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I also recall reading an article in Open Rugby about rugby league in Corsica. Cliff Spracklen wrote about it in another thread some years back: Posted January 10, 2016 Firstly with respect to Corsica, a place I love, and have visited a dozen times, you have to realise that it's population is relatively small, about 300,000, the biggest concentrations being in Bastia in the north and Ajaccio in the south. There are more Corsicans outside of France in cities like Marseille and Paris. The fact that two football clubs SCBastia and Ajaccio have performed in France's top division is amazing, as they have often punched above their weight. Indeed Bastia were in the French FA Cup Final last season and have played in a UEFA Cup Final against Newcastle. Football is by far the most popular sport and clubs have received generous support from local authorities. Once at Ile Rousse in the Balagne we were looking for a local lower league club for their match against Lyon reserves. The ground was mountain top, in a beautiful setting, but was a brand new modern sports complex and stadium. Even rugby union does not have the same popularity but there are are several RU clubs at Bastia, Ajaccio, Lucciana, the Balagne, Porto Vechio and Corte. Bastia XV are the best known, and were one of the leaders of a "breakaway" from the French Rugby Union over the issue of subsidised travel to games in mailand France. French mainland clubs were reluctant to travel to the island and subsidies were cut. So Bastia and several other clubs switched to League in 1972. The French RL Federation, under the far-sighted Gilbert Dautant nipped in offering support. The first RL match was Bastia v Cassis from Provence. Bastia were joined by other RU clubs from Ajaccio, Corte, Bonifacio, Cervione and Biguglia. Bastia reached the semi-finals of the France Federal Championships in 1973. Unusually for France, which has never been keen on encouraging historical national and regional identities, the Federation organised a France Selection versus Corsica at the Stade Furiani in Bastia, home of the football club. Bastia player Maurius Leonelli became the first Bastias to wear the French RL jersey. Ajaccio played for a number of years getting as high as the French second division. By then the former RU clubs had returned to their union roots, encouraged by sweeteners from the wealthy French RU. But the Ajaccio RU club continued with a Rugby League section until 1992, aswell as its main RU activities. In 2011 Catalan Francis Cavato temporaiyl relaunched a leasure side which played intermittently. Interestingly Batia XV , the islands top RU club was in danger of losing its ground, the ground, unusually for French sports clubs being privately owned, as it celebrated its 50th anniversary. They have now effectively moved in with the football club, changing their name in the process to SC Bastia XV. https://www.totalrl.com/forums/index.php?/topic/279959-rugby-in-corsica/#findComment-3256354 Also, from the same thread: Claude Cassagnol Posted February 18, 2016 Dans les années 70/80 le XIII en Corse : Equipes ayant éxisté : Corse du sud : -Ajaccio -Appieto -Bonifacio -Cauro -Porto Vecchio -Propriano -Sartene -Tavera Haute Corse : -Bastia -Biguglia -Calvi -Cervione -Corte -Furiani -L'ile Rousse -Ponte Leccia -Santa Maria Poggio https://www.totalrl.com/forums/index.php?/topic/279959-rugby-in-corsica/#findComment-3275663

I think that Le Pontet had a huge row with the French federation and switched to rugby union. David Fraisse used to play for them.

Looks like it will be Salford's biggest crowd for some years, bigger than the last game at The Willows.

Goole return to the semi-professional ranks 122 years after the original Goole club resigned from the Northern Union, at the same stadium as well it seems. Good luck to them. It would be wonderful to see areas which also had teams in the early days back in rugby league, Penrith, Morecambe, Lancaster, Kendal, Birkenhead, Stockport and Runcorn for example.

Aispuro is probably a Basque surname, and Guillermo is Spanish rather than the French Guillaume, so he likely to be of partial Spanish heritage.

If I remember correctly Carlise had a reserves/''A' team playing out of Penrith in the mid-80s. There was an attendance of about 1000 for a reserves cup game against Widnes.

I would imagine that Doncaster Knights get a bit of support from further afield as they are the highest placed Yorkshire team in the RFU structures. No Yorkshire team is in the Premiershship or National League 1, so the next highest placed sides are in National League 2 North, the fourth tier of English rugby union.

Jack Johnson, who is from Audenshaw, has signed for Oldham. AUDENSHAW’S very own rugby league star Jack Johnson is coming ‘home’ after signing for Oldham RLFC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Championship_(rugby_league) Durham and Northumberland did compete in the County Championship for a couple of seasons from 1902-1904. Out of interest, Cheshire still had a side then as well.

Yes, I believe that he was a decent boxer and did some acting. I think I also recall seeing him in a Channel 4 (?) documentary about him trying to become an NFL player in the mid-eighties.

From memory, Bill Goodwin was the original Kent Invicta coach. They signed winger Frank Feighan from Peckham who had played in a trial for Fulham, and I think he won the Grandstand try of the season for Kent Invicta in 82-83 against Castleford in the cup. He ended up at Fulham via Southend Invicta. Another Peckham player went to Fulham, Martin Herdman, who also played for Wales. I think Peckham had some sort of split into Peckham Pumas and South London, who played in the North West counties amateur league Division One for a season.

It is surprising how the game managed to recede, there were more sides then than now.

It is interesting to note that Sale hardly has any competition in the North-West. They are the only club in the top tier of RU. The next clubs are two leagues down in national league one, Macclesfield and Sedgley Park whose attendances hardly set the world on fire (the recent match between the two had an attendance of 397) You do get the impression that RU is declining somewhat in the North and the ambitious up and coming clubs are from the South.

An interesting piece on black South African players. 'Between the Springbok and Ikhamanga

I actually think that Phil Larder's column is far better written and more interesting than most articles on tactics/analysis. Certainly for a more general audience, ie. people without an incredibly deep knowledge of the game ,they are pretty good.