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Post by davemorton on Feb 2, 2024 17:41:16 GMT
Am I right in thinking that Harrogate RFC is not the most liked of the Yorkshire clubs? Many years ago I went there with a Sedgley U16 ten-a-side team. We were the only Lancashire club in the competition, and we played Harrogate in the final. There was no doubt which team the neutrals were rooting for, and we were pleased to win the Trophy for them.
Tomorrow, Doncaster play Cambridge at Castle Park, 12 noon kick off. In National One, Sedgley visit Chinnor. Well, we did beat them at home, earlier in the season.
In Two North there are three Yorkshire derbies: Ionians v Sheff Tigers, Hull v Leeds, Otley v Huddersfield. Wharfedale are at home to Billingham.
Ilkley travel to leaders York. They are safe enough, 14 points clear of the bottom three.
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Post by hawke on Feb 3, 2024 18:08:31 GMT
Big effort by Sedge at their league leaders, Chinnor. Dave, is there a North-West Academy at your base? Saw something about it.
Ilkley off the pace at their league leaders, York. But it would be good for that city to have a decent RU team. Do they play at the cricket ground?
Impressed with Leeds Tykes as their league leaders. Was worried they might fold after last season's relegation.
I went to a soccer match so missed Otley's win, not involving league leaders, but good to see they have momentum.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 4, 2024 1:52:01 GMT
I feared for Sedgley, travelling to revenge-seeking, promotion-chasing Chinnor, but we obviously put up a fine show, before going down 38-34 to the (now) league leaders. At one time we trailed 33-17, but we come out of it with 2 league points, a losing bonus + a try bonus. We actually scored 5 tries; 38-34.
Elsewhere, Doncaster beat promoted Cambridge 29-19, and there were also wins for Sheffield Tigers (at Ionians) and Wharfedale.
I don't know much (anything) about the Sedgley Academy, whose physical manifestation is a large hut on the car park.
York do play at Clifton Park. The 1st XV pitch doubles as the tented village and car park when YCCC play cricket there, and there is a temporary stand and portaloos on the other pitch. The new (and rather ugly) pavilion on the ground is very much a rugby clubhouse, much bigger than a cricket club would require.
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Post by karma on Feb 4, 2024 20:29:43 GMT
Sadly it has been announced that Barry John, former Cardif, Wales and Lions fly-half has died at the age 79.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 4, 2024 22:43:24 GMT
I think King John was my first real rugby hero, though in fact he was a wee bit younger than me. It seemed amazing that such a slight figure could baffle gorilla forwards with just a lean of the body, a dip of the hip, a look with the eye.
John was a glider and a ghost, quite unlike the flaring pace and dazzling sidestep of Watkins and Bennett, who were the Wales 10s before and after him.
He was lucky he wasn't English. We wouldn't have picked him.
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Post by donnylad on Feb 5, 2024 20:58:51 GMT
I always marvelled at how he could run, glide, change direction and leave players grasping thin air without any seeming effort.
I saw clip last night of him scoring for the Lions in 71. The ball was slung into a fist fight of a push pull hold scrag line out and it fell to the Lions, Edwards got it and gave a hand off that would have seen him red carded today and BJ just slides round the NZ outside centre and scores. Simples!
It is a sad reflection on the rugby football authorities of the day that he was in effect ostracised and demonised for writing an autobiography.
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Post by newby on Feb 7, 2024 17:06:35 GMT
With the Rugby League season fast approaching it was nice to read that the BBC has signed up to a 3 year deal to show up to 15 Super League games per season. In addition they will continue with their coverage of the Challenge Cup. 10 games will be shown on BBC1 or BBC2 with the remaining 5 on iPlayer.
I'll look forward to that but it's not without pain, the weekly Super league show is to go and be replaced by on-line highlights of all the games.
Previously Sky had signed up to broadcasting every Super league game for the next two seasons. I'll look forward to seeing how that works when there are 3 games on at the same time on most Friday nights. Red button make your choice I suppose.
I presume Sky will cover the actual games, and the BBC will take a feed of the one's they want.
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Post by donnylad on Feb 8, 2024 19:18:23 GMT
I will be interested to find out who will be in the BBC commentary/pundit team.
.. Later edit
groan .. just to link two postings about Rugby U and L ...
I went on the BBC HYS for RL to see what joy this announcement had generated and there was a lot .... about 3 postings .... before the trolls and haters got at.
Even some with the same name as the pillocks on the RU HYS thread.
I am now even more certain that my avoidance of all forms of social media (The Corridor and the other place excepted .. but I am sometimes not sure about that one) is a wise and beneficial observance. I commend this state of affairs to everyone.
Meanwhile it will be nice to have RL on the BBC again for more than just the RL Cup later stages.
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Post by newby on Feb 8, 2024 21:58:40 GMT
Once again this year I think the RL Challenge Cup leaves it too late before bringing in the Super league clubs. They aren't introduced until the 6th round when there are only 4 clubs from lower leagues left in the competition after round 5.
Little chance of much glory or chance to play the big boys.
I concede that real minnows playing against professionals could be dangerous, but I think by round 5 the standard should be high enough to cope, with mainly Championship sides and perhaps a couple from league 1 getting that far.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 9, 2024 1:06:34 GMT
It's a shame if the (relative) minnows don't get just one crack at the big boys. I remember watching Salford play amateur sides like Lock Lane and Mayfield, and no one got hurt. It's one on one in RL, mostly, sometimes two tacklers, but none of the huge RU mauls and scrums, where amateur players could really get hurt.
The Challenge Cup with all its history has been overshadowed by the Super League Grand Final. I went to a few Wembley finals back in the 1950s and 60s. I can't imagine wanting to go to that place for anything, though to be honest I once did go there with a school party to watch England v Scotland U15s.
There's a game at Sedgley Friday night, Sedge 2s v Caldy 2s in the NW Premier League. Quite honestly, our lights aren't good enough. Nor are anyone's at this level. I'll probably take my camera, knowing in advance that the results will be crap. Nor do I expect Sedgley to win. 1st XV away at Taunton on Saturday.
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Post by newby on Feb 9, 2024 13:00:16 GMT
With no Friday game in the 6 nations the U20's get the field to themselves tonight.
England play Wales at the Rec in Bath, which sounds like a good place to play it, geographically at least.
I'm presuming the BBC I player will be covering all the games.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 9, 2024 14:05:56 GMT
Looking forward to a busy weekend, though Doncaster seem not to be in action. England v Wales U20 tonight (19:15) will be on BBC iPlayer as well as S4C.
Sedgley travel to bottom club Taunton tomorrow. If we think it is going to be easy, we will lose, but surely we'll remember just winning 32-28 at Park Lane, back in October. Taunton score a lot of tries, more match points than Sedgley this season. They are bottom because they leak even more tries. And they've lost quite a few close ones.
The full list of Nat 2N: Fylde v Rotherham Huddersfield v Tynedale Hull v Preston Grasshoppers Hull Ionians v Billingham Leeds Tykes v Sheffield Tigers Otley v Wharfedale Sheffield v Lymm
And Ilkley are at home to Driffield, two places above them in the table.
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Post by newby on Feb 9, 2024 15:58:46 GMT
I will give the S4C coverage a miss, or turn the sound off. I think it was Al Murray, aka the pub landlord who used to refer to the Welsh language as 'code'. Though it's quite funny when they come to a word or phrase they have no 'code' for and revert to English, which might actually be French, Latin or whatever, but you know what I mean.
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Post by hawke on Feb 9, 2024 21:14:30 GMT
I think the RL Challenge Cup format is fine. There have been some good wins for amateur teams outside the North in the earlier qualifying rounds such as Lowca (Cumberland) 22-28 Edinburgh Eagles, West Warriors (London) 28- 4 Newsome (Huddersfield), West Warriors 28-22 Rochdale Mayfield, Hammersmith 32-10 West Bowling (Bradford). Good stuff even if the London sides have Aussies. The next round has Siddal (Halifax) v Wakefield Trinity, Thatto Heath (St. Helens) v Featherstone R and Swinton v West Hull. Fascinating draws.
Amateur teams used to be well well beaten against top sides when they were part-time. Now they are all full-time I dread to think of the possible scores.
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Post by newby on Feb 9, 2024 23:04:43 GMT
We so rarely quarrel Hawke but I have to disagree on this occasion. The third round with 32 teams is fine and I can bear the 4th round with 16 teams. It's the fifth round with only 8 teams taking part, and therefore only 4 teams going on with a chance of meeting Super League opposition that I don't like.
It can't be fixed this season obviously because the numbers are all wrong, but I prefer the system where the bottom 4 in the Super league from the previous season were pitched in a round earlier to make it a 16 team round, with 8 going through to meet the top 8 Super league teams.
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