May & Baker RFC

55 YEARS OF MAY & BAKER RUGBY

It was in the 1950/51 season under the inspiration of George Crosby that the May & Baker Rugby Club was founded and constituted as a member of the Rugby Football Union. The first season began with a full first XV fixture list of 27 matches, which has been continued in each of the subsequent 55 seasons!

In the early days the club was primarily intended for the employees of May & Baker Ltd., now Sanofi-Aventis, but there were always a few non-employees. Nowadays the club is a totally open club and anyone who wishes to play enjoyable rugby is welcome whether he works for Sanofi-Aventis or not.

The fifties teams struggled for players, and as a result struggled also for success on the field but at the start of the sixties playing strength began to improve steadily, both in numbers, but more importantly in experience and ability.

After seasons in which victories were rare, in 1962/63 the club only suffered 3 defeats in 27 games and this began a period right up until the late seventies when the end of season percentages were more often than not in the seventies.

The "A"XV started in 1963/64, and again has stood the test of time, and has a full fixture list for the current season. The Casuals began in 1966/67, and ran successfully until relatively recently. We even managed a 4th XV (the Cheetahs) for a few matches in the early 70's.

In this period we had our first county representation for Essex, as well as a number of players enjoying representative rugby with the "Ants RFC"

In these seasons a number of notable wins were registered against senior Essex clubs like Southend, Wanstead, Romford and Gidea Park, and some exciting cup runs ending in very narrow defeats by the likes of Colchester and Harlow. Sevens provided the Club with its first trophies with success at the "Ants" for 5 successive seasons starting in 1967 and as winners of the Essex plate and the London Business House sevens.

The social side of the Club developed strongly, events and traditions developed with charity walks, participating in the World Beer Drinking Contest, summer hikes and occasions that have stood the test of time, like the reunion dinner and the annual dinner and dance.

The eighties and nineties were a period that heralded some major changes in rugby and the club scene. In our area of Essex there was a growth in the number of local clubs but without any significant number of new players it meant that playing numbers declined and the Casuals XV became an early casualty.

Competitive rugby started gradually with merit tables but this was shortly followed by an extensive league structure in Eastern Counties. Gone were any easy games and between the cup, merit table and league there was keenly competitive rugby virtually every week. This made life difficult for the clubs like May & Baker with relatively small squads but nevertheless some success was enjoyed with Merit Table trophies and some league successes, including promotion to Eastern Counties 2 South after being undefeated in Eastern Counties 3 South in 2000-2001. This proved to be a step too far and the club has returned to Eastern Counties 3 South for the 2002-2003 season. However, the "A"XV had a successful 2001-2002 season, the highlight of which was winning the Brentwood Silver Ball Competition.

The Club has developed a strong tradition of Easter tours that have come a long way from the Southend Easter Festivals of the 1960's. Social events of the club, like the reunion dinner and the dinner and dance, continue the traditions of the past with many former players making welcome returns.

The May & Baker Rugby Club has continued to succeed and flourish in an era when virtually all employee based clubs have ceased to exist. In Essex alone Thames Board Mills, Fords, PLA, Essex Fire Brigade and now even Met Police 3 District have disappeared. May & Baker are the sole survivors and look forward to more enjoyment and success on and off the field and welcome new players both from within the company and importantly from outside.

Chris Dyer

Club President