Rhinos Back at Mersea Island
Mersea Island rugby club on the Essex coast has been enjoying a return of their Rhinos senior development side after an absen
Mersea Island rugby club on the Essex coast has been enjoying a return of their Rhinos senior development side after an absence of four years and, having introduced junior rugby only seven years ago, they also had a trio of home-grown 18-year-olds playing their first ever game of senior rugby.
The ambition of fielding home grown Mersea senior players was realised for the first time just as the Rhino’s recovered from being an endangered species and ran out against Braintree’s third team.
Said Andrew Windridge, Director of Rugby: "Sports participation through 2020 and 2021 was naturally difficult to navigate but Mersea Island RFC was determined to offer the community a chance to engage in sport safely whenever possible. This can-do attitude, while following all safeguarding guidance, saw the club’s player pool grow. Some local talent started attending when possible, as well as players arriving who were completely new to the game. The player-focused ethos to training fuelled a growth in numbers and the senior squad now numbers around 50.
“That’s what enabled the club to field its first Rhinos’ fixture for over four years. The game was played in a superb spirit by both sides with some excellent handling skills in windy conditions and Mersea ran out convincing winners, without a point scored against us.
First home-grown seniors
“The significance of the Rhinos’ match in the club’s history was, however, much bigger than the return of the Rhinos’ team alone, as the club fielded its first home-grown players in a senior match in its history. We started a youth section after moving to The Glebe, with the extra space making it possible. At this time, Tom and Cal Brennan took on the challenge of coaching our oldest junior group of under 11s. Their first sortie was a sticky entry into a regional 7s tournament at Royal Hospital School, with only five players: Max and Eddie Harris, Henry Phillips, Pete Bredin and their skipper Isaac Sestak. All five remain the backbone of the Colts’ team to this day.
“Twins Ed and Will Johnston from Hadleigh were ‘borrowed’ and they too are in today’s Colts’ team. Recruitment was fuelled by Tom Brennan and John Gradwell’s RFU initiative to teach rugby at TLA and Thurstable Schools, together with a number of Mersea youngsters, previously playing at Colchester and rugby league at Eastern Rhinos, joining the club. A strong squad developed as a unit and the strict policy that every available player played a minimum of half a game brought on the less experienced players and raised the overall standard.
"The Colts have won over 80% of their matches and have enjoyed victories over the largest clubs in Essex and the Eastern Counties. They have also grown into superb young men with values and beliefs that are a credit to themselves, and which strengthen our community. The squad are universally respected, and the work and commitment of the coaches were recognised by Eastern Counties in 2019 when Tom Brennan was chosen as Eastern Counties’ Coach of the Year. Today’s squad of 28 are predominantly from Mersea, Tiptree and South Colchester, with Tom and Cal Brennan, together with Craig Sestak and Steve Ramsay their coaching team and transport kindly donated by the Lions.
"The club is enormously proud of the trio of new seniors: Isaac Sestak, Rhys Austin and Toby Lord-Holmes, who all scored on their debuts. They are photographed with senior players left to right, Ralphy Newton, Ade Evans and Craig Sestak, who realised his ambition of playing in a senior match with his son. Ralphy and Ade, members of the original Mersea team from the late 1980s, could not have anticipated that what they started over 30 years ago would grow into today’s club with over 200 playing members.
Lighting up training at home
According to Peter Martin, Club Treasurer “An important factor in that growth has been the installation of match quality floodlights at The Glebe by an RFU accredited supplier. With the club providing a significant sum, grants were obtained from a number of charities including: Enovert, the Essex Association of Local Councils (EALC). This has enabled players to train here more regularly rather than having to travel each week to train at Essex University.
Andrew Windridge says “The club is still relatively small but with up to 150 young people registered and training every Sunday, and a clear organic pathway through to senior rugby being mapped out, it has a bright future with the community and members at its heart.”
That can be seen when the annual Calbron Cup raises funds for charity. This year it was decided to play the match on 16th January which would have been the 18th birthday of Daniel Milgate, an extraordinary young player central to the development of the Colts’ squad, who sadly passed away in August 2021. In celebration of Daniel, a match was played by almost 40 players with a team of veterans, coaches and current senior players, including Cal Brennan in his wheelchair, pitting themselves against the Colts’ side. After 80 minutes Dave Bredin declared the match a draw and all concerned ate, drank and laughed together for the remainder of the day. The event raised over £650 for the Mersea Island Festival Trust and the Dan Milgate award for outstanding sportsmanship, was awarded to Isaac Whiting.
