WELCOME At long last I am pleased to welcome Keighley back to Acklam Park for a Yorkshire Shield match originally scheduled for Saturday 28 November, but which has continually fallen foul of rearranged league games caused by inclement weather. We last met in January 2013 when we were both in N1E, a season when they won both games, beating us 19-17 at Skipton Road and then 13-20 in the return match. Despite those results Keighley were relegated, a fate we only just avoided, finishing one place above them. Incidentally, talking of inclement weather, on 25 April 1981 we entertained Keighley after our Easter tour to Torquay Athletic and Birmingham and would you believe that Keighley had to battle their way through snow drifts and blizzards to get here, only to find Acklam Park bathed in sunshine!
But back to today. Keighley are enjoying a very good season. They are currently in Yorkshire 2 but not for long, methinks. Although they lost their opening game 13-19 at home to West Leeds they have won their subsequent 19 matches; as a result they are second in the table...to West Leeds! Whatismore they are only five points behind West but have a game in hand. Strangely only five of the clubs in the table have a positive points difference, oh, and one other piece of information – Keighley have by far and away the best defensive record in the league, conceding a mere 136 points. They've prepared well for today, their third consecutive away game – they beat O Grovians 5-54 on Saturday and Ripon 8-51 the week before.
LEAGUE RUGBY Let me start by congratulating Sam Gaudie on his selection, and on his performances, for Yorkshire U20s this season. Having won their opening games the quarter final is against North Midlands tomorrow at Thornensians. Typical of the lad he's kept it all very quiet. Well done Sam, and good luck to you and the team – Twickenham beckons!
Since our last issue we've won two and lost one of our league games, a sequence which began with the local derby against Acklam. We welcomed our neighbours with a thunderous opening salvo, with tries from Woody, Toddy and Liam inside 15 minutes. We continued to play most of the rugby with Acklam having little of the possession and even less in terms of territory, but in one of their rare forays into our 22 they popped over a penalty which made it 15-3. Toddy then broke a bone in his hand before we added the bonus try. From a Liam pass Sam dropped the ball backwards over his shoulder. Sam collected the ball, dummied a pass and side-stepped the full back to score under the posts. He converted his try for a 22-3 lead on the half hour mark. The second half started like the first. From the restart the ball was shifted first to the right wing and then to the left for Rhys to score in the corner after only 2 minutes. Almost immediately a long kick by Boro led to a try by James Pennington. There followed a period of play when Acklam kept the game tighter and much closer. With the game drifting towards a conclusion a final thrust by Boro saw Woody feeding Joe whose side-step seemed to put him through the gap; he was just pulled to ground but kept the ball alive for Rhys to finish it off.
For the rearranged game at Novos on a 'free' Saturday we had several players missing; although Isa was not available the pack was close to full strength but behind them only Sam and Rhys played in their usual positions. Despite this a victory was on the cards as we were 25-27 ahead with a minute to go, but a last minute penalty snatched a 28-27 win for Novos. There was never more than five points difference in the match; our hosts took a 3-0 lead before Sam equalised; then it was 10-3 before a try by Jack converted by Sam made it all-square again. Novos went 13-10 up but Josh scored to give us a 13-15 lead at half time. We didn't hold the lead long and were quickly 20-15 behind. Liam scored (20-20) before Novos went 25-20 ahead, but with only minutes to go a Josh try and Sam conversion gave us what we thought was a five point win...

After the disappointment of losing at Novos, we were keen to get back to winning ways at Darlington. A spate of late withdrawals saw Nathan Goodison come into the side for his first XV debut, but Nathan is quite an old hand compared to many of the youngsters on show, with at least five of the squad being 20 and under, including debutant Curtis Wilson. Darlington started like a team better than their position and they found themselves in front after only a few minutes. But almost immediately their defensive frailties were exposed by our fast and lively style, with Bellers scoring the opening try. However Darlington retook the lead following another infringement. And then the flood gates opened and we scored another 11 tries from Woody (3), Ash (2), one apiece by the Gaudie brothers, Sam and Joe, and Conner, Myles, Josh (the swan dive at the end needs some work though) and Nathan. A couple of them deserve special mention. A line-out between our 22 and 10m lines saw the ball pass through 13 pairs of hands with Woody scoring under the posts. But even better was the try on the stroke of half-time by Sam. The ball was taken from a Darlo restart and 12 passes later Sam touched down under the posts with some great movement along the way. You are recommended to look on the website for the highlights. Darlington did get a try on the stroke of no-side.

OTHER MATCHES Happily we have seen a lot of rugby since the rains ceased, with results generally making pleasant reading. The Wasps have chalked up two good wins, beating first Sedgefield and then Consett in the final of the CANDY Cup; Jonno's reports on both games will appear in next week's programme. Meanwhile the 'A' team, again suffering from games being called off, lost to Acklam and a 'rejuvenated' Guisborough. Unfortunately Saturday's match at Darlington was abandoned after 10 minutes when young Simon Reeves suffered a broken leg and, as seems to be the norm now, waited an hour-and-a-half for an ambulance. I can report that he underwent surgery on Sunday morning to insert a plate in his leg and was discharged teatime Monday. His spirits have improved somewhat!

Our U17s started their campaign in the National U17s Tournament (plate) with a tough test away to Bowdon near Manchester. After a slow start, losing 17-7 at half time, the lads pulled their way back into the game and managed to draw the fixture 17-17. This proved to be enough and they progressed to the next round as winners due to the "away" team ruling. They continued their impressive form last week (they are unbeaten this season) achieving a well deserved 43-21 win over Malton & Norton to earn a place in the Northern stage final next week. Our U14s and U15s have also continued their impressive form and are both unbeaten this year. Well done lads. You will also find reports on our U12s feats at the DMP Festival and the Durham Cup on p9.
CLUB NEWS I am delighted to offer our congratulations to Shaun Kay and Stevie, very proud parents of their first child, a lovely little daughter called Faith, the apple of Shaun's eye. I only just failed to get the news into our previous edition; suffice to say I have sacked my Social Secretary. Congratulations to the ever-youthful Mike Wright, Honorary Life Member and one-time scrum half, Captain, Chairman and President (and Yorkshire and North player) who celebrated his 70th birthday with a Grand Slam hoe-down on Saturday night.
Talking of hoe-downs, the cricket club have organised Skinny Legs to appear in the Function Room in two weeks. Tickets are only £3. And don't forget our Members Reunion will take place on Saturday 16 April, the day we meet Durham City in our penultimate match. If you wish to attend let Martin Wain know (or get in touch with Bernie, Colin, Gordon, Tilly, Don or Keith). The good news is that Tom Jones plans to attend, a very good reason to get yourself along to it. Another reminder - our Beer Festival this year it will run from Friday evening to Saturday night, 22/23 July, and will include a selection of ciders as well as live music. Make a note to get here early – we sold out last year!
REFEREE'S CORNER It gives me great pleasure to welcome Owen Taylor back to Acklam Park this afternoon. This is not his first visit to us but you can be forgiven if you don't recognise him, as his first – and last – visit was at least 12 years ago, when he came here to play against us as a 13 year-old! As you might guess Owen is originally from Doncaster, where he played in the back row for his home club and for Thornensians, but now lives in Scarborough. He has been refereeing in Yorkshire for two seasons although he used to officiate for the East Midlands Society when he was a student at Northampton University whilst studying podiatry. I hope he enjoys his time with us today.
F I N A L L Y H A P P Y E A S T E R T O E V E R Y O N E