Here's to you, Josh

It was in September 2001 that Josh Edwards got his first taste of being a captain - and the Glossop stalwart will make history this season as the club's longest-serving 1st XI leader.

Aged 11, a fresh-faced Josh started his rugby career at West Hill School, under the watchful eye of Head of PE, Tony Campbell. Tony must have seen something in the skinny youngster from the start and wasted no time in making him Captain of the First-Year rugby team.

As well as playing for West Hill, Josh played junior rugby at Ashton RUFC for a couple of seasons. Then, along with Tom Maltby & Dave Haigh, he decided to make the move to Glossop and has never looked back!

Josh joined the squad that were being coached by the wonderful and inspirational, Dave Raine. This group of players were an outstanding team with quality and strength in depth, in every position. They had great talent, but more so a fantastic team spirit and were prepared to give their all, putting their bodies on the line for each other and for the coach, Dave.

Over two very successful seasons playing as junior & senior colts, this team spirit and great natural rugby ability, helped the squad go on to win the Lancashire Cup on 2 occasions, the Lancashire League cup and gain a place in the final of the Lancashire plate, whilst playing in the top league in the NW. At that time, this made them the most successful team at any level, that Glossop had produced. These two seasons of extremely competitive rugby stood Josh and the lads in good stead and gave them a taste of what it takes to win at the highest level. During this successful time, the club ran two Junior Colts sides and ran an A and B side for a season, the only time this has happened in the club’s history.

The 2008/9 season saw Josh embark on his Senior rugby career.

This was the first season that the club had decided to leave the NLD league structure and they played in the extremely competitive and very physical Yorkshire 1 Division. Following that, the club moved across to the Lancashire / Cheshire League and Josh became a constant fixture in the 1XV, gaining a reputation as an uncompromising open side wing forward and a fearsome tackler.

It was during the 2014/15 season that Josh first Captained the Glossop RUFC 1XV. His first seasons were tough, but Josh worked hard, and he soon learned the intricacies and skills of Captaincy and grew steadily into the role, developing a maturity and growing from strength to strength as a Captain.

In the 2015/16 season, GRUFC 1XV made history by finally winning the elusive Derbyshire Cup. Previous Glossop teams had reached the final but had not been able to cross the finishing line. This was a fantastic achievement and everyone that was there on that day, players, coaches, parents, brothers & sisters, past players and club members will never forget what a memorable occasion it truly was.

The following season, the club retained the Derbyshire Cup by beating Melbourne in the final. More silverware followed with a victory in the NLD Shield, which saw Josh putting in a true all-round Captains performance and scoring 4 tries.

Hargate Hill had now become a fortress and the team were consistently finishing in the top four of the league but were just missing out on a place in the top two, to either win the league or to claim a play off place.

However, the commitment, effort and dedication that the coaching staff and squad had put in, finally paid off with the club gaining a well deserved promotion and the opportunity to play Level 6 rugby at the end of last season. A truly fitting end to the club’s 50th Anniversary Season.

During all of this, Josh also gained representative honours playing for, and Captaining Derbyshire, as well as being selected for the Three Counties in the county championships.

This coming season will see Josh become the longest serving GRUFC 1XV Team Captain, an honour he is very proud of.