INTRODUCTION

Ventnor Rugby Football Club was founded in 1936 when Roy Smith, Manager of the National Provincial Bank in the town and erstwhile Captain of Glamorgan Wanderers, decided that rugby would be the ideal pastime for the youth of the area.  Also being Scoutmaster for the 3rd Ventnor Scout Troop, he was in an ideal position to enlist the senior scouts for his team, persuading them that their particular skills could be better utilised in pursuit of excellence in rugger, rather than soccer.  A pitch was found at Baycroft Farm in Wroxall and through the good offices of Arthur Phillips, the father of Jack Phillips who found his niche as hooker in the team, the Club obtained kit, which was all black, and headquarters at The Star Inn, Wroxall. Showers were available in the form of a tin can looped over the washing line in the yard of the pub. The Captain was Bill Barber. Since the recruits to the team were raw in all aspects of the game, initial matches were against Ryde School. However, the new Club soon found itself travelling to the mainland to play against the likes of Havant and United Services. Return fixtures were arranged and when United Services first visited Wroxall new recruits were found. Apparently, drinking after rugby matches was commonplace in that day and age and four sailors who had failed to extract themselves from The Star Inn on the Saturday remained loyal to the cause and played regularly both on the mainland and on the Island. This influx of talent improved standards immeasurably, in fact until war intervened and the Club was disbanded.

The Club was reformed at a meeting held on Saturday 25 May 1974 at the Castle Hotel, Sandown. At the first meeting of the Club the rules of the Club were formulated, officers elected and Club colours stated to be all white with blue stockings agreed. By the date of the next meeting on 3 June 1974 the new Club had moved to The Central Hotel, Ventnor, a fortuitous choice indeed.

The Central Hotel was to remain as the headquarters of the Club for fourteen years. Jack Phillips, who was elected the first President of the Club, was the owner of the Hotel and the landlady in the early years was Margot Beaumont. Now according to several of the original members of the reformed Club, Mrs Beaumont was instrumental in helping the Club obtain and maintain a strong fixture list from the outset. The reason for such an influence was the quality of the after match food served by Mrs Beaumont. A three course meal was the norm and many teams were willing to travel to Ventnor Just to sample the cuisine. Hot meals were also provided on training nights, an enticement which helped swell numbers considerably.  A full fixture list was arranged for the first playing season in 1974/5. Under the captaincy of Len Down, the Club played home matches at Ventnor Middle School.

The first match was against Havant Mariners on Saturday 28 September 1974 and a win by 8 points to nil was recorded in the record books. One week later and the first home match againstUS Saracens also resulted in a win, this time by 21 points to nil.  The opposition was obviously confused by the slope. By Christmas the Club had completed 11 matches with 191 points for and 108 against. The second half of the season proved less auspicious than the first.  On 6 February 1975 at a meeting in The Central Hotel, Emile Rouby proposed that a tour to France be undertaken during the next season. There was a general agreement on the matter and he was delegated the task of finding suitable opposition. Some months later, Monsieur Rouby was on a visit to the South of France and happened to stop at a small bar called Café de Paris in Bollene in the Provence region. Two short sighted French Clubs had already turned down his approach for a game but, undeterred, the intrepid Monsieur Rouby noticed a Bollene Rugby Club sticker in the café and enquired if any representatives of the Club were present and if they were interested in a match against Ventnor. Within half an hour, the President of the Bollene Club was in the bar, plying Monsieur Rouby with Pastis.

Thus was born the connection between Ventnor and Bollene which has lasted to this day.  In the 1978/79 season, Ventnor had sufficient players to form a second fifteen. From the records available, it seems that more matches were cancelled than actually played and, of those played, the vast majority were lost. But there was one momentous occasion for Captain Mike Buttle and his team to celebrate. On Saturday 14 October 1978 the second fifteen beat Old Park Warriors by 52 points to4. Strangely, the first fifteen had no match on that particular Saturday. Even more strange, the Old Park Warriors disappeared from the fixture list, never to return.

By that time, the Club was using the new pitch at Watcombe Bottom and the cellar in The Central Hotel had been converted for use as a clubroom. The clubroom was a facility which was better than that enjoyed by many of the clubs who provided opposition for Ventnor, but the fact that it was divorced from the playing area meant that there was an inevitable progression of ideas and efforts towards providing a clubroom alongside the pitch. Eventually, after years of planning and fund raising, the new pavilion was opened in 1988 and since then the Club has gone from strength to strength, now catering for all challenges from Minis to Vets.

Once the new clubhouse at the ground was opened it gave a renewed impetus for the club, with 2 sides regularly playing and the formation of a minis section.  Meanwhile the senior sides were growing in statue and experience. Not only did the French connection continue with Bollene rugby club but touring to mainland England was also squeezed in, with trips to Harwich and Bath. Although accommodation was a little lacking (sleeping bags in changing rooms or gymnasiums), the cost of approx £10 per head was very reasonable. This was supplemented by compulsory fines to all tourists at the court session on the way home.

A second French connection was attempted, with Deauville in Normandy, and although Ventnor gallantly lost both 1st and 2nd team games, for the entente cordial, it was probably the fighting that put the opposition off from returning the fixture.

It was at this point that the most notable of Ventnor achievements was made. In 1995 the RFU introduced a national cup competition for the lower ranks, called the Pilkington Shield. Ventnor duly entered, playing teams from as far as Kent and London, and winning! Suddenly they were in the last 16 of this national contest. The local BBC came to film training sessions, interview players and coaches. We were splashed over local papers and even mentioned in “Rugby World”. Our Waterloo, or rather Kingsbridge, Devon, was our final resting place. The team played well in a mud bath, but were unsuccessful, although the 3 coach loads of supporters didn’t seem to mind whilst in the bar afterwards. To cheer ourselves up we embarked on yet another foreign tour, Spain. This was a seven-a-side tournament in which such teams as Leicester were present, a slight mismatch, but what a weekend! In 1998 the club had another memorable achievement, in the local Hampshire Cup competition, winning the plate against Southampton Institute. The following year was the 25th Anniversary since the reformation of the club. This
year saw Ventnor highest (to date) league position of 2nd in Hampshire League 1.

Patron : Cliff Morgan
OFFICERS ELECTED 2008/2009
President:  John Adams
Chairman:  Stuart Babington
Secretary:  David Martin
Treasurer:  James Morton
Fixture Secretary:  Andy Walton
Match Secretary:  Nigel Malkin
Bar Manager:  John Newton
1st XV Captain:  Fergus Kenny
2nd XV Captain:  Mike Flanagan
Club Coach:  David Ball
Grounds/Welfare:  Roger Evans
House Chairman:  Bill Gee
Petanque Liaison:  Sean Newton
Social:  Nolan Winter/Adam Pratt
Membership Secretary:  Bob Engelgardt
RFU Tickets:  Bob Engelgardt

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS:
Mr A J Philips,  Mr I V Wilson,  Mr E E Rouby,  Mr A Flower,  Mr D Ball,  Mr D Sedgewick,  Mr M Buttle,  Mr P Boudewijn,  Mr M Burrows,  Mr S Fraser,  Mr P Marriott,  Mr J Adams,
1ST XV Captains           2ND XV Captains
1974-75    E Rouby                      -
1975-76   E Rouby                       -
1976-77    L Down                       -
1977-78    L Down                 M Buttle
1978-79    L Down                J Adams
1979-81    M Burrows          J Adams
1981-82    M Burrows         D Foster
1982-83    M Burrows          J Adams
1983-84    A Pratt              M Rogers
1984-85    E Moody            R Freer
1985-86    E Moody            S Milligan
1986-87    M Rogers           M Nixon
1987-88    M Rogers           A Farrow
1988-89    C Evans             A Farrow
1989-90    M Rogers          L Holbrook
1990-92    S Fraser           L Holbrook
1992-93    N Malkin           R John
1993-94    A Dixon             S Fraser
1994-95   S Champion       J Owen
1995-96   S Champion          -
1996-97   L Bryant          A Farrow
1997-98   L Bryant          A Laven
1998-00   N Malkin           S Yale
2000-01    D Martin        P Langdon
2001-02   C Chapman     N Malkin
2002-03   W Fresle        J Owen
2003-04  W Fresle              -
2004-05  M Taylor              -
2005-06   M Walker       S Babington
2006-07   N Malkin         S Babington
2007-08   N Malkin        S Babington

President                                 Chairman
1974-79    J Phillips                                 I Holness
1979-81   J Phillips                                 J Whitehouse
1981-83   J Phillips                                 I Holness
1983-84   I Holness                               J Adams
1984-87   K Fradgley                            J Adams
1987-88   K Fradgley                            D Sedgewick
1988-90   K Fradgley                            J Adams
1990-92   K Fradgley                           A Flower
1992-97   K Fradgley                           M Burrows
1997-00   K Fradgley                           S Champion
2000-02   M Burrows                           J Metcalfe
2002-03   M Burrows                           M Rogers
2003-04   M Burrows                          M Rogers
2003-04   M Burrows                          M Rogers
2004-05   M Burrows                         I Payne
2005-06   M Burrows                         I Payne
2006-07  M Burrows                         J Whitehouse
2007-08  J Adams                             J Whitehouse
2008-09 J Adams                               S Babington

Club Vice Presidents (Life)   Mike Borkowski,  V Bridgeman,  Cliff Camm,  Barry Field, David Friend,  Brian Gardner,  Ron Gisborn,  Steve Hall,  Nigel Malkin,  John Metcalfe,  Barry Pike,
Adam Pratt (snr),  Merv Ringer,  Joe Valvona.

Club Vice Presidents    Chris Bartlett,  Steve Camm,  Bernard Cawley,  Terry Dawson,  Larry Evans,  Roger Evans,  Bill Gee,  Martin Godden,  David Green,  Ron Hunt,  Nick Jaggers,  Steve Jaggers,  Kevin Jolly,  Alan Lacey,  Terence Marchant,  Steve Marsh,  John Mitchell,  James Morton,  Mike Oatley,  Kay Porter, Tony Ruttledge,  Robert Sharp,  Alan Skeats,  Sandy Stritton,  Mike Toomey,  John Whitehouse,  John Winperis,  Mike Wright

Junior Chairman
1989-91              Nigel Malkin
1991-93             Alan Farrow
1993-97              Pete Marriott
1997-2000          Bob Turner
2000-2003          Simon Rodley
2003-2006          Mark Rogers

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1. Match report: Ventnor 2nd XV v Millbrook 2nd XV (away) Match report: Millbrook 57 – Ventnor 0 26th September 2009...

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