Rugby League

National Conference League

Premier Division

Saturday 10th June 2023

Kick Off 14.30

Rochdale Mayfield 50 Thatto Heath Crusaders 26, attendance 410

@ Mayfield Sports Centre

Keswick Street

off Heywood Road

Castleton

OL11 3AG

£3 Admission

No Programme.

Having stopped overnight at Winwick, just north of Junction 9 of the M62, it was an easy half hour drive to do the 25 miles to Castleton, just south west of Rochdale. As with last night, it was a ground I had already visited for football. It was previously the home of Castleton Gabriels F.C. who I had seen draw 2-2 versus Chadderton in a North West Counties League Division 2 match here back on 26th October 1999. In those days it was known as Butterworth Park. It is a cracking old ground, that oozes character and was a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon in baking sun, overlooking the moors on the far side of the ground. Good to see a crowd in excess of 400 too, as second in the table Rochdale Mayfield (won 9 lost 1) hosted sixth placed Thatto Heath Crusaders (won 5 lost 6).

It was a comfortable win for Mayfield. They led 12-0 before Thatto Heath scored their first points of the day with a try that pulled it back to 12-4, but by halftime Mayfield had increased their lead to 28-4. The second half was much more even and actually finished 22-22, but the damage had already been done and Mayfield deservedly held on for the win. They remain second in the league table, behind leaders Hunslet on points difference, but they do have a game in hand on the leaders.

The journey back south was uneventful, with traffic surprisingly light.

Rugby League

Super League

Friday June 9th 2023

20.00 Kick Off

St. Helens 34 Wigan Warriors 16, attendance 17,088

@ Totally Wicked Stadium

McManus Drive

Peasley Cross Lane

St. Helens

WA9 3AL

£30 Admission, e-ticket

Programme? Never saw any.

I had already been here for football. I hadn’t realised it was as far back as March 2012 that I saw Liverpool U19 lose 0-6 to Ajax U19 in the Nextgen Cup semi final in front of a 6,000 crowd. The ground was named Langtree Park when it opened that year, but took on the sponsor name of Totally Wicked Stadium in 2017. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 and is seated along the sides, but has terracing behind each goal. It is a far cry from their previous home at Knowsley Road, where I had seen them beat Leigh 12-6 in a Division 1 game on 25th March 1990 in front of 9,189 spectators, which was only my third ever rugby league ground attended at the time (I subsequently visited for football, seeing Liverpool Reserves play 4 games there between December 1999 and February 2000).

The Saints-Wigan derby is probably the biggest rivalry in the northern hemisphere, so I was surprised that tickets were still available to book online the day before the game, albeit only odd seats here and there. Rather oddly the attendance was announced as 16,272 at the game, but this was increased to 17,088 according to the official club Twitter the following morning. No idea how they can come up with two different figures in this day and age. Either way, it was short of the ground record of 17,980 that this fixture attracted in both the 2012 and 2014 meetings. Perhaps a major contributor was the fact that both teams are having relatively poor seasons by their normal high standards, as it was only 6th versus 4th as far as the league table was concerned, both at least two wins adrift of top two Warrington Wolves and Catalan Dragons.

It only took Saints four minutes to go ahead, when Joe Batchelor scored from close to the line and Tommy Makinson converted to make it 6-0. Wigan levelled at 6-6 when Harry Smith chipped over the top for Jai Field to cross the line, with the kick converted by Smith. Makinson then went over in the corner and converted his own try to make it 12-6, but Wigan pulled it back to 12-10 with a try from Bevan French. Right on halftime Saints made it 18-10, when Jack Welsby collected his own kick to score near the posts, which was converted by Makinson to give the hosts an eight point lead at the break.

Saints started the better in the second half, as a close range try by Agnatius Paasi was converted by Makinson to make it 24-10, before Welsby went over, again converted by Makinson, to stretch the lead to 30-10. Makinson scored in the corner, but couldn’t convert, to make it 34-10. A try by Abbas Miski, converted by Smith, did reduce the arrears for Wigan in the dying minutes, but Saints were well worth their 34-16 win.

The journey up to the North West was painfully slow, as expected, taking five and a half hours to drive the 230 miles. I was stopping overnight, so didn’t have to worry about endless lane closures on the return journey.

Rugby League

Challenge Cup 5th Round

Sunday 23rd April 2023

Kick Off 15.00

London Broncos 36 Dewsbury Rams 16, attendance 362

@ Rosslyn Park R.U.F.C.

Priory Lane

Roehampton

London

SW15 5JH

£15 Admission, booked online

No Programme.

I had been disappointed to miss out when London Broncos played their last round home Challenge Cup tie here at Rosslyn Park on a Saturday, as football always takes preference for me, so couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit today when this tie was also switched here from their normal home venue at A.F.C. Wimbledon’s Cherry Red Records Stadium (Plough Lane). The drive into London took 50 minutes (it’s only 17 miles) and street parking was readily available just 100 yards from the ground, as there are no restrictions on a Sunday, despite it being right off the A205 South Circular.

London started as favourites, as they play in a division above Dewsbury, but what we got was an excellent match that could easily have gone the way of the visitors, but they tired towards the end and London cruised into the next round. London went in front scoring the opening try through Iliess Macani, but Dewsbury hit back with a try of their own from Lewis Carr, which was converted to make it 4-6. Just before the break Bill Leyland went over for a try and when it was converted it saw London lead 10-6 at the break.

The second half started well for Dewsbury and Lewis Carr scored his second try of the afternoon, which was converted to make the score 10-12 and a Brad Graham try saw them extend their lead to 10-16. If they could have got another try at this stage, then they may have been able to see the game out, but they were unable to add any further points. Tries from Lewis Bienek, Macani again, then Wellington Albert saw London open up a 26-16 lead and two late tries from Marcus Stock and Jarred Bassett saw the Broncos take the tie 36-16 and book themselves a trip to York City Knights in the next round.

Rugby League

League 1

Sunday 19th March 2023

Kick Off 15.00

Midlands Hurricanes 24 Rochdale Hornets 32, attendance 190

@ Alexander Stadium Warm up Track

Walsall Road

Perry Barr

Birmingham

B42 2LR

£15 Admission

Team Sheet, free.

I decided to break up my drive back home from the Scottish Hop by taking in this match on the way home. Midlands Hurricanes were supposed to be playing on the actual Alexander Stadium itself, but have somehow ended up playing on the outside track pitch, which was installed for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. It is by far the worst venue I have ever attended for a game at national level and is totally unfit for purpose. Spectator access is limited to one side of the pitch, but at least you are able to stand inside the track against the rail. Unfortunately, this makes the ‘seats’ (school chairs placed under a temporary bit of cover) totally unusable, as they are on the outside of the track, hence you can’t then see the pitch due to everyone stood in the way. The RFL must be pretty desperate to want a Midlands based team in the league to have allowed them to play games here.

As for the game, it was 6th versus 7th in the league table, Hurricanes having had a win and a loss from their opening two games, whilst Hornets had lost their only game played so far. It was much closer than I’d been expecting. Hornets started the better of the two, scoring two tries (converted one) in the opening ten minutes. Hurricanes replied with a converted try of their own, but Hornets soon went over again to lead 6-14. A converted try by Hurricanes saw them pull it back to 12-14 just before the break, setting up the second half perfectly.

Three minutes into the second half Hurricanes went in front for the first time to lead 18-14. Unfortunately, they were unable to add to it and Hornets soon drew level and whilst Hurricanes had a man in the sin bin, edged further ahead with another converted try, soon followed by another to extend their lead to 18-30. Hurricanes made for an exciting finish when they added another try with four minutes left, leaving them with a chance of nicking a draw, but a penalty saw Hornets round off their win with the last kick of the match to take it 24-32.

Rugby League

Super League

Thursday 16th March 2023

Kick Off 20.00

Castleford Tigers 14 Leeds Rhinos 8, attendance 7,458

@ The Mend-A-Hose Jungle

Wheldon Road

Castleford

WF10 2SD

£25 Admission

Programme? Never saw any on sale

Having stayed overnight near Wakefield, it was the perfect opportunity to make my first visit back to Castleford since I saw them beat Hull Kingston Rovers 30-2 (att. 5,575) in a Division 1 match back on 20th January 1991. I never really appreciated at the time what a great ground this is. Although a little rough around the edges, it is a ground full of character and generates a decent atmosphere. It is three years short of celebrating its centenary and has a current capacity of 11,775, some way below the ground record of 25,449 that was here for a Challenge Cup match against Hunslet in 1935.

Castleford came into this second bottom in the league table, having lost all four games so far. Leeds were eighth, with two wins and two defeats. Castleford opened the scoring after seventeen minutes, when Bureta Faraimo went over in the corner, but Gareth Widdop was unable to add the extra two points as he sent the kick wide of the posts. Leeds levelled on 28 minutes through Richie Myler, with Rhyse Martin converting to make it 4-6. Widdop kicked a penalty to level it up at 6-6, before adding another penalty to give the visitors a 6-8 halftime lead. Just before the hour mark Faraimo scored his second try of the night, which Widdop then converted to put Tigers 12-8 in front. Nine minutes from time Widdop added another penalty as Castleford made it 14-6. Leeds pushed hard in the dying minutes as both Myler and Martin were held up within site of the line, before a knock on in the corner thwarted Leeds in what was to be the last chance of the game, giving Castleford a deserved first win of the season.

Rugby Football League

National Championship

Sunday 11th September 2022

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.04

London Broncos 20 Barrow Raiders 30, attendance 480

Broncos Tries : Ulberg (2), Gahan, Macani

Conversions : Leyland (2)

Raiders Tries : Iaria, Emslie, Ritson (2), Shaw

Conversions : Shaw (4)

Penalty : Shaw

@ The Cherry Red Records Stadium (A.F.C. Wimbledon)

Plough Lane

Wimbledon

London

SW17 0NR

£20 Admission

Team Sheet, free.

Today marked my 150th ground that I have seen rugby league played on. Over the years London have certainly contributed greatly in that total, this being the tenth ground I‘ve now seen them host a game on (1 as Crusaders, 9 as Broncos). I had only recently visited this ground for football, as it is the home ground of A.F.C. Wimbledon, who I saw draw 2-2 versus Cheltenham Town in a League 1 match on Tuesday 1st February 2022.

Today’s match was 11th versus 5th in the league table, with the visitors already assured of a place in the play offs, whilst Broncos were only playing for pride. Broncos led 6-0 early on, but Raiders turned it round to lead 6-14 at the break. Two tries in the first twelve minutes of the second half saw Broncos go back in front, but their lead only lasted seven minutes, as Barrow edged ahead again at 16-20. Two more tries saw the lead increased to 16-30, before a late try for Broncos saw the scoring rounded off, with a deserved 20-30 win for the visitors.

Rugby Football Union

National League

Division 2 East

Saturday 10th September 2022

Kick Off 15.00 On Time !

Dorking 44 Worthing 22, attendance 457

@ The Big Field

Kiln Lane

Brockham

RH3 7LZ

£10 Admission

Programme free, 36 pages. (26 of adverts)

Thankfully, unlike the Football Association, the Rugby Football Union decided not to postpone all matches following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, so at least I was able to watch a local sporting event this afternoon, which was only ten minutes drive from home. I had previously seen football played here, albeit on an outside pitch, when I saw a 2-2 draw between Dorking and Leatherhead in a pre-season friendly on 21st July 2009.

This was the first home game for Dorking following promotion back into National League 2 East. Having lost their opening game 10-29 at Blackheath last week, they put in a strong performance to take the points today. Worthing went ahead within five minutes, but Dorking turned things round to lead 14-7 by the half hour mark, but it was soon level again at 14-14 before Dorking converted another try to lead 21-14 at halftime. Dorking had the better of the second half and comfortably held on to their lead with a deserved 44-24 win, which was enough to take the bonus point.

Rugby Football League

National Championship

Sunday 3rd July 2022

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.03

London Broncos 36 Sheffield Eagles 28, attendance 550

@ Kuflink Stadium (Ebbsfleet United F.C.)

Stonebridge Road

Northfleet

DA11 9GN

£15 Admission, bought in advance online

No Programme.

This was an ’on the road’ game for the Broncos, as their home ground at A.F.C. Wimbledon is undergoing work on the pitch. They are aiming to play one game in Kent each season, in an effort to attract support and help spread the game in the South East, but there is just not the interest in Rugby League down here. Despite giving an attendance of 750 on their website, it was at least a couple of hundred fewer, although there may have been season tickets counted on the official total.

The first half performance of the Broncos was pitiful. They were simply dreadful and were lucky to only trail 0-28 at halftime, which would have been more, but Eagles failed to convert four of their six tries, which in the end cost them dearly. As bad as Broncos were first half, they were the total opposite in the second. Eagles only came close to adding to their score once in the second half and as Broncos started to run in the tries, the comeback certainly looked possible, if perhaps a little optimistic, but they went in front late on and even added a converted try in the final minute to complete a tremendous turnaround, taking a 36-28 win that few would have though possible at halftime.

I had visited Ebbsfleet United on Sunday 2nd January, when I saw them beat Dartford 1-0, which was after a gap of just over thirty years since my first visit and nothing has changed in the intervening six months. It is a fantastic stadium and remains one of my favourite non-league grounds ever visited.

Scottish Rugby Union

Super6

Sunday 3rd October 2021

Kick Off 13.30

Watsonians 29 Boroughmuir Bears 35, attendance 400

@ Myreside

90-92 Myreside Road

Edinburgh

EH10 5BZ

£12 Admission, via Fanbase App. (Cash turnstile £15)

Programme, available via QR Code only.

Before today I had only ever been to two rugby union matches, the first being Leicester v Barbarians at Welford Road in 1991, then I saw Cambridge University v Oxford University in the Varsity match at Twickenham three years later, in front of a 60,000 plus crowd. It was only the fact that we drove past the ground here, noticing the impressive main stand, whilst on the way to our hotel on Friday afternoon, that I was even aware that Watsonians played in Edinburgh. I looked on BBC Sport and noticed they were listed as playing this afternoon, so a little bit of research led us to coming along.

The Super6 is, as it suggests, a semi professional competition played between six teams, which is intended to bridge the gap between the amateur and fully professional teams of the United Rugby Championship. As well as these two, the other member clubs are Ayrshire Bulls, Heriot’s Rugby, Southern Knights and Stirling County.

This was a much faster paced game than I had been expecting, although it would still have to go some to get up to the speed of a decent level Rugby League match. Boroughmuir came into this bottom of the table, with this being their first away win of the season.They led 10-21 at the break and although Watsonians came back into it they held on for a deserved 29-35 win. The two fixtures between the two were played for the Allan McNish Memorial Trophy, which Watsonians won on aggregate, despite today’s defeat.

Rugby League

League 1

Sunday 14th July 2019

Kick Off 15.00

Coventry Bears 20 Hunslet 48, attendance 255 (official 420 !)

@ The Rugby Lions R.U.F.C.

Webb Ellis Road

Rugby

CV22 7AU

£12 Admission

£2 Programme available, but didn’t bother buying.

Today’s match was at Rugby Lions R.U.F.C. which is situated in Webb Ellis Road, named after the alleged inventor of rugby football, William Webb Ellis, who back in 1823, whilst as a pupil at Rugby School, picked the ball up and began running with it during a school match and the new game of ‘rugby’ was invented.

This was the third home venue for Coventry this season, due to pitch works taking place at their normal home at Butts Arena. It was only two weeks ago that I saw them play the last of three matches staged at Broadstreet R.U.F.C. and today would begin a run of their final four league matches being played here in Rugby.

I had visited Rugby Lions R.U.F.C. previously, as Rugby Town F.C. played here during the 2000/01 season. My visit was for a Midland Combination League Division 2 match, which was a 0-0 draw versus Lichfield Enots on Wednesday 21st February 2001. The ground today is pretty much unchanged.

Coventry started off well today and led 8-0 after twenty minutes, but Hunslet came back into it and took a 8-16 lead. Both teams added another converted try to give a 14-22 halftime score. Bears then scored another try early in the second half, which was converted, to make it 20-22, but unfortunately were unable to add another point during the next 37 minutes and Hunslet dominated them from here in for a comfortable 20-48 win.