I’m sure I wasn’t the only parent glad to see the kids back on pitches again this week. As a coach whose team has only played three fixtures since mid-December (rather than the seven in the schedule), it's been a frustrating period. I know I’m not alone in praying for a few days of sunshine towards the end of each week. I’d rather have a car full of filthy kit than a Sunday on the sofa.

It’s been clear to the Rugby Committee as a whole how much this impacts on players, parents and supporters in general, and it seems only fair that I give some clarity about how we go about working out who can use our pitches each week. Obviously, away games are out of our hands, but we work closely with our opponents to move or switch fixtures wherever possible. As for home youth rugby games (U7 to U18), after cursing the weather all week, the groundsmen and youth rugby reps meet on a Saturday morning to inspect. It’s become a more reliable fixture than the games themselves!

A lengthy walk of the playing and parking areas obviously gives us an idea of what’s useable, then it’s down to work out who can use what we’ve got. The priority always has to go to cup fixtures first, teams work hard to prepare for them, and at times postponement simply isn’t an option when we’re given “Play on” dates. We then look at accommodating as many games as possible and have been staggering kick-offs to get as much use as possible out of the available areas. We’ll also try to get at least one game per section (Minis, Junior Boys, Girls) to keep the distribution fair. Obviously, we can get more pitches for Minis out of the same area as a Junior Boys or Girls game, which really helps. We’ve also been keeping tabs on who’s been able to play each week, to try and keep it fair, and avoid teams missing out while others get to play repeatedly.

Alongside a dedicated group trudging through the swamp on a bleak Saturday, we’ve also been investing in offsite facilities. The youth section have spent hundreds in the last few weeks on indoor and artificial playing surface access, so the kids can at least have some playing and social time, developing some of their skills even if we don’t have playable grass. Obviously, the older teams also get their midweek training offsite in the winter, trying to avoid destroying already stressed pitches and maximising the chances of playing at weekends. The bill for that already runs into five figures.

So, please keep doing your sun dances, please bear with us when things get wet and challenging, please keep talking to coaches, managers and committee members (we’re all trying our best), and please start a GoFundMe for new wellies for the Groundsmen!

Maybe not the last bit, we can sort that.

See you pitchside, not poolside!