Bristol Combination - Remembrance Day Service
Bristol Combination - Remembrance Day Service, The Memorial Stadium - Friday, November 7, 2025
As always, Bristol & District Combination strives to achieve full member club attendance and wreath-laying at the service.
I am again offering to procure wreaths from The Royal British Legion and to appropriately label and attach club colour ribbons to all wreaths ordered by B&DRFC member clubs / local rugby organisations, and to have them available to be collected in The Memorial Stadium clubhouse pre-service (of course, you are most welcome to source your own wreath, if you prefer).
The cost of the Royal British Legion poppy wreath, including club colour ribbons and labelling, will be just over £20.00, as usual.
Invoices will be sent to each club/organisation shortly after the service, along with bank payment details (pre-payment is not required).
Please email me HERE by the close of Friday, October 10, 2025, LATEST with your wreath order, as The Royal British Legion often run out of stock well before Remembrance Day.
Times for Friday, November 7, 2025
10.00am - The clubhouse will be open.
10:50am - 10:55am - Commencement of the service.
Post-service - Tea/coffee/bar available in the clubhouse.
Bristol Harlequins Centenary Ball - June 2026
Date: Saturday 6th June 2026
Includes: 3-Course Meal, Entertainment & Guest Speaker Wayne Barnes
Doors: 19:00 | Seated by: 19:30
Dress Code: Dress to Impress (No Jeans or Trainers)
Tickets available now — email quins100ball@gmail.com to secure your place.
Members: £50 | Non-Members: £60
(Tickets available in groups of up to 10 – subject to availability)
Non-members can purchase tickets from February 1, 2026
Weston-super-Mare 4thXV looking for fixtures
The newly formed Weston-super-Mare 4thXV are looking for friendly fixtures this season.
Enquiries about future dates would also be welcomed.
Please WhatsApp Director of Rugby, Mark Matthews, on 07785 243 990
The passing of Aretians’ Mike Allen
Funeral details added
Mike Allen
Mike touched the lives of so many, and Sue and the family would love for everyone who knew him to come together to celebrate his life and give him the farewell he so deeply deserves.
Date & Time: Friday 17th October, 10:15 am
Service: Westerleigh Crematorium
Wake: From 12 pm at Aretians RFC, a place that meant so much to Mike
Sue and the family have asked that there be no particular dress code and that flowers are not necessary. Instead, if you wish, donations in Mike’s memory can be made to Dementia UK, a cause very close to their hearts.
Mike will be so deeply missed but never forgotten. Let’s come together to honour him, share memories, and surround Sue and the family with love.
RIP Mike
The passing of St. Bernadette's OB stalwart Séan Broad
Funeral details added
Séan Broad
It is with great sadness that we have to inform you all that Séan Broad, stalwart member, 1st XV Captain and senior Officer of St. Bernadette's OB's RFC for well over half a century, passed away this morning (September 18, 2025) in hospital.
Séan had recently suffered complications after his lengthy battle against ill-health.
Séan also represented SBOBs at Bristol & District Combination member clubs' monthly meetings for many years.
Our thoughts and sincerest condolences go to Séan's wife, Jen, to their son, Matt, to all their family and friends, and to everybody at St. Bernadette's OB RFC.
Séan was a formidable opponent, but he was always a gentleman and a great character, epitomising community rugby at its best, both on and off the pitch.
Séan will be sadly missed by all those who knew him.
The funeral details are:
Date: Friday 17th October
11:30 am - Service at The Holy Family, Patchway, Bristol BS34 5DY.
12:45 pm - Committal at Canford Crematorium, Westbury on Trym, Bristol BS9 3PQ
The wake will then be held at The BAWA Club, Southmead Road, Bristol BS34 7RG
Suggested dress code from Seán's family - Club 'No 1’s' (optional).
All are welcome to join Seán's family at any point during the above schedule to celebrate Seán's life.
RIP Séan
RFU Community Cup Round 2
The draw for Round Two of this season’s RFU Community Cup has been made, with matches scheduled to be played on
October 25, 2025.
Clubs are reminded of the following:
- All results should be reported via the Electronic Match Card
- Any walkovers/withdrawals should be sent to competitions-development@rfu.com
- Please use the results phone number if the walkover is only given on the day.
- results phone number – 01822 678007
The following is just a few of the matches:
Counties 1 Championship
Old Bristolians v Nailsea & Backwell
Counties 1 South Plate
Chard v Wiveliscombe; Gordon League v Chosen Hill FP;
Melksham v Midsomer Norton
Counties 2 Championship
Cheltenham North v Smiths Rugby; Frampton Cotterell v Yeovil
Old Elizabethans v St Mary’s Old Boys
Counties 2 South Plate
St Bernadettes OB v Bradford-on-Avon; Upton on Severn v Tewesbury; Westbury v Stroud
Counties 3 Championship
Barton Hill v Southmead; Bristol Harlequins v Bristol Saracens;
North Bristol v Thatcham; Swindon College OB v Hucclecote
Counties 3 South Plate
Bishopston v Aretians; Chipping Sodbury v Yate; Old Sulians v Kingswood; Warminster v Bath Saracens; Yatton v Somerton
Has your Club entered?
In a change from last season, we will be running our Cup, Vase & Bowl Competitions during the post-Christmas, tail end of the season. We feel this gives Clubs an adequate chance of looking for success in the RFU National Cup Competition (last 16 in January '26, Semi Finals & Finals in May '26).
We have extended our deadline until Monday 27th October 2025, two days after Rd 2 of the RFU Cup, the majority of Clubs will know where they stand then!
We would naturally & warmly welcome all Clubs to enter our Competition; however, we realise that League & other commitments mean that to enter 2 Competitions may be a stretch too far.
However, defeat in the RFU Competition on either 25/9 or 1/11 allows you to consider our Competition as well!
In considering your entry please note that we will be asking Clubs to play as soon as a date becomes available, we have very few spare weekends in 2026 and so need to exert pressure to ensure completion of all games heading towards a Cup Final on Thursday 7th May & Vase & Bowl Finals hopefully on Saturday 9th May.
Also if your Club does not wish to enter please notify me so that I don't pester you unnecessarily.
Trevor Sargent Memorial Game - Saturday, September 27, 2025
Trevor Sargent Memorial Game – Thornbury Vandals vs North Bristol Vets - Saturday 27th Sept. 2.00pm K.O. - Venue: Thornbury RFC
Thornbury RFC lost a much-loved club man earlier this year with the passing of Trevor Sargent.
Trevor joined Thornbury in 2001, having previously played senior rugby for North Bristol and as a junior for Clifton. Between 2001 and 2017, Trevor made 149 appearances for Thornbury, including 10 for the 1st team, 73 for the 2nd team and 66 for the 3rd team.
A true clubman. In these games, he scored 25 tries and kicked 30 conversions and one penalty, for a total of 188 points.
In addition, Trevor’s three sons all played for the Juniors at Thornbury, and he was a regular volunteer coach with the age group sides in support of his sons. He was a much-loved member of our club who always had time for everyone and was always willing to help out. He is missed.
To remember Trevor, please join us at Thornbury RFC on Saturday, 27th September, for a memorial game between Thornbury Vandals and North Bristol Vets, 2.00 pm K.O.
Both clubs would like to invite family, friends and former team-mates of Trevor to come and join us in celebrating his life.
The passing of former Dings player Paul “Jake” Lloyd
Paul “Jake” Lloyd
It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Paul Lloyd — known affectionately to all as ‘Jake’.
A much-loved character and cherished member of the Dings Crusaders RFC family, Jake’s loss will be felt by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Jake was born in 1951 in Horfield, Bristol, one of nine siblings. The nickname “Jake” came from his childhood love of the 1950s radio show Jacob of Armitage. So taken was he with the character that his brothers began calling him Jake — a name that stayed with him for life.
Jake joined Dings Crusaders RFC in 1968 at just 16 years old, playing four games in his debut season. He quickly mastered the dark arts of front-row play — no small feat in those days — and by the following season had played 25 games, including nine for the 1st XV.
Between 1969 and 1976, Jake made 205 appearances for the club, most of them in the 1st XV.
From 1977 to 1984, his playing time was limited due to work commitments at Rolls-Royce, but he still managed 31 games during that period.
His return in 1982 marked a resurgence in form, and he continued to play at a high level, including appearances for Bristol Rugby Club where he held an unbeaten record in the first team.
Over an incredible 28 seasons at Dings, Jake played a total of 443 games — 315 of them for the 1st XV.
He was a natural rugby player: strong on either side of the scrum, with ball-handling skills that were rare among props of that era. Some remember watching him train at Lockleaze on Tuesday nights, running hard before stripping down to reveal his trademark black bin bag — his unique method of shedding a few pounds after travelling the world with Rolls-Royce.
In Jake's latter years, he took on a coaching role of the then Junior side that his son was playing in and took them to a Gloucester County Final played at the Memorial Ground.
Combination Club members in the First Round of the Community Cup Competition
The RFU’s Community Cup Competition was open to 1stXVs playing at Counties 1 and below levels, with clubs automatically entered in the competitions with the option to confirm entry or opt out.
The first round, or Last 64, will take place on September 20, 2025; the Last 32 will be held on October 25, 2025, with the Last 16 being played on January 31, 2026. The Quarter-finals will be on May 2, 2026, and the semi-finals on May 9, 2026.
The finals for the Plate competition will be held at prestigious venues across the country on May 16/17, 2026. and the Championship on May 23/24, 2026, at the Allianz Stadium.
Should a match be abandoned/postponed and require a rearrangement, these should be played on the next available weekend.
As per Regulation 6.51. RFU cup matches take precedence over league matches.
The Counties 1 Championship includes
Gordano 5 Old Bristolians 24
Nailsea & Backwell v Sherborne HWO.
The Counties 1 South Plate includes
Frome v Midsomer Norton AWO.
The Counties 2 Championship includes
Burnham-on-Sea 22 Frampton Cotterell 31;
Old Elizabethans v Bream HWO;
St Mary’s Old Boys 43 Clevedon 14
The Counties 2 South Plate includes
Calne v St Bernadettes Old Boys AWO
The Counties 3 Championship includes
Ashley Down Old Boys 7 Barton Hill 10;
Bristol Saracens 52 Avonmouth Old Boys 7;
North Bristol v Colerne HWO
Southmead v Old Colstonians HWO
The Counties 3 South Plate includes
Chipping Sodbury v BAC HWO;
Cotham Park v Warminster AWO;
Crewkerne 34 Cheddar Valley 5;
Kingswood v Bristol Barbarians HWO
Yatton v Wincanton HWO
while Aretians, Bishopston and Yate have Byes.
Are your players registered?
There is concern regarding the number of players re-registering for the coming season, as the take-up is low even with some high-level clubs.
Please remind all players that they have to re-register to be eligible to play in the coming season.
Players participating at level 9 and below require club registration; all other leagues and competitions require players to be uplifted to RFU registration.
Plenty of help is available for players and administrators.
Here are the relevant links How to approve your players' club registrations on GMS there are also you tube videos available Here.
All player registration-related emails for clubs competing in these leagues or competitions can be sent to office@rugbyadmin.net.
Sad News From The Vale
R.I.P. Neil Hutton
Neil Hutton has left the pitch for the final time.
His sudden, tragic passing while swimming will leave a huge hole in his family, the local community (Men Shed) and the rugby club that he loved so much.
Neil was Clevedon’s Club Captain in the 1985-86 season and who could forget his Collie dog patrolling the touchline as he played, causing no end of mischief. His senior rugby career was as a hooker, having spent his formative Colts years as a fly half!
He also played hooker for Bristol during that time and would often reminisce about his playing days to anyone that would listen - you may be one of them?
Neil has gone too soon, but won't be forgotten, that's for sure. Our thoughts and prayers are with his parents Geoff & Molly and their family at this sorrowful time.
Funeral arrangements will not be known for at least three weeks and will be posted here when they are.
Announcement from Broad Plain RFC
We regret to inform everyone that we will be withdrawing from the Counties 3 Gloucester South league and will be solely competing in the Bristol & District league.
This hard decision has been made based on a significant number of players leaving over the summer with a forward focus on player safety, recruitment and retention.
We will be actively seeking fixtures for every weekend outside of the league structure. We encourage anyone who wants to play rugby to come to the Plain and get involved. We aim to run two teams when availability of players allows.
Our goal will be to have a successful season in B&D 1 and return into the counties leagues next year.
It’s rebuild time, with a new coach, new system and a good season of rugby ahead of us.
Up the Plain.
Remembering John Raine
Clifton RFC will be holding a celebration of John Raine’s life on Friday 5, 2025 from 3 pm
It is often said that no one is bigger than a club, but some people become part of its very fabric. John Raine was one of those people.
From his playing days in the 1960s to serving 14 years as President, his passion, humour, and unwavering commitment shaped rugby for generations.
Clifton RFC will be holding a memorial for John on Friday, September 5, 2025, 3 pm at the club, and all are welcome to join us as we celebrate his life and legacy.
John will forever be remembered as kind, loyal, funny, and unforgettable.
To All Club Secretaries
Are the details concerning your Club correct on this website?
Please check
HERE for Clubs A to C
HERE for Clubs D to N
HERE for Clubs O to Z
Any changes should be sent to -
webmaster@bristolrugbycombination.co.uk
Thanks to those Clubs who have already forwarded their changes.
Bristol Combination Fixture Exchange
This Fixture Exchange Facebook group for the Bristol & District Combination Rugby Clubs to arrange match fixture exchanges.
This group is only open to club fixture secretaries.
When submitting a posting, please remember to state the date of the possible match (not just next Saturday), home or away, the level of your team and a contact name and number.