Seghill Deputies has undergone somewhat of a facelift over the summer with a new team captain (Rob Burns), a new team co-ordinator (Andy Brown) and a new league for the 2017/18 season.

Our 2nd XV are due to take part in the inaugural Northumberland Merit League, a competition devised for teams who have previously struggled to play a full season of league fixtures. Participating teams can arrange fixtures on an ad-hoc basis to create a more flexible and less demanding schedule, offering social rugby to players who want to play.

On this basis the club has arranged 15 fixtures spread between September and March against a mix of teams in the Merit league and other local clubs.

The Deputies season begins with a friendly away at Chester-Le-Street mixing with the 1st XV for a pre-season run out. Other highlights include the now regular meeting with Whitley Bay Rockcliff Rangers (3rd XV), taking place at Hillheads on 28th October.

We have a Christmas double header with Blaydon RFC, playing their Bricks (4th XV) at home on 16th December with the return visit on 6th January.

Games have also been arranged against sides from the following clubs: Sunderland RFC, Jarrovians RFC, South Shields RFC, Gosforth RFC & Wallsend RFC.

We're also still awaiting news of the draw for the Northumberland Cup fixtures for the 2017/18 season.

See the full Deputies fixture list here: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/seghillrfc/teams/23924/fixtures-results

This is an exciting time to get involved with social rugby at Seghill whether you're new to the game or just looking for the occasional game. Get in touch at seghillrugby@gmail.com if you're interested.

Further Details - Northumberland Merit League

The rules and point scoring for the new Merit Table have also been confirmed and are noted below. They are designed to encourage teams to travel, with an away win potentially worth 9 points with 8 points available for an away loss.

A team playing at home and losing 1 point
A team playing away and losing 2 points
A draw 2 points
A win 4 points
Try Bonus:
1 try 1 point
2 tries 2 points
3 tries 3 points
4 tries 4 points
5 tries (max) 5 points
Losing Bonus within ten points 1 point

Maximum Points possible for an away win 9 points

Should we be confident of fulfilling a full league fixture list, we can re-join the River Coquet league during the season. Also, we will be able to arrange fixtures with teams in the Coquet, Aln & Blyth leagues, with match points contributing towards our Merit League total.