WELCOME...and Happy Easter to everyone! For our third meeting of the season I am pleased to offer the players and supporters of Moortown a very warm welcome – much warmer than the weather was four weeks ago, when we should have played this fixture! Our visitors were promoted as unbeaten champions of Y2, but after beating Selby in their first league game they lost their next four fixtures before picking themselves up to lose only once more in their seven games throughout October, November and December – and that was against league-leaders York. Since the turn of the year they have lost four (O Brods, Beverley and Keighley, all away from home, and York at home), drawn at home to Heath and won five (N Ribblesdale, Bradford Salem and O Rish at home, Wheatley Hills away and then on Saturday Hullensians away). They have a good home record, winning 11 matches, as opposed to only three on their travels.

Our first fixture was back in August, when we won our Yorkshire Shield match 43-12. Moortown were a big strong outfit who ran hard and hit even harder. That we won was down to one of the best all-round performances from every man and boy in maroon that we've seen for a long time; the tackling, the commitment, the energy and enthusiasm were all quite remarkable and of the highest standard...and the season proper hadn't even started!

In our next encounter – the league fixture – we scored four tries and were a gnat's whisker away from securing five league points, but we lost 28-26 in a pulsating game. We were 8-0 down before we drew breath and 18-12 down at half time, but in an even second half we took a one point lead when Pete crashed over and AB added the conversion, only to slip behind again to a converted try. In a nail-biting finale Richie barged over and AB added the conversion to make it 25-26 with less than five minutes remaining. But a final penalty restored Moortown's lead.

However that result proved a watershed moment in our season. We'd lost our opening two league games and went on to lose four of our first six matches. That defeat at Moortown, four months ago on Guy Fawkes weekend, was our fifth in nine outings...but since then in 13 league matches, 15 games in all, we have lost only once, at Scarborough, at the end of January. I hope we can protect that record this afternoon.

LEAGUE RUGBY Although we won 57-7 on Saturday, let me say how impressed I was with Selby's attitude. Heir heads never dropped and they kept battling away to the very end, scoring their points with the last play of the game when they could have been forgiven for packing up at half time! What we saw in that first half was champagne rugby at its very best. It was truly scintillating as we scored more than a point a minute, running in six tries for a 43-0 lead at the break. It was absolutely mesmerising, a wonderful display of total rugby.

We were immediately seven points up with Crafty Conner quickly stamping his authority on the game. The Callum/Conner axis then swung into action; Callum scored our second try on the quarter hour with Conner adding another 10 minutes later. The sequence was broken by a typical forwards try, finished by the ever-tenacious Shaun Kay to earn a bonus point, before Callum scorched over for his second. The half ended with Pete Homan demonstrating his unique blend of power and guile to add our sixth of the afternoon. Andy exhibited his ability with the boot with five conversions and a monster penalty. The second half struggled to live up to the effervescent performance in the first period, but we did score 14 points, courtesy of Conner's hat-trick, Euan's long arms and Andy's boot. Selby were really in our faces and thoroughly deserved their try at the end, coming after a period of sustained pressure on our line...although at the time we were without the commanding presence of Tarmac the Titan, who was sitting out a yellow card. The beach-wear party afterwards put the icing on the cake, although it did lead to some unexplained bouts of amnesia come Sunday morning.
OTHER GAMES The 'A' team made headlines last week; not that they managed to get a game, not that they lost for only the fifth time this season, 45-37 at Hartlepool BBOB, but because of inter-club co-operation chasing the good old-fashioned mantra that everyone will strive their level best to play a game of rugby. Acklam were short of players for their match with Guisborough, but, viewing this an opportunity rather than a problem, they asked if we could help out. We did and three of our guys went off to represent our neighbours and everybody enjoyed themselves. The whole affair pleased me almost as much as the Selby result. Today the boys are at Newton Aycliffe. Meanwhile the Colts suffered their own problems. Their league opponents, Harrogate, cried off (and the game was at Harrogate!) so an U16s/17s match was arranged against Penrith, but they then cancelled. Tomorrow two teams of our finest young men are taking part in the...would you believe...Moortown Sevens.

CLUB NEWS The “REMEMBER WHEN...” page in last week's programme listed selection for seven teams for 5 March, 1983, as featured in the Evening Gazette, and included the mysterious A N Other in the back row for the 'B' team at Bridlington. The 'B' team manager that day was Terry Wesson, and he confirms a story oft repeated by the Monochrome Mutineer Vaughan Stone that A N Other was in fact Bernie Coyne. It was Bernie's first game back from injury and although he was an England U23 hooker he did play as a flanker; he couldn't dislodge Vaughan from the front row! To add interest to the game the flare went up to call to arms the life boat crew and two Brid players scampered off the pitch! Fortunately they returned after five minutes and the game restarted. Incidentally I must thank Tim Wear for digging out the information on that page, and on the 'Archive' page today, and apologise for not doing so sooner. The good news is that Tim has promised to continue his historical research for our entertainment. Going further back in time, I am sad to say that Roy Henderson has died. In the 1960s he played in our 1st XV, as well as fulfilling off-the-pitch roles.

It was a pleasure to see Derek English at the game on Saturday; despite the debilitating treatment he has undergone recently he looked mighty fine. There is also good news about John Blott; Terry Wesson has visited him in hospital and reports that although John has just gone through a quadruple heart by-pass operation, he is sitting up and feeling pretty chirpy, but disappointed to miss the Selby match! Chris Cummins, who suffered a stroke some time ago, is coping quite well, apart from struggling with his speech; it could have been so much worse. I hope they all make a full recovery, and send them our very best wishes.

SPONSORS This afternoon I am delighted to welcome back two of our regular sponsors. They are Andrew Gloag (the 2009 Farmers Weekly Arable Farmer of the Year) of Gloag & Sons Ltd, a farming and contracting business which began on their farm on the outskirts of Stokesley almost a century ago. The business has developed through a variety of agricultural activity, and having plant and equipment available for hire. The family's association with the Club started with Andrew’s father, a Scottish international, who played here in the 50s. Our other regular sponsor (and current Colts Organiser) also has a father-and-son association with the club – he is Tom Seymour of Dromonby Fisheries and son of John, who played for Rovers before joining us. Dromonby, which is also at Stokesley, has developed private fishing facilities across a sequence of waterways on their farmland.

REFEREE'S CORNER And finally we offer a warm welcome to Richard Arthur, who is making his first visit to Acklam Park, although he should have been in charge of our game against Durham City two years ago but had to withdraw. He refereed for three years in the Borders before another more recent five year stint attached to the Central Yorkshire Society. Prior to taking up the whistle he was a full back at Jedburgh and Berwick. Richard is an architect who now lives and works in Baildon, Bradford. I hope he enjoys his time with us this afternoon.