Volume 2 Chapter 2
Week 3 of the season beckons
Zip Nolan of the Highway Patrol. I won’t mention him again.
So here we are, week 3 of the 2021 season and we are still uncomfortable with that elephant parked on the settee. It was an awful low point for everyone involved with our Rugby Club that we were not able to fulfil the fixture away at Pocklington last weekend. We managed to hit the perfect storm of injuries, unavailability and general bad luck, but we genuinely believe we are out of the other side of that low and looking forward to the rest of the season.
There is nothing to be gained from any finger pointing or whatever, so we must move on. If anyone would like to get anything off their chest, then please buttonhole me as President and Chairman at Saturday’s game.
We will be deducted 5 league points and Pocklington will be awarded 5 after we failed to put a side out and we also will see the fixture on 18th December reversed, so we now travel to Pock instead of a home Christmas lunch.
The side for Saturday currently looks like this:
Alex Leadbetter
Luke Spauls
Barnaby Vaughan
Joe Daley
Corey Spencer (VC)
David Exley
Ben Maudsley
Will Bentley
Harry Collis
Ben Hockenhull
Connor Capper
Will Sagar
Jack Malthouse (C)
Henry Reed-Purvis
Cameron Bainbridge
the bench:
Robbie Spencer
Rhys Holland
Dom Walker
Obviously this line up may change before we actually cross the whitewash on Saturday afternoon, and the team you might see in the programme is slightly different to this, (because I wrote the programme yesterday)…but the team will be very similar to that listed above. We have more players coming available for selection in the next few weeks, so with anything like a fair wind we will be strengthening the First XV as the season progresses and we should have a Second XV that makes a fist of it in their league, starting in October.
One of those appearing for us imminently will be Masui Akauola, who has returned to Gods Own Country for six months. Unfortunately family commitments mean he cannot turn out for us this afternoon, but I believe he will be back with us for next week’s fixture at Malton and Norton.
Membership
We have received a few emails and messages from club members trying to pay their membership through traditional means such as a cheque in the post. Please don’t get us wrong, as a club we are not going to turn away your cash, but the RFU has mandated that we should (as far as is possible) collect all membership information and funds via their Game Management System (GMS). The RFU Propaganda department tells me that GMS is working well for Junior Memberships as apparently 51,000 youngsters have now registered via GMS.
While it is a bit of a chore to log on the the GMS system and affiliate yourself to our club, can I point anyone trying to pay their membership to GMS via this link:
Upcoming stuff
Next Saturday we are due to play at Malton and Norton. As we are still technically in British Summer Time, that game will be a 3pm kick off.
Also, next Saturday, Ali Macdonald’s Legacy dinner is due to take place back at Wagon Lane from 7pm. I understand that Ali has about 70 confirmed attendees, so has the capacity to squeeze in a few more if you are interested.
All details of the dinner can be obtained from Ali, but as he needs to finalise the catering and so on, he needs to get the numbers nailed down as soon as possible, if you suddenly feel the impetus to attend, please can you contact Ali via his email address, which is hidden behind this link: Ali Mac email address.
The week after, Saturday 2nd October, the First XV are at home again. We entertain Durham City, again kicking off at 3pm. One small item of administration is that we would like to find some volunteers to man the gate for home games, so if you and a mate or two are available to help us on any Saturday, please contact me, Nick Patterson, on 07812039277
The First XV then get a week off on Saturday October 9th before we return to the field of honour on 16th away at Consett, again a 3pm kick off. The final games before the clocks go back are at home against Morpeth on 23rd October and then away at Ilkley on October 30th. Ilkley are currently topping the league table, which obviously is fairly meaningless after only two league fixtures, but its a nice little run out over the. Moor to Ilkley, so I am sure the Bee Nation will be out in force that weekend.
Bees Juniors
It was a privilege for me, in my capacity as Club President, to hand out club ties to that fine squad, the Under 13s, last Sunday. Shane Kelly manages the team and seemed to have done a marvellous job in getting them all in pristine white shirts for the presentation of their club ties. We seem to have robust looking squads down the age groups among our Juniors and I would encourage any members who are aimlessly wandering through their Sunday morning to have a meander down to Wagon Lane any Sunday morning to see the future of the club going through their paces. If anyone reading this has an offspring or relative idling away on a weekend, I would encourage them to have a go with our Juniors - all abilities welcome from six years old upwards.
The RFU continue to publish their Community Game updates and having had a quick scan of their latest tome, there is not much I can report which might illuminate our lives. I could tell you that it’s Russ Abbots birthday on Saturday, but that wouldn’t really hit the spot either.
I bid you a fond farewell.