Last night crowned a really great week for us. We saw Ayaz win the prestigious Muslim News Award for Sports Excellence presented to him by Baroness Manzoor CBE. We hear and read so much about difficulties around community cohesion and about Muslims being viewed with suspicion but I have always been really proud that in our sport no matter who you are, or where you come from, you are welcomed into a very special community. Ayaz is not just a great role model for the Muslim community, or for the disabled, he is a great role model full stop! – as indeed many of our athletes, volunteers and Members are. We have much to celebrate and much to contribute to the wider community and it is no surprise that athletes like Ayaz, Steve Brown, Andy Barrow, Aron Phipps and others are out there inspiring others to live full and positive lives.
The week started with some great rugby as GB took on Canada and Sweden in the Tri- Nations friendly at Leicester. It was a superb training opportunity and whilst no-one is placing too much emphasis on the fact that GB won all its matches, the event provided high quality preparation ahead of this year’s big events and it was good to see the composure and confidence now surrounding the team. Head Coach Paul Shaw and Assistant Coach Justin Frishberg can be proud of how the squad is developing and we all need to get behind them and the team when it is selected next month as we hit ‘the road to Rio’.
This weekend sees the BT National Championships in Sheffield and I am looking forward to seeing some high quality rugby as the best of our clubs battle it out for the Cup and Shield. A big thank you to BT and to Roma Sports who are sponsoring this event and if you are reading this and want to see some great rugby on Saturday and Sunday then get yourself to the EIS venue – details on our website. I’m there on Saturday – see you then!
David Pond
