For those of you old enough to remember the club at Hove Park, it wasn't exactly the best facility! We had one full sized pitch and another smaller pitch which was generally used for U12. The minis used the areas near the play-park (which was smaller at the time). I personally remember the U9 pitch being next to a big tree that I'm not sure is there any more. The youth teams had to play away or use the ground up the road at Neville Playing Fields. As one of the first clubs in Sussex to have a minis and youth section, we'd quickly outgrown our capacity and so we moved to Hove Rec for the start of the 2002/03 season.

Our success is down to the hard work of a lot of volunteers, but there's also an element of luck. Because at the start of the 2003/04 season (our second at the Rec) there was a little event that helped catapult the club forward. I am, of course, referring to Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in extra time of the Rugby World Cup Final in Australia to give England a 20-17 win. That was on a Saturday morning UK time. Sunday morning and the club was packed. I don't think anyone thought that it would have as big an impact as it did - we had so many new people wanting to give rugby a try. Good thing we had this shiny new place where there was enough room for everyone to play!

Since then the club grew both in terms of league position but also in terms of playing numbers. Although we've had some ups and downs since we moved, we're now at a stage where we've started to bump up against our capacity at certain times, especially Sundays where we have to fit up to 18 Hove teams not including any opposition! Adult training numbers are regularly hitting the 100 mark on Tuesdays and Thursdays - around 30-40+ each for the men and women and the Sea Serpents then "Old Boys Touch" on Thursdays. As part of our five year plan, we've been looking at ways to improve this situation, mostly through extension of the clubhouse. The first part of this is the Changing Rooms - at the moment we have four pitches but we can't use all four at once due to changing facilities. We're currently fundraising to start the planning permission process for this and we'll be putting more out in the coming weeks. That said, if you think you can help in some way, please definitely get in touch! Obviously we need finances to do it, but we also need people and expertise, so if you think you can offer anything, please let us know.

Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday we're celebrating with our first ever double-header as the 1st XV men take on Dover and the 1st XV women take on Cheltenham and we'll be previewing those games below. Our 3rd XV men are also taking on Brighton and Hove Sea Serpents, our partner club and the only gay and inclusive rugby club in Sussex. To celebrate, we're inviting a lot of local dignitaries, including MP for Hove & Portslade, Peter Kyle, former MP Ivor Caplin who helped us move to the clubhouse, the mayor of Brighton & Hove as well as local councillors and other figures who have been instrumental in helping us creating this great community resource.

We're also welcoming anyone who wants to come along and watch any of the games - there's going to be a marquee up so there's plenty of room, the weather is set to be good (not a guarantee!) and there's going to be some cracking rugby on display.

Match Previews

It's been interesting this season, because the men and women seem to be mirroring each other. Both squads have been getting training numbers in the 30s/40s. They both won all of their preseason friendlies. Both 1st XV squads have won 2/2 in their leagues. The mirroring even extends to their opponents - Dover and Cheltenham. Both opposition teams are also 2/2 in the league, meaning that each game is going to ruin someone's perfect record for the season.

1st XV Men vs Dover

Dover currently sit in 2nd place in London 2 South East with only points difference separating them from Hove. Both teams have picked up try bonus points in each of their wins. Dover got relegated from London 1 South last year and will be keen to make amends for that. The last time we played this fixture was back on 15th November 2014, in London 1 South (the season we got relegated) with an 8-8 draw as the result. That was a few years ago now and I imagine Dover's squad will be as much changed as ours since then so the contest could definitely go either way. Hove have started the season on a strong note and they'll be hoping to keep that going. A number of changes to the team - Reece Cavozzi and Rob Biggs both get starts this week with Kyle Woollard and Jerome Pye unavailable. Ian Saunders drops out due to injury and Carl Buckland comes in to replace him. A straight swap at flanker as Luke Torres comes in for Ben Anderson. Sam Whiting, Chris Knott and David Sparkhall all return to the team.

Player to Watch

Our player to watch for this week is Rob Ward. He played his youth rugby at Hove, picking up an U18 league runners-up medal before going to university at Bath. Since his return, he spent a number of seasons at prop in the 1st XV before moving out to back row which has allowed him to have a bigger impact on the game. He was part of the Sussex squad that went to Twickenham last year and has already picked up three tries for the season. The weather promises to favour the team's style on Saturday, let's see if he can add to his total for the season.

1st XV Women vs Cheltenham

Last season, Cheltenham finished 4th, one position behind Hove, although there was a significant gap in points between the two teams. Hove won their home fixture 34-19 in early December which meant a home and away win. Hove had a nervy win over Bath but did enough to get the job done on that day and then a more comfortable run out against Plymouth. After last season's results, they'll be hoping to pick up a win against Cheltenham and keep their momentum going. A few changes in the squad - Becky Piddleston drops out and Sam Gottardi moves from the wing to second row with debutant Alex Leeds joining the squad on the wing. A straight swap at number 8 as Harriet Dunn comes in for Becky Salmon. Katy Doughty-Curtis comes in to replace Alice Turnbull.

Player to Watch

Our player to watch is Jordan Hopkins. Jordan started playing at 7 years old for Haywards Heath before moving on to Burgess Hill and then Pulborough. She was part of the Pulborough team that won the U18 National Cup in the 2016/17 team and represented Sussex and then London & South East division at U18. She joined Hove for her first adult season and made the move from her youth position of prop to her new position as a tenacious back row. In her first season as a senior player, she made the Sussex team and quickly established herself as a key part of the Hove squad. At just 19 years of age, she remains a huge prospect in rugby and she'll be a key part in the breakdown battle on Saturday.