Rugby League Grounds Visited

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

For London I'll throw Wealdstone FC into the mix (the old ground, behind the cinema, they now play on the defunct Ruislip Manor's ground). For the Cru there's Chester RU and Cefn Druids. I think that quite a few on here went to Alt Park, it's just that we're all desperate to put the experience out of our minds!

[Gooleboy]

45 minutes ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

For London I'll throw Wealdstone FC into the mix (the old ground, behind the cinema, they now play on the defunct Ruislip Manor's ground). For the Cru there's Chester RU and Cefn Druids. I think that quite a few on here went to Alt Park, it's just that we're all desperate to put the experience out of our minds!

The say good people of Huyton enjoyed their time having a RL Club is a bit of an understatement!

[iffleyox]

On 21/11/2020 at 20:21, ATLANTISMAN said:

This will be fun (Not in any order)

Just woke up and remembered loads more in my sleep have now added:)

Not inc amateur

Back on it again (That bottle of red wine at lunchtime stirred the old brain cells:)

HULL FC (First ever RL match Clive Sullivan was playing) v Swinton 1974 Boulevard/And New + match at Goole Town FC x 3

HULL KR (Old and New Craven Park) x 2

CASTLEFORD

FEATHERSTONE

WAKEFIELD

LEEDS

GATESHEAD (Thunder)

NEWCASTLE (Thunder new ground) 

DONCASTER (Old and new + I remember now Doncaster v St Gaudens at Doncaster Rovers old ground) x 3

SHEFFIELD (At Sheffield Wednesday v Wigan)  Sheffield United + Don Valley and Speedway Stadium (Forgot the name) x 4

HUDDERSFIELD Fartown/John Smiths  x 2

BRADFORD (Odsal/Bradford City) x 2

LONDON SKOLARS (Toronto first match) 

DEWSBURY Clown Flat/New x 2

BATLEY

ROTHERHAM UNITED

CHESTERFIELD FC

SWINTON (Station road)/Sale RUFC x 2

LEIGH (Hilton Park) 

FULHAM/LONDON CRUSADERS/HARLEQUINS/LONDON BRONCOS Craven Cottage/Crystal Palace/Chiswick/Hendon/Brentford/Harlequins/Trailfinders/Charlton Athletic/Barnet Coptal Total x 9 (Ah remembered London Broncos v Swinton played at a public school in Surrey will have to rack by brains out to remember the name ) so x 10

WHITEHAVEN

WORKINGTON 

KENT INVICTA 

CARLISLE (Burnden Park + another stadium locally) x 2

ST HELENS (Old)

OLDHAM (Watersheddings/Oldham Athletic) x 2

BARROW

BRAMLEY (Old ground)

SALFORD (Old)  (Loved the old place and grab a granny night at the club was brill pre wife days I must say:)

HALIFAX (Thrum Hall/New) x 2

MANSFIELD MARKSMAN

NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS

CRUSADERS (Bridgend) 

SOUTH WALES ( Aberavon) 

SCARBOROUGH PIRATES 

KEIGHLEY:)

WIDNES (New)

WARRINGTON (Old/New) x 2

CARDIFF BLUE DRAGONS (Ninian Park/Bridgend) x 2

BLACKPOOL BOROUGH

RUNCORN HIGHFIELD

BRAMLEY

HUNSLET (Elland Road)

HUYTON

ALTRINGHAM (Trafford Borough)

NEATH

NANTES

CAVILLION

ROANNE

VILLEFRANCHE DE ROUERGUE

WIDNES (New)

YORK (Clarence Street/Huntington Stadium/Bootham Crescent) x 3

WIGAN (Central Park)

WIGAN (Wigan Ath old ground Springfield Borough)  + Wigan Warriors at Millwall FC x 3

ROCHDALE HORNETS (Old + Rochdale Athletic) x 2

NARBONNE (PSG v Halifax Blue Sox) + French Championship Finals + Catalan Dragons v Hull FC 2006

RICHMOND RUFC (Varsity Oxford v Cambridge)

TWICKENHAM (CC Final + GB v Australia)

MANLY

CANTERBURY (Baseball Park/Olympic stadium/GRAND FINAL Olympic Stadium) x 2

CANBERRA RAIDERS

SOUTH SYDNEY/SYDNEY ROOSTERS/NRL GRAND FINAL SFS x 1

WESTS TIGERS (Balmain)

ST GEORGE (Illawarra)

CATALAN DRAGONS (USAP:((((((

X111 CATALAN (Old/New) x 2

CANET (Catalan Dragons v St Helens) 

ST ESTEVE

BORDEAUX

LE REOLE

TONNIENS

PIA

LA BARACARES 

ST CYPRIEN

PALAU

LIMOUX

LEZIGNAN

TOULOUSE (Mimes/Ernest Wallon/Blanac/Toulouse FC Treize T Final) x 4

ST GAUDENS (Home ground + local athletic stadium for floodlight matches on TV) x 2

CARCASSONNE

ALBI

CAHORS

VILLENEUVE SUR LOT

ILLE SE TET 

ST MARTIN

LE REOLE 

TONNIENS 

CANNES (Someone else posted it I forgot I went there to see Steve Hampson play Steve Deakin was manager)

AVIGNON (Old and new) x 2

CARPENTRAS (Home  second stadium for TV matches) x 2 

LYON x 2 (Lyon + International)

ENTRAIGUES

MOSCOW LOCOMOTIV

ROSTOV

AUCKLAND WARRIORS

NORTHCOTE TIGERS

 

OK I see Internationals are now allowed (OK on it big time now LOL)

WEMBLEY (Old/New) x 2

MANCHESTER UNITED

MANCHESTER CITY  (Maine Road/Ethiad) x 2

BOLTON (Burnden Park + New) x 2

HULL CITY FC (GB v Australia)

QPR (Australia v NZ GB v NZ)

LONDON OLYMPIC STADIUM

CARDIFF (Ninian Park/Millenium/Cardiff RUFC) x 3

SWANSEA CITY (Wales v PNG:)

PARIS (Charlety/Stade Français/+ Some crappy place in the suburbs where France Presidents x111 v Australia way back when:) Total x 3

LENS (France v Wales)

ALBI (France v South Africa)

SYDNEY SFS (Australia v GB)

LEEDS (Rhinos/Elland Road) x 2

PERPIGNAN (France v GB France v New Zealand France v Australia France v Scotland) (Already counted as x111 Catalan)

CARCASSONNE (France v GB France v England France v New Zealand France v Tonga France v Australia)

AGEN (France v GB)

ST ESTEVE (Tonga v PNG)

TOULOUSE France v England France v Australia France v New Zealand 

GLASGOW (Patrick Thistle Scotland v I cannot remember now but Alan Tait played:)

EDINBURGH (CC FInal)

GATESHEAD GB v France (Already counted as Thunder)

AVIGNON France v PNG France v England  (Already counted as Avignon) 

WATFORD FC (GB v New Zealand)

TOULOUSE BLANAC (France v Samoa + Toulouse matches)

MOSCOW Russia v Georgia (Olympic stadium) 

I will rack my brains out for a few more tomorrow:)

176 (Approx so far and still racking my brains out:)

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know I'm still relatively new to the sport having only started watching it properly in 2013, so this shouldn't be a surprise - but you've been to more grounds than I've been to games....

[Owl]

50 minutes ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

For London I'll throw Wealdstone FC into the mix (the old ground, behind the cinema, they now play on the defunct Ruislip Manor's ground). For the Cru there's Chester RU and Cefn Druids. I think that quite a few on here went to Alt Park, it's just that we're all desperate to put the experience out of our minds!

Knew this guy who used to sell and fit car wheels from a van at the end of the game for the poor sods who came out to find their car on bricks............................think they were the same ones he took off an hour earlier.................

[Owl]

11 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

The say good people of Huyton enjoyed their time having a RL Club is a bit of an understatement!

Nice jersey though........................used to like them. 

Wore it in anger a few times after being draged off the street to make up the numbers for their A team

[gavin7094]

Anyone mentioned the Honourable Artillery Company ground? 

[redjonn]

18 hours ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

I've been Alt Park a few times.

aah yes, unfortunately it was a dump when it was first finished... although it had a good club house/bar in that it was popular when the Pubs closed and had many a social night... if some remember when pubs used  close afternoons and early.

[redjonn]

7 minutes ago, Owl said:

Nice jersey though........................used to like them. 

Wore it in anger a few times after being draged off the street to make up the numbers for their A team

you sure it wasn't dragged out the bar... It always seemed to be open... I think that was the main revenue earner...

[Owl]

1 minute ago, redjonn said:

you sure it wasn't dragged out the bar... It always seemed to be open... I think that was the main revenue earner...

No that was the other 12....................................

[redjonn]

1 minute ago, Owl said:

No that was the other 12....................................

or the local nick at Page Moss.... chuckle

[Bleep1673]

The Willows, Station Road, Central Park, Hilton Park, JJB, Watersheddings, Boundary Park, Athletic Grounds, Wilderspool, Halliwell Jones, Knowsley Road, Naughton Park, Carlisle, Whitehaven, Alt Park, Borough Park (Blackpool), Gigg Lane, Moor Lane, Old Trafford, Chorley, Burnden Park, Uni of Bolton Stadium (as it is now known), and that's just west of the Pennines!

Foreign lands: Fartown, Headingly, Elland Road, Hillsborough, Belle Vue, Wheeldon Road, KCom (Where I stayed in the same Holiday Inn as the GB team), Skolars Stadium, Bridgend, Millennium Stadium (Cardiff), Doncaster, Craven Cottage, Crystal Palace, Hendon, Harlequins Twickenham & Main Twickenham, Brentford, Gillingham, Kingstonian, Charlton, Barnet, and Ealing, Wembley, Charlety (Paris), Perpignan x2 (As I saw the Dragons when they were known as XIII Catalans), Toulouse, Avignon, Carcassonne, Lang Park, & Auckland (1999).

My First "AWAY" game was to Knowsley Road, when I cycled 22 miles down the A580 to Knowsley Road, to watch St. Helens beat Swinton 49-3 in a Lancashire Cup game, my first ever foreign trip was to France for a France v GB match in 1986 (I think).

Although I could get a bus close to where I lived direct to Wigan, Leigh & Warrington town centres.

[Leyther_Matt]

Not that I keep a list of these kinds of things, but I've visited 64 individual club grounds with a further 4 groundshares (Swinton and Oldham at LSV, Gateshead at Hilton Park(!) and Swinton at The Willows) and 11 non-club venues (Grand Finals & internationals at Old Trafford, World Club Challenge/Internationals/Challenge Cup Semis at University of Bolton Stadium, Stade Jean-Bouin (Paris, France v England), Internationals/Magic at Etihad Stadium, Internationals at Millennium Stadium, Internationals/World Club Challenge at Elland Road, Magic at St. James' Park, Challenge Cup Final at Wembley and internationals at Ricoh Arena, Anfield and Olympic Stadium)

Of the grounds no longer with us, I went to Hilton Park, Wilderspool, Central Park, Knowsley Road, Don Valley Stadium, The Willows, Huntingdon Stadium, Belle Vue (Doncaster) and Griffin Park. Seen quite a few clubs at more than one ground besides those knocked down (London at Barnet and Ealing as well as Griffin Park), NW Crusaders at Racecrouse and Cefn Druids, Oldham at Boundary Park, Whitebank and Bower Fold, Sheffield at Bramall Lane and Bawtry Road, Toulouse at Blagnac and Minimes and Swinton at Gigg Lane, Park Lane and Heywood Road. 

Throw in a few defunct clubs too; Toronto at Lamport, Blackpool at two grounds (Bloomfield Road and Fylde RU), Celtic Crusaders (Bridgend), Chorley Lynx and Gateshead (Intl Stadium).

Not seen Newcastle at Kingston Park yet nor Crusaders at Queensway, Toulouse at Ernest-Wallon, Sheffield at Legacy Park or West Wales Raiders but that's all I'm lacking from the current crop, with Bradford TBC on that front!

[Gooleboy]

1 hour ago, Owl said:

Nice jersey though........................used to like them. 

Wore it in anger a few times after being draged off the street to make up the numbers for their A team

Great shirt, I always had a soft spot for them. There is a book about RL in Liverpool it is a great read.

[ATLANTISMAN]

2 hours ago, gavin7094 said:

Anyone mentioned the Honourable Artillery Company ground? 

AHHHHH

1 more Thanks and just remembered LB played once at Kingstonian FC as well:)

 

P 

[Gooleboy]

2 hours ago, redjonn said:

you sure it wasn't dragged out the bar... It always seemed to be open... I think that was the main revenue earner...

It was the Clubhouse that kept them going. My Auntie lived in a high rise flat next to the ground. She didn't know anything about RL, but along with her friends used the Club for years playing Bingo. Here is a picture to remind those who visited the ground. Read the text at the bottom!

[Bleep1673]

3 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

AHHHHH

1 more Thanks and just remembered LB played once at Kingstonian FC as well:)

 

P 

They Played the dreaded Reds at Kingstonian in a Challenge cup game in the mid 90's (I think)

[superten]

I have managed 58 which isnt bad to say for 12 years i lived in Harlow and worked Saturday and Sunday nights . Driving up north sunday mornings and heading straight back to work Sunday nights after match .  

[Bleep1673]

3 hours ago, gavin7094 said:

Anyone mentioned the Honourable Artillery Company ground? 

I remember a game there, not sure I attended though. Alcoholic haze.

I think I played there for Ealing.

[redjonn]

54 minutes ago, Gooleboy said:

It was the Clubhouse that kept them going. My Auntie lived in a high rise flat next to the ground. She didn't know anything about RL, but along with her friends used the Club for years playing Bingo. Here is a picture to remind those who visited the ground. Read the text at the bottom!

I guess that was Woolfall Heath area, well the edge of ...your aunties high rise

Friends lived on the Bluebell estate and we would have  a pint or two in The Bluebell (as was) and when it shut for the afternoon we would walk down road to  Huyton Clubhouse... It was a popular place.

[ATLANTISMAN]

24 minutes ago, redjonn said:

I guess that was Woolfall Heath area, well the edge of ...your aunties high rise

Friends lived on the Bluebell estate and we would have  a pint or two in The Bluebell (as was) and when it shut for the afternoon we would walk down road to  Huyton Clubhouse... It was a popular place.

I travelled all the way up to Liverpool for their match v Cardiff Blue Dragons must have been over 1000 there, if I remember correctly Steve Fenwick and Tommy David played that day god knows what they thought of it after Cardiff Arms Park LOL

 

Paul

[Gooleboy]

38 minutes ago, redjonn said:

I guess that was Woolfall Heath area, well the edge of ...your aunties high rise

Friends lived on the Bluebell estate and we would have  a pint or two in The Bluebell (as was) and when it shut for the afternoon we would walk down road to  Huyton Clubhouse... It was a popular place.

Correct, she lived in Woolfall Heights. An ex Featherstone player told me that while they were playing there, the Away Dressing Room got robbed, despite the Huyton Official giving the Featherstone kit man the door key!

[ATLANTISMAN]

Just updated to 178 however I Skyped my French friend Bernard last night and asked him to check (He came to most matches with me over the years) and he already has pointed out a few I missed and promised to send me a message tonight with maybe another 5/6 in France:)

 

I remember once taking in 3 matches in a day I drove up from the south on a bank holiday

Featherstone Rovers v Wakefield Trinity (Knocker Norton was playing) 11 AM KO

Then onto Leeds (I forget who they were  playing I remember leaving at half time  I think Shaun Wane played that day for them or maybe I am confusing with another Leeds match) 

Doncaster v Sheffield Eagles (Second half)

Had a beer with GH after the game in the old clubhouse just trying to remember the character who ran Doncaster he was there had been around for years.

Just remembered him Tommy Morton had a moustache like a Californian porn star:)

 

Paul

 

[Gooleboy]

7 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Just updated to 178 however I Skyped my French friend Bernard last night and asked him to check (He came to most matches with me over the years) and he already has pointed out a few I missed and promised to send me a message tonight with maybe another 5/6 in France:)

 

I remember once taking in 3 matches in a day I drove up from the south on a bank holiday

Featherstone Rovers v Wakefield Trinity (Knocker Norton was playing) 11 AM KO

Then onto Leeds (I forget who they were  playing I remember leaving at half time  I think Shaun Wane played that day for them or maybe I am confusing with another Leeds match) 

Doncaster v Sheffield Eagles (Second half)

Had a beer with GH after the game in the old clubhouse just trying to remember the character who ran Doncaster he was there had been around for years.

 

Paul

 

Can't fault your commitment! The people who kept Doncaster going in those days were so dedicated to the cause.

[Leyther_Matt]

8 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Just updated to 178 however I Skyped my French friend Bernard last night and asked him to check (He came to most matches with me over the years) and he already has pointed out a few I missed and promised to send me a message tonight with maybe another 5/6 in France:)

 

I remember once taking in 3 matches in a day I drove up from the south on a bank holiday

Featherstone Rovers v Wakefield Trinity (Knocker Norton was playing) 11 AM KO

Then onto Leeds (I forget who they were  playing I remember leaving at half time  I think Shaun Wane played that day for them or maybe I am confusing with another Leeds match) 

Doncaster v Sheffield Eagles (Second half)

Had a beer with GH after the game in the old clubhouse just trying to remember the character who ran Doncaster he was there had been around for years.

 

Paul

 

Surely that's only two games then? 

I remember going to a Keighley v Leigh game at Cougar Park (Tommy Martyn kicked a drop out that went all the way down the slope for a drop out at the other end) and then on to Bradford v Warrington at Odsal. 34 degrees and cracking the flags at Keighley. Torrential rainstorm at Odsal. Also went to Leigh v Whitehaven (I think) and then Wigan v Catalans in 2006 which if memory serves me right was Stuart Fielden's debut and the night that Wigan turned the tide in their fight against relegation that season.

[Gooleboy]

49 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Surely that's only two games then? 

I remember going to a Keighley v Leigh game at Cougar Park (Tommy Martyn kicked a drop out that went all the way down the slope for a drop out at the other end) and then on to Bradford v Warrington at Odsal. 34 degrees and cracking the flags at Keighley. Torrential rainstorm at Odsal. Also went to Leigh v Whitehaven (I think) and then Wigan v Catalans in 2006 which if memory serves me right was Stuart Fielden's debut and the night that Wigan turned the tide in their fight against relegation that season.

I always rated Tommy Martyn, great to watch.