Shirley W’s raise the bat for 50th Anniversary

The Shirley W’s, who play with the anchor on their chest, bring up an impressive milestone on Saturday, as the team celebrates its 50th anniversary since the founding of the team by John Warren in 1972.

Playing in the Metro Senior/Classics grade, the W’s have been a fixture on the social rugby scene, holding a rich history that has seen them go through all the ups and downs of rugby, including a world record run of wins in the 1990’s.  

This weekend sees a celebration of all those moments, with three days of celebration for a fixture of Canterbury social rugby.  

“Friday night we’ll be at the Richmond Working Men’s Club with John Warren speaking, Saturday we’ll be celebrating the day at Shirley Rugby Club, playing at 2:45pm against the Belfast Munchers, with a jersey auction after, and then we’ll continue on Sunday!” said Damian Curtain, who played for the side for 10 years from 1995 to 2005.  

“(The 50th anniversary) gives us a great opportunity to catch up, for me I had 9 years of Senior Rugby for Shirley before 10 years of the W’s, so it’ll be a great time to catch up with a lot of guys that I haven’t seen for a long time.” said Curtain. 

“In those days, you’d play for the Shirley Seniors first, and then down to the W’s, so it created a great group of guys, having that social aspect to it too. We’re well supported by the club and the side has become an integral part of the Shirley club.”