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4-5 Jun: The Kingstone Press League 1 Match Thread


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Discuss all this weekend's Kingstone Press League 1 games here.

 

SATURDAY 4th JUNE

South Wales Scorpions v North Wales Crusaders (at Cardiff Arms Park) KO 5pm

Keighley Cougars v Newcastle Thunder KO 6pm

Toulouse Olympique v Doncaster KO 6.30pm

 

SUNDAY 5th JUNE

Oxford v Hemel Stags KO 2.30pm

Hunslet Hawks v London Skolars KO 3pm

University of Gloucestershire All Golds v Barrow Raiders KO 3pm

York City Knights v Rochdale Hornets KO 3pm

 

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Looking forward to the scorps game. Great venue, shame they're not there permanently. A whole day of Welsh rugby league on top of the main event :)

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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I hope Skolars carry on where they left off two weeks ago - if so we should win at Hunslet. Otherwise: Toulouse, Keighley ,Oxford, Barrow and York

 

Hope there is a good crowd at Cardiff Arms Park.

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If I dont see the Stags win soon I swear Im going to start taking hostages

Too many errors & penalties coughed up.Too many hail mary passes.Too many...ahhh,who cares

Aaaanyway - nice facility there in Abingdon.Having a running track isnt ideal but it's a nice spot on a summer's day to watch TGG.

Bring on the All Golds next week! ;-)

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Watching Hemel @ Oxford , no complaints about final score , Oxford better team BUT we had a 52 min first half with no serious injury hold ups ...completely unprofessional ..surely the ref must have some idea of the time or else the timekeeper needs a rocket ...

Sorry Oxford ..ll I've been become a bit of a convert to southern expansion rugby this year and argued hard that their inclusion is worthwhile ...but for the first time this year I've doubted that argument .. I think the Hemel faithful had as many home fans , not just an athletics track but long jump triple jump pit as well before the view of the pitch n warm beer at nearly six quid a pint (half pint plastic bottle @2.75) , £3 to park in what effectively was a public car park (fair play to the bloke manning it , great welcome !)no junior rugby representation or even young kids throwing a ball around on the outfield ... Maybe time to visit Skolars scorpions or the stags to see how to do it ....

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Just to follow on from Rach's comments.

 

Re the 52 min half. A friend was stopping his watch at the ref's signal and was broadly in agreement with the timekeeping. We had numerous official conferences to sort out brawls, possible tries and few minor knocks taking a minute or so each.

 

Re parking fee. The club seem to think this is OK a parking was 5 quid at Iffley Road, with the money kept by Oxford University Rugby Union Club. Personally I agree with Rach it's ridiculous and causing a lot of ill will for little money gained. I know some people park on the estate opposite. It also seems to depend on when you arrive. I got charged for the first game but not at the subsequent two games.

 

Re the running track. I think we all preferred Iffley Road but high rent and 6 - 9 weeks on the road every season meant staying there was not possible. There would be no club had it tried to stay.

 

Re beer prices, set by Abingdon School - who hold the lease. Beyond the control of ORL and I doubt they see any money from the bar.

 

Re the crowd. Yup depressing sadly ORL are far from unique in this respect down south. No finger pointing but declared gates and bums on seats seem two different things at a few grounds. The absolute rubbish we endured on the pitch today doesn't exactly make it easy to attract new faces sadly. In 21 years of watching league that one make my worst 10 matches of all time list with ease.

 

Junior representation - I arrived bang on kick off but several kids in Witney RUFC kit were present so suspect something happened. It's fair to say organized competitive junior RL in Oxfordshire is currently the exception not the rule, though it is far improved on where we were when ORL were founded. There was a junior tournament before the last game however it won't happen every game.

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Ivarr apologies if but if my comments seems a little harsh but only commenting on stuff as I see it ..my position is that I've watched RL throughout the leagues with Keighley for 35 plus years and began watching the Stags this season through a family member coming to play for Hemel through his involvement in the Student game .

 

At first like many Northern based fans i was extremely sceptical of the expansion teams but having followed Hemel from the beginning of this season visiting Gloucester , South Wales , Toulouse , Coventry ,Skolars and obv many a trip to Pennine Way I can see plenty of reasons why these clubs should be in League 1 and have argued the point vocally with my friends who are avid followers of the heartland outfits with little enthusiasm for RL outside the 62 corridor

 

TBH in all cases the arguments have not included the product on the field , as I can fully understand the logistics of these clubs signing and retaining quality players but in many cases i see players coming through the local community clubs, or the Forces and student games and despite being in some cases being on a bit of a hiding still approaching the game with an enthusiasm missing from some Northern clubs ...although the standard wasn't good today the endeavour was there and it was a decent hard-fought contest  , certainly not one of my worst games I've ever watched ..

 

Sorry but it was off field that left me cold - the issues around parking , beer and viewing facilities might be beyond ORL's control but they make a massive impact on the spectator experience and that needs to be recognised and addressed if the club is to succeed . Though foe me the main and over riding perception perception was of a Club  just plonked  in the middle of nowhere with little connection to its location ..

 

In comparison,one of my favourite grounds to visit over the years has been Skolars , despite being in a development area they always manage to bring a 'Community ' feel to their games with kids ,masters or amateur games on ,school kids promotions on and a ridiculously warm welcome to the away fans , Hemel are very much going that way and South Wales with their position in the heart of a small town Caerphilly work out that they are part of that community , drawing on support from the RU community as well as their existing fans , similarly with Coventry with its recent tie up with the Rioch Arena. In comparison I'm sorry but it felt cold and impersonal today with little that would make me want to as a home or away fan have it down on my must come back lists .

 

As for the timekeeping issue , spent 4 years on and off doing the time keepers job for Keighley so I too keep a bit of a watch on time and sorry but no way was that accurate , 12 mins overtime with no serious injury is unknown , and if we want to argue , why was your Coach so incensed by the over run if it was accurate ? This isn't sour grapes by any means indeed it was to Hemels advantage as we scored on the hooter ..

 

Sorry if this sounds like a mass critique , and it is certainly not a go at the many volunteers that the club has and evidently wouldn't survive without .I want Oxford to succeed the same as other clubs but somethings need a serious look at if you want to get bums on seats and results on the field aren't one of them

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