Rugby Club Zug Xmas Dinner 2011

This report of our Christmas dinner will be slightly shorter than originally planned. This is mainly due to the fact that there is no-one who can remember exactly what happened…..

Arriving at the restaurant it was clear a great night was ahead of us. Downstairs from the main restaurant was the newly refurbished bar which was lit perfectly with candles and really set the vibe for the evening. After an hour of mulled wine and beers we made the move up to the main restaurant.

The night kicked off with a welcome speech from Elio & Denis. As there were many awards to get through, the proceedings kicked off with a few trophies. First award of the night was for Best Alternative Player which went to a very deserving Damian for his services as prop. The second award was for Best Tackle which went to one of our new players Jason. The third award was The Bulldozer Award which went to Roman.

The last award before the meal and main speeches was a special one “The Boobie Beer Award”. This is for drinking services and could only go to one person……Big Antoine, but before he could take his trophy he was handed a pint of beer and had to down it in one. We did not have to ask him twice……under four seconds it was gone!

Dinner commenced and the wine began to flow. After the starters had been demolished a surprise soup course was brought out. Both were really good and set things up nicely for the main course.  The detail that had gone into the preparation of the chicken (stuffed with sundried tomatoes & cheese) and also the homemade meatloaf, showed why Restaurant Schiff is one of the best places in Zug to eat. Once the main course was finished and the tables cleared, the main speeches got underway.

First up was the clubs President, Sebastien Le Page. After a few kind words about the club he presented Alois with the Best Player trophy. A very emotional (or drunk depending who you ask) Alois graciously accepted the award and said that it was only thanks to the team that he was able to win. The next award was for a very special person. The Life-Time Achievement award went to Beat ‘Fanti’. It had been difficult keeping this award secret in the weeks building up to the event but it was all worth it to see the look of surprise on his face. He was genuinely moved by the award and received a five minute standing ovation. There was not a dry eye in the house as he collected the trophy and in true ‘Fanti’ style said that it was for the club and not him.

Next up was our beloved coach ‘Fanti’. He began with the training awards (1^st place was Denis, joint second was Little Antoine & Tommy and 3^rd place was Damian). Then he moved onto the trophy for Most Kicks (Little Antoine) and Most Trys (Seb Varey, who unfortunately could not be there on the night). The last part of his speech was for the news players, who were each called up one by one to receive a RC Zug polo shirt. Finally he unveiled a new design training shirt for some of the teams main players.

Then came by far, the best speech of the night, from our trainer Mark Newman. He presented the award for Best New Player (which went to a very humble Bogdan) and also Best Tackler which went to Simon ‘the beast’. Then after various humorous anecdotes he called up a few core team players to join him in downing a beer.

 Then a drunk Claudio stepped up for the Captains Speech. He honoured a dedicated member of the club with the Most Committed Player trophy. Claudio told a few funny stories about the time Denis has spent in the club…….none of which can be repeated here. 

 The final speech of the night was from Ian on behalf of the Minis. He gave a summary of what a great season they are having and talked about the growth of the minis team. They are now the second largest minis team in the whole of Switzerland and with our growing juniors team and also the clubs work with the canton of Zug at grass routes level (our Rugby4Schools programme) the future of Rugby in Zug and within the club looks very promising.

 As the speeches came to an end, the desserts were brought round. Without even asking beforehand the restaurant had organized a giant cake which was made to look like a huge rugby field and even had our logo on it. Also they had done hundreds of home made Lebkuchen.

 The last thing left to do was give out the raffle prizes (of which there were loads). By this point, the evening was running about one hour behind. To save some time and mainly because he was drunk, Denis was just asking people what ticket numbers they had and then search for the corresponding number in the tombola. As per usual RC Zug tradition the prizes varied from candles to champagne to cat food to potatoes and even some hand engraved crystal glasses. Thank-you to those people who brought gifts for the raffle.

 Once the raffle was over everyone returned downstairs once again to continue the drunkard fun. The 80’s playlist had everyone dancing till about 4am. A few of the hardcore drinkers moved onto another bar and had a ‘lock-in’ till well past seven in the morning. This is the last thing anyone can remember.

 Drunk Of The Night award goes to Ronnie………closely followed by our President.

 

Summary of Awards

**** Drunk of the Night = Ronnie Staub ****

Best Player = Alois Dober

Captains Trophy/Most Committed = Denis Kaya

Life Time Achievement = Beat Iten

Training 1^st = Denis Kaya

Training 2^nd = Thomas Styger

Training 2^nd = Antoine Koeltgen

 Training 3^rd = Damian Henggeler

Best New Player = Bogdan Dinu

Most Trys = Sebastien Varey

Most Kicks = Antoine Koeltgen

Alternative Player = Damian Henggeler

Bull Dozer Award = Roman Merz

Best Tackler = Simon Merz

Best Tackle = Jason Hammond

Boobie Beer Prize = Antoine Carassus

Overall the night had an air of magic about it, and it was great to have old and new players together. The attendance was phenomenal (almost 100), and as we had planned for about 60, the restaurant dealt with it very well. The club would like to thank the Restaurant Schiff & their staff for the amazing food and also making the night really feel like we were in our own club house.

A special thanks to Elio and Denis for organizing such a wonderful evening…..they definitely deserve a few beers.

RC Zug