THE Southern Conference League fully kicks off on Saturday (April 12), with six of the eight teams featuring in three attractive-looking games, while Eastern Rhinos and London Chargers enjoyed an early start a couple of days ago.
Bedford Tigers, Brentwood Eels, Bristol All Golds, Hammersmith Hills Hoists, North Herts Crusaders and Wests Warriors will, with the Rhinos and the Chargers, be aiming, over the next five months, to book a berth in the early-September Grand Final.
I suppose Hammersmith Hills Hoists and Wests Warriors will be the favourites to again feature in the decider, which the Hoists had slightly the better of last time. But we shall see, shan’t we?
It’s good that the SCL will run an A Division which, I understand, will involve games played on, essentially, a ‘friendly’ basis, with matches to take place as and when squad strength allows.
That’s not a bad way to operate in this day and age. I’ll be monitoring this competition with extra interest as the season progresses.
At least it appears to be an example of positive tinkering. I proposed, quite a few years ago now, to instigate an occasional ‘Weetabix’ column, in which I aimed to feature initiatives that seemed to be unnecessary at best and useless at worst.
I’d been inspired (if that was the word) by an incident when, in opening a box of Weetabix for my breakfast, I’d struggled with the different type of wrapping. The result was that my kitchen floor was covered in crumbs.
It seemed to me that someone at Weetabix had come up with the notion of changing something that, as far as I could see, had worked perfectly well (and that person was no doubt very busy for a year or so in seeing through the project, with regular meetings and updates).
I’ve been lax in not offering readers regular updates. But there has been one example in recent years that was surely unnecessary and which needs rectifying.
I’m referring to the Steven Mullaney Memorial Boys Year 7 curtain-raiser to the Betfred Challenge Cup Final at Wembley.
This game was, for many years, played shortly before the main event, and no other matches took place on the historic turf that day.
It was, clearly, a tremendous experience for those youngsters who, after their game, would line up and run from one touchline to the other, invariably to a standing ovation from a big crowd already in the stadium ahead of the final itself.
What do we have now, though? Well, we also have the Women’s Challenge Cup final (which is clearly a very good thing) and the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup final (also, I’d say, a very good thing).
Four games in a single day, however, makes for a very packed programme and I find it very sad that the Steven Mullaney match has been shunted forward to, in recent years anyway, a 10.00am kick-off, when no spectators are allowed in the ground.
An RFL official told me: “Unfortunately, as much as we would love to put the Year 7 final later in the Wembley schedule, the other cup finals take the priority for kick-off times, so there is no scope to move it to later in the day.
“The schools are thrilled to get the chance to play at the stadium and their friends and family are all there to watch them. The kick-off time is the compromise we have to make to play the game at the stadium.”
Hmmm. Quite why the time-honoured and time-tested schoolboys game, which had a fixed slot in days of yore, had to be treated this way I don’t know. But it’s not good enough in my opinion, and really does qualify for my Weetabix admonishment.
Another change that, in this instance, seems to have crept up on us is the way that the ‘domicile rule’, which was rightly introduced, for very good reasons, to prevent ‘super-team’ building at youth and junior levels, seems to have been quietly shelved.
This could be a factor in teams from Cumbria feeling that they have to opt for the North West Youth Leagues rather than for the far-more-local Barrow or West Cumbria leagues.
Quite how apposite the allegation is, I don’t really know. Again, though, it’s something I’ll be happy to monitor and assess over the coming months.
Something else on the near horizon is the President’s Cup, which starts on Wednesday week.
Great Britain Police pulled out a few weeks ago, citing difficulties in assembling a squad for pre-set games should operational requirements have to suddenly take precedence.
That’s very understandable, and it would be even more so in the case of UK Armed Forces, who – given the fractious state of the world – haven’t named a squad for tournament.
I (and, I’m sure, everyone else) can quite see that that would be pointless. I’m sure, however, that other in the most extreme circumstances, coach Mick Bamford will get a team out.
Meanwhile, more domestically, it’s worrying that several teams in the National Conference League were short-numbered on Saturday.
More positively, the Hull and District League hope to reintroduce the Council Cup this year. Organisers reckon that the renowned competition can kick-start if six teams pledge involvement.
As it happens, I was clearing out some old papers recently and was diverted by the BARLA handbook for 1995-96.
It listed, in the National Conference League, three Hull sides (West Hull, Beverley and Hull Dockers). And, in the Hull League itself, there were no fewer than 49. The list, which I’m sure older readers will agree makes evocative reading, is: Apollo, Bay Horse, Beverley A, Beverley B, Bilton, Blacksmiths, BP Chemicals, Bransholme, Bransholme A, Bransholme North, Bridlington, Cherokee, Crown Malet, Crown Malet A, Driffield, Eastmount, Embassy, Embassy A, Eureka, Eureka A, Fenners, Greenwood, Holderness, Hull Dockers, Hull Dockers A, Hull Supporters, Hull Supporters A, Ideal ABI, Ideal ABI A, Kingston Communications, Mysons, Mysons A, Norland, Norland A, Northern Foods, North Hull Eagles, Reckitts, Reckitts A, Ship Inn, Ship Inn A, Skirlaugh, Skirlaugh A, Spotted Dog/Riverside, St Andrews, Sully’s, Sutton Trust, TEF Eagles, West Hull A, West Park.
A number of those (Bridlington and Driffield are obvious examples) were not really from Hull, but the vast majority were. Where the heck have they all gone? It doesn’t make pretty reading, does it?
I don’t know what Bob Pickles, who passed away recently at the age of 80, would have made of it. There’s a celebration of his life this Thursday (April 10) at Hunslet RLFC’s ground at the South Leeds Stadium, in the Parkside Suite.
I’m sure plenty of folk will turn up to raise a glass in the lad’s memory, and they should know that it’s starting later (2.00pm) and finishing later (7.00pm) than originally planned. Here’s to Bob Pickles!
Here’s also to Les Fox, who passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 60 after having battled cancer for the last year.
Les, who leaves wife Susan and sons Martin and Gary, had been secretary of the Kells open-age and youth teams for 19 years and was much loved and regarded at the Whitehaven outfit, and way beyond. He will be very badly missed. I hope to be able to announce funeral arrangements in the near future.
On a bright note, however, it’s good to see former Wales international Clive Griffiths back at the helm with Wales Students, who drew with ambitious South Wales Jets at the weekend. With Griffiths back in the dug-out I suspect that Wales will make a real impact in this summer’s Student Four Nations.
