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7th March the Rugby Matters Flipbook PDF
7th March the Rugby Matters
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NORTHWICH RUGBY CLUB
“the Rugby Matters”
Saturday 7th March 2020
WELCOME Greetings fellow “Blacks” supporters. A bumper day is expected down at Moss Farm as we have all three senior teams at home 1st v Stockport, 2nd v Holmes Chapel & 3rd v Congleton. Having had a shortage of rugby, Saturday will be a good test of our players fitness levels and player progression lets hope for a trio of wins. With both 1st teams in close proximity in the league table there is extra meaning which will help both teams with motivation to battle it out in what we hope will be less stormy conditions than of late. Northwich have had many distractions with inclemant weather and a multitude of injuries the squad will really have to step-up and give their all if they are going to get the job done against a very competative Stockport side. We have faith in the players representing all our squads especially the 1st there being a wonderful blend of youth and experience, which weather permitting could see the Blacks playing some very entertaining rugby. It is a real credit to the club that with so many injuries we can still put out such a strong 1st team. Today’s pre-match buffet is kindly sponsored by your club treasurer Bob Phillips. Keep up to speed on all things Blacks every Thursday at 5.30pm when Postie & Simmo talk rugby on our live podcast streamed on the club facebook page. Do you have a question for them?
ADVISORY NOTICE TO VISITORS. NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED - EXCEPT SERVICE DOGS THAT AID WITH DISABILITIES. It is the policy of our landlords BRIO & endorsed by NRUFC for heath and safety reasons that NO DOGS are allowed on any of the grounds at Moss Farm, irrespective of whether this is the pitch or the surrounding areas.
Did you know? On this day at Northwich RUFC 7th March 08/09,1st XV vs Liverpool St Helens (Home) Won 18-10. Northwich returned to winning ways with a much deserved victory against a pugnacious LSH but picked up casualties with an early ankle injury to Sam Naylor and a second half red card for Aussie centre Stacey Hosking. This was an ill tempered affair as the home team completed the double against the once much vaunted LHS outfit. Referee Barry Savage had his work cut out in keeping control and two second half street fights resulted in two reds for Hosking and LHS prop Jan Lourens and two yellows for Matt Bebbington and LHS centre Neil Habberfield. In the end the 'Blacks' stood their ground and refused to be intimidated by the bigger and one dimensional LSH pack. All the points came in the first half but this did not mean that the second half proceedings lacked incidents and passion. Northwich: Gough, Moxon, Davey, Farley (Farrow 70), Heywood, Miritana, Naylor (Pattenden 5), Ballard Ridley (Chubb 55), Bebbington, Dale, Hosking, Campbell, Barber, Bown. On this day, 1888 J P Clowes, who had been invited to take part in the British team's tour of Australia and New Zealand, found himself outlawed as a professional by the RFU who claimed he had accepted £15 to kit himself out for the visit. He was allowed to travel with the team, but was banned from playing in any of the 53 matches or 18 games of Australian Rules football.
SENIOR RUGBY Last week: Northwich vs Keswick review: Postponed. Northwich 1st today’s opposition Stockport In this seasons earlier weekly preview we reminded our followers of the similarities between Northwich & Stockport in our histories including shirt colour, club name and ground changes. The coincidences continue like ourselves at one time not so long ago Stockport found themselves in decline and their fortunes changed when they forged links with South African recruits. With a new sense of purpose the team went from strength to strength. The squad was one of largely home grown local talent with a sprinkling of colonial assistance. Stockport being another of North 1 West teams in the top end challenge put a 5 game running winning streak together since the start of 2020 before drawing at home to Birkenhead Park. Birkenhead Park, 20-15 down and playing against the wind, started on their own 22 and for 10 minutes played some 50 phases to take play to the Stockport line. During this series Stockport defended powerfully and never conceded a penalty, even when the play was on their own line. This extraordinary period of play came to and end when a dead maul resulted in the referee awarding a scrum to Birkenhead Park for the last play of the game, Stockport defended the scrum but the drive that followed got Park over in the corner for an unconverted try, which resulted in a 20-20 draw. Stockport won at League leaders Burnage in one of only 2 fixtures to be completed in the Division last Saturday. Having been well beaten by an impressive Burnage in the fixture at Headlands Road earlier in the season this was a great win by a Stockport side that has now won 6 and drawn 1 in 2020. On the day Stockport benefitted from early scores in each half. With a cross wind making things difficult for both teams, defences needed to be good and opportunities had to be taken. Burnage suffered by being reduced to 13 men at one point in the second half, with their No 7 being given yellow and their 11 getting red for taking out Stockport fullback.
The turn around shows the benefits of playing a consistently settled side, better fitness and a much improved defence, said Stockport. Earlier in the season With Moss Farm waterlogged the fixture was reversed and the blacks had to travel to Stockport in order to fulfill the fixture. From the Northwich point of view the match was marred by some inexplicable refereeing decisions that bemused the faithful and visibly frustrated the players. With the match in added time Stockport were awarded a penalty, subsequent dissent put them within kicking distance and the losing bonus was lost. This was a bad day for the blacks who lost a match that was clearly influenced by the number of penalties conceded. Northwich losing 31-21. With the other fixtures not being played Stockport are now in joint 3rd place but with only 2 points between 7th and 2nd it is clear that there is going to be a real scrap for position as the season moves towards conclusion in April.
Coffin Dodger Banter: As a guest was about to take a seat in coffin dodgers corner a cry came “you can’t sit there” that’s Fraz’s seat he will go mad. And you can’t sit there it’s Woodsy’s seat “he’ll go mad”. But sit wherever you like. “I don’t want to sit amongst mad people” replied our guest. Can’t help that were all a little mad here, he’s mad, I’m mad, your mad. How do you know I’m mad said our guest. You must be or you wouldn’t have sat here was the reply.
Northwich 2 & 3 Northwich 2 2nd placed Holmes Chapel 1st visit Moss Farm, both of todays teams were without fixtures last week due to our wash-out weather.
Northwich 3 Having had no fixture since beating Wallasey way back on 1st February, Northwich 3s are chomping on the bit with a home match vs mid-table Congleton.
CLUB NEWS Events 14th March Ex-Players Day 5th April Egstravaganza Egg Hunt: For the U6 following training. 5th April Bingo: Family inclusive all welcome from 4pm. 26th April: SuperStars Awards.
Northwich Rugby Column (Northwich Guardian) Can you help to populate our media? Do you have news to broadcast? The club facebook page’s other social media and our Northwich Guardian Rugby Column generate interactions. A high digital media profile is crucially important in keeping interest in the club alive and attracting new members, sponsors, clubhouse bookings, etc. etc. In particular, sponsors and advertisers will be attracted to the extra exposure we give to their brands. The key to a busy website is attractive, interesting content with good quality images and videos. Might I encourage everyone to contribute appropriate articles, of interest to members and others, to keep our media profile high?
Mini (Superstars) & Junior Let’s take opportunity to engage with you about some ‘off-field’ matters. Quick Question for you - do you know who the person in this photo is? If not you may like to know that her name is Rachel Watkins, she is the Club Safeguarding Officer (CSO). As such she works voluntarily, week in week out, to ensure that the club has robust systems in place to safeguard your children and that all persons having access to your children are appropriately vetted The reason for asking this is to serve to remind us all that our club is run, almost exclusively, by volunteers. These range from those that you see - coaches, administrators of your individual teams - to those that you don’t see - who deal with membership, safeguarding, first aid, fixtures, coach training and development, as well as addressing issues of player retention, recruitment, discipline … I could go on (and this is just for the Youth and Minis section). Indeed you all kindly volunteer in your own way at your club by assisting in the kitchen, and so on. This ethos of volunteering not only enables us to keep the cost of your subs down but also encourages bonding between parents and members and brings a sense of ownership of the club. This said we are always in need of more volunteers and we currently have some key roles that need filling for next season. These do not necessarily require knowledge of rugby, simply organisational and people skills (any additional training would be provided as necessary). Clearly the more volunteers we have the more we can spread the load and the more we can achieve and the more enjoyable it becomes for all. So if you love the club, enjoy working as part of a thriving team, want to make a difference, and could spare us some of your valuable time please contact us to find out more.
Why Northwich Rugby Union Football Club? As well as helping a hand at Northwich Festival 2019 we are excited to announce that we have proudly supported Northwich Rugby Union Football Club. As our charitable donation for 2019/20, we are going to provide continued complimentary digital marketing services throughout this year and next to drum up as much interest in the club as possible. Included in our donation are a new website, aiming to provide visitors with user-friendly and enjoyable site experience, as well as helping to promote them on their various social media channels. Giving something back to the community is one of our main driving points, and it’s great to give back to the local area…plus we get to watch some quality live sport and attend several awesome charity events, what’s not to love?! We’re hoping our partnership will lead to exciting times, not only off the pitch, but on it as well, and we’ll be cheering on the teams at every possible opportunity.