At a time of national crisis I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe. These are very difficult times that will be affecting everyone, and as such, difficult decisions are having to be made all over the world and not just in sport.

At a time of national crisis I hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe. These are very difficult times that will be affecting everyone, and as such, difficult decisions are having to be made all over the world and not just in sport.

 Normally as the end of the season approaches we have time to thank all the people that have supported the Titans and made us the team that we are today. From our sponsors and supporters, to our volunteers and back room staff, without the help of everyone involved we wouldn’t be in a position to achieve what we do.  To our Sponsors, we can’t thank you enough for all that you do for us. Again, without your ongoing support we wouldn’t be in a position to assemble a squad capable of finishing at the top of National league 2 and push onto even loftier heights. To our supporters we thank you again for your efforts and commitment supporting the players both home and away. It certainly makes a huge difference to the boys on the field, and to see so much support at our home games this season shows again what an exciting place The Towergate Stadium is to be on a Saturday afternoon. It also goes without saying, thank you to all our back room staff and volunteers who make every week possible, our games just would not go ahead without them.

As we all know our season has come to a pretty abrupt conclusion and it’s difficult for everyone that the season has finished so suddenly. The biggest positive though for the Titans is that we currently find ourselves at the top of National league 2 after twenty five games.  The RFU have publicly committed to a review to decide the outcome of the leagues, and this will be concluded by mid April to allow a fair and balanced outcome. As such we now need to just sit and wait to find out our position going into next season. My personal take is that the league tables should stand as they are and there should be promotion and relegation. Some will say it’s obvious that I’m going to say that because we’re sat at the the top but trust me, it’s an opinion I’d stick by even if we were further down the league.

We would obviously have loved to finish the season and even gamble our current position to do that. However we completely agree with the decision by the RFU to cancel the remainder of the season in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

So, do we deserve to go up is the obvious question? I think if you look at the stats after 25 games I think we have a very good case. Over the 25 games played we have picked up over 100 points, and we are 3 points clear at the top. We have picked up 40 points out of 45 since Christmas and won our last 7 in a row, so our form in 2020 has been very good. Of the 5 remaining games we had, 2 were away against 6th placed Bury, a venue at which we have been very successful and Bournemouth who are currently bottom. The 3 home games were against teams placed 7th, 14th and 15th and with a 100% win rate at home this season we were confident we could pick up 3 wins. We also have the best attack in the league, 815 points which includes the highest number of try bonus points, 17 plus 4 losing bonus points for a total of 21 extra points.  All the top 5 teams have played each other home and away with the exception of Clifton going to Redruth. Games amongst the top 5 teams in the league we have fared very well and picked up the highest number of points.

All of this is irrelevant though as the decision will finally be made by the RFU. However you can’t help but wonder what things could look like for the Titans next season, rubbing shoulders against the likes of Leeds, Blackheath, Rosslyn Park, Rotherham and of course our neighbours Plymouth Albion. I just hope all of the hard work, commitment and support from everyone at the club gets rewarded when the decision is made.

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The 2019/20 season has been the best yet for the Titans with the game against Tonbridge being our best home performance. Our bonus point win away at Clifton under lights was our best away performance for me, but these are just two games amongst many we’ve had this season and I’ve no doubt there are lots more to come in the future.  

These are going to be tough times for many sports clubs around the country including Taunton RFC and I only hope that you will again help us like you have before in supporting Taunton Rugby Club next season in any way that you can. We will keep you informed of the decisions that get made and next season we’ll look to hit the ground running in which ever league we find ourselves.

Finally, all I have left to say is thank you so much again for all of your support. Please stay safe and look out for your families, as well as the most vulnerable at this difficult time.  We will get through this.

Until next season, wherever we will be playing…

Take care

Yappy  

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