras" and the "Old Boys" into a new shirt with a classic harlequin’s quadrant design, and they are affectionately known as Quins.

Quins won their league at a canter last season and are going to be an unknown quantity for most of the National League 2 East regulars, but based on their recent spanking away at Henley 12-49 in a pre-season game, I think it would be a big mistake to think that it will be an easy first game this relatively new club. I 100% know that the Barnes lads will not be taking this game lightly, and training this week has been hard and fast as we get ready for this tough first up encounter which has “massive banana skin” written all over the fixture.
Enough about our visitors, what about Barnes I hear you say? Well, we have a very new look 1st XV squad, with a myriad of stalwart player having retired after the last game of last season, which you may remember was not only a brilliant win against league champions Esher but also secured the Surrey Cup for Barnes.

But as one door closes another one opens and so we welcome a new Captain, in Rory Kassapian, and a host of players from last season blended with some brilliant new ones. This week we are putting out three teams in total from the 60 players who are in the 1st XV squad. We also have a host of brilliant new coaches under the leadership of Director of Rugby Jack of Heald, including two forward coach recruits from Ealing Tralifinders in Simon Linsell and Ross Kane and new attack coach James Love, and let’s not forget our strength and conditioning coach, last season’s 1st XV Captain, Josh Davies, I wonder how long he will be able to resist putting his boots back on!

The best of luck to all our players and coaches this week, may you all play in the original spirit we hold so dear at Barnes RFC, and always remember the Barnes Rugby mantra:

For Rugby! For Friendship! For Life!

Onwards and Upwards Barnow!

Michael Whitfield - President Barnes RFC