After an absence of eighteen months, it was a joy to see the return of Rugby to Westcombe Park. Visitors Guernsey had been newly promoted to National League 2 in season 2019/20 and were looking to build on their fine form. For Combe the challenge was to meld the numerous new recruits from the past two summers with the exiting crop of players.

The 2nd XVs kicked off on a newly refurbished "Swamp" pitch and WPRFC came up against a Guernsey pack who had the slight edge throughout the game. Combe didn't buckle and in a high scoring game the visitors ran out winners 24-48. Highlight for Combe was a solo effort try from evergreen Graham Purdy.

The 1st XV game was also high scoring with Guernsey raiders edging it 38-40. At one point the Raiders had built a solid lead but Combe fought back hard, closed the gap and were gaining the upper hand when the final whistle blew to end the match.

Thanks to everyone who turned up to make the day a celebration of the return of Rugby and it would be good to see similar numbers for the next home fixture on 21 August against London Irish Wild Geese.

By the way the photograph accompanying this article is of the 1904/5 team which underlines what a wonderful story we continue to unfold at Westcombe Park despite all the travails of recent times.