Let me start by giving our very best wishes to our inestimable 1st team manager Ian Heslehurst. Ian has given up his usual duties as touch judge for today, having just spent two nights in James Cook University Hospital. Feeling really unwell he made a late night trip to A&E, where they discovered blood clots on both lungs. They have no idea how the problem developed but at least they were able to drain the lungs. We have our fingers crossed that they're gone for good, Ian.

WELCOME And now let me offer a very warm welcome to our visitors from Pontefract, originally known as Old Pomfretians. They currently lie second bottom in the table, but only two points separate 10th and 13th places. Our visitors started the season by beating Ripon in the Yorkshire Shield. After their success our visitors were due to meet us at home in the next round, two weeks after our narrow 30-33 win at Moor Lane. Unfortunately we found it necessary to concede the tie, for which we apologised to Pontefract and Yorkshire. Pontefract were then beaten by Malton & Norton in the Shield.
Since their Ripon success Pontefract have won only four league games – however they have earned an impressive 12 bonus points (only Scarborough has more, with 13). Their successes have all been at home – against Yarnbury, Hullensians, O Brods and York, but take note that eight of their defeats have been by a single score.
Last week, whilst we were enjoying a break in league rugby our visitors travelled to Hullensians for a rearranged game. The lead changed hands several times, and what a finale it turned out to be. As the game was nearing its end Pontefract led by five points and looked like getting four league points. Hullensians then scored a try and with the conversion to come Pontefract looked like getting only a losing bonus point, but the kick was missed and with the final score 24-24 our visitors ended with two league points, whilst Hullensians also earned a bonus try-scoring point, moving them above Brods.
It was Ponefract's bad luck to be drawn against us in the National Intermediate Cup way back in that glorious record-breaking season in1996/7, when we scored 174 tries and 1159 points – the year we didn't lose any of our 11 NI Cup ties but still didn't reach the final, because we beat Northern by 'only' ten points in the quarters. Ten of those tries were in that match with today's visitors. Dare we hope for a free-flowing match this afternoon?

MATCH NEWS Our most recent home game was the return fixture against North Ribblesdale, held on a cold and windy day. We were desperate to avenge a defeat at Settle earlier in the season and welcomed the return of Rhys after an absence with a broken wrist, and a second appearance of Aaron Lawson. However we made lots of mistakes and a lack of precision led to Ribblesdale taking an early 3-0 lead and adding a converted try before the break. There wasn’t much between the teams for most of the half, and though we couldn’t be happy with our performance, we were playing into a fierce wind which would be at our backs in the second half. We upped our game in the second half and Simmo made it 6-10, but disaster struck mid-way through the half when Ribblesdale intercepted a telegraphed pass and ran the length of the field to score under the posts. The conversion took the score to 17-6 and Ribblesdale were good value for this lead. We struck back quickly when Sam got over the line to make it 13-17, and that's how the score stayed. So that intercepted pass was the difference between winning and losing. Ribblesdale picked up two yellow cards in the act of conceding the try, so we had 10 minutes against 13 men to turn the game around. But fair play to Ribblesdale; they played sensible possession rugby, never moving the ball far from the ruck, as a result of which they probably had the ball for 9 of those 10 minutes.
We followed this with a trip to Halifax to play Brods. The day didn't start well with Ash pulling out due to family commitments and Matty John having to drop out at the last minute due to work issues. Young Myles Colvin came into the squad and Matty Ivin made his first appearance. The pitch looked in a dreadful state so clearly it was going to be a day for big, hairy, gnarly forwards. Despite playing down the hill (calling it a slope doesn’t do it full justice) in the first half saw us pinned back into our own half most of the time. Scoring opportunities were hard to come by and the only score was a Brods penalty. But the second half performance showed some guts and an attempt to play rugby against a side whose pack was fairly dominant by this stage Oddly enough, in terms of territory and possession, the second half was probably more even than the first, but the slope and their pack took their toll. They scored two tries, typically both by forwards. For the first we simply ran out of cover and the second was a pack effort with a maul being driven over the line.
Come on boys. Two games, two defeats – it's time to get back to winning ways.
I'm delighted to report that the West Hartlepool frost has thawed, allowing our Wasps to make the trip today for the postponed CANDY Cup tie. Last week saw the Wasps first game of the New Year – at home to West Hartlepool. We won 38-5; it will be interesting to see today's result. Our 'A' team are at home to Acklam today. Read the report on their last two outings. The Lions are also at home this afternoon, to Darlington. You'd better make a dash to the bar at no-side! The Colts play tomorrow, at Ponteland.

JUNIORS Last week our U14s were without six regular backs at Ripon and lost their unbeaten run, stretching back to November. But good news – better to lose it now than in the finall of the Yorkshire Bowl, earned by comprehensibly beating Malton a couple of weeks ago. A report on the U13s/U14s trip to Ripon is elsewhere in this issue. Meanwhile our U15s travelled to Northern last weekend and won 43-15, that's 241 points scored in their last four matches, whist conceding only 39. Not a bad start to the New Year. At the same time our U16s posted a half century of points against Billingham.
CLUB NEWS The First Acklam Park International Darts Championship was a cracking evening. The Function Room was bulging at the seems but controlled wonderfully well by Josh Lynas, bouncer and MC extaordinaire. His stontorious tones announced each competitor individually as he entered the gladitorial arena, and then ensured proper order was kept by the baying audience. After the knock-out rounds of matches the final four archers emerged – Sulky Simon (O'Farrell), Special (Shaun) Kay, Coco Mat Delhi (Aaron Lawson) and Scott McNeill posing as Tuscan Tony. Hushed and nail-biting semi-finals saw Coco Mat and Special Kay qualify as finalists, with Coco Mat coming out on top. Breaking through into the first team and winning this prestigeous international tournament was almost too much for young Aaron, who collapsed to his knees with the sheer emotion of it all. The prize for the highest score went to Special Kay with 140, whilst the wearer of the most hideous shirt was deemed to be Helmy.

SPONSORS Let me express our thanks and gratitude to our two sponsors today, Mark Jones of Armstrong Richardson & Co Ltd, Mount Pleasant Way, Stokesley Business Park, Stokesley and Mike Fenwick of MJF Medical Services Ltd, Yarm. Armstrong Richardson traditionally was an agricultural merchant and has been trading since 1925. Although still an agricultural merchant, it has evolved over the years and now has four country stores across the north of England under the banner of Millbry Hill – at Stokesley, Whitby, Richmond and Whitehaven – a fuel business selling to domestic and agricultural customers and a wholesaling business selling horse and pet products across the whole country. Part of the group is AR Entertainments, who have a huge range of equipment that caters for children's parties, student balls, weddings, corporate events and glitzy society balls.

REFEREE'S CORNER I am delighted to welcome Damian O'Hehir for his first visit to Acklam Park as a referee, although he has been here as a player – he was a scrum half at Huddersfield and Huddersfield YMCA and has many good memories of his visits to us. That was a few years ago; Damian has been refereeing for about ten years now and I hope he enjoys his time with us this afternoon. He is a self-employed electrical engineer.

BREAKING NEWS...NB our second Annual Beer Festival will take place on 18/19 July