WELCOME I am pleased to extend the heartiest of welcomes to everyone, particularly Bridlington, a club it is always a pleasure to meet on and off the field, and to LV Shipping and their guests. The last time we competed against Bridlington in the same league was in Yorkshire 1 seven years ago, when we won 24-5 and ended up fourth in the league to Bridlington's 11th. Prior to that we met 18 seasons ago, in N2E – how time flies!

In 2019/20 our visitors finished 9th in the table with nine wins from 22 matches, having been relegated the season before with a very credible 10 wins from 26 matches. This season our visitors began with a 31-7 win at Goole but then they lost 10-24 at home to Dinnington. Last week they were at Leos, where they won in a hard fought contest 16-14 which puts them in 5th place in the table.

CELEBRATION WEEKEND Our first home of the season, against Leos, was the centre-piece in a glorious afternoon of celebrations. The match was dedicated to Terry Wesson; his family were photographed beside the tree planted in Terry's memory before joining us for lunch, along with a host of invited club volunteers. This set the scene to welcome the return of rugby to Acklam Park. Our minis formed a guard of honour for the teams before a minute's applause exploded around the ground to commemorate all members who died recently.
Before kick-off Matty Todd aggravated an injury during the warm-up so Aedan Moloney moved from the bench, leaving us with only two replacements, including Findlay Magowan, who made his début for the club the week earlier for the Wasps at Houghton; he has joined us from Tynedale. And so, to much excitement, the game started in front of a bumper crowd and rugby was back! Rhys opened the scoring within five minutes and we were 17-0 up inside the first quarter, a lead extended to 50-0 by half time. It all sounds a bit one-sided but despite losing two players to injury Leos made us work hard for the points. After the break they came out full of fire and determination, and although we did add another two tries Leos rocked us back on our heels and were very much in the game. We scored ten tries, two from Rhys, Aedan, Andy and Pete, plus one from Jack and Joe Sawdon; Andy added seven conversions.

Adding to the surprises was the appearance after 30 years of Jim Short amongst the spectators. Jim joined the club with Malcolm Bee at the start of the Centenary season in 72/73, from Billingham. Jim’s tenacity and experience saw him make 79 1st XV appearances at prop despite opposition from Tony Ruckledge, John Seymour, Dave Scourfield and Dave O’Halloran. His travels have taken him to coaching at Acklam and, slightly further afield, for many years at schools in County Kildare and finally retirement in Arbroath.

The memorable weekend continued to get better and better as success followed success! After the match Rhys, our Man of the Match as voted by Leos, won the drink off, using the very first ever Terry Wesson Man of the Match tankard, and then came the news that the Wasps had beaten Hartlepool BBOB 52-5 (see Jonno's report) and the 'A' team were victorious at Redcar by 35-25. On Sunday the Colts won their first league match of the campaign against Ryton by 36-34, sticking to their guns and playing well in a very tense encounter. This followed a 46-22 win for our U15s against Redcar where Henry Overend scored a hat trick. Ryan Moore's kicking and decision-making were top class, adding three conversions to the eight tries, Henry's plus Curtis, Jake, Layton, Junior and Hartley. Meanwhile the U14s endured a number of injuries in the first half at Billingham, scoring two tries to the hosts five. Unfortunately the injuries kept mounting and the strong opposition played with width, scoring some great tries. The game ended three tries to ten.

LAST WEEKEND We travelled to Beverley, a club which opened their campaign by posting 50 points against O Rish but then lost 28-7 at Crocs. We on this thrilling contest in the sunshine 48-31. This was despite trailing 14-0 after 10 minutes. This game ebbed and flowed with both teams moving the ball very well playing some exciting rugby. Beverley were always in the game with a couple of late tries making the score look more comfortable than it was.A late stop in Northallerton sealed a good day out for the team.

OTHER NEWS After Rugby Sevens, Rugby Tens there is now a proposal for World 12s, a 12-a-side global franchise tournament played over three weekends in England in August. Organisers World 12 Ltd said it is intended to feature 192 of the world's best players picked via auction to represent eight franchises who will compete in a round robin format before knock-out games. World 12 Ltd say they have had more than 10 significant approaches from private investors interested in buying one of the franchises. It is reported that initial talks with World Rugby produced a mixed reaction, who described it “as an interesting project.”

SPONSORS Today I am delighted to welcome father and son, Chris and Jonathon Lewin, of LV Shipping, one of our main sponsors who today are not only sponsoring our match but have also organised a Family Fun Day for their guests, complete with a magician, a bouncy castle and much more.

The LV Middlesbrough office is located on the Tees Offshore base, offering extensive warehousing and storage facilities combined with a dedicated quayside operation and a full range of logistics services, with a special focus on the oil & gas, renewable energy and engineering industries. Established in 1921 in the Netherlands, it is still an independent privately owned company. The head office is located in Vlaardingen and what started with a horse and carriage has grown into an organisation with more than 35 offices worldwide, including 11 located along the UK's east coast. The extent of its global operations can be seen in the advert on page 24. Important though this is, I'm sure the children in the LV party this afternoon, are much more interested in the food and the fun and games! I hope they all enjoy their afternoon with us, and we look forward to working together with LV again soon.

Our 150th Anniversary is fast approaching!
As the first step in what will be a truly memorable affair we have launched commemorative tins of sweets. They are a mere £5 a box, with all proceeds going towards the Juniors.
Go on – be a kingpin - grab a tin!