IT was a wonderful day at Shaw Cross, and make no mistake.
Not only did the Prostate Cancer charity benefit through a five-figure sum, but there were some memorable moments for a couple of the Sharks’ families to enjoy.
The Whitemans – grandad Keith, his son Ricky and grandson Walter – turned out together for their beloved club against the Silverbacks, and there was a similarly special experience for the Turners (Mick, Brett and George).
As Mick Turner told me, with no hint of an exaggeration, it was a great day, one which everyone will remember for the rest of their lives.
And the cause was very important, of course.
The Silverbacks, led by Jonny Morgan, are spending yet another summer backing important causes and will next be in action this Saturday (April 5) at Pontefract Rugby Union Club, where they will meet West Yorkshire Fire Service to support our magnificent firefighters.
It’s not quite serious rugby of course, important and enjoyable as it is, but there will be some hot-house fare this Wednesday afternoon, at Laund Hill (the base of several Huddersfield Giants’ sides) where a College double-header will be taking place.
Have your lunch fairly early if you’re going (which you absolutely should) as the first match kicks off at 1.15pm. Welsh team Cymoedd RL Academy will take on Hull FC Sports College in the Supplementary Cup final, while the Cup final itself brings together Cronton Sixth Form and Hopwood Hall, with a 3.30pm start. Heady stuff!
Later that day an important meeting is scheduled in Hull, when I hope local-league bosses will be boosted by a host of entries for the Council Cup, which they aim to resurrect as a midweek competition. More on the outcome in next Monday’s issue.
Eight days later, on Thursday, April 10, the life of Bob Pickles (Hunslet and Keighley player, very successful Leeds Rhinos scout and an important figure in local amateur Rugby League) will be celebrated at the South Leeds Stadium.
The bash will start at noon and will continue through until 5.00pm, and I’m sure that many, many pints will be hoisted aloft in his memory.
Bob was a bloke who had the capacity to treat both the good and the bad times – all part of the human experience – with similar buoyancy and I’m sure that there are folk at those grand clubs Ellenborough Rangers and Skirlaugh with exactly the same well-grounded philosophy.
Last week’s Division Two table in the National Conference League would have been unthinkable back in the mid-1990s.
That was when the two sides met in the BARLA National Cup final, which was a huge event back then, with Salford hosting the occasion in some style at The Willows. After a sumptuous meal – and some fine wine – we were treated to a classic, which Skirlaugh edged 21-16.
Elbra toppled Dudley Hill 28-24 twelve months later in another thriller while the focus of my preview of the 1996 epic, in the old Rugby Leaguer, was on the theme of ‘the irresistible force meets the immovable object’.
I took that approach because Skirlaugh’s pragmatic defence had, during the season, once gone six games without conceding a single point.
Elbra, meanwhile, had piled up the points in the Cumberland League but, remarkably, were able to more than counter the best from beyond the far north-west as they progressed through the rounds of the National Cup.
They were both terrific teams with Skirlaugh – then of the vibrant Hull League – captained by Richard Gotts and Elbra led by the equally indefatigable Gary Murdock.
Three decades on, both sides are struggling in the early stages of the season, admittedly in the higher level of the flagship league’s third tier, although Rangers at least got off the mark on Saturday by accounting for Thornhill Trojans 10-6 (Skirlaugh lost 20-18 at home to Pilkington Recs).
I know that the clubs are intrinsically strong, however, and I’m confident that, in time, their respective fortunes will be transformed.
For folk of my vintage, though, today’s league table makes for strange reading, and is a strong reminder that success – or failure – is far from permanent and cannot simply be taken for granted.
Anyone involved in Welsh rugby union can vouch for that, as I learned from an email sent to me (for some reason) early last week.
Wales RU have suffered 17 successive defeats, the email said, and the 15-a-side code in that country seems to be in crisis.
I have to feel sorry for them, especially when I reflect that Wales’ glory days were achieved despite so many excellent players opting to ‘go north’ and take the professional Rugby League ticket.
It’s all very strange but I’m happy to reflect that our own sport is in rude health, in all its formats, in Wales. And I’ve no doubt that that will continue.
Finally, an email I received from the Rugby Football League made all the right noises about the launch of its ‘Environmental Sustainability Strategy – More Than A Sport’.
I agree totally with its aim which, in battling the impact of climate change, supports the bid to achieve net zero by 2040.
However, I have to wonder whether the RFL’s words match their actions, at least right now.
I’ve questioned, for years, whether our amateur teams should be travelling relatively long distances for games. I’ve already touched on the forthcoming Hull ARL meeting in this column and I’ve argued, many times, that the RFL’s Yorkshire Men’s League should not be allowing (or enticing – I’m not sure which is the case) teams from the east coast to operate in a competition that is largely centred on the West Riding. That cannot be right, for many reasons, not least for its adverse impact on climate change.
Similarly, I’ve long ventured that the National Conference League should be regionalised below the top one or two divisions.
The NCL has been under the RFL’s jurisdiction for many years and, other than during the Covid lockdowns, there has been no move as far as I’m aware towards localised rugby.
And there has, of course, been a wrangle in recent months about youth and junior teams in Cumbria joining the North West Youth Leagues.
It seems that the ‘Environmental Sustainable Strategy’ is – unless plans are in the pipeline to correct the issues I’ve just highlighted – little more than a box-ticking exercise aimed at making our governing body appear to be doing the ‘right thing’. We shall see – hopefully I’m wrong.
