Lymm RFC v Chester RFC – Saturday 13th September 2025

Dear Members, Guests, Sponsors and Friends of Lymm Rugby Club,

Having been involved with our great club for many years and in numerous roles both on and off the pitch, it gives me great pleasure to be writing my first ‘Presidents Welcome’. It is a great privilege to be asked to take on the role of Club President and I look forward to continuing my involvement in this role, working with the myriad of member volunteers that tirelessly keep our club moving forwards.

This season our 1^st XV will play in the ‘National 2 West’ league. We were promoted to the National League 2 in 2023/24 and have demonstrated a commitment and ability that is the envy of many clubs at this level, creating a piece of club history by finishing 3^rd last season in National 2 North and being in the title race for a large portion of that campaign. Club placements in the three National 2 divisions are determined by geographic boundaries and an RFU ‘algorithm’. Due to results within the league structures over the past two seasons there is a surplus of North-based clubs and we now find ourselves ‘level transferred’ to National 2 West. This is clearly not what we were hoping for, however, notwithstanding the significant travel (over 4300 miles) to our away fixtures and the associated additional costs, our coaching team, players and club members are committed to making the most of the opportunities that this presents.

Further information regarding the National League Rugby structure, the teams that are involved at this level, details of the opening weekend encounters and to follow our 1^st XV and all National League results throughout the season is available via the following link;

National League Rugby

Last Saturday our 1^st XV travelled to Luctonians in Herefordshire for the opening game of the season. The hospitality of the Luctonians club membership was fantastic and this view was echoed by many of the Lymm supporters that I spoke with after the game. On the field the quality of our game and the commitment of our players was excellent and took the Luctonians team by surprise with the team demonstrating what we are all about, coming home with 24–13 win. Thank you to everyone from Lymm who travelled to support the 1^st Team – the cheers for the team as they left the pitch at the end of the match was the loudest that I can remember!

The full match report can be seen via the following link;

Luctonians 13 – 24 Lymm 1st XV

Our 2^nd XV and our 3^rd XV – Lymm Eagles – also won their opening matches, with the 2^nd XV beating Sale Vikings 36-31 at home and the Eagles beating Glossop 63-3 away. What a fantastic start to the new season – a clean sweep for our 3 senior teams, well done to all involved. Please continue to support all our teams, home and away!

To help support the cost of travelling to away games this season you may be aware that Paul Foulkes, a 75-year-old who has been a member of Lymm RFC for over 58 years, a VP and a Lymm Panto performer will be travelling to Redruth for our 3^rd game of the season on his bike. This is a distance of 375 miles and is planned to be covered over a 5-day period starting next Tuesday 16^th September at 07.30 from Beechwood and arriving in time for lunch at Redruth on the Saturday.

Paul has a support team comprising of Don Brow and Simon Plumb, and we have had a very generous offer of a support vehicle for the complete journey from Tom Burgess of Triathlon Battery Solutions Ltd – Thank you Tom for your generosity!!

Details of Paul’s story can be found via the following ‘Just Giving’ link, and at the time of writing the total raised so far is £6,105 plus £1,297.50 Gift Aid. If you are able to support this tremendous effort, please click on the link below and help Paul to reach his target of £10,000.

Paul Foulkes is fundraising for Lymm Rugby Club

For our first home game of the new season this weekend we entertain our closest rivals Chester, and I am very pleased to welcome their President, Peter Craven, and all their members who attend the game this weekend.  I do hope you enjoy your time at Beechwood!

Unlike all our other away games this season our 2 clubs only have to travel 25 miles for the pleasure of playing against each other in a local derby. This will be Chester’s second ‘level transfer’ to National 2 West and only the second season that we will play each other at this level since we were promoted. I suspect that both clubs hope the RFU can address the current problems that level transfers cause before next season and create a sustainable league structure that maintains a high level of competition but minimises travel to a sensible level.

I look forward to seeing as many members and supporters of Lymm RFC and visitors from Chester as possible at our club on Saturday and to watching some fantastic rugby. Please do come and enjoy the atmosphere and hospitality at Beechwood!

Best Regards