Rugby League in Doncaster

Below is an extract from an article that appeared in Issue 39 of Rugby League Journal.

When I first played at Bentley Amateur Rugby league Club, we changed at Tatters Field the Doncaster Rugby League Club’s ground in a block of changing rooms that had been built for both Doncaster and Bentley to use. The dressing rooms were very cramped and I remember we often struggled to find our way to the bath when the lights on the corridor were not working, something that happened regularly. I think in those days dressing room maintenance was not a very high priority for a professional club that seemed in constant crisis. Bentley was the strongest amateur club in Doncaster at the time, and a number of players from Bentley had played regularly for Doncaster. When the ‘Dons’ had a player shortage, Bentley players would often be asked to play. When our team mates did play for Doncaster, I was amongst a number of players from the club who would go along to watch them in action. Standing on the crumbling terraces at Tatters Field on a Sunday afternoon wasn’t a very uplifting experience. Doncaster usually struggled to compete on the field and for the guys we had gone along to support I imagine it was probably an even worse experience. In fact, the highlights I remember most were more to do with the banter exchanged between players and spectators when the teams were lining up for the kick off after yet another try had been conceded by the ‘Dons’. Some of the banter was good natured but there were the occasional threats issued by angry players who said that they would see whoever had abused them after the game. I doubt that the threats of retribution were ever carried out. Most sensible spectators in attendances as small as Doncaster’s  would only abuse opposition players who would be happily picking up winning money and after the game would have probably forgotten about any abuse they received from the terraces.

Doncaster now play at the Keepmoat Stadium, a modern facility at the other side of town. Below is a photograph of the overgrown 'brownfield' site where Tatters Field once stood. If you look closely you can see a bank on the left hand side of the photograph, all that remains of one of the terraces.

Rugby League Challenge Cup

I am currently researching Rugby League Challenge Cup games involving amateur clubs, Welsh clubs and clubs based in London. I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has any first hand knowledge of these games either as a player or spectator. I can be contacted by email please click on the contact tab for details.

Wartime Internationals

Many representative fixtures were played during the Second World War with the proceeds usually donated to wartime charities. In my book 'Let Them Play By All Means' I mentioned a number of these fixtures and was also able to include illustrations showing the programmes that were produced for the games.
Below is a programme for an England v Wales wartime International that I wasn't able to include in the book.

I would like to thank Richard Lowther for providing the illustration.

For further information on 'Let Them Play By All Means' please click on the 'Let Them Play' tab above

Bramley Rugby

In 1971 Bramley Rugby Union Club had been in existence for 50 years. To mark to occasion the club published a pamphlet highlighting the events that had led to the formation of the club and some of events that had taken place during the previous 50 years. Below is an extract from that pamphlet.

The club continues to play at The Warrels but is now called Bramley Phoenix following a merger with a Bradford based club called Phoenix Park.

Rugby League Characters - Bob Fox

Bob Fox

I first met Bob Fox when I joined Bentley Amateur Rugby League Club in 1973. Bob, was an outstanding club secretary, he was well organised, kept meticulous records and made sure that everything ran smoothly off the field. As was often the case at amateur rugby league clubs in the 1970s the success or otherwise of the club depended upon the efficiency of just one man, usually the club secretary. Bob was the type of person who never left anything to chance. The very high administrative standards that he set would have been difficult to match, even in the professional game. Therefore, it was no surprise when, in the early 1980s, he was recruited by a businessman called Paul Fairies to work full-time in professional rugby league. Paul Faires had established a new professional club, based in Maidstone, called Kent Invicta. Bob left a secure job in Doncaster and moved to Kent as full-time club secretary. Unfortunately for him and his wife, things didn’t work out as planned and when Kent Invicta folded towards the end of their first season and re-appeared as Southend Invicta, Bob was made redundant. I believe that he did eventually return to Doncaster, working on the lottery at a number of professional clubs. I am sure that Bob was very disappointed with the way things turned out. He was the sort of person who could have been a big success as a full-time administrator but sadly it seems he chose the wrong rugby league club to work for.

Winter Rugby !

Playing on the wing for Barnsley Rugby Union Club in the 1970s could be very frustrating. We struggled on occasions to dominate in the forwards which meant that we got very little ball coming out to the backs. We seemed to have players at stand-off who loved to kick the ball. This meant that with very little ball coming our way it was extremely frustrating to be chasing kicks all afternoon, especially when most of those kicks were going into touch. I was very grateful for shorts with pockets and I spent a lot of the eighty minutes of some games with my hands in my pockets. The lack of action meant that if you did get a running chance it was likely that, because your hands were so cold, if you didn’t get a good pass you were in danger of dropping the ball. The pockets in the shorts helped most weeks but were ineffective if it was wet as well as cold. I recall one particular game we played away at Rochdale on a freezing cold day in the middle of November. As well as the freezing temperatures it was also raining and sleeting. The team was going through a poor run of results and because of that there was very little enthusiasm for playing an expansive game. The first team pitch at Rochdale was fairly exposed and very muddy. As a consequence of our lack of confidence, the pitch and weather conditions we kept the ball in the forwards for most of the game. My only opportunity of any real action came in the second half when I chased a kick through and got to the ball first to touch it down for a try. The problem was that my hands were so numb I was not sure whether I had touched the ball. Fortunately the referee was up with play and he decided I had scored a try. The other fortunate thing was that nobody tried to pass me the ball, as I am sure I wouldn’t have been able to catch it. After this particular game it must have taken me over an hour to get warm again.

Selection Committees

How are sports teams selected?

During my time on the BARLA Executive in 1983/84 I was involved in the International Committee that selected the Great Britain under 19 team to play against France. Selection committee meetings for Yorkshire that I had attended previously had been fairly pleasant affairs. Players were selected following reports from county selectors and the whole process was very thorough and fair. International selection was very different. I drove to my first International selection meeting with Arthur Higgins, another member of the Executive, who had been an International selector previously. On the journey across to Lancashire to a hotel near Oldham where the meeting was to be held, Arthur warned me that we needed to be clear on who we wanted to be selected or we would not get any Yorkshire players in the team. This was despite Yorkshire having won the County Championship! The meeting was a real eye opener as the Lancashire and Cumbria representatives had obviously met earlier and decided who they wanted to be selected. Therefore, when it came to any votes we were beaten by Lancashire and Cumbria voting together. We did get a few players in the squad, but only because we got very angry and threatened to walk out. I was fairly shocked by the way in which men who were supposed to have young players’ interests at heart could ignore their conscience because it suited their purpose. I realised during the meeting that Lancashire and Cumbria also seemed to have agreed who to vote for when the prestigious Managers jobs were discussed. Some of the people on the selection committee seemed to be more interested in the ‘perks’ of the Managers job. The players appeared to be of secondary importance.

Is the selection process different today?

Is it better for representative teams to be selected by one person either the coach or the manager?