The supporters' club

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Email us with your views and comments, we will endeavour to respond to all constructive mail. We will keep anonymity unless otherwise stated.

Gloucester Rugby Supporters Association thanks Caerphilly RFC for a great day out yesterday.

Its nice to go to a dedicated rugby ground.

You have a really good set up and were all most hospitable to us.

We enjoyed crossing the border and hope your supporters did too, last week!

Thanks again to you all.

received 4th November 2001

As a Gloucester supporter I was delighted to have the company last weekend of real rugby supporters from a real Welsh rugby club. Keep yours a real Welsh rugby club; and we all wish you great success (Saturday apart that is).

Firstly, Congratulations in doing a great job of keeping the web page up to date. Having done a similar thing before I know how time consuming it can be - Keep it up !!

I think it would be good to start a forum on the site so we members and supporters can voice our opinions and suggestions.

I've just come back from Gloucester on the supporters coach - and even though the score was dismal, the trip was good fun , and the committee and players maybe should be looking at a club like Gloucester as a model to which they should set their sights.

As far at the commercial side goes there was a lot of lessons we could of learned. For instance, they charge £14 field entry on the day - perhaps too high, but they counterbalance this with pre-match day discounts and most probably season tickets which actually save you money. I think Caerphilly should go down the route of getting supporters who come week in week out to pay up front, maybe £50.00 for a book of 10 field tickets which could be used for any game. Although not a season ticket, this will generate income, maybe get more regulars in, and the club will be able to put up ticket prices without harming the loyal support. Away fans generally accept paying hgher than what we charge now. Its still not to late in the season to start, and its something that we obviously looked at because at least we now give pre match discounts. I would rather see a full stand of Caerphilly support paying say £7 or £8 a game than half full stand paying current prices. We need people through the gate - in turn they will spend their money in the club and maybe on merchandise.

Secondly Gloucester had good food served in the club house, I don't see any reason why we couldn't capitilise in this way and generate more income from away supporters. It really wouldn't take much to set up and would make a welcome change from the burgers.

We should also be looking to give the members some privliges. I noticed at Gloucester there is a members bar. Perhaps we could have a room for members, which again will encourage people to come, and give them a feeling of being part of the club. I remember the club doing a 'friends of CRFC' sponsorship for the Newport Boxing-Day match last year - I thought again this went down well - I cannot see why not the club doesn't do this sort of thing every home game. Maybe a package of ticket/programme/buffet for a set cost.

Even the web site could be expanded and used as a marketing tool - look at Cardiff's site - you can order tickets merchandise etc. I sure that we can get some sponsor involved in the funding.

As far as rugby goes, obviously there will always be the arguement that we cannot compete with sides that have massive financial backing, and full time professionals. Whilst I agree that this is the case, I was watching the squad training before the last home game and they were going through their paces doing drift defensive moves. This looked very good in practice, but I was acutely aware that at Gloucester the team had not used this technique, and were frankly all over the park. The Gloucester team fully using their backs with quick ball. This is what we need to achive. Feedback from the supporters seems to be - 'why don't we use our wings more'. This may be a simplistic approach, but we are getting caught time and time again with basic mistakes, losing line out ball because we over complicate things and not getting quick ball from rucks. I hope with the new coaches on board we can develop a style which, maybe won't beat the Cardiff's of this world, but will give some pleasure to the people watching and show that with the resources we have, we are doing a good job.

Anyway, apart from that we could do with a Tom Walkinshaw to drop in, but in the meantime we should all back the team 100% percent.

Received by a CRFC member on 29th October 2001

Congratulations on your work in updating the clubs website, a job very well done and quite refreshing having visited Saracens website on the weekend and reading the information provided about Saturday's friendly encounter. Congratulations also to Dai Hawkins on his appointment as captain, I'm sure he'll thrive at the prospect of leading the side into battle. Good luck to Dai, the players and all the coaching staff and everybody else at the club for the forthcoming season, lets continue to defy logic and the "union" and enjoy another successful campaign. Best wishes.

Congratulations in our greatest achievement this year within Caerphilly RFC. As I said earlier the previous site was an embarrassment. Well done. Let's hope for better weather and a better result next week. Keep up the good work.

All the best of luck against Cardiff from a fan from Dublin.

I used your site this morning to get the establishment date of the club, quite a good potted history there. All the best for the new season ahead!

The new site is excellent, you're doing a grand job please keep it up! I especially appreciated the photos. (received from fan in Sri Lanka)

Good luck for rest of season, bad start but it can only get better!

Received 1st October 2001

First may I say well done for getting the web site up and running again. Last season it was a disgrace to a premier club and it was amazing how it was allowed to continue like that for so long. However may I say that although I accept a certain need for censorship after some of the messages that went on a couple of years ago, I do think that criticism is not always a bad thing as long as praise is forthcoming when things are good.

At the moment things are not good!! The victory on Saturday was positive but only starts to paper over the cracks and maybe the appointment of Mark Ring will bring something good to our poor back play.

Also it has to be said that there is no consistency to selection especially in respect of the front row - how can we justify having 6 props at the club?? and never the same two play two weeks running!!

Also, after signing so many players pre-season, how did we get rid of so few??

I don't wish to get personal but echoing what I hear at the ground every week - how is Roddy Boobyer retained? and how is David Hawkins captain?? he is so limited in his play and does not play in the "caerphilly style" - every team seems to know that he will cut back inside or go on the crashball.

We have recruited all over the team but centre is the gaping problem both in attack and defence. We need to do something quickly to rectify our play or we will be on a downward spiral that maybe difficult, nigh impossible to stop.

It would be terrible for Virginia Park to be a White Elephant with the team being watched by a handful of people in Division 6 East or worse!! (if you don't think it can happen - Cilfynydd - Cardiff HSOB).

The crowds are awful at present as it is and so many people have been driven away that were stalwarts - Gordon Pritchard should remember in his programme notes that although he is right that supporters should remain loyal that sometimes you must look at the reasons for them leaving.

Finally it has to be said that it is a matter of great disappointment that the coaches have remained. I believed that we had our strongest ever squad. It is patently obvious that they are poorly coached. Gran Parma's support play and pace of play was far superior to ours - I don't even need to mention the other sides that actually beat us so far this season.

We cannot win our own line out ball - our scrum gets wheeled and loses the put in and most importantly we are a defensive nightmare! Unfortunately for the coaches the game is professional - they are paid and are ultimately responsible - part time players is a poor excuse for non-existent tackling and line out.

I have coached myself - the two things are simplicity itself and are the basic functions of coaching, especially in the game today. Perhaps the money is too good to give up - I don't know but I do know that pride should have seen them resign by now.

I hope you will publish this and show that you are brave enough. It is not a treasonable offence to be a Caerphilly Supporter and to criticise the team and management - it is our right as members and supporters - please do not deny free speech - by all means censor unwanted comment but lets start discussion - lets see some replies to this e-mail - maybe even a defence from the coaches.

Let's speak for the good of Caerphilly RFC and maybe we can fill the ground again and stay in the Premier League (by the way why doesn't someone write a very nice letter to Sir Terence Matthews - he is after all from what is now Caerphilly County - he can only say no - perhaps if it was worded right he might like to rise to the challenge - and he is a rugby fan - he has a box at the Millennium Stadium although he does not like Newbridge after they snubbed him in Canada some years ago)

Looking forward to seeing this on the website signed. CAERPHILLY RUGBY FAN!!