Windsor advertise for new head coach
Captain Emmett hopeful club can finish season on a high
Windsor RFC have put an advert out for a new head coach following Jack Pattinson's decision to stand down from the role before Christmas due to his increasing work commitments at London Irish.
Neal Kennedy has taken on the mantel in recent months but there's been a realisation that the club needs to grow its coaching team once again in order to compete in South West 1 East.
It’s been a difficult, transitional, season for the Royals off the back of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with several of their more experienced players moving on to be replaced by younger, fresher, players.
Results have been hard to come by with the side winning just five of their 19 league matches so far, but captain Chris Emmett – who has formed a leadership group with vice captains Alan Crawshaw and Ben GrantAdamson to assist Kennedy on the coaching side – is keen for the players to enjoy the remaining weeks of the season and knows positive results will help them do that.
“It's been a bit of a transitional year because we have lost players and Jack (Pattinson) has had to step aside due to his commitments to London Irish.
“I don’t know what Neal’s plans are next season. It’s sad to lose Jack over Christmas but he just couldn’t continue to commit his time to Windsor.
“When he first came to us he was coaching London Irish’s u16s and that was quite manageable. But then he was asked to look after the u18s and did a really good job which was unlucky for us. His commitments have continued
to grow. Neal has been our main point of contact on the coaching side of things but myself, Alan Crawsahw and Ben Grant-Adamson, my two vice captains, have formed a leadership group to help Neal.
“He’s been involved in Windsor RFC for a long time and I’m sure that will continue to be the case, but the advert has gone out for a new head coach role because we do need to grow our coaching team that’s for sure.”
They were heavily beaten 64-17 on their last outing at home to fourth-placed Newbury Blues two weeks ago and are currently scheduled to return to action at Marlborough this Saturday, although Emmett believes there’s a good chance the game will be switched to March 19 at the behest of both clubs. The fixture was initially scheduled for last weekend but had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch following Storm Eunice.
“It was just one of those things, but looking at the weather the guys weren’t exactly gutted not to play,” added Emmett. “We’re scheduled to play them this Saturday but that’s problematic for both teams as some of the players are teachers and are away for halfterm while others have scheduled things because it was down as a rest weekend. Myself and a few others will be at the England v Wales game so it’s not massively helpful to play.”
On the side's recent form, Emmett added: “We were a bit unlucky in the Newbury game as we had three key players in our backline pull out and Newbury are a class outfit with one of the best backlines in the league.
“It was a heavy scoreline but we dominated their pack and came back in the second half and scored two tries so there were some positives to take from it.
“The game before that against Bracknell we lost by 15 points but it felt like a very competitive game.
“Right now we just need to try and get the enjoyment back.
We've got a few new players who’ve joined us which is fantastic and let's try and enjoy our rugby and get a couple of wins.
“When the pitches dry out it favours the way we like to play.
“There’s also no relegation this season because of the summer league restructure so there's not a huge amount of pressure. But we want to get more boys available and playing consistently well as this will set us up for next season, but we're also looking to finish as high as we can of course.”