Hello and welcome, and thank you for joining us for today’s match, even if the weather has forced us to watch it from a slightly different setting than planned. Instead of hosting our noisy neighbours, the Havant Dolphins, at Penns Place, we now make the short trip down the road to Havant RFC after our pitches were deemed unplayable.

The Dolphins have enjoyed real progress in recent seasons, benefitting from the momentum running through Havant Rugby Club as a whole, and it is great to have this fixture back on the calendar.

Last weekend produced some of the worst conditions I can remember playing or coaching in. The only thing that springs to mind as comparable was a trip to Redruth many years ago, when the match was abandoned after 50 minutes and the lads had to endure a wasted six-hour coach journey home. Saturday was not far off.

With the weather and the battering the pitch took, it was never going to be a classic. From a coaching perspective it was incredibly difficult to take much from it. The players stuck at it, but we were soundly beaten by a team that handled the mud bath far better than we did.

The positive news is that we are in a fortunate position with availability. Most of the squad are fit, hungry and ready to go. It certainly brings selection headaches, but that is exactly the sort of problem we want.

Oli Hunt and Sam Brown return to the starting pack, adding some welcome grit and heft, while in the back line we see MC back in the centres alongside Greg Jansen, a pairing that will offer plenty of punch. Dan Chinnock also comes back in after his injury layoff.

Our second team travel to Heathens in what is a must-win match. I know how fired up they are for it, and I have no doubt that skipper Ben Thomas will have them fully tuned in and ready to deliver.

To everyone reading this and supporting the club today, whether at Havant or here at the Vice Presidents Lunch watching the livestream, thank you. Your backing means a great deal to the players and the coaching team.

Up the Rams!