Remember Scrumdown

[Marlin]

Me and a couple of mates were reminiscing at weekend over a couple of pints about Scrumdown that used to be shown on ITV Sunday nights at about 11-30pm. We were all school kids then and we would have had to do some hard negotiating with our parents to able to stay up to watch. Most times my mum would forget to tape it for me if I had to retreat to bed and my mate would always tape it on long play on his VHS recorder, which would mean a sprint to his after school on Mondays (our Ferguson videostar didn

[Geoff Lee]

I remember one Scrumdown game at Thrum Hall in which there was a clip of a Halifax forward in the dugout sheltering from the snow. It was unusual not because it was snow but because it was in either early October or late March. Paul Harkin could just not believe it.

[l'angelo mysterioso]

yorkshire had scrum down late on Sunday night

and Granada had a rl programme live on saturday afternoon

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

Scrumdown on Yorkshire TV on Sunday evenings would have been shown in the late eighties.

Could just about get the signal over here.

I remember the great Widnes team of that era featured quite regularly.

Games that come to mind include the championship decider against Wigan, J Davies debut against Salford and a Hull KR v Widnes game at Old Craven Park that I think was the last game ever played there.

Think Rovers went down that year and remained down till this year.

As well as the Saturday game shown on Granada mentioned by L'Angelo, they also used to show a highlights programme going back a few years earlier.

Could have been the early eighties.

Richard Madeley presented it one year, think Keith Macklin may also have presented it.

Can't remember what night it was on though, possibly Monday.

[Billy Bunter]

I just about remember it, as Jill Halfpenny Fan says we just about got the signal (we had it stored as Channel 5 on our TV) over in the Granada region.

My dad used to tape it for me and I'd rush home after school on a Monday to watch whatever was on. Usually leaning against the radiator in the winter, with several Jammy Dodgers and a mug of hot chocolate to enjoy. Loved it when Saints featured as the main game, seem to remember a great 2nd half performance against Fev at Post Office Rd. It took ages for it to dawn on me that it only featured the games involving Yorkshire sides.

Remember seeing James Lowes playing for Bramley I think.

The picture quality was pretty average though.

[Old Frightful]

remember it very well.

in particular, a game from the watersheddings, oldham vs widnes.

oldham were well beaten but norman francis scored a couple of great tries.

and there was a wonderful moment when jonathon davies was teeing up yet another conversion and cocentrating hard when a rather disenchanted oldham supporter's voice came through the tv set clear and loudly...

"gerron with it, you welsh puff"

great memories.

[Trojan]

I have a video of a Scrumdown from 1988, Oldham v Fev at Watersheddings. It has competitive scrums it also has David Watkins and John Helm sampling the Oldham pies!!!

For some reason in the '80's Granada and Yorkshire didn't get on so Granada didn't show it. Conversely when Granada started showing the occasional full live match on Saturday afternoons with I believe Clive Tylsley (?) and Brian Smith, Yorkshire mulishly wouldn't show them, however, Tyne Tees did show them and in Morley we get Tyne Tees (from Bilsdale I think) just as good as Yorkshire from Emley Moor, so we were able to see them. Of course with the advent of Super League it all stopped. It also stopped in the autumn of 1991 - I think it was one month before and one month after the Union world cup appeared on ITV. I used to have a cracking Fev - Halifax game where we hammered them with only 12 men on. Pearson, Smales, Newlove, Fox Gary Rose Gary H Price - what a team!! P O Road was packed (or seemed to be in the dark) mainly with Fax fans I suppose (where have they gone?) - the atmosphere was brill. Especially on the video. Scrumdown! those were the days. BTW I think it was also shown in the Border area.

Edited March 14, 2007 by Trojan

[Stretcher Fletcher]

The director of that programme must have been taking something pretty strong judging by some of the weird camera angles that the programme was shot from.

Going back even further, what about RL Action of the early '80s - anyone remember that?

[l'angelo mysterioso]

I have a video of a Scrumdown from 1988, Oldham v Fev at Watersheddings. It has competitive scrums it also has David Watkins and John Helm sampling the Oldham pies!!!

For some reason in the '80's Granada and Yorkshire didn't get on so Granada didn't show it. Conversely when Granada started showing the occasional full live match on Saturday afternoons with I believe Clive Tylsley (?) and Brian Smith, Yorkshire mulishly wouldn't show them, however, Tyne Tees did show them and in Morley we get Tyne Tees (from Bilsdale I think) just as good as Yorkshire from Emley Moor, so we were able to see them. Of course with the advent of Super League it all stopped. It also stopped in the autumn of 1991 - I think it was one month before and one month after the Union world cup appeared on ITV. I used to have a cracking Fev - Halifax game where we hammered them with only 12 men on. Pearson, Smales, Newlove, Fox Gary Rose Gary H Price - what a team!! P O Road was packed (or seemed to be in the dark) mainly with Fax fans I suppose (where have they gone?) - the atmosphere was brill. Especially on the video. Scrumdown! those were the days. BTW I think it was also shown in the Border area.

the crowd for the fev halifax game was 5462

james Lowes played for Hunslet not Bramley

Gary Slugger Price was also in the fev squad you mention very underrated player.

[Trojan]

[james Lowes played for Hunslet not Bramley

James Lowes also played for Leeds. In the period we are on about I recall Jimmy and Hanley playing for Leeds and spear tackling a Fev player right under their own posts at the score board end. Outcome - play on - no penalty. (no change there then!)

[geek]

Scrumdown on Yorkshire TV on Sunday evenings would have been shown in the late eighties.

Could just about get the signal over here.

I remember the great Widnes team of that era featured quite regularly.

Games that come to mind include the championship decider against Wigan, J Davies debut against Salford and a Hull KR v Widnes game at Old Craven Park that I think was the last game ever played there.

Think Rovers went down that year and remained down till this year.

That was in the 1988/89 season

We won th Div 2 championship in 1989/90 and were promoted, we stayed up for about 2 years I think and then were relegated and remained down 'til this year

[l'angelo mysterioso]

[james Lowes played for Hunslet not Bramley

James Lowes also played for Leeds. In the period we are on about I recall Jimmy and Hanley playing for Leeds and spear tackling a Fev player right under their own posts at the score board end. Outcome - play on - no penalty. (no change there then!)

that's right I remember that.I think it was steadman.

[Wendall]

Granada had a better show than Yorkshire's Scrumdown in Rugby League Live - were Clive 'Look at me Now' Tyldsley was commentating.

Thats when ITV didnt mind Rugby League.

[TwistedSpireStarter]

If it wasn't for Scrumdown and Video recorders ( it was on past my bedtime) i wouldn't have watched /played Rugby League

.......and they say Yorkshire TV does nothing for North Derbyshire

[Scubby]

I have a video of a Scrumdown from 1988, Oldham v Fev at Watersheddings. It has competitive scrums it also has David Watkins and John Helm sampling the Oldham pies!!!

Remember seeing that game at Oldham. The old smuggle move at the back of the scrum between Deryck Fox and the loose forward - think it was Paul Lyman. He went under the posts unopposed

[The Parksider]

I had a lot of home videos of late night sunday scrumdown. I also had a scrumdown top tries for about 1988 I got as an birthday pressy.

The classic scrumdown for me was Grayshon leading the Northern team off after being bullied ( ) by that nasty HKR pack of those days.

Big meanies.........

[Brigg Rover]

The classic scrumdown for me was Grayshon leading the Northern team off after being bullied ( ) by that nasty HKR pack of those days.

Big meanies.........

Them big Bradford puffs just couldn't hack it.

That was my first game I ever went to!

[WakefieldWildcat]

I've still got OLDHAM V TRINITY (1988), TRINTIY V HULL KR (1988) AND TRINITY V CAS (1989) on video.

But i remember Scrumdown (think it was still called that) being shown as early as 1981, because Wakey beat Bradford 11-8 at Belle Vue in about Oct 81, with a young Ellery Hanley playing for Bradford Northern.

My Dad said stand in the corner at the front near the East Stand and we'll get on tele. He was right and i remember it because, 1, we didn't have a video so i had to stay up until 11.30ish to watch it and 2, the coat my dad wore looked like something Arthur Daley would have been proud of.

Happy days.

[Scubby]

I've still got OLDHAM V TRINITY (1988), TRINTIY V HULL KR (1988) AND TRINITY V CAS (1989) on video.

But i remember Scrumdown (think it was still called that) being shown as early as 1981, because Wakey beat Bradford 11-8 at Belle Vue in about Oct 81, with a young Ellery Hanley playing for Bradford Northern.

My Dad said stand in the corner at the front near the East Stand and we'll get on tele. He was right and i remember it because, 1, we didn't have a video so i had to stay up until 11.30ish to watch it and 2, the coat my dad wore looked like something Arthur Daley would have been proud of.

Happy days.

That was not Scrumdown. Scrumdown only started in around 1987 I believe. I think you are refering to a programme called RL Action - a regional RL programme in which Keith Macklin was the commentator. It used to go out on Friday nights if I remember at around 11pm a couple of hours after the game had finished.

Yes, Friday night football was around 25 years ago.

[rhubarbtriangulist_merged]

I had a lot of home videos of late night sunday scrumdown. I also had a scrumdown top tries for about 1988 I got as an birthday pressy.

i have that vhs too. it's brilliant; if any ever questions how good and bad martin offiah was they should be made to watch that tape.

ellery hanley pulls off the best leg tackle ever on a widnes player too.

[Scubby]

i have that vhs too. it's brilliant; if any ever questions how good and bad martin offiah was they should be made to watch that tape.

ellery hanley pulls off the best leg tackle ever on a widnes player too.

I saw that tape very recently - fantastic action. Offiah and Hanley at the peak of their powers, simply awesome. Garry Schofield was also one superb player, I think people forget his amazing talent because of the way he puts himself across nowadays.

What is also interesting in that video - 1988-89 season - is that GB played a home and away series with France in the February. These games were played at weekend and players were pulled from their club sides in order to play in these fixtures. Happy days indeed.

How good was Emosi Koloto? One of the best running second row forwards I have ever seen. The guy was unstoppable in that season - as were Widnes. The had one of the most entertaining sides ever in that period.

Edited March 15, 2007 by Scubby

[voteronniegibbs]

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Edited August 22, 2022 by voteronniegibbs

[Cas Vegas]

Also Graham Steadman going about 180yards at Headingley to score for Cas,

That was nice, that.

He ran past each member of their team & then right along the touchline side in front of the south stand at Headingley - blowing kisses at them & laughing.

Then Crooksie was given some gyp about his weight as he lined up the conversion & duly popped it over from the touchline.

PS I've corrected your typo.

[voteronniegibbs]

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Edited August 23, 2022 by voteronniegibbs

[NEIL FOX IS GOD]

I watched two old games i recorded years ago only yesterday. scrumdown Wakefield V Salford and Wakefield V Castleford. i am sure that i also have the last game played at HKR Craven Park.