On Friday 12 May, Keswick Rugby Club held its Senior Players' presentation evening in the clubhouse at Davidson Park. The evening was very well attended and club members were able to see the latest version of the plans for the proposed new clubhouse. Thanks are due to those club members who prepared an excellent buffet and to the club staff who gave great service, as always.

The evening began with a few words from John Rogers from the Creighton club who is currently Cumbria’s representative on the board of the RFU. He then presented Club secretary Liz Weightman with the award of Cumbrian Club of the year in recognition not only of the sterling work the club had done to recover from the December 2015 floods, but also that on the back of that work, the club had gained promotion to the North Lancs/Cumbria League for the 2017-2018 season.

Individual awards were made by Club Chairman Trevor Keough and compered superbly by James Bond (Jonny English?) lookalike Head Coach Richard Metcalf. The awards themselves were made to: Stephen Moss for best junior player of the year, to George Holme as the most improved player of the year and to Paul Konrath, playing rugby for the first time, for his outstanding contribution to the club. We wish Paul well on his return to Germany and university in Cologne in August.

Despite having broken his wrist in the first part of the season, Olly Macpherson was awarded the trophy for the most tries, having scored17 in only 11 games, quite an achievement. More next season please Olly! For the second team, the players' player of the year was Joe Quaill.

The first team players' player of the year was Mike Tait who, not content with being voted as the players choice, also managed to scoop the Club's vote as player of the year. This reflects on the often unseen work of the front row, essential in any team, and in Mike's case undoubtedly seen and appreciated all round.

The essential work of the ground staff in preparing such an excellent playing surface so soon after the major flood damage was acknowledged, as was the great work in preparing the players by the coach and by the physios and first aiders. Keswick Rugby Club is in great shape and already preparing for the challenges of the season ahead. Encompassing the successes of last season and the challenges of the next one, Chairman Trevor Keough said: “Tonight we had the chance to celebrate a successful year in some style at a well organized and enjoyable event. My personal thanks goes to the players, the coaches at senior and junior level, the steward and his team, our excellent house and grounds staff, first aid support, everyone involved in a voluntary capacity and my fellow committee members for the work that goes in to support the game at this level. We now look forward to a tough assignment in the higher league. To keep progress going and to consolidate our position, we will need to maintain and grow our player base and build on the work of our volunteers so that we are all pulling together for success next year. If this season is anything to go by, I am confident that we can do this and that we can take Keswick Rugby Club forward in a positive way as an important part of our community”