Volume 2. Chapter 1
A new season dawns
Its only been 546 days…
Since the Bees put out a first team in any sort of a game. So, this week we finally cut the ribbon on a brand new season. And what do we know?
Saturday September 4th 2021. 3pm at Wagon Lane, Bingley. We will hear a peep from the ref’s whistle and someone will put boot to ball to launch the new season. At the time of writing this I can’t say I can publish a definitive team for the game against Morley which is soon to be upon us. However, I can look back at the last team we put out 546 days ago against Pocklington and see what’s what with those likely lads. Unfortunately, it was a game we lost, by 37 points to 17 and Pocklington will be our opposition in the first road trip of the season on Saturday September 11th.
We trotted out against Pocklington with Ryan Wederell featuring in the number one shirt, or as some might prefer, at Loose Head Prop. For regular supporters of the Bees who have seen Ryan pull his boots on a total of 295 times for the club, seeing him in the number one shirt is somewhat of a collectors item…and…unless there is a sudden reversal and a huge change of the big man’s mind, that’s how Ryan will have ended his career at the Bees.
I know he wanted to press on to collect 300 games (at least) for the Club, but after missing a whole season due to the lockdown, it seems his back did not want to play along with this proposition, so Ryan has informed the Club that he has retired. As Club President, I would like to thank Ryan on behalf of everyone associated with Bradford and Bingley Rugby Club for his fantastic service over about 12 seasons. I will endeavour to furnish him with an ale or two when I next see him.
Lining up next to Ryan, we found Luke Spalls at hooker. Luke joined us from Ilkley during this last season where we actually played some rugby (2019/20) and will still be with us during the coming 21/22 campaign.
One player who is no longer with us was at Tight Head Prop, in the number 3 shirt - William Booth. If memory serves he joined us from Hull Ionians and has gone back to Hull for the new season. And all the very best, young man.
The second row partnership in that final game against Pocklington comprised of Joe Daley and Corey Spencer. Both remain with us at Wagon Lane and I suspect they will getting plenty of game time this season.
All three members of our back row against Pock have left the club. At numbers 6 and 7 we had Marko Suragusa and Bruno Durovic. Both those fine young chaps had joined us from Croatia but unfortunately the arrival of the Pandemic saw them jetting off home before the border shut; lets hope they can return to a Bees shirt soon.
At number 8 and skippering the side was Tom Booth. Tom has moved to London after his partner was offered a tremendous opportunity in the Media in West London. Tom is now talking and chalking with the best of them in the shadow of Queens Park Rangers’ ground. Although, there are possibilities that he might sneak back to the frozen North to make a guest appearance or two during the season.
Moving away from the pack, wearing number 9, Ben Hockenhull could be found, linking up in the half backs with Andy Robinson. Ben remains in our camp, although he may be appearing in the 10 shirt rather than 9 this season. Andy has apparently de-camped to Wibsey after joining us from Salem.
In midfield we found James Morton and Jack Malthouse. I don’t believe Morts has joined any other clubs but I know he was increasingly busy with work and a young child, so may have sailed off into the retirement sunset. Jack is definitely still with us and has assumed the Captain’s armband in place of club skipper Mat Cochrane who will not be available until November. I must offer my congratulations to Jack and wish him all the best over the coming weeks.
The wingers all those 546 days ago were Cameron Bainbridge and Adam Sutcliffe. Cam is still with us at Wagon Lane and looks likely to be featuring more in the centres this coming season. Sooty has moved onto pastures new with Old Brods, who are far nearer to where he now lives and we wish him all the best up there above the tree line.
Finishing off the starting Fifteen, lurking at full back, could be found Lance Taylor. Lance had to make a swift exit to get back home to Kiwi-land as the Pandemic became tangibly real. Lance and his wife Krysta have just announced that they are expecting their first child, next February. I am sure everyone at the Bees sends them our best wishes and all the luck in the world with the new arrival next year.
We didn’t know at the time that we wouldn’t be seeing any eggs chased by a Senior Bradford and Bingley player for another 18 months after we left Pock that afternoon, but hopefully some sense of normalcy will return once we see Morley lined up in the other half of the field.
The Committee
One question I do get asked is “who is on the Committee nowadays?”
To set the record straight the Bees’ Committee at the moment is made up of the following folk, covering all aspects of the Club:
Nick Patterson - President and Chairman
Chris Hemsley - Rugby Chairman
Richard Marshall - Club Secretary
Andy Watts - Junior Chair
Iain Taylor - Junior Chair
Andy Collis - General Commitee and Bumbles Liaison
Benji Pickin
Glen Shaw - Immediate Past President, Bees Camping, Events
Daniel Ibbotson
Robin Bolton
Rob Greaves
John Fletcher - Grounds
Steve Balmforth - Senior Fixture Secretary and Bumbles
Chris Narey - Treasurer
Gerwyn Bryan
After more than a decade, Benji stood down as First Team Manager after the last season and we have yet to replace him, if there are any willing volunteers out there!
If anyone has any general concerns they wish to raise with the Committee we have set up a collective mailbox which will deliver any email to every committee member. Please feel free to use this for any concerns you have:
scommittee@beesrfc.co.uk
Membership of the Club
The RFU have mandated that all clubs in England use their Game Management System (referred by all as GMS) to record all members details for this season.
The idea is that ultimately the GMS delivers a self-service facility to allow everyone to pay their club membership. GMS has been in place for some time now for Junior Players and Members and the RFU is now seeking to expand this across the whole of the Rugby population in England.
We are therefore following the RFU mandate and running our membership through GMS this season (with a new front end website linked to this coming later in the year).
Members must register your details with the RFU and affiliate with the club. There are then options to buy the various levels of membership we have available. Remember, membership fees help us continue as a club, and also give members a discount card to be used at the bar (10% discount).
We appreciate for some, this is more difficult to do than others, so if you are struggling, please contact Chris Narey, Andy Watts, or Shane Kelly at the club who may be able to help.
Some members will already have logins, from previous years, and if so, resetting passwords will probably fix any issues. If there are a number of major issues, we will organise a registration day at the clubhouse where we can meet and get everyone on the system, registered and hopefully paid up (with maybe a few beers together to celebrate)
Please go to https://gms.rfu.com/GMS/Account/Login to begin the process.
Club Sponsorship
We have all had an awful 18 months with a global Pandemic raging, so the small matter of returning to Rugby perhaps needs to be seen in perspective against the struggles that great swathes of the population have endured.
However, we must endeavour to return to some kind of predictability and certainty if we are to emerge from the shadows and while the Rugby Club has survived more or less intact, there are more than one or two holes in our financial bucket. Or perhaps colander may be more accurate.
So as part of that effort to get back to the straight and narrow or whatever metaphor I could throw at it, we have launched a sponsorship team this year, and we would appreciate any assistance from business owners or individuals who might be able to pitch in.
We have a number of options - a board around the pitch, an advert in the programme or something more adventurous. If you want any information about partnering with us this year, please contact partners@beesrfc.co.uk
All the best for this season
Nick Patterson
President, Bradford and Bingley RFC