New Captains’ boards are up!
New season, new Captains’ boards 2024-25
A name not many at Cheltenham Rugby Club will be familiar with is that of William Cooper.
He was one of the founding members of Cheltenham RFC upon their formation after a meeting at the Sydney Arms Hotel in Winchcombe street in 1889 and was elected to be the first captain of the club when games started to be played at their first ground the old recreation ground in Montpellier. He played as a scrum half and was team captain for three years until 1892.
William Cooper was the first of a long line of 78 players who have had the honour of leading Cheltenham RFC/Tigers men’s 1st XV through the clubs 135 years of rugby.
Cheltenham Ladies rugby team was formed in 1991 and since their formation with Fiona Murphy leading them, have had a total of 23 captains who have led the women’s section from strength to strength in their 33 year history, with the distinction of winning the National Championship play-off finals for the last three years.
The 101 men’s and women’s captains have filled three honours boards over the years and this year (2024) it was time for a new board to be commissioned from local signwriter Simon Lloyd, who has tirelessly added the new captains names as and when required since he first painted the honours boards in 2014.
This is how a new honours board is created in Simons own words.
“First stage is to get an Oak Veneered panel, this then has to be cut to size and shape. The shaped panel then gets 3 coats of satin varnish, rubbing down between each coat to achieve a nice smooth finish. Next we get started on the interesting bit, I sketch the design onto the board using a Stabilo pencil and will then block in the colours, once this is dry, I second coat and do any necessary colour blending on areas like the scrolls.
Finally I finish off all the detailing on the crests, drop shadowing and of course add the first entries for the new Club Captains”.
The 9 hours taken cutting, preparing and finally the signwriting that is involved in turning a sheet of veneered board into a piece of club history is testament to the skill and attention to detail that Simon puts into his work and the club is grateful for his services.
As the saying goes “It’s easy when you know how”.
The first names on the new board which will be located in the main entrance to the clubhouse are Erin Caughey who enters her second year as Tigers women’s captain and Ryan Bradnam who is embarking on his third year leading the men’s team.