May 2nd 2023

The Annual Club Awards Night was held on Saturday 29th April 2022, at the Cornwallis Suite of the Maidstone Masonic Lodge.

The club was represented by staff, colts section, mens seniors, veterans, Vice Presidents & the new womens team, as we handed out awards for the 2022 - 2023 season.

It was a fantastic night with laughs, tears of joy and merriment to see off the season in style. Here is the rundown of the evening.

Two Vice President awards were presented at the awards ceremony. Firstly to Gary Tynan for his efforts with the Colts Section. Despite his son Fergus already moving into senior Rugby, Gary has been a tremendous source of support and inspiration for four years of Colts moving to senior rugby. His tireless efforts and reliability makes him a worthy recipient.  The second was for Thomas Regan, who has been part of the club since 1994. Tom always supports the club when he can, attends lunches and volunteers whenever possible. A true gentleman and well-respected individual, is only fitting to call Thomas Vice President.

In a first, we also handed out the 100 1st team appearance honours caps to those in attendance, which are listed below. The club relies on players like these, and they duly received their honours.

For the player awards; Mikey Grice took the 1st XV player of the year for being the reliable and tenacious scrum-half that he is. The Mustangs player went to Hooker Kelvin Baxter for his experience and commitment, along with stellar performances throughout the season. For the Veterans, it went to a man who elevates everybody's game when he plays. Despite travelling easily 100 miles to some games, broken, wounded or not, there was no better choice than Nick East. The David Arnold Young Player of the Season award went to a graduating Colt, Rhys Tolley. The young flanker has impressed this term always putting in a shift, whether it be in the 1sts or Mustangs and is always ready to learn. A worthy winner, who embraced his former coach Gary Tynan after receiving his award.

Penultimately, the Bernard Hinks awards were handed out to players who have done so much on and off the pitch. The 1st XV award went to Josh Hoare for his work not only on the pitch, but unseen off of it towards our social media and branding efforts. The Other XV Player was also slightly echoing the 1st XV as Ian Lee picked up the award. Not only is he a joy to play alongside, whether that's 1st XV, Mustangs or Veterans, his work off the field behind the scenes to help those in need never goes without notice. For the non-player of the year, the award went to Gary Tynan for his efforts this season with the Colts section and integration. The continued efforts were of course recognised by his Vice President award.

In a poignant speech from Jason Smith as Mustangs Captain, he thanked many at the club, especially the Mustangs manager Pete Bulford. In an emotional surprise twist, Pete's sister arrived to present her brother with his broken boots framed and retired. They were the last pair of boots given to Pete by his late father, which is why they were held together every game with tape. With his boots now framed and retired, his brothers Ryan & Jack then presented Pete with a new pair of boots supplied by the Mustangs, complete with his fathers initials added to the boots. A touching moment of family, both blood and rugby coming together.

Finally, Richard Ewence presented the award of Team of the Year. The goal of the Mustangs this season was to get a side out as much as possible. This season, they have posted no less than twenty players, utilized 64 & have been one of few clubs in Kent to fulfill all their fixtures, even agreeing to postpone games to assist the opposition. Their season included posting incredible scores against Aylesford & Lordswood, being one of only two sides to beat Edenbridge & finishing 3rd by merit, when they could have come close to winning the league if they had taken the points, rather than accommodating other teams for a postponement. With that, you can add the spirit of rugby award to their name as well.

​Full List of Awards as below;​

Vice Presidents presented by President Richard Gray:
Gary Tynan
Thomas Regan

100 1st XV appearance honours caps:
Josh McKenzie: 100 Appearances
Charlie Williams: 104 Appearances
Jason Smith: 108 Appearances
Will Fox: 145 Appearances


​1st XV Player of the Year presented by Club Captain Will Fox: Mikey Grice
2nd XV Player of the Year presented by Jason Smith: Kelvin Baxter
Veteran XV Player of the Year presented by Karim Neseyif: Nick East (accepted by last year's winner Richard Cutbill)
David Arnold Young Player of the Year presented by Richard Gray: Rhys Tolley

​Bernard Hinks 1st XV Player presented by Will Fox: Josh Hoare
Bernard Hinks Other XV Player presented by Will Fox: Ian Lee
Bernard Hinks Non-Player presented by Craig Tuffrey: Gary Tynan

Team of the Year presented by Richard Ewence: Mustangs