Club History

Sometime around 1964, Brentwood School was persuaded to allow its pupils ? provided they were of limited soccer skills and therefore not in the ?Soccer Sixty? a hard core of school footballers ? to choose to play Rugby as an alternative. Trevor Fox and Mr Skinner were the first masters in charge of rugby, ably assisted by Cliff Poole, but there can be no doubt that without the influence of the late Joe Hodgson such development would never have come about.

When the first rugby cohort left School, including such as George Lintner, Nick Sizer, Richard Wood and Peter Wise, Joe Hodgson became similarly influential in forming the Old Brentwoods? Rugby Club. The other crucially important figure in this process was Phil Unwin, whose son Malcolm was another of the cohort and who called and chaired the founding meeting of the Club at ?The Angel? in Kelvedon. By then Tim Faiers, Rick Waters, Brian Tippett and Russ Glass had left the School and were available for the first season of Old Brentwoods Rugby ? played on Sundays and all away matches, there being no ground available and the players being committed to other clubs on Saturdays.

After three seasons as a nomadic club, Phil Unwin led the Club in making the decision to establish the Old Brentwoods as fully-fledged Saturday team. Jim McTurk, a Navestock farmer, was persuaded to allow us to play on the "cow patch" and the Old Brentwoods Society allowed us to convert their original, disused Clubhouse at Burland Road to a changing room. George Lintner captained the Club for the 1970-71 season and on his return to Chelmsford RFC was followed for the next two seasons by Tim Faiers.

The early seventies saw the first ?golden age? in Old Brentwoods rugby. With Joe Hodgson as President and Phil Unwin the ?eminence grise? and power behind the throne, the club grew to three XVs. The various playing and non-playing positions alternated between members whose contribution to the club at that time, and since, cannot be underestimated. Faiers, Guy Kingston, David ?Boff? Oldham, Andy Oliver, the late Tom Kerrigan and the youngsters, Steve Gorrod and Ian Waite captained sides, chaired committees, built changing rooms, raised money, enjoyed the first tours and also achieved successful results on the field.

The development of Bishops Hall Park gave the Club the opportunity to change and play at the same venue for the first time, thereby avoiding the danger of losing the opposition on the way to the ground; an event that saw us appear under a pseudonym in Michael Green?s ?The Art of Coarse Rugby?. However, when the clubhouse at Burland Road was sold, the requirement to travel between the ?Waterworks Ground? and Bishops Hall was a contributing factor to a decline in the Club?s fortunes particularly during the 1977-78 season when we struggled to put out more than one side.

The following season however saw the opening of the new Old Brentwoods? headquarters at Ashwells Road. Tim Faiers was reappointed captain and three fifteens were rapidly re-established. An Essex XV only narrowly beat an Old Brentwoods side strengthened by one or two guests including the ex-England captain Tony Bucknall. The first half of the eighties saw the Club continue to strengthen under the captaincies of Richard Owers, Tom Young and John Mass, and indeed a 4th XV was established for the first time.

Then came the advent of League Rugby. The initial years of the League saw the Club?s playing standard rise again significantly. A powerful pack built around the formidable trio of David Hatton, and Steven and Micky Wheeler, whose ball winning ability allowed Leo Tallis to use his skills to the full, saw the Club achieve promotion in each of the first three league seasons. Occasionally a young Eric Peters appeared in the back row, although Flower of Scotland was not heard in the bar afterwards. After game entertainment during this time was in the hands of ?The Penguins?. Formed by a group of ?old hands? who enjoyed the silly games and signing as much as the judicious selection of fixtures and young players with talent to do the running. A number of their players made it to the 1st XV and one in particular, Jon Albon, is still fondly remembered. Unfortunately killed in a motor accident, the stand on the 1st XV pitch was built by the Club in Jon?s memory.

In 1989-90 the Club turned to long stalwart Ian Waite as captain ? twelve years after his first season as captain. Unfortunately, neither his efforts nor the efforts of the captains who followed him in the early nineties could reverse a decline that was caused by the pressure of league rugby, the loss of several key players and the difficulty in recruiting new talent. This latter problem was not helped by a policy decision at Brentwood School to discontinue playing rugby.

A hard core of players, under the captaincy of Mat Kemp, kept the club going, but Old Brentwoods were in a league above their playing strength, although the decisions of other clubs to leave the league somehow prevented them from being relegated. Rarely able to field more than one XV, on occasion the Club were even forced to put out league sides with less than a full XV.

The decision was made to withdraw from league rugby, and to restructure the Club and rebuild. A small Executive Committee was formed to relieve the players of some administrative burdens ? particularly the financial ones ? while the Playing Committee sought to recruit players and to re-establish club spirit, particularly involving regularity of availability and enjoyment of the game.

The "powers that be" eventually recognised the problems being faced by clubs such as ours and redrew the leagues on a geographical basis. This prevents repeats of dreaded fixtures such as Fakenham-away. This coincided with the dynamic presidency of Allan Waite, through whose efforts the vital, and much appreciated sponsorship of Grange Jaguar, Brentwood (courtesy of Graham Chambers) was obtained. Equally important was the return to the club of Simon Stacey from Saracens to become the guiding light on the playing side.

The club applied successfully for re-admission to the Eastern Counties League in 1997 and recruit Saracens lock Mark Burrows as coach, albeit that playing commitments at Saracens limited his role. However his influence was significant.

With a dominant homegrown front row and the benefit of a new three-quarter line the club gained promotion in their first season going unbeaten through the league season. A successful run in the National Junior Cup was also enjoyed but hopes of Twickenham glory were cut short in the quarter trials. The last two years has seen consolidation of the Club?s position in the Eastern Counties league and the development of a social committee to generate off the field interest. However, progress has been hampered by the fact that the front row has yet to recover from the blow of losing Justin Baker, one of the front row stalwarts, who lost his leg in a motor accident.

For the forthcoming season, Mick Laws has assumed the role of Club Captain and Brian Jones whose knee finally gave out in his first game as Club Captain has offered to return as Coach. Summer training has been well supported and the Club is looking forward to a tough season in the newly reconstructed league with confidence.