Playing and Watching Rugby League in Days Gone By

[EggFace]

Can anyone help me out as it was before my time but what happened when you played for a local amateur Rugby League club be it be it adult and junior but no Sunday games were allowed so part from CC mid week games all Pro/Semi Pro games was on a Saturday afternoon at the same time as the amateur.

Most of been a pain not being able to support your time as you had commitments with your local club plus the professional clubs missing out on much valued income.

[chisholm]

Amateur game always came first.

[graveyard johnny]

thought that this thread was gonna be about - the magic sponge- wintergreen - big baths and trips to hospital with broken bones in the back of a mini metro?

[sentoffagain2]

   I worked in the Bookies so Saturday was a busy workday.i couldn't play or go to games.Then in the Wakefield district Maurice Oldroyd started a Sunday league which developed to a fairly high standard.Quite a few players turned pro after being scouted.And there was always a few ex pros after retirement playing on for a couple of years with their mates. Sunday games kicked off at 11-0 am and i was not often in before 3-15 am after a night round Wakey and the Mecca finished off in Redbrecks transport cafe for a breakfast special.Fantastic times and we lived through The Sixties music as well.

[Number 16]

33 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

thought that this thread was gonna be about - the magic sponge- wintergreen - big baths and trips to hospital with broken bones in the back of a mini metro?

Jumpers for goalposts, eh!

[Number 16]

Not quite off topic, but marginal!

In the not too distant past and for several years the London Broncos chose to play their home games on Saturday evenings, the same day as all grassroots activity, thus excluding and alienating the hundreds of RL fans, players (senior and junior), officials, administrators and families and friends in the Broncos catchment area, but who chose the amateur game.

IMO, the Broncos still suffer from losing that 'generation'.

 

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, graveyard johnny said:

thought that this thread was gonna be about - the magic sponge- wintergreen - big baths and trips to hospital with broken bones in the back of a mini metro?

Physio running out to treat any injury with a bag full of water .Once here i remember it must have had a hole in and by the time he got to the player it was empty and someone shouted ‘ hey mate your goldfish has fell out ‘

[EggFace]

Noticed it was 1967 for Sunday games in England but in Australia it seemed the NSWRL teams would have games on Saturday but also the odd game on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday but by mid 1950's Sundays seemed to be targeted more.

Edited August 17, 2022 by EggFace

[Oxford]

On 17/08/2022 at 19:21, graveyard johnny said:

thought that this thread was gonna be about - the magic sponge- wintergreen - big baths and trips to hospital with broken bones in the back of a mini metro?

That's interesting because I thought something very similar, one about sending knocked out players back into the ring or removing them from the paddock using the injured part of their anatomy as encouragement.

Or even fog on the A672

[BadlyOverdrawnBoy]

If it was a park pitch, getting there early for a dog sh** and broken glass survey.

[Eddie]

28 minutes ago, BadlyOverdrawnBoy said:

If it was a park pitch, getting there early for a dog sh** and broken glass survey.

I still have to do that for kids football now  

[BadlyOverdrawnBoy]

Probably needles as well these days.

[Derwent]

Watching St John Ambulance volunteers, who often seemed to be either old men or obese women, trying to stretcher 17 stone men off the field and often dropping them on their head.

[Derwent]

Blue Invalidity cars being parked by the side of the pitch.

[Wolford6]

In the 1970's Pennine League, we always played on Saturdays. Except ...

Clubs started re-arranging games at Todmorden to a Sunday morning kck-off. On a Saturday, both sets of players changed in an upstairs room above the pub next to the big church on the hill  overlooking the town. There were no showers but two tin baths in the room. Except ...

For a Sunday morning match, players had to change behind a screen of hessian cloth in the carpark, where the two tin baths were re-sited. It provided an interesting view for the churchgoers. The upstairs room was not available because ...

That's where the stripper got changed.

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Wolford6

[Agbrigg]

On 19/08/2022 at 12:06, Derwent said:

Blue Invalidity cars being parked by the side of the pitch.

Unless the snow was banked up along the touch lines. Also couldn't see the pitch markings as they were covered in straw.

[Agbrigg]

Hanging around delivery point for green'un or pink'un on Saturday evening to read news and match reports

[Rioman]

Steam doesn't seem to come of the packs like it did in the old days.

[tim2]

On 19/08/2022 at 09:52, BadlyOverdrawnBoy said:

If it was a park pitch, getting there early for a dog sh** and broken glass survey.

Tedious but necessary part of a referees job too. I once found a piece of glass that must have been deliberately stuck in the ground vertically.

At Northampton once we had to fill in some rabbit holes. There weren't any inside in case you're worried about possible bunnycide. 

[tim2]

1 hour ago, Rioman said:

Steam doesn't seem to come of the packs like it did in the old days.

Summer rugby. I'm surprised they can hold on to each other with all the sweat and tight fitting kits.

[Agbrigg]

Brown balls that got water logged.

No kicking tees just turf divets and toe end kickers.

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by Agbrigg

[glemiln]

1 hour ago, tim2 said:

I'm surprised they can hold on to each other with all the sweat and tight fitting kits.

It depends on what they choose to hold!   
Quite descriptive facial expressions in Union scrums.

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-rugby-union-players-in-a-scrum-134400924.html?imageid=7173661C-F41A-4656-9DF4-D917F64B7D6A&p=53555&pn=1&searchId=3d68fb0766760f0549b3ea30e4d5952c&searchtype=0

[Derwent]

Kids running onto the pitch at full time asking players for tie ups

[EggFace]

On 19/08/2022 at 15:56, Wolford6 said:

In the 1970's Pennine League, we always played on Saturdays. Except ...

Clubs started re-arranging games at Todmorden to a Sunday morning kck-off. On a Saturday, both sets of players changed in an upstairs room above the pub next to the big church on the hill  overlooking the town. There were no showers but two tin baths in the room. Except ...

For a Sunday morning match, players had to change behind a screen of hessian cloth in the carpark, where the two tin baths were re-sited. It provided an interesting view for the churchgoers. The upstairs room was not available because ...

That's where the stripper got changed.

 

 

Sounds like hell.

[EggFace]

41 minutes ago, glemiln said:

It depends on what they choose to hold!   
Quite descriptive facial expressions in Union scrums.

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-rugby-union-players-in-a-scrum-134400924.html?imageid=7173661C-F41A-4656-9DF4-D917F64B7D6A&p=53555&pn=1&searchId=3d68fb0766760f0549b3ea30e4d5952c&searchtype=0

Never understood why Union kept that homo erotic scrum.