Mike’s contribution to girls’ rugby at the club should not be understated. Since setting up the girls section some four years ago it has grown in a very short time to be a strength of the club with great successes this season. His undoubted skills, a great deal of time and energy have helped create and maintain Olney girls as a healthy and thriving section of the rugby club. Much of this takes place on a Sunday which is on top of his Saturday duties as a referee assessor for the RFU.

Mike has a long association with the club. ‘I got involved in coaching the girls back in 2012 after my daughter, Amy, said there were a few girls at school who wanted to try and put a rugby team together. Having been a member of Olney RFC since 1980 and having progressed through the mini and junior sections under the guidance of people like Ian Cox, Frank Williams and Bob Taylor it was an easy decision to say yes and put something back into the club’.

‘Girls’ rugby has been an interesting challenge from day 1, firstly having been involved in rugby for 30 odd years rugby terminology becomes second nature but to this new audience it was all foreign! It took some time before they started to understand the game. The second biggest challenge has been how few clubs there are playing girls rugby and the distances we have had to travel to games. This year we have already travelled to Pullborough on the south coast, Diss in Norfolk, Ipswich in Suffolk, Ashfield near Mansfield and now to Chesterfield’.

How many girls are involved now and how has the season gone? ‘The girls have done really well to progress through under 15 and under 18 rugby, starting with half a dozen at that first training session to a squad of 17 under 15's and 32 under 18's this year. We have a number of girls who have represented the East Midlands, Midlands and now Lucy Attwood representing England Under 18's against Canada. The main success this year has been winning the RFU Cup for the Midlands and Eastern Counties and progressing to the RFU Cup National semi-finals against Castleford and Worcester on Sunday 10th April. We also won the plate competition at the Ghent Easter festival on our tour to Holland and Belgium’.

So what is lined up for next year? ‘We will continue our successful partnership with local rivals Wellingborough and Peterborough, the squad includes girls from the three clubs and also Ampthill, Bedford, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes. We already have 25 girls available next year and will recruit through the summer including playing at the Olney 7's in June’.

A big thank you to Mike for all he does at Olney RFC. All your time, effort and support is much appreciated.