Tony Rowe Programme Notes

Happy New Year to you all and welcome to Sandy Park for what will be another milestone moment in the history of our great club.

Today, after months and months of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes, we will officially open our new multi-million pound East Stand for the first time.

In doing so, not only we will be creating the biggest-ever crowd to ever watch a game of rugby here at Sandy Park but, more importantly, we will be heralding in yet another huge moment in the future development of the rugby club.

As I have said many times before, we are a club that will not stand still – on or off the field – and that we must continue to push forward on all fronts to achieve our aim of having a rugby club that is the envy of all our counterparts.

To achieve this aim is not easy. Certainly the past two years have challenged us all in many different ways. The pandemic continues to throw up obstacles all the time, so it’s imperative we do our utmost to ensure that we remain in a position to keep ourselves not only competitive, but financially viable and in a strong position to prosper further down the line.

In creating the new East Stand, our capacity has risen to just shy of 16,000. Not only will this increase our offering for each and every match-day, but it also means that should we advance further within the Heineken Champions Cup, we are now able to host fixtures in the latter stages of the competition.

The positives it will bring are there for all to see but, as I said earlier, it has been far from easy in its end execution. Even this week, we have had what seems like a full army of tradespeople working long hours to ensure we would be able to get the stand open.

There will be teething problems, I know this, but this short-term pain will soon be engulfed by what I know will be the long-term gains.

Similarly to that of 2010, when we created the new North Terrace, our visitors today will be that of our near neighbours Bristol Bears. Over the years we have enjoyed some titanic tussles with our nearest and dearest and I’ve no reason to think this match-up will be any different.

As for 2022, I believe we will really start to see the fruits of our recent labour. Not only has the stadium itself been redeveloped, but the Sandy Park Hotel is not a million miles away from completion either. On the field, I know both Rob Baxter and Susie Appleby are hugely excited about what the second half of the season will bring, so let’s all get behind our teams and wish for a Happy New Year together.