The Met Police Rugby Club has secured two awards in the Surrey Rugby 2022-23 roll call. The 2nd XV won the Surrey Foundation Cup and the Club can be very proud of its efforts to grow the playing base. It is an area of community rugby that is struggling currently, probably abetted by the media's focus on the professional game aligned with an increased awareness of the impact of head injuries on the long-term well-being of rugby players, which may be dissuading parents from introducing their children to the game. Of course the community game is quite far removed from the professional version in which 210lb, highly tuned athletes smash in to each other at 35kph (slightly faster than the speed limit of most Twickenham roads) and it may be that the outcomes are far less attritional for most of the RFU's 2099 affiliated clubs. Whatever the truth is, the Met will continue to reach out to both the local community and the Police family and continue to promote rugby union far and wide. Women's rugby is a particular area on which the Club has focussed since the COVID pandemic and the growth has been encouraging. Nevertheless, it is an area that both the RFU and the Met can do more and one would hope to see the Met Police on the women's winners roster before too long.
In the individual awards, our Head Coach Graham Shaw has been recognised for his contribution to Surrey Rugby, not just with the work he has done with the Met squad but also his success as the lead coach for Surrey Girls U16s. He wins the "More than a Game Award".
Meanwhile, James Barrow was selected in the Surrey squad for the Senior Men's County Championship which came to an end for Surrey v Essex on 13th May.