groundhopper

Heynsham Atoms 24 Shevington 32 More one sided than the score suggests with the home side scoring two late tries but also converting 4 from 4 against 2 from 7 The atoms have a steady history and keeping the sport going for 36 years in what may be Lancashire but outside the heartlands is a real achievement. The atoms is because the founders worked at the power station. The club are presently playing at their highest level The Club moved in the summer to share with Vale of Lune rugby club on the north side of Lancaster. Facilities are good with a clubhouse behind the goal, modern changing rooms replacing what was one a large stand and a new modern stand opposite. This is the type of structure that looks distinctive and could possibly win an award for appearance but would not keep you dry when raining. The game was not played in the greatest spirit with one mass brawl and a couple of flash points in the second half Petrol costs being what they are, made the train fare economic although still expensive and nice walk out along the river for part of the way and back via the railway bridge and through a park behind castle and hilltop church which was either further than I expected or I have slowed down more than I knew

Just back from the match, well back to hotel in Plymouth Many good impressions, sitting on the train from Plymouth and hearing the ticket inspector keep repeating change at Truro for Penryn, a good selection of RL shirts on the train and a combination of RL fans and Cornwall meant friendly people. Doubt I have chatted to as many RL fans in a single day before with the journey back similar the ground was better than I expected, slightly ramshackle stand and cover opposite, albeit blocked by tv gantry today. Plenty of grass banking and nice weather in any event Everything well organised for food and drink with no queues. Heard in advance 1000 plus tickets sold but would estimate crowd a bit lower than that For a first match could not have been better organised On the field, I have to admit I am a part time Hurricanes fan so have seen some large home defeats. Cornwall had the ball for almost all of the first five and the visitors scored against the run of play but then one way traffic and 0 40 at half time. Sone players clearly lacked the experience but the score was mostly due to one off mistakes. Second half was level until the last minute. a significant end to end slope may have been a factor Nothing overall but positives and those on the train said they would come again Where players will come from ti improve the team is an issue but the ones they have will get better and there does seem to be an acceptance that victories over West wales and maybe Skolars and hopefully a couple of bonus wins elsewhere will suffice. Long term other factors will influence success, failure and longevity but for today, well done Cornwall ,

March 26 Folly Lane 24 Dalton 26. North West Men’s Cup This is the type of game an RU commentator would rave over, a fairly poor game settled with the last move of the match. Dalton would not share that view with massive celebrations after their late try in the corner The teams were evenly matched and the first half was low scoring and with few chances. A sin bin just after half time, when Folly Lane were ahead allowed Dalton back into the game The ground is at the end of a cul de sac with many signs suggesting residents don’t welcome an influx of cars on a matchday. Once inside facilities are good, two pitches running parallel with each having a rail down one side. Slightly higher than the pitch is the changing rooms and a small bar doing a good trade today with a crowd of nearly 150. Something that I realised at Ashton last week and today supported is the fact that below NCL facilities appear much better off the field West of the Pennines than East. As for Dalton they appear a well run club and have had to do some travelling over recent years. A desire to stay in winter resulted in them having to play in the Pennine League for a year and like most Cumbria teams due to call off they play more away games than at home. I certainly enjoyed their set up, when visiting them a few years ago

March 19 2022 Ashton Bears 18 Widnes Farnworth 10 Top of the table clash albeit after 2 rounds with both having won both fixtures, Ashton scoring lots of points Some may remember Ashton’s clubhouse burnt down and the replacement bar and changing rooms are functional and probably amongst the best at this level but lacks character, not helped by losing all memorabilia. Nice to find a range of food available rather than a menu of items I would buy and then be told they are only available for the youngsters on a Sunday. The game promised much and there were some good moves but too many penalties and injuries for it to flow. Despite these exactly 40mins with nothing added on in either half The ground is visible from a railway, I assume Wigan via St Helens to Liverpool and visible on the left if heading from Wigan. It is closer still to the M6 but you would need to heading south on the top deck of a coach to see it. Apart from the clubhouse mentioned above, the ground has hard standing and a rail down one side and with plenty of youth sides, the club would only need minor changes to enter the NCL. Now on three from three in an eight team league, this may happen sooner than later. Crowd close to 200. Incidentally it has been mentioned I don’t name any players or scorers in reports. Although the hosts listed a team on Facebook the night before, I doubt this was accurate at kick off and I don’t have the means to do this, even it would make the reports more interesting

First post for three weeks after working away in Scotland and football at Elgin City and Lossiemouth of the Highland League and a fair amount of snow Journey back via Candy last Saturday Back to Merseyside today, this time a train trip to the new boys Liverpool Lizards. There has been comments about them elsewhere but form what I can gather there is no side with unrealistic ambition simply because they come form an area which the game would love to conquer. Manchester Rangers they are to. From what I could gather they are a group of players primarily from the university who have now left end want to keep playing. If they had come through Leeds Uni., they would nearly have been noticed Home is the university playing fields, well used for a Saturday with ladies followed by men’s hockey and two RU games. There are three rugby pitches and at least the RL one was marked out for league. Pre match my opinion was that as a new team Div 3 was quite optimistic and with a player injured and 6 down in the first few mins, nothing has altered by opinion of a 40 point victory for Woolston A. Thirty mins later we were at 28 6 and I was highly impressed with all but the conversion attempts. A late try made it 28 10 at heart time The second half was a complete turnaround, no obvious reason, maybe fitness and Woolston pulled ahead were brought back level and then scored in the 79th min. Thoroughly enjoyable and delighted to be wrong again in my prediction.

I am told Lock Lane did one for the Challenge Cup first round Heynsham Atoms advises they have room for a few more advertisers for theirs. I assume this is paper and as they are on a new ground will find out sooner rather than later

National Cup week again and despite indicating a trip to Haresfinch was planned, have found myself working in and around Inverness for a week or more so split the journey in my favourite RL destination, Cumbria Maryport is probably the only town to have three amateur teams but none at semi pro but is as much as RL centred town as say Wigan Today Maryport hosted the A team of Thatto Heath. The journey up was interesting after Kendal with both hands firmly on the steering wheel after Keswick and torrential rain on arrival. I like the town but first visit for almost ten years but despite the rain had a walk around Getting close to kick off, it looked the weather would keep the crown very low in numbers but the rain stopped almost on 2 pm and well over a 100 watching before half time. Like most Cumbria teams Maryport have their own ground and bar and this is railed off and visible from the station The pitch looked perfect before kick off but inevitable deteriorated and would have been difficult for anyone playing their first or second game of the season with a number needing assistance for cramp. Thatto went 6 up, then scores were level but the visitors went on to win 18 6 to reach the last eight. No RL again next week as heading north, nearest game of football for the 19th is Brora and would love to add to my small total of Highland League grounds visited but weather forecast is a week of rain so that seems unlikely.

£3 at Rochdale Hornets today for match specific prog It was a monthly magazine last time I went but as they may not have a home game for two months I suppose it still could be later in the season

Whilst there were some good fixtures in the challenge cup, it was also National Cup today. I think there are only, 20 entrants this year but it is good to see support from a few conference sides. Why the dates of the two competition had to coincide when there are no amateur fixtures next week is beyond me Looked initially so Haresfich who are publicity shy so made the long trip up to Cumbria and Cockermouth I had previously visited a pitch adjacent to the Union ground where they changed but things are now looking up for the club with money fri the World Cup Legacy fund and others, they have taken over what I assume was a little used community centre and have worked hard to install two bars and fence off the pitch A crowd of 250 attended and the bard were busy, so a few years ago they would have given all the bat money to the Union club who may well have been good hosts but are their competitors for players. The social side I’d a.so taking off with a race night after the game and bingo and sportsman’s dinners advertised On the field they looked like what they are, a team playing out of season and not fully fit, playing against one from a higher division. I was very impressed by some of the passing from Waterhead who won 66 to 6 with a diplomatic final whistle after 70mins when Cockermouth scored their points I would love to more in this area but as a sign of the times,my first visit was got a 6pm and I drove there and back in a day, now I need a hotel afterwards from a 2pm Off now to Rochdale to see the Hurricanes first match having watched the Bears a couple of times from their inception and about half the home games at The Butts Have seem the comments on West Wales, Cornwall etc and am concerned about the score here as well. Hopefully will be proven wrong Note Haresfinch v Orrell in next round in two weeks so should attend. If anyone has a game next week, please post

First game of the year for me. My wife was ill Saturday and this prevented me getting the 6.19 train to Edinburgh so thankful there was a Sunday tie Went to Bentley who have returned to Wheatley Hill RU and the prog today’s indicated they will be there all season Crowd bigger than it would have appeared on TV as the camera side had a small stand and easier access. I would guess 800 but am rarely accurate with my guesses I thought everything was done well today, the organisation was good, the atmosphere was really like a cup tie and the two sides in my opinion equally matched Good to see a Doncaster side in the conference, pretty sure they are the first. Hard to say on one game but they should be high in the table expecially in Yorkshire there are some good all conference or conference v Championship 1 fixtures in two weeks and recommend them to everyone

I have been trying to look at this rationally The heart wants there to be clubs everywhere but I have been watching long enough to know that starting with a logo and website is not the hardest bit It may be possible to start a team with the right budget and follow the Toronto route but no club has succeeded in even the medium term without the foundations and it is unlikely owners want to pour in a seven figure sum annually The club is right to identify that the only route is to use mostly local players but they simply do not exist. Players will not switch from Pirates or Redruth and there are only six other clubs in the top seven levels of RU and only Camborne and St Austell in six and above I accept players can come from Devon but level 7 in Yorkshire is Yorkshire 1 so the equivalent clubs are Middlesbrough, Goole, Selby, Bradford Salem and Old Crossleyans and Old Rishworthians. It is hard to compare but a combined team from these would probably be competitive if the players could get up to speed quickly. Many would have played both codes. This assumes however that the money would be significantly better to justify the switch and players who only play in the County would want to spend up to nine hours each way on a coach. Apart from the players then sponsorship and gate receipts are vital. Cornish Pirates are admittedly not central but don’t get 2000 and on present tables are 16th in RU in total. Redruth which is Cornwall’s biggest RU area are top and had 810 yesterday. Both to some extent represent the county. and both have many schools playing the game and the latter st least are a. major part of the community. Crowds aren’t available but I doubt Falmouth, Penryn and Truro get more than 600 If the players are not available then the results will be awful and the first few matches are essential to build the interest. With a big crowd for the first game maybe they can beat Hurricanes but preparation time is running out but to wind games away in Yorkshire is wildly optimistic. A season in the Southern Conference would give the opportunity for shorter journeys although probably more miles than almost any other RL tea, support to be built up and a club spirit to be made. This may just give them the chance. Cornwall is certainly crying out for a decent team in any sport but not one using the mane and struggling against frequently unknown opposition. Please Cornwall proved me wrong. As stated at the top of this thread it may gain new converts and new players

Kings Cross Park 40 Woodhouse Warriors 22 I thought this was a great set up, fully enclosed ground with when walking up from the town, high walls to one side allowing the pitch to be level. There is a nice club house and even a real ale, from Bradfield Brewery today. It would take little to get the facilities up to NCL, should that ever be their aim, with two provisions. There is a cricket scoreboard on one side although I am sot sure there is a team still as no discernible square. The other is something I have seen before, possibly at Batley Boys where all kicks are taken at the same end. The pitch seems full size but in goal areas are very small. Woodhouse were second going into the game but we’re always behind and there was no shortage of points scored especially in the first half. Thankfully I was in the god company of Martin from Sheffield or would not have known one lad scored a hat trick for the hosts. For anyone local or that matter further away like Martin and I, a clubI would strongly recommend. They tweeted the game on the night before which is always useful attendance about 70

Westgate Common 40 Upton 6 Thought my season had finished but this caught the eye. Not just me either with about 250 watching. Venue today was Thornes Park, a large public park with a college as a centrepiece and attractive in places to walk. There are two football pitches in a very open area but as 1 was told these are frequently waterlogged and the rugby have developed a pitch higher up but use the same changing rooms. Although plenty of dog and other walkers pass through, there is a feeling of enclosure with threes on three sides. The pitch was roped off, required for a crowd of this size. Upton seems disorganised in the build up with some players arriving close to kick off and I gained the impression a number has simply not showed up leaving them with a bare 14. Despite this they scored first but not again in the game. I have concerns how long the Pennine League and therefore winter rugby will last but the Yorkshire cup has 17 entries and I would recommend this to anyone. Hopefully clubs will update social media and some c.ups have entered this but not the league and I think there will be a number of walkovers. A revisit to Toll Bar is my initial thought

As well as watching amateur games, I like to visit those used at a higher level and managed a trip to North Wales Crusaders last week However one ground used was not accessible with the only London games at Rosslyn Park behind closed doors. in any event I wanted to watch the Southern Conference play off final and lo and behold they choose Rosslyn Park as the venue albeit at 6.30pm. On arrival, I realised I had mucked up as Brixton v Medway was just finishing in the lower league final. There was real enthusiasm on and off the pitch and I feel I missed a treat. The main event was London Chargers v West Warriors, either a local derby or possibly Australia v New Zealand although Hammersmith are the main Aussie team Rosslyn Park will be happy with the day especially the beer sales and the crowd of300 to 400 were to put in mildly loud. As a club they were one of those whose results were on the BBC when I first watched the results probably 50 years ago. They are still at a reasonable but not top level.The ground apart from a 4g has probably not changed since with Ivy climbing through the covered terracing and bench seats in the Mai stand leaning at steep angles to match the floor they are attached to West Warriors were always ahead and would have been more so if they had not missed all five conversions, admittedly mostly from the touch line. A final score of Chargers 10 West’s 20. I had to leave to catch a train at the final whilst leaving but more drinking was certainly on the menu for others. hopefully some else can advise the scorers but with no prog and no announcements I cannot. For a game claiming poverty, it is surprising no gate was taken as with pitch hire and a full compliment of referees and assistants this not have been cheap to stage

Todmorden 36 Illingworth 10 Surprise result with the visitors going into the game with 9 wins from 9 and the home team about 50/50. I think this is the first year for Todmorden, although I have a programme from the national cup v Hensingham from 1997. That was played at Castle Vale Park close to the town centre then and early Facebook posts suggested the same but only training was there. Home now is known as Woodhouse, a basic venue, of the type that makes the travelling worthwhile. Leaving the main road to Sowerby Bridge a mile out of town the road crosses the river by a narrow bridge with a mill converted to housing. Going uphill are the changing rooms and at least a quarter of a mile further there is a small car park serving a fishing lake and the pitch. Once inside no buildings are visible just a steep hillside and woodland. The pitch was roped down each side. Expecting an away win it was no surprise when the visitors went 6 nil up but it was 12 10 to the hosts at half time who then dominated the second half. attendance of about 80 Some photos taken on phone and will post if family assist a technophobe

August 7 West Bowling i have a lot of sympathy for the above They wanted to stay playing winter but had to drop a standard and in order to return to the NCL had to give up their ground as it shared with cricket They moved to a local rec which on a nice day was a great place to watch RL sitting on a bench at the top of a steep grass bank. Adjacent to Odsal it may have been less attractive with rain and a northerly wind. Facilities may have been a problem but the decision was made to move to Horsfall stadium, the home of Bradford Park Avenue FC. the ground is poor for their level and the seats need a good clean but it could be argued it is the best ground in the NCL but probably no one favourite with a running track surrounding the pitch There were not many games on today outside the heartlands so I choose this without checking the table but with top of the group playing bottom, the match was never likely to be competitive. There are obviously going to be more mismatches with the structure of local groups but on balance I think that was a sensible idea for this season. However Bowling scored in the second minute and were better throughout. Just Askam if they return and Hensingham for the NCL to visit

Would have been at the Jaguars today had it been on as needed to be local but ended up 120 miles away but managed to drop the wife off at the restaurant with mins to spare As for the book, you need to do something interesting and have a style of writing that makes others want to read and even with a spellchecker think I would fail the second. Will let you know if I do get a match at Droitwich but don’t forget if the. Islands league is still playing Birmingham are at Kings Norton which is in Hopwood and the other Worcester team at Birmingham Solihull

This is my take on what is likely to have happened based on experience of watching at this level for over 10 years. I have no basis to back this up and it is opinion only. It is not difficult to have plans and a few enthusiasts to start an RL club anywhere. It seems now the website is the first step and a few likes are given on here for the website and the enthusiasm Finding and RU club to host is next, again not hard, possibly pitch rental for usually pitch 3, the promise of bar revenue and the possibility of poaching neighbouring clubs players when RU starts help. A few training sessions especially after lockdown and numbers are food, the first game can be a large win to a heavy defeat but either way the players are playing for fun and have not always made a commitment. One heavy defeat and suddenly enthusiasm for a long motorway trip wanes. Travel with 13 and get thrashed and suddenly the numbers are not there. Then the fact we are not football kicks in, there is no pool of older players, 17 year old and those not getting a game elsewhere and it is not possible to get a team out. See my reports above for Invicta Panthers and Skolars A. No shows cause problems for the top teams then, if you have won four for four a team with three defeats and a forfieit won’t travel and suddenly you are playing away games only. Mid July is difficult and August when RU training starts worse. Those clubs still playing therefore arrange play off and I believe the plate is third v fourth. There may be a grand final today or next week. My experience says do the new clubs early and the established one especially up north late. Droitwich RU goes on the missed list again as Chester refused to play against a previous Worcester side because of the state of the pitch 15 to 20 years ago on the previous RU ground As for the last three weeks, I planned to go to Bramley but visitors had Covid, but watched there A team at Leeds Akkies. Decided on Bramley again last week to find they have moved to West Leeds RU a nice ground with some cover so missed Bramley Phoenix RU again. This week another trip to Hull for Hull Wyke v Farnley. Never checked the table but visitors were disappointing. I think that is 13 grounds in Hull and 7 more in East Yorks/ East Riding and only Kingswood at the fairly new Willows ground to go.

July 10 Agreed to drive the eldest son to Sussex to collect a car and the only easily accessible ground was Elmbridge Eagles who are at present unable to use their own ground. That is a very long story which was explained to be by the father of one player. What a club they are, being based just outside London in Esher but as a club having existed for over 30 years and I assume the longest running amateur team in the South East. Trying to confirm the fixture, I found they has three youth teams away at different venues and on arrival discovered a girls match, possibly under 16. Only caught 20 mins but what enthusiasm and some fairly committed tackles. The opposition was London Skolars A but the teams can have little connection. On arrival I found they had 9 and seemed unclear if others were coming. The kick off was put back by 30mins and it was agreed they would play 9 a side until the others arrived. my assumption that were no others was proved wrong when 4 others arrived 10 mins into the claim and a few others later on. With the meet scheduled fir 1.30pm I cant understand how players could be 1 hour 45 to 2 hours late even allowing for a major flower show ar Hampton Court had they come that way, especially as my delay afterwards was only 10 mins. The score was 18 6 after 10mins when the game went to 13 a side and although I am probably not accurate I believe 104 to 10 at the finish. I have seen worse teams than Skolars, who were simply beaten by the impressive pace of the Eagles. Clearly conceding 100 points in a merit league indicates none will be likely to be playing in the championship this year.

Glad to see others posting and hopefully a few others will even if only visiting local clubs. For myself a very local derby with two sides less than a mile apart. I think it is accepted the North East shows real potential and after the success of the Hurricanes last year, a second team has started in Hartlepool. For those that don’t know the town is the hotbed of RU a in the North East, West Hartlepool were in the Premiership when the game went professional and a lack of funds to compete with those with huge backers caused then to first struggle, then sell the ground and now compete in the lower divisions. I am told the town has six clubs. Unusually the RL sides appear to be primarily players almost entirely from the club they are based at. The home team are called Friarage Falcons, the name of the ground where Hartlepool Rovers have played since the 19th century. There is cover a long most of one side and an old rusty stand I had seen from the adjacent railway line has been replaced by a smaller one on the opposite side. There is some terracing on three sides Hurricanes have had the better start to the season and had won the earlier match on their ground but Falcons were always in control scoring 10 tries to 3 and winning 54 18 What was noticeable yesterday was that the early season enthusiasm seems to have finished and my first four choices of game, all in the heartlands were cancelled and whilst Covid may be a factor, the difficulty of confirming fixtures is back and could be a serious concern when RU training starts again

June 26 Hull Bilton Bears 0 Hull Dockers A 80 It’s good to be watching up north again. There is just a difference in the nature of the game when played by those brought up on it. I was late in discovering the local league in Hull and have only seen a few at home with wonderful venues like the Graveyard and Orchard Park surrounded by flats and wish I had seen more the now not used pitches. The Hull and District League appears to have folded and the Yorkshire Men’s has had the sense to put most Hull teams together in Div 5 East. That may result in some mismatches but it is better than forcing teams at this level to travel to Halifax, Bradford etc. Bilton went into the game with a nil five win lose ratio and with a heavy home defeat in one of the division 5 could be argued to be the worst rated league side. They are however categorically not and would have competed and probably won against a couple I have watched this year. They also managed to get an A team out earlier in the day and look a good club all round apart from results. I last saw Bilton at Eastmount, a large open space with sometimes more than one game at once, but they have back to the village this season but apart from the fact this is East Yorks not Hull nothing looked different and the village can only be described as very dull. The ground is behind the village hall and was roped in each side. I have seen clubs share with football, union, cricket, cycling and probably other sports but behind the posts is the venue for axe, knife and tomahawk throwing. Thankfully they were not using the venue today and the pitches do not overlap. Dockers were simply stronger especially a tall number 10 who could run through the Bilton defenders with relative ease and scoped a few tries. One disadvantage of groundhopping is you fail to recognise players. He would have shared man of the match with the referee, I am told only 18 and able to be almost invisible as the best refs are. Clearly a one sided game with Bolton down to 10 at the end but they did no works with 10 than 13 and are a much better side than the result suggests

June 19 2021 Wales Aber Valley 10 Bridgend Blue Bulls 26 This is a five team league this year with Torfaen have returned to the league at least temporarily from the Southern Conference and all five are well established clubs. This may in fact be a problem as there are no enough clubs for 2 divisions and this being arguably the highest standard of the southern regional leagues, there is no room for recreational players. New teams join but often have a short shelf life. The main town in the valley is Senghenydd infamous for the worst mining disaster in British history with 440 deaths. Entry to the valley is from Caerphilly with otherwise only mountain roads I saw Aber Valley when then they played at Senghenydd RU but they have now moved to Aneurin Park, presumably names after Aneurin Bevan who for anyone who does not know the name, should be researched and once voted as the 45th greatest Briton. It would be difficult to think of anyone now in politics worthy of having a building park or institution manes after them. Maybe we could name branches of the serious fraud squad after a few at present. The park is a lovely place to watch rugby on a nice day, the club fence the pitch and there are grass banks on two sides with benches. There was a steady stream of people passing through and maybe 100 watching. Bridgend known as the Blue Bulls were founded in 2003 and in their early days could attract a crowd of 1000 for big games. They are the most successful amateur club in Wales and were dominant today

Eastern Rhinos 28 Bedford Tigers 22 You can usually tell who are the established teams in the south by the nicknames, those who have been around longest took theirs from the top sides, newer once’s take something more local. indeed Eastern Rhinos go back through Ipswich Rhinos and Felixstowe back to at least 1992 and Bedford although replacing a previous team called Swift’s to a similar date. Both started off as winter teams Rhinos play in Colchester now and are members of the Southern Conference. Unlike some places visited this year, clubs in this are very much clubs not just a group of lads playing as a team and planning year to year. This game is considered to be a derby but the sides are close to 100 miles apart. The London sides dominate this league with a strong antipodean element and strength on the field is essential. Bedford in particular are running numerous sides and had senior, A, U18 and ladies all turning out this weekend. Rhinos were always slightly the stronger and the result was not really in doubt at any time but was competitive at all stages and only a converted try separated the team. The venue whilst ideal for the hosts, was not to my liking. Rhinos were tenants at Colchester RU for many years and they sold up and moved even further out of town. The football ground is visible from new and old sites and was, at least when I visited known as the community stadium, no doubt using the word community scored a few planning points. The ground was solely for football and what community there was, were only involved in making parking impossible near their houses. There was a nearby park and ride which could not be used so fans had to drive into town to get a bus which passed shoppers on a bus going into town from the park and ride. This facility again reflects planning policy not usage. I assume the old ground has been built on and a similar amount of sports facility had to be provided, albeit on what was green belt. The rugby club saw what was happening and took their area and built their own bars and other means of income stream, but not spectator facilities, the first being the priority of all RU clubs. The remainder of the space has a leisure centre which was unused on a Saturday pm apart from a bike track and a cafe where five teenagers were employed to twiddle their thumbs. I imagine it runs at a huge loss and will become run down. The match took place inside a cage with spectators not allowed in side but with concrete steps to sit on outside to peer through a meal fence. Most stood on the top step to try and peer over. I have never been to a facility of this type twice Anyway rant over and more about the game itself next week

June 5 Bath Gladiators 28 Reading 32 Looking for a fixture foir yesterday and fancied going South West before the summer traffic makes it difficult and the choice is amazing. The previous post relates to Droitwich/ Worcester and further south All Golds made their Bristol debut and beyond that there was Devon at Newton Abbot and Tarka Storm at South Molton, a small market town in North Devon. Three hours in Bath is always appealing and was the choice although the club do not paly in the city. There has been a reasonable RL history in the city, originally in the 80's in the winter and more recently Bath and Wiltshire Romans out of Corsham and Melksham This season Bath have done what a few other southern based sides have done and located to a sports facility which was barely used, the route followed by Elmbridge, St Albans and Nottingham. the location is a village called Farmborough which whilst upmarket is actually surrounded by mining villages. The North Somerset coalfield is not one of the more well known. The village has a village hall and separate sports field and it appears the cricket club have folded leaving a vacancy which Bath are improving. The opposition were Reading who came into the game with two large victories whilst Bath had suffered two close away defeats. The match was well refereed with two the culprits of two high tackles being given the benefit of the doubt. When queried he indicated he would not have done so for more experienced players and there was clearly no malice. Reading started well including a penalty try, rarely seen at this level but Bath fought back and took the lead twice before a close finish at 28 32.

May 29 Tameside Knights 62 Blackpool Stanley A 40 There have been teams on and off in Tameside for some time including in I think the Pennine League but considering the proximity to Oldham, surprisingly little. The difference is not one of geography but schools where Union is strong in Tameside and Ashton RU where the game took place, one of at least three RU teams. Tameside play in the merit league and could probably play higher but they are pretty much a combination of Ashton's two RU teams and can only play until training begins for the other code. Blackpool Stanley are on of two teams in the town and this was the first time at least for many years they had fielded an A team. Initially it looked like a huge score for hosts with the first 20 points at more than one a minute. It would be fair to say defences were not on top with some tries just forced through the defensive line but the visitors fought hard and scored 7 tries in a match with over 100 points