Road To Wembley – Round 2

The Other Hull Derby

Saturday dawned and I awoke nice and early to prepare for the long trek across the M62 towards Hull and take in another game of our great sport.

Myton Warriors, the victors from Round 1’s tie with Leigh Miners Rangers, had been handed a very tough, long and arduous away ... against the side just over the fence – The University of Hull!  Both side’s pitches are separated by just a row of trees.  When looking at where they were based I was amazed and chuckled to myself when I looked at Google Maps to find that both sides practically shared the same field of grass near the centre of the city.   Correct me if I’m wrong but that lead me to think that it must be the closest derby in the world in any sport between two sides that don’t share a ground.

The University side had overcome last season’s Cumbria Men’s League Champions Hensingham in their first round tie but would face another home tie against a much stronger side in Myton, who play in the National Conference League Premier Division.

Having frequented Hull fairly often (my better half being from the city and her family still living in East Yorkshire) I had a relatively good idea where I was heading to.  The drive over was pretty uneventful but as I neared Hull my sat nav took me in through the back way through an area I’ve never driven before, and the realisation that I wasn’t entirely sure where I could park when I got to the ground was starting to kick in.

After driving up and down Inglemire Lane for approximately 10 minutes I eventually found a small car park to the left of the university’s sports centre.  The game was being played at the university’s sports complex and my first thought as I walked in was that I was very impressed with the facilities.  Entrance to the match was a very reasonable price of £3, paid to the young lad sitting with his mates at the foldout table.  I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that there were no programmes to purchase and therefore ending my run of collecting programmes from each game I attend!

I didn’t realise the game was also being played on an all-weather 3G pitch so it was three firsts for me – the first university team I’ve watched in the Challenge Cup, the first game on a 3G pitch and the first derby I’ve been to on my travels.

After perching myself near the half way line I had a brief look around the grounds (without having to move very much) which was all fairly open and difficult to miss anything.  There was a football match taking place on the pitch next to ours so many of the students in the crowd who had come to watch the rugby were taking an interest in that as well.

As the teams came out for kick off I was quite taken aback by how big the University side was.  There were some big units in there and were seemed a much bigger pack than Myton’s.  However, Myton’s number 10 was affectionately known as ‘Bear’ by some of the fans and I was quite happy to agree that I wouldn’t cross him on a dark night!

I was worried for the Uni of Hull after the first 15 minutes as Myton’s quality was shining through as they raced into a 14-0 lead and it looked like turning into an utter whitewash.  Thankfully, the students began to get into the game and scored a couple of converted tries of their own to reduce the deficit to just two points as half time approached.

One of the highlights of the first half though came not on the rugby pitch but on the football pitch behind us.  As our game reached a bit of a lull it kicked off during the football game and all our supporters turned around to see a defender receive a severe talking to from the referee.  He was given a yellow card but the ref, maybe playing up to the impromptu crowd, was letting him walk away before calling him back to tell him off a bit more.  The other highlight was the Uni’s coach kept running onto the pitch during the game to tell his players they were being subbed, much to the annoyance of the visiting supporters.

At half time I needed a drink to warm the cockles up as, even though the rain stayed away, it was blooming freezing and I’d stupidly left my gloves in the car.  I went into the clubhouse but found that the drinks facilities were unfortunately a solitary vending machine and by the time I’d come out of the toilet the queue was massive.  I was determined to persist with waiting for a drink as I’d committed myself and even though I missed Myton’s fourth try after half time, the hot chocolate I purchased for a £1 was actually pretty good.

By the time I came back out the score was 20-12 to Myton and I’d lost my spot on half way.  I managed to squeeze in between a couple of old blokes and a group of female students and both sets were clearly there supporting someone they knew who was playing.

The Uni team didn’t cave in though and the huge forward wearing number 28 found a burst of speed and smashed his way through a group of defenders to score a try near the posts.  The conversion was a successful one and the score was back to within two points and we were in for a very entertaining finish.

I spent the rest of match commentating on what was happening during a tense final 20 minutes as the students next to me were asking why the ref was blowing his whistle, why their man had been given a yellow card and why their two tries were disallowed late in the game.

Myton also had a try disallowed towards the end but had scored another penalty by then to make the score 22-18 and that was enough to get them over the line and into the next round.

It was a thoroughly entertaining game and hats off to the University of Hull for putting on a very well attended game and almost pulling off a shock result.  Round 3 beckons for the NCL Premier Division side though and who knows where that will take them.

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What Did We Learn From Round 1?

Saints and Wolfpack Start Strong

The Super League and Championship seasons kicked off over the weekend and there were one or two results that weren’t quite expected.  It’s difficult to anticipate what effect the opening round of fixtures will have for each club for the rest of the year but supporters love to speculate don’t they?

St Helens’ ascendancy, Castleford’s demise

Saints made a somewhat comfortable start against last season’s league leaders, Castleford – a bit too easy for my liking!  All the hype around Ben Barba during the close season seems highly justified going on Friday night’s performance and I fully expect him to be up there winning all the accolades at the end of the season.

It’s true that one man doesn’t make a team but if he plays like that every week Saints will be a very hard side to beat by anyone.  I think they’ll be in the top four throughout the whole season now and I’d say some of their fans must be quietly confident about how this season will pan out.  I bet a few are already looking forward to the first weekend in October.

The Tigers on the other hand seemed a totally different team to the one that finished top last season.  Maybe the loss of Zak Hardaker will hit them a lot harder than people expected as Ben Roberts struggled to live up to what was required of him in that full back role.

I was shocked to find out that Castleford have never beaten St Helens in their own back yard for over 25 years!  As it stands the Tigers are bottom of the Super League table but I don’t expect them to stay there.  Leeds and Warrington both struggled the season after finishing top, each for their own reasons, but I would be very surprised if it happened a third year running and Castleford failed to make the Super 8’s.

There could be two French clubs in the Qualifiers

Catalans and Toulouse had considerably contrasting weekends.  Catalans’ away form doesn’t seem to have got any better as they lost at Widnes Vikings, who are tipped by many to finish bottom; and Toulouse enjoyed a very comfortable home win over Swinton Lions, a side that are also tipped to struggle in this season’s Championship.

Admittedly, its early days and Catalans’ home form could see them come through in the end but they almost went down last year in the Million Pound Game and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they became the first club to feature in that dreaded decider for a second time at the end of this season.

Toulouse on the other hand will have been mightily disappointed to miss out on the top four last year and will come back strong this time.  They’ll be very hard to beat at home and they will claim a few scalps on the road this as well – they were the only side to beat Hull KR twice last season.  If we do see both of these clubs in the middle tier we could be in for an interesting seven weeks.

Both sides will come up against much tougher opposition later in the season and it depends on how the sides cope with the pressure they will put on themselves – Catalans to avoid the middle eight and Toulouse to get into it.

The Wolfpack have arrived

One result that raised many eyebrows, including my own, was the final score from Leigh Sports Village on Sunday afternoon.  If there was one team in the Championship that could challenge the might of Leigh Centurions this season it is the Wolfpack.

The Centurions will have been in dreamland being 12-0 up inside the first ten minutes and expecting a huge win from then on but Toronto’s 34 unanswered points meant they have the early bragging rights.  No doubt Paul Rowley will have had a wry smirk on his face at the final whistle having got one over on his former employers, and his side set down a very early marker to declare that they mean business.

For rugby league to succeed in North America, there has to be a successful North American team to gain the supporters’ interest no matter who or where they play.  This will have turned many Canadian (and some American) heads in our direction and if Toronto continue to succeed as they did at the weekend, I fully expect to see them at the top table in 2019.

Let’s face it ... that’s what the RFL wanted in the first place isn’t it?

What can we expect from Round 2?

More of the same I expect.  One tie that catches my eye is the Leeds Rhinos verses Hull Kingston Rovers fixture on Thursday night.  It was to be expected that this game would be shown on Sky as it sees the return of Danny McGuire to his old stomping ground but Leeds should come out on top.

Elsewhere, Catalans have their first home game but it’s a visit of St Helens and I can’t see the Dragons winning this one either.  Castleford entertain Widnes Vikings and we should see them get off the mark in front of their own fans.

In the Championship, Toronto travel to Cumbria to play Barrow Raiders.  The Raiders had to travel to Canada twice last season so it will be a novelty for them to finally host the Wolfpack this time around, although I’m not looking forward to seeing what the score is come full time!

Leigh should get their season going with a home win over Batley Bulldogs and Toulouse face their first major test of 2018 with a trip to Featherstone Rovers – one of a few games that is probably quite hard to call.

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Road To Wembley - Round 1

A Winning Comeback and a Semi-Permanent Stamp

You’ve eaten the mince pies; used, lost or thrown away some Christmas presents; and the weather is still atrocious.  The back-end of January has arrived and that means one thing ... the rugby league season is upon us once again.

As ever, for me the season started with a visit to see if Leigh Miners Rangers could make it through to Round 2 for the first time since 2014.  I’ve came here the last two years and unfortunately the Miners have succumbed to defeat each time.

Last season the Miners were pipped by neighbours Wigan St Pats in Round 1 in a match that was streamed live by BBC Online.  Their opponents this time were Myton Warriors from Hull who enjoyed an impressive run to the third round last term and finished a respectable eighth place in the National Conference Premier Division.  Leigh on the other hand were relegated to Division One!

I arrived at Twist Lane in decent time as I was conscious if how busy it was this time last year.  But I got there and I was surprised at how quiet and subdued the place was.  The car park was barely half full and the ground seemed empty, and all the noise I could hear came from the Miners squad warming up on the pitch.  However, thinking back, it was a local derby last year and it was being streamed live.

I paid the very reasonable entrance fee of £2.50 and an extra quid for a match programme, got my hand stamped, and went in to grab myself a bite to eat.  A cup of tea and chips with curry sauce (a personal favourite wherever I go) were purchased for £2.70.

As I was stood watching the players warm up I’d noticed someone I thought I recognised walking in so did the only thing you can do and went up to introduce myself.  I was right and it was none other than a fellow rugby league writer and reporter, Dave Parkinson (@DParkyRL).  We both follow each other on social media but had never met before so it was nice speaking to him about all levels of rugby league throughout the match.

Thankfully, the ground got a lot busier by kick off and, if the first half was a lesson in attacking and defending by Leigh Miners, it certainly wasn’t a lesson on kicking.  Early season conditions made the ground and the ball very slippy and errors were at a premium.  The home side seemed to handle the conditions better and were 12-0 to the good by half time thanks to three tries.  Unfortunately, each subsequent conversion was missed, albeit from difficult positions, and Myton could sense they weren’t out of this game.

They should have had a couple of tries of their own but some excellent defending denied the Warriors from downing the ball over the line.  Instead, Miners used the conditions to their advantage to gang up and slide the opposition out of play when it looked certain they would score.

As I walked through the bar at half time I was pretty certain I’d spotted Featherstone boss John Duffy enjoying a pint – if it wasn’t him it was a very good lookalike.

At the break I felt that this may be the year I finally see the Miners win.  The second half got underway, by which time, another of Dave’s acquaintances had joined us, and Leigh were defending their slender 12 point lead.  Myton were up for this, came out strong and within a few minutes had their first try just the left of the post.  And the Warriors grabbed a second soon after and the difference was just two points after a failed conversion.

The Miners were wobbling and too many silly mistakes were coming into their game which allowed the visitors the chance at another try, which they duly took, with around 20 minutes left to play.  The score was 12-16 and Myton were now favourites.

Around the time we heard a King Charles Spaniel choking on a piece of food it had found on the floor, Leigh had retaken the lead thanks to a fourth try and this time it was converted.  Myton were on the brink of going out of the competition but up stepped Nathan Taylor to grab the winning try and an excellent conversion from Ash James sealed victory for the NCL Premier Division side.  I’m pleased to report that the dog was ok.

To finish off a day of recognising people, I bumped into one of Barrow Raiders’ players who I travelled to Toronto with last May.  A brief hello and catch-up made me thankful that I don’t play rugby or have to face the dreaded pre-season training on the sand dunes of Barrow’s Roanhead Beach.

I’ve got wait a few days before I found out where I’ll be heading next but it could be anywhere from West Cumbria, East Yorkshire or London.

On a final note, I don’t know what they put in those stamps but I’m still struggling to scrub the print off the back of my hand!

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