Community Teams that have ceased in the last year or two

[Marauder]

17 hours ago, MidlandsRugbyLeague said:

Each league in Tier 5 voted for its rep. In the Midlanda we put the vote to the clubs. I couldnt tell you what other leagues did, but would suggest some will have asked their clubs and others will have made the decision as elected committees representing their members. 

Good to see the Midlands being democratic, for all the years we played in the summer we never once got asked to whom we wanted on the community board, it was always selected from Red Hall, back then only the BARLA Rep got elected.

[PaulF]

Halton Simms Cross have suspended their fixtures for the rest of the season. They hope to play in the NWML 9s in August. That leaves three open age sides left in Widnes. A fourth club, Widnes Moorfield, run junior teams only. 

It's Simmies 50th anniversary next season so I'm sure they will be doing their level best to make a come back.

[Hopping Mad]

On 5/28/2018 at 8:24 PM, Death to the Rah Rah's said:

 in west Cumbria you can add Maryport and Broughton Red Rose...

And Great Clifton Lions, who didn't make it to the start line in 2017 after as few as seven players attended some pre-season training sessions.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

On 5/20/2018 at 7:08 PM, bbfaz said:

For me, the concern is that there's not even a hint of replacements or volunteers that could keep a club running.  For all the talk of "steady juniors" you can only do that in the regions where you have full seasons.  The classic London junior path is to play until you're 16, get a Saturday job, go to uni, play a bit of union and get the bug back when you're 22.  There's no real point in having juniors in that case, especially considering the needs of a junior club are very different to those of open age.

A few years ago, there would be teams making noise every winter and then not making a start line.  Now, there's nothing.  Not a peep.  Not even a random bloke in some small town, talking big but delivering little to nothing.

London is covered though. You have Hammersmith and Wests running multiple team in West London, Newham in East London, South London has a couple of teams and Skolars in the North. 

There’s simply no reason for anyone to start a new London team. I think we’d be better off with four or five (West’s, Hammersmith, a couple of S London sides and Newham) strong running a couple of sides each playing each other (maybe even at the same ground every week) regularly than new teams trying and failing to materialise. 

[saddleworth]

Sorry to say that IMO it is our education system that is failing. Going back a few years, we had several schools who produced some cracking rugby teams. These were led by ex rugby players who had taken up teaching and also by teachers who supported and followed the game. These teams produced several lads who were picked up by the top clubs. As the teachers have retired or moved on, we now have nothing.

[Marauder]

1 hour ago, saddleworth said:

Sorry to say that IMO it is our education system that is failing. Going back a few years, we had several schools who produced some cracking rugby teams. These were led by ex rugby players who had taken up teaching and also by teachers who supported and followed the game. These teams produced several lads who were picked up by the top clubs. As the teachers have retired or moved on, we now have nothing.

The RFL failed everyone there, Doncaster (Population around 300,000) had every school but two playing rugby league then the development officers where pulled by the RFL.

[MidlandsRugbyLeague]

10 hours ago, Marauder said:

The RFL failed everyone there, Doncaster (Population around 300,000) had every school but two playing rugby league then the development officers where pulled by the RFL.

In 2007, all 17 secondary schools in Doncaster played Rugby... either Union via the Knights or League via the Lakers. The primary schools for each secondary family also followed suit. It was about a 60/40 split in Union's favour. The great thing about it was that EVERY primary school played Tag at Years 5 and 6 and the Knights and Lakers ran a joint programme of competition accross Doncaster. The two school sports partnerships provided £20k to the two clubs to make it work. 

Community RL Coaches didnt appear until late in 2009 in Yorkshire. Arguably they were never needed in the schools in Doncaster.

[Marauder]

22 hours ago, MidlandsRugbyLeague said:

In 2007, all 17 secondary schools in Doncaster played Rugby... either Union via the Knights or League via the Lakers. The primary schools for each secondary family also followed suit. It was about a 60/40 split in Union's favour. The great thing about it was that EVERY primary school played Tag at Years 5 and 6 and the Knights and Lakers ran a joint programme of competition accross Doncaster. The two school sports partnerships provided £20k to the two clubs to make it work. 

Community RL Coaches didnt appear until late in 2009 in Yorkshire. Arguably they were never needed in the schools in Doncaster.

According to Pete Green, Craig Lawton & Martin Rowlands they where delivering in every secondary school but two, one being Danum Grammar who's sports teacher actually played for us.

[bbfaz]

On 7/4/2018 at 11:38 AM, Oliver Clothesoff said:

London is covered though. You have Hammersmith and Wests running multiple team in West London, Newham in East London, South London has a couple of teams and Skolars in the North. 

There’s simply no reason for anyone to start a new London team. I think we’d be better off with four or five (West’s, Hammersmith, a couple of S London sides and Newham) strong running a couple of sides each playing each other (maybe even at the same ground every week) regularly than new teams trying and failing to materialise. 

Firstly, it's not just about London but the Home counties too.  Essex and Hertfordshire (with the recent exception of the up-and-down return of Hemel) are now in the East region.  Berkshire and Buckinghamshire are in the West.  That leaves Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex as part of the "London" region and they have two teams between them, both in rebuilding mode, across four counties, totalling 4.7m in population.  That is terrible.  It's inarguably terrible.  It's the definition of failure.

Surrey/Guildford, Sussex, Invicta and Weald have all gone in the last couple of years.  The situation went from promising to not good to dreadful PDQ.  The geography of Kent, Surrey and Sussex (and the way Surrey in particular runs into London) should support at least six more teams.  Weald and Crawley drew from across county borders when they were run properly.  At one point, many of these places had teams or players or even some dreamer with Photoshop.  I see none of that now.  It's dead.  Dead dead.

If we want to discuss London, Hammersmith and Weald are down to practically one team now. Chargers are having a go with the twos.  This has been discussed before, people will pop their heads into the conversation.  West London is utterly massive. You could have a team in Uxbridge or Hayes or Ruislip and bring in a whole new audience and it wouldn't affect another team.  Likewise, outer East London since Barking & Dagenham folded.  There's Brentwood and Southend on and off but a team in Rainham or Upminster or even further north in Chadwell Heath wouldn't dent other teams.  Chingford, Enfield, Edgware.  These places aren't going to damage what's there.  A club in Sutton, for locals who can't get to Clapham to train for Chargers (who play in New Malden) wouldn't affect anybody.

Things aren't going well in London.

[Impartial Observer]

You forgot to say Brixton had put two teams out and a womens team this season

[Celtic Rooster]

Amateur Rugby League peaked in 1986/87 season. There are less than a third of the number of clubs now than there were then.

[Impartial Observer]

14 hours ago, Celtic Rooster said:

Amateur Rugby League peaked in 1986/87 season. There are less than a third of the number of clubs now than there were then.

And I thought the decline started 1, when the game went to summer 2, when the rfl took over running it. Seems like it started 30 odd years ago

 

[neutralfan]

Wasn;t this the period when we started getting mobile phones,modern computers ,video games etc.So instead of kicking a ball about or riding your bike you got these distractions??

[terrywebbisgod]

8 minutes ago, neutralfan said:

Wasn;t this the period when we started getting mobile phones,modern computers ,video games etc.So instead of kicking a ball about or riding your bike you got these distractions??

An invalid point.

Unless the RFL invented all of those things.

Everyone knows it's the RFL's fault! 

[Celtic Rooster]

Amateur Rugby League was almost dead before BARLA was formed in 1973 and then it began to flourish, but a combination of all the points made above saw it start to decline again. It's not just players that are in short supply either. I go around different clubs every Saturday and have a drink with all of the same old ageing committee members, see the same old faces running on the pitch with the water bucket and buy a programme from the same old gateman that has been doing it for 20 years. For what ever reason - young people don't want to get involved and make a commitment. I do blame the RFL for making the situation far worse. They should leave Rugby League development to the amateur clubs until players are at least 16. Adrian Morley played amateur until he was 18 and it didn't do his development any harm. Pro and semi-Pro clubs take players far too young, knowing only too well that only a few of them will make the grade. They know which players they want but they need a side for them to play in so they take other players who they know will not make it. Those players feel like failures when they are released and they don't return to the amateur game. I heard last Sunday that 6 under 13's from my own club have just been signed by St. Helens - under 13's! Another 15 year old lad who doesn't play for my club but who I have watched since he was a baby, who always had a rugby ball in his hand, and who I had every ambition for has just been released by Wigan for  being too small! He is disillusioned with the game. Read David Waites' book. When asked who the best tackler was that he had ever seen he said Craig Rennison. I watched him from being 9 years old and he was head and shoulders above all his team mates. He moved to a  bigger amateur club and then got signed by Wigan at 15. Within 2 years he became disillusioned with the game and now - at 32 - he drives a fork lift truck. He played one game of open age amateur RL.

[Hopping Mad]

Another gone: Flimby have tendered their resignation from the Cumberland League. In the wake of Greetland All Rounders, Upton, West Leeds Eagles and York Lokomotive calling it a day earlier this season, could the last amateur rugby league team playing outside the National Conference League please turn out the lights?

[topcentre21]

i dont think upton have folded i think they are returning to winter

[Hopping Mad]

You seriously expect the likes of Upton to complete a full season, winter or summer? Dream on.

[Defender1]

Sorry to say a lot of the A team games are off our A team has played 1 game in 6 weeks, we had a game for Wednesday but that is already off and I don’t hold out hope for Saturday and the season is due to finish on the 4th August.

I think a lot will have to change for a lot of the lads to give it another go. 

[topcentre21]

10 hours ago, Hopping Mad said:

You seriously expect the likes of Upton to complete a full season, winter or summer? Dream on.

why not? 

upton have a full junior set up surely they cant struggle for numbers i watched them 3 or 4 times and always had full 17 wether or not its there strongest 17 i dont know 

[Death to the Rah Rah's]

On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 3:38 PM, Celtic Rooster said:

They should leave Rugby League development to the amateur clubs until players are at least 16. Adrian Morley played amateur until he was 18 and it didn't do his development any harm. Pro and semi-Pro clubs take players far too young, knowing only too well that only a few of them will make the grade.

Totally agree, it would made much more sense if the professional clubs worked with the amateurs to help develop coaches within the amateur clubs and also hold guest coaching sessions for the amateur youth teams at their own club. I've no objection at all if the pro clubs wanted to offer additional training one night per week to the better players as long as they are left with their parent club to develop their skills.

There's also nothing wrong with these pro clubs taking the better players at the end of the season to play 3 or 4 matches against fellow professional clubs within their local area - almost a trial game / inter-town format 

[SSoutherner]

4 hours ago, Death to the Rah Rah's said:

Totally agree, it would made much more sense if the professional clubs worked with the amateurs to help develop coaches within the amateur clubs and also hold guest coaching sessions for the amateur youth teams at their own club. I've no objection at all if the pro clubs wanted to offer additional training one night per week to the better players as long as they are left with their parent club to develop their skills.

There's also nothing wrong with these pro clubs taking the better players at the end of the season to play 3 or 4 matches against fellow professional clubs within their local area - almost a trial game / inter-town format 

This is what RU are doing with the girls/ladies game. Each of the Tyrells Prem ladies team will run a centre of excellence taking the girls from a  particular postcode catchment. The girls to trial for those will be put fwd by county coaches out of the county set up (but could be any set up really and it would work the same) and if picked out as talented they will then attend that centre of excellence's coaching sessions. There are NO inter CofE matches but the England talent spotters will pick out good ones to attend training/trial events for the England pathway. All matches will be played at their original clubs

[johnmatrix]

Can't see pro clubs doing it, they've no money.

With regards to Upton, they won't because as soon as they have nowt to play for they will just jack it it in.

We need to focus on increasing the amount of players playing youth rugby, that's the future of open age. If there is no youth there is no open age. 

 

[Chamey]

9 hours ago, SSoutherner said:

This is what RU are doing with the girls/ladies game. Each of the Tyrells Prem ladies team will run a centre of excellence taking the girls from a  particular postcode catchment. The girls to trial for those will be put fwd by county coaches out of the county set up (but could be any set up really and it would work the same) and if picked out as talented they will then attend that centre of excellence's coaching sessions. There are NO inter CofE matches but the England talent spotters will pick out good ones to attend training/trial events for the England pathway. All matches will be played at their original clubs

That system is also a massive screwup. Firstly, it concentrates power in the hands of a few clubs, which increases dependency on a few clubs instead of many, which is stupid when no clubs are clearly ahead of the others, and solidifies the league structure. If one academy is faltering the entire area falters. Secondly it also means that smaller teams have $#€¥ all incentive to develop female youth players. Thirdly, great women’s RU teams, who are massively successful off the pitch (like Litchfield) have been torn apart in favour of bigger men’s brands, who have done nothing for female participation. 

The majority of England RU centurions (2/3, 3/6 90+ cap players) come from one little club in England, who had this massively dedicated coach who was one of the first to put effort into treating women’s rugby (of either code) as equal. Following his side not being awarded a ‘postcode’ he basically been fired, as the club have had to scale back his job due to the fact that the only one to benefit from him would be the local franchise. 

If yo want to see how to run a domestic game at any level look as far away from the RFU as possible. They are intent of making as many clubs as possible totally reliant on a few super clubs*, so that the RFU find it easier to govern. 

* I could rant much further, but it’d get shifted to CCF, but involves forcing dual reg on lower leagues, despite them voting against it, not funding lower tiers adequately, and binning RFU development officers in favour of the aforementioned super clubs running development. 

[Defender1]

It keeps coming back to haunt us, but as David Gent said “The strong will survive” springs to mind.

Less clubs means less players ultimately