Blackheath Bandits

Pre season is gathering momentum as we’re just 12 days out from our first warmup game, and the Pre Season schedule is changing slightly.

With the extensive pitch works at Well Hall nearing completion and the new 3G ready for use, our Wednesday sessions are returning to their usual location: Meet time is 7:15pm @ Well Hall.

Saturday mornings, for skills & fitness, including the oh so popular hill repeats, will carry on in Greenwich Park. Meet time is 10am, just inside the park at the entrance by the Greenwich Tavern near the bottom of the hill.

New players, whether new to the game, new to the area or returning to rugby after some time off, are welcome. With two teams in the social section plus a Vets team, and potential progression to the senior squad, we’ve a place for everyone.

After a bit of a delay as we juggled all the fixtures ensure everything worked for everyone across the Club, we can now confirm our 3rd and 4th XVs match schedules for the forthcoming season.

In total there are 38 games across the squad, with the Vets fixtures still to come, and we have four Friday night lights games and an amazing five double headers for the Section, two of which will be played at the Rectory Field.

3rd XV: Kent Counties 4

12 Sept 26 Old Elthamians II (A)
19 Sept 26 Dartfordians II (A)
3 Oct 26 New Ash Green (A)
17 Oct 26 Sheppey (A)
24 Oct 26 Bromley II (A)
31 Oct 26 Old Colfeians II (H)
14 Oct 26 Beckenham III (A)
21 Nov 26 Faversham (H)*
5 Dec 26 Sidcup III (A)
12 Dec 26 Rye (H)*
19 Dec 26 Dartfordians II (H)
16 Jan 27 New Ash Green (H)
30 Jan 27 Sheppey (H)
5 Feb Bromley II (H) **
13 Feb Old Colfeians II (A)
27 Feb Beckenham III (H)
6 Mar Faverham (A)
20 Mar Sidcup III (H)
3 Apr Rye (A)
9 Apr Old Elthamians II (H)**

4th XV: Kent Met ‘A’

26 Sept Beccehamians III (A)
3 Oct Bromley III (A)
16 Oct Footscray (H) **
24 Oct Sidcup IV (A)
31 Oct Croydon (H)
14 Nov Greenwich (A)
21 Nov Dartfordians III (H) *
5 Dec Old Dunstonians (A)
12 Dec Southwark 2s (H)*
16 Jan Beccahamians III (H)
30 Jan Bromley III (H)
6 Feb Footscray (A)
13 Feb Sidcup 4 (H)
27 Feb Croydon (A)
6 Mar Greenwich (H)
20 Mar Dartfordians III (A)
3 April Old Dunstonians (H)**
10 April Southwark II (A)

*Played at Rectory Field
** Friday Night Lights

Michael ‘Chappers’ Chapman 1956 – 2026

Michael Chapman, or ‘Chappers’ as he was known to his players came to the Club in the 2016-17 season and made an immense impact on amateur men’s rugby at the Club that’s lasted beyond his time with us.

Chappers lost his battle with cancer on the 10th July and his loss was felt by Bandits past & present , who raised their glasses to him when they heard the news. It’s hard to describe the legacy that Chappers left but some of then players from his time have treid to capture some of it on the website.

https://blackheathrugby.co.uk/michael-chappers-chapman-1956-2026/

We may be ramping up pre season training but we like any excuse for a cheeky social, so Wednesdays pre season session will be a bit earlier and will be short & sharp so we can all pile into the Clubhouse for Englands semi final.

Meet @ 6:30 at Well Hall - let’s go boys

It’s time………

Pre season is just a week away……

Next seasons Counties 4 fixtures are out and the Kent Met league due early next week, so the hard work starts now.

Due to the extensive and exciting ground works underway at Well Hall, pre season will look a little different this year:

Wednesday nights, from 1st July, will be at Hervey Road Sports Field (98 Hervey Road, SE3 8BU), starting at 7:15pm.

Saturday mornings, from 11th July, on the road at varying locations such as Greenwich Park and the Heath, from 10:15am. Location will be communicated week by week.

New players are welcome.

Moving On Up

As we look ahead to the coming 2026/7 season, the Blackheath Men’s Section are making some changes to the coaching and on-field leadership.

After three years leading the coaching team, as well as much much more, Andy Lock is stepping down as Head Coach of the Section, to focus on playing and on the business he has launched.

The coaching will be led going forward by Kai Roper-Blackman and Zac Bainbridge. Kai, one of our home grown players is a natural leader and has a great understanding of the game. Zac has been with us for four seasons and brings with him many years of experience as well as having been an assistant coach for the past year. They will be supported by Conor Mitchel and Sam Sims, both of who are also very involved with the coaching of future generations of Club players in the Colts & Juniors.

In terms of the on field leadership, Kai is stepping down as Captain after four seasons, and instead will focus on coaching the squad, as mentioned above, as well as continuing to terrorise defences on the field, as he’s done since coming up through the Club Juniors.

Reflecting our growth, both in terms of playing numbers and the fact that we now run two league teams plus the Vets, we will now have a Captain and Vice-Captain of the squad.

Conor Mitchell, a Club Man through and through having also come up through the age groups, made his Men’s debut in the Bandits and worked his way up to earning 1st XV caps, has returned to play in and now lead the Men’s Social / Amateur teams as Squad Captain. Conor is a natural leader on the field and a key part of the social side of the rugby too.

Nathan Brindle will be working with Conor as the Squad Vice Captain. Having begun his Club journey in the U6s, Nathan will be starting his 5th season of Mens Rugby, and is one of the growing number of home grown players now coming through the age groups into adult rugby.

You can read more in detail about the changes and the Club Men above on the website
https://blackheathrugby.co.uk/moving-on-up/
(Link in Bio)

For a trip down memory lane, here are two very old pics of couple of Club stalwarts from ‘back in the day’ who will again be pulling on a Club shirt and lacing up their boots for another season come September.
(Thank you for the photos).

Be part of something special.
Be part of the oldest open rugby club in the world.

We are the social / amateur teams of Blackheath (3rd & 4th XVs and Vets) and after three successful seasons of league wins we are working our way back up the leagues, and we are looking for new players to join our successful and growing squad.

As well as running three competitive teams of our own (3rd XV league winners, promoted to Counties 4; 4th XV runners up Kent Met A; Vets Kent Shield winners) we are a pathway to the higher Club teams. The 1st XV has been promoted and will be playing Champ rugby next season.

Our rugby is both social and competitive – we train and play to win & be successful but we also pride ourselves on being open and inclusive, welcoming everyone regardless of their ability or experience. Outside of our league games we, when the schedules allow, seek out games where possible that really test us. In the past year we’ve played England Deaf Rugby, the touring Gentlemen of Aspen and our now traditional fixture against Moosehead RFC (the London Fire Brigade).

We are a tight knit group outside the actual rugby, going beyond the usual rugby socials, and end of season tours that have become the stuff of legend.

And we offer:
• Discounted membership for young adults (18-22)
• Excellent coaching and opportunities to progress to higher teams
• Pitchside physio support
• Veo recording of games for analysis
• Access to 1st XV home games (when we are not playing ourselves of course)

Whether you’re moving to London looking for a club, are an experienced player looking for new challenges and opportunities, or are new to the game and want to learn, there’s a place for you at Blackheath.

Our pre season starts on 1st July but until then we play touch rugby on Wednesday nights.

For more information or details of how to get involved drop us a DM or email [email protected]