A Referee’s Guide to Rugby Clubs
Butleigh Amateurs RFC
Butleigh Amateurs RFC normally have officials appointed for Somerset Cup matches only as they are a social Sunday side, and if you are one of the lucky few that get a game when they are drawn at home (which very rarely happens for some obscure reason??????), then consider your self lucky.
Butleigh own nothing. The pitch is actually located in the village of Kingweston, five miles from Butleigh, and rented from the captain’s brother, a local farmer.
Directions to the ground are best found by looking on a map. Kingweston is on the about two miles from the village of Keinton Mandeville. Get to Kingweston and take the only turning towards the church. On your right, just before the road falls away to something resembling a track, you’ll see the pitch and its gravitationally-challenged posts on your right.
The clubhouse is in the next village (Rose and Portcullis pub) and the changing facilities take the shape of a large wooden shed that has been condemned by a local builder, who plays on the wing.
The captain will greet you and thrust a glass of mulled wine in your hand before trying to charm you into being their 16th man.
The pitch is the right shape and will be marked out. They have splashed out and post protectors will be in situ, a real advancement in the club’s progress.
Don’t expect anything fancy – a 150-gallon ex-chicken dip tank has been expertly tacked onto the side of the shed and is filled and heated before the match by a farmer (who then often takes up a position as prop). Don’t frown at the choice of bubblebath, that tank is your only source of warm water unless you want to drive home wet and dirty.
Kick off is often very late, and sometimes never even takes place, but judge the intentions of the opposition and encourage the home side to get their arses into gear.
The chairman, Colin Gravatt, is a kiwi (shame) and very nice. Make sure you seek him out as he will rally Butleigh if they drag their heels.
Butleigh are a rugby mongrel and players from many clubs will turn out. In cup matches, they can pull in ringers and have surprised some league clubs in the past, although Weston-super-Mare proved too big a scalp in the 2003 cup campaign.
After the match, they all resort to the pub where you’ll get a warm welcome, a beer and some grub. Butleigh are a good social side and can play some good rugby when they decide they want to.
Their greatest achievement is their complete lack of progression since their birth 25 years ago. They own nothing (well, almost nothing) and owe nothing – you can’t get anymore grass-roots than this.
