At the end of each season we, as co-owners, usually write a letter to say thank you to everyone for their support throughout another, typically, rollercoaster season. As the 2024/25 season draws to a close, we thought we’d do something a little different and give the last word to our wonderful ticketing manager, Angela Traynor. No one is more passionate about our club than Ange and she summed up how everyone at Carrington feels in her post below.
We do, however, want to give our own thanks to all of our players, coaches, rugby staff, commercial team, the Foundation and everyone else who works so tirelessly at Carrington every day to make this club what it is. We are so very grateful for everything you do every single day. We’d also like to thank our commercial partners for their support this season. This would not be possible without you.
We’d also like to thank our commercial partners for their support this season and you, our incredible supporters for your unwavering loyalty.
So that’s it for another season. Over to you Ange…we’ll see you next season!
I’m not going to lie; I’m absolutely devastated following Saturday’s result. For the last couple of months, on top of our day-to-day stuff at Carrington, it’s felt like we’ve been planning a big event such as a wedding; weeks of work then it’s the big day, but this time there’s no wedding, no celebration that we all so desperately wanted. It is sudden, and cruel and shocking.
For another amazing season, I know you’ll join me in thanking our owners Michelle, Simon and Ged for their unending support, kindness and generosity on so many levels. Without them, we would be nothing and nowhere near the Sharks Family we all are, both at Carrington and in supporter terms.
Then to Al and his coaching team. You won’t find anyone else like Al. What you see on the telly in his passionate and emotional post-match interviews is the man he is. Unlike others, he won’t ask you to run through a wall, he’ll ask you to find another way, whether it’s over, under or around.
On the days when the lads are off and Carrington is almost silent, the place feels like a body without it’s blood. They are everything to the club, to you, and to me. We say goodbye to many this season, and whether they’ve been with us for their whole careers, like Ross and Josh, or they’ve only spent a short time with us, like Charlie, Alex or Harry, they have been a pleasure to know during their time with the club. Good luck to you all. Once a Shark, always a Shark.
To you, the club’s supporters. Each and every one of you is valued, and your support, messages, cheers and singing makes every single match special, and the lads certainly appreciate your efforts on the road. On Saturday, during the match, the strains of ‘Na, na na, na na na na…’ started in the corner of the Tradeview Stand across to my right, and as more people joined in and the volume grew I could feel the goose pimples on my skin. It was incredible and quite moving. We out-shout, out-sing and out-flag other clubs, and you are respected for that from us and the other clubs in the league. Save those flags, you’ll need them next season.
This season, I’ve travelled to Bath, Leicester, Bristol, Harlequins, Exeter and Newcastle (twice), plus Toulouse, Glasgow, and Worcester (for the Stormers match). I know some of you made a huge effort for the trip to Cape Town too. We’ve stayed in gorgeous apartments and nice hotels, dined in lovely restaurants, and have drunk in fantastic pubs and wine bars. To everyone I’ve had the joy to share a table with since last September, thank you; rugby simply wouldn’t be the joyous and ridiculous experience it is without you. There might not be much dosh in my bank account now, but the memory bank is overflowing.
Whatever supporter you are, be it a season ticket holder, someone who comes match by match, or lives far away and can only manage away matches, you are each an important part of the Sharks Family.
We can all now take time to think and reflect, but our work at Carrington never stops. The lads will have a short summer break then return ready to face the challenges of the 2025/26 season. There’s the European draw to look forward to (no, I don’t know when it is), then the Premiership fixtures come out (no, I don’t know when that is either). Planning can then start for the trips we want to go to then dates can go into diaries.
Lots to look forward to in many ways, so bring it on!
Ange
