Remember Scrumdown

[NEIL FOX IS GOD]

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.

11 8 v Bradford Clive Pickerill made his debut we beat Sts the week after and went down it was 1982. remember the Bradford game well it was half time when i got to the ground that day.

also remember the Oldham game Fox scored a great try for us we won, think Oldham were top at the time in the old 2nd division.

[NEIL FOX IS GOD]

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.

yes it was RL action remember a young kid at Leeds called Andy MaCkintosh who came on the scene he looked a great prospect at the time but never developed.

[Number 18]

The last Scrumdown programmes were highlights of the Australian tour games in '94, I think.

[Diablo]

Yorkshire TV showed Scrumdown.

Granada TV showed Prisoner Cell Block H!!!!!

Which, I believe, got considerably more viewers than the Rugby League.

Scrumdown was biased in favour of Yorkshire teams. (maybe cos they produced it?)Leeds especially. Have a look at the Top Tries video. It's all Gary Bloody Schofield!

[Bitofaboogie]

I can remeber watching a Saturday afternoon game on Granada between Widnes and Wigan at Widnes and I think Bobbie Goulding won it at the death with a penalty goal. He celebrated with an audacious windmilling arm salute as I remeber it.

I also seem to remember that Steve McCurrie made his professional debut in that game.

[rhubarbtriangulist_merged]

I also seem to remember that Steve McCurrie made his professional debut in that game.

drop goal (?).

[Bitofaboogie]

drop goal (?).

I think you might be right.

He may even have scored a try.

My memory fails me.

[RMam]

If I remember correctly the last Scrumdown had a brilliant compilation finish of 'best bits' accompanied by 'End of the Line' by The Travelling Wilberries. I'm sure we have it on video somewhere.....

[Ex-Kirkholt]

Try this link Scrumdown on eBay - the item was bought by blackrodman who I suspect is the one who started this thread !

Edited March 16, 2007 by Ex-Kirkholt

[Old Frightful]

watched an episode of "RL action" last night.

widnes vs hull fc 1983 league game.

widnes hull

1. mick burke 1. gary kemble

2. ralph linton 2. dane o'hara

3. eric hughes 3. james leuluai

4. joe lydon 4. steve evans

5. john basnett 5. paul prendiville

6. tony myler 6. dave topliss

7. andy gregory 7. tony dean

8. brian hogan 8. trevor skerret

9. keith ellwell 9. ronnie wileman

10. mike o'neill 10. charlie stone

11. fred whitfield 11. paul rose

12. eric prescott 12. lee crooks

13. mick adams 13. steve norton

14. david hulme 14. terry day

15. kevin tamati 15. mick crane

coaches. colin tyrer/harry dawson coach arthur bunting

ref ronnie laughton

two teams littered with stars. doug laughton had just resigned, hull won 18-21, ronnie wileman was sent off, and the commentary was keith macklin/david oxley and the programme was presented by a rather youthful richard madeley.

[Ex-Kirkholt]

watched an episode of "RL action" last night.

widnes vs hull fc 1983 league game.

widnes hull

1. mick burke 1. gary kemble

2. ralph linton 2. dane o'hara

3. eric hughes 3. james leuluai

4. joe lydon 4. steve evans

5. john basnett 5. paul prendiville

6. tony myler 6. dave topliss

7. andy gregory 7. tony dean

8. brian hogan 8. trevor skerret

9. keith ellwell 9. ronnie wileman

10. mike o'neill 10. charlie stone

11. fred whitfield 11. paul rose

12. eric prescott 12. lee crooks

13. mick adams 13. steve norton

14. david hulme 14. terry day

15. kevin tamati 15. mick crane

coaches. colin tyrer/harry dawson coach arthur bunting

ref ronnie laughton

two teams littered with stars. doug laughton had just resigned, hull won 18-21, ronnie wileman was sent off, and the commentary was keith macklin/david oxley and the programme was presented by a rather youthful richard madeley.

Three great loose forwards there, Adams, Norton and Crane.

Mick Burke played with us at Kirkholt for one season. The worst trainer I have ever seen but as a footballer, pure class, especially at Pennine League level ! Won the Rochdale Charity Cup for us.

[Old Frightful]

i forgot to mention some prat in the crowd had a whistle and kept blowing it, resulting in the players stopping and looking at a bewildered ref.

that was ronnie laughton's last season too.

[voteronniegibbs]

.

Edited August 23, 2022 by voteronniegibbs

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

I can remeber watching a Saturday afternoon game on Granada between Widnes and Wigan at Widnes and I think Bobbie Goulding won it at the death with a penalty goal. He celebrated with an audacious windmilling arm salute as I remeber it.

I also seem to remember that Steve McCurrie made his professional debut in that game.

Goulding won the game after Darren Wright was penalised.

Don't think anyone ever found out why.

Think McCurries debut was against Wigan but at Central Park.

Definately was not that game.

[Bilko]

Here's a bit of Granada's "Rugby League Live" -

It might have been the last one that because Sky got the rights the next season.

[rugby female]

Attended every home, away and Cup match (including Wembley!) in the 80's and 90's and also took my nephews with me. What a brilliant time we had as Wigan fans, experiencing all those different grounds/fans, you will never have the same experience again.

Some beautiful, old Stadium, standing areas, very few seating areas, but enormous amounts of atmosphere!!! Our new Stadia will never compete with the old, rickety stadium!!!

[weloveyouwakefield2]

I remember Wakefield v Salford on scrumdown, David watkins used to commentate like a salford fan when they were on like ther opposition didnt count...

I also remember Wakefield v Cas on there when Ronnie 'hardman' Gibbs got sent to disneyland and Johnny Thompson 'Liked it hard'...classic...

[OZ UK LEAGUE FAN]

Hi guy's,

 

I am in Brisbane Australia and have heaps of old games on VHS and now converted to DVD of old games on scrumdown. My mate lives in Bradford and used to tape what he could when he got a good signal. I would say at a guess I have over 100 games. Salford, Wakefield and Wigan always seemed to get the games on TV, however I have some cracker games of Hull KR, FAX and Warrington. Sometimes they would show the lower divisions in which I have a few inlcuding Featherstone, Dewsbury and Workington Town. I knew one day fans would want to see these old games again as I grew up watching this excellent programme too thanks to my mate.

 

John Helm and David Watkins were pure magic in the commentary, that alone was worth watching!!

 

Does anybody remember an episode and I think it was around the xmas period in the early 90's maybe 1991 when the end credits showed aussie and NZ players only playing their trade in the UK in snow, rain, etc... and they would pan back into a shot of Bondi Beach with surfers etc...... John Monie and a few players wished everybody a merry xmas. I think with him were Greg Mackey, Paul Bishop and Tea Ropati from memory.

[oldrover]

i have one or two scrumdown games involving Fev. i have been posting them on the Fev facebook group. fev v oldham, dewsbury ,hkr, halifax.

[Trojan]

I have Oldham v Fev from Feb. 1988, at the lost lamented Watersheddings. It has something you never see today, a heel against the head. Also some superb breaks from Hugh Wadell.  I used to have Fev v 'Fax from 1991, Regal Trophy.  One of the best games ever on Scrumdown.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Trojan

[southstand loiner]

I have loads of the old scumdown and rl action games I put them on dvd  as they were taking up to much room  with all the videos piled up in the back bedroom  also  got hold of loads of old videos from the 80s  which im still transferring to dvd as and when I get the time loads of club videos as well with such baised commentors  you have to laugh  . some cracking games  from an era when the refs were in charge not the match commisoners and an army of other oddbods on inflated wages to slow the gasme down and sanatised it

[Blind side johnny]

Was it RL Action that featured a game between Huddersfield and Wigan at Fartown in Wigan's season in Div 2 (1981 I think) when Wigan had three players sent off in a particularly spiteful match? Huddersfield won 9-7 I believe.

[marklaspalmas]

Fev always seemed to do well on Scrumdown. I remember good wins against Halifax, Leeds and Hull KR that were televised. I liked John Helm but Watkins just waffled.

 

We hardly ever got shown on RL Action apart from one game we narrowly lost at Leeds around 1984. I liked Keith Macklin as a commentator.

 

Fev also featured on Granada TVs thing one Saturday afternoon at Wigan, we lost but Ian Smales scored a fine try by kneeing the ball over Hampson's head and catching it. Neat trick.

[Scubby]

Fev always seemed to do well on Scrumdown. I remember good wins against Halifax, Leeds and Hull KR that were televised. I liked John Helm but Watkins just waffled.

 

We hardly ever got shown on RL Action apart from one game we narrowly lost at Leeds around 1984. I liked Keith Macklin as a commentator.

 

Fev also featured on Granada TVs thing one Saturday afternoon at Wigan, we lost but Ian Smales scored a fine try by kneeing the ball over Hampson's head and catching it. Neat trick.

 

Featherstone also appeared on RL Action away at Warrington and away at Leigh in the early 1980s. They featured in away games at Wigan in consecutive seasons on Granada - including the Smales knee chip you mentioned. Similar results both times IIRC.

 

I think we are pretty spoilt now compared with the meagre offerings we got back then (midnight offerings on regional TV). But yet we still complain.

[marklaspalmas]

Featherstone also appeared on RL Action away at Warrington and away at Leigh in the early 1980s. They featured in away games at Wigan in consecutive seasons on Granada - including the Smales knee chip you mentioned. Similar results both times IIRC.

 

I think we are pretty spoilt now compared with the meagre offerings we got back then (midnight offerings on regional TV). But yet we still complain.

 

Nice one. I remember Warrington too, but not that Leigh game. Lost in the mists of time for me that one

 

Yes, you are right about TV coverage. Slim pickings they were then. Much better now.