Firstly, happy New Year to you all – we trust that you had a very enjoyable break and you’re now suitably relaxed and just itching to get stuck into what is shaping up to be a very momentous and successful 2012 rugby season for Waverley.

The season if fast approaching and for those of you that have either been stuck under a rock or failed to walk past Waverley oval recently – the new stadium and facilities are looking awesome and are very close to being completed. There is no doubt that in securing the use of the facilities we are the envy of all other subbies rugby clubs and the club is on track to have a great season both on and off the field in 2012! Thanks again to all those that helped with the tender process and in particular Stu Allen, Mark Ross, and Rob Willoughby.

The committee has been working hard over the last 2 months to put in place plans and arrangements for the coming season and the next 12 months; we are delighted to announce the new coaches for 2012 and also details for preseason training and warm up games.

Coaching & Team Managers 2012
1st Grade – Simon Kacimaiwai joins the club in an exciting new capacity and will not be a new face to some of you having worked with our colt’s team several years ago. We are delighted to be welcoming Simon back to the club and with his significant and extremely successful coaching background we are sure the club is in good hands to move forward.

2nd Grade – Tivoli Endemann is also welcomed back to club after a couple of years out. For those that may not know Tiv personally you probably know his face. It’s great to have Tiv back in the club as he is one of our most decorated players from back in the heyday (70’s & 80’s) and is also a longstanding coach of many grades over the last 20 odd years!

1st & 2nd Grade Team Manager – Bob Burgess is another face that will be familiar to most of you from several years ago when he coached and managed our successful colt’s teams. Bob is another longstanding clubman who knows how we tick and so we’re delighted to have him and his expertise with us for 2012 to help develop and improve the flow of players through the club.

3rd Grade – None other than Dennis Beaver, who else? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is great to have Beaver back on board again this year following the great work he did last time round. Beaver is another true blue Waverley player and coach over the last 10 or so years and is without doubt our most social member……I’m also reliably informed he is pretty good to have around for a boat race?!?!

4th Grade – Peter Burkley & David Kavanagh have agreed to pick up where they finished off in 2011 and will jointly coach our most successful team from last year. Having narrowly missed out on getting to the 4th grade final in what was their first year of coaching at Waverley, these guys are keen to right the wrong and go one, maybe even two, steps better this year.

3rd & 4th Grade Team Manager – Simon Payne will be taking on this new role for us this year as he has had to rather prematurely hang up boots! Simon has played for the club over the last several seasons and will be working with the Bob Burgess, the coaches, and players to develop our rugby talent. I am informed that Simon only accepted the role on the basis that he gets to wear a yellow bib all day Saturday.

So join me in welcoming the new faces to the club and well done to those returners – the committee feel strongly that these appointments will stand us in great stead for what we are anticipating to be a successful yet hard fought season with a great element of social fun and mateship.

Now on to the hard stuff; time to man up, get in shape and get set for the big hits! With recent developments to the various ovals we have been stretched with preseason ground allocations and so we have had to make a couple of changes to this year’s preseason training arrangements. The location, days & times are likely to change throughout the preseason and so we ask that you continue to asks questions and keep an eye on the website for news.

Preseason Training – February
• Waverley Oval 2/3 – Mondays 6, 13, 20, 27 of Feb @ 7.30 – 9.00pm
– Wednesdays 8, 15, 22, 29 of Feb @ 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Preseason Training – March
• TBC – likely to be Tuesday & Wednesday at 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Preseason Warm Up Games / Trials
• 17th March – Canterbury + Another team @ Wills Ground, Earlwood
• 24th March – Macabi + Convicts @ Lyne Park, Rose Bay or Christison Park
• 31st March – Oatley @ TBC

Winter Training – April
• Waverley Main Oval – Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 6.30pm – 8.00pm

…..a couple of other dates to bear in mind!
• 11th February – Welcome new players & Registration @ Robin Hood Hotel (details TBC keep an eye out)
• 10th March – 1st Social event of the year….Boat Trip on the harbour (details TBC keep an eye out)