The great and the good of Sandbach Rugby Club gathered on Friday night to celebrate the many successes of its senior rugby teams. Players and support staff from the four senior men's teams, women's rugby, touch rugby and walking rugby came to celebrate the individual achievements of players in what has been an extremely positive and exciting season for the club on and off the field.

Some of those off the field achievements include the opening of the new club car park, the fiftieth anniversary celebrations of its Mini and Juniors section and the launch of the ‘New Year, New Me, New Sport’ initiative, which aimed to introduce more players to women’s rugby.

On the field, Sandbach’s 1st XV finished third in the league and did so with a youthful squad, aided by some experienced players. The stats below, paint a picture of what the team has achieved this season and its direction of travel:

• 32 different players have started for the 1st XV this season. The average age of these players is 25.1yrs
• ⁠10 players who have started for the 1st XV are under 21 and are regular starters
• ⁠11 players have made their debuts, which includes new recruits and home-grown players
• ⁠15 players have started 10 or more games
• ⁠George Cole, Henry Mitchell and Matt Randle have started all 22 league games
• ⁠Elliot Morris scored 35 league tries, which was a new club record
• ⁠Matt Randle scored 198 league points in his first senior season
• ⁠The 1st XV Played 22, won 17, scored 884 points (most in the league) and finished 3rd place with 17 bonus points
With the awards ceremony underway the big award of the evening was the ‘1st XV Players’ Player of the Season’. This went to Callum Oakden, who received a commanding 50% of the votes from his fellow players. Oakden also received the ‘1st XV Coaches’ Player of the Season’ award.

The youngster doesn’t receive many headlines or mentions in the match reports and that’s because he is the engine room of the team, doing the necessary yet un-flashy work. The powerhouse lock, who scored six tries this season, puts in a huge effort and commitment on the field and has been named vice-captain for several games, showing his influence on the squad. Having been recognised by his peers and coaches, the future is bright for this 21-year-old.

Elsewhere, Oli Jones received the ‘2nd XV Players’ player of the year’ award in his first year of senior rugby. Club Captain Jimmy Gore received the ‘Sandbach RUFC Clubman of the Year’ award and Jake Jackson won the ‘Sandbach RUFC Recognition Award for services to 3rd XV Rugby’. In Women’s Rugby, Sam Sewell won the ‘Most Progress in Women’s Rugby’ award and Rachel Price won the ‘Best Performance in Women’s Rugby’.

George Cole, who started every league game this season, received the ‘Senior Player Most Progress of the Season’ award. Cole has formed a solid centre partnership with Jimmy Gore and is often involved in the attacking build-up play. With ten tries to his name this season, his progress has been outstanding.

Finally, Matt Randle, who also started every league game, received the ‘Young Player of the Season’ award. Randle scored an incredible 198 league points this season and was recently called up to represent Cheshire U20s, another sign of the impressive season that he’s had.

The full list of Sandbach RUFC player awards are as follows:
• Sandbach RUFC 1st XV Players’ Player of the Season 2024-25 - Callum Oakden
• Elliot Morris, Laurie Essenhigh, Matt Randle and George Cole also received a high number of votes.
• Sandbach RUFC 1st XV Coaches’ Player of the Season 2024-25 - Callum Oakden
• Special mention for Harry Leese, George Cole and Laurie Essenhigh
• Sandbach RUFC 2nd XV Players’ Player of the Season 2024-25 - Oli Jones
• Special mention for Ant Dowell, Dan Simcox and Aaron Briscall. Thanks also to Tom King for his captaincy.
• Sandbach RUFC 3rd XV Most Progress of the Season 2024-25 - Evan Edmunds
• Special mention for Tom Gleeson.
• Sandbach RUFC 3rd XV Players’ Player of the Season 2024-25 - Harry Bell
• Sandbach RUFC 3rd XV (‘Stormer’) of the Season 2024-25 - Connor Radcliffe and Cam Donald share the award and will both captain the 3rd XV next season.
• Sandbach RUFC 4th XV (‘Stallion’) of the season 2024-25 - Mark Bird and Matt Stanway
• Sandbach RUFC 4th XV Players Player of the Year - Lee Wardle
• Sandbach RUFC Senior Player Most Progress of the Season 2024- 25 - George Cole
• Special mention for Mike Butler and Henry Mitchell
• Sandbach RUFC Young Player of the Season 2024-25 - Matt Randle
• Special mention for Will Bowbeer and George Perkins since rejoining the club midway through the season.
• Sandbach RUFC Clubman of the Year 2024-25 - Jimmy Gore
• Outstanding Contribution of Sandbach RUFC in the Modern Era - Ali Burton, Elliot Morris and Andy Pipe
• Sandbach RUFC Recognition Award 2024-25 for services to 3rd XV Rugby - Jake Jackson
• Sandbach RUFC Recognition Award 2024-25 Touch Rugby - Dale Edmunds
• Sandbach RUFC Recognition Award 2024-25 Walking Rugby - Ann Sutton
• Sandbach RUFC 2024-25 Most Progress in Women’s Rugby Award - Sam Sewell
• Sandbach RUFC 2024-25 Best Performance in Women’s Rugby Award - Rachel Price
• Sandbach RUFC Recognition Award for highest number of tries in one season - Elliot Morris
• Sandbach RUFC Medals for most 1st XV league appearances 2024-25 - George Cole, Henry Mitchell and Matt Randle who all played every league game.