OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE RUGBY UNION CLUB

Transcription

1 CARNEGIE TIMES THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE RUGBY UNION CLUB ISSUE 06 INSIDE: CARNEGIE SEASON STATS CLUB NEWS OPPOSITION: BEDFORD BLUES SQUADS BECK AND LUCOCK REACH CENTURY MILESTONE T onight s clash with Bedford will see both Richard Beck and Pete Lucock play their 100th games for the club in competitive fixtures and for Beck in particular it will mark a well deserved milestone on the tough road of professional rugby. Beck made his debut back in 2011 against Leicester in a LV Cup clash, a game in which both Joe and George Ford made their senior bows in the respective teams. Looking ahead to his 100th game, Beck said: It has been a long time, longer than I would have liked with all the injuries I have suffered but it is great to have done it with my hometown club. I remember playing against some big England stars in that game, Ben Kay played. I remember after a kick-off, Kay had me in a head lock, he told me he was going to hold me there for five seconds and then he would let go of me. He was true to his word and let me go but I have learnt my lesson! Joe made his debut in the same game. He has gone away and had a completely different experience to me but he has come on so much since his time at Sale. He is a class fly-half and hopefully he can lead us to promotion this year, added Beck. Beck, who this season is coaching local side West Park Leeds in his spare time, says the tough experiences he has endured in his career have made him a stronger person. He added: It has been tough when you are out but that is the nature of the sport, you learn to appreciate it more when you have quite a bit of time out of the game. When you are watching others, you learn to make the most of the opportunities when they come and it can be a blessing in disguise. Tonight Yorkshire face a Bedford side who have had their own troubles this season. However, Beck believes they remain a dangerous opponent. He added: Things are going well for us but we know we are nowhere near where we can be. We have a lot of improvement still in us but we have only lost one league game and that was against London Irish. Defensively we can be a lot better but we would be more worried if we were playing to our full potential now and stil had over half a season to go. Bedford like to throw the ball around and we know if those passes come off they have really good individual attackers to make us pay. The fact they like to play rugby does give us an opportunity to put pressure on them defensively. Bedford are a really dangerous side on their day, added Beck. Yorkshire come into the game on the back of a roller coaster performance at Richmond last week. Beck admits the review process has been mixed this week. He added: The first 20 minutes went really well but we probably let off a bit too much steam early on. We made too many errors and were poor on defence but we pulled it back and got the win in the end. In previous years we might have lost that game. It was disappointing to let Richmond back into the game. We are missing some key people at the minute. Second row was probably our strongest position at the start of the season but unfortunately we have suffered all the injuries in the same position. It gives people the opportunity to play and it is exciting for them. We need to keep pushing our standards forward. The standards set by Steve Boden are high and he is straight onto our backs if we are not doing that, added Beck. Looking back on the previous 99 games, Beck says one game in particular stands out. Probably the highlight was when Jimmy was in charge when we won away at Bristol in the league. We had an awesome team spirit and we spent 20 minutes on our own line at the start. It would have been easy to have given in, but we stuck together. I have still got good mates from that period and that match stands out for me. Be everything you want to be at Leeds Beckett University Visit to find out more 1

2 FACTS & FIGURES YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE ROLL CALL Name Position HT WT DOB Age Season Carnegie Career Debut Starts Subs Tries Pts Starts Subs Tries Pts Sam Allan Fly Half 1.80m 86kg 28/09/ V Munster A 20/11/15 Josh Bainbridge Back Row 1.83m 94kg 1/04/ V Doncaster 28/09/14 Richard Beck Back Row 1.88m 100kg 13/06/ V Leicester 08/11/09 Charlie Beech Prop 1.85m 120kg 21/0/ V Bristol 13/10/13 Lewis Boyce Prop 1.89m 111kg 30/0/ V Rotherham 10/10/14 Ryan Burrows Number Eight 1.93m 105kg 25/04/ V London Welsh 04/09/11 Charlie Capps Prop 1.84m 102Kg 08/06/ V Doncaster 09/10/15 Tom Casson Centre 1.83m 94Kg 06/04/ V Bristol 18/10/15 Michael Cusack Prop 1.9m 135kg 0/11/ V Bath 14/09/03 Alex Davies Scrum Half 1.5m 81kg 21/06/ v Ealing 03/09/16 Joe Ford Fly Half 1.9m 84kg 04/06/ V Leicester 08/11/09 Andy Forsyth Centre 1.88m 8Kg 09/09/ V Jersey 06/09/15 Christian Georgiou Full back 1.85m 90kg 09/01/ V Currie 13/11/11 Oli Goss Centre 1.80m 85kg 21/12/ V Jersey 21/10/12 Ross Graham Hooker 1.8m 102kg 20/12/ v London Welsh 1/09/16 Alex Gray Centre 1.93m 104kg 01/05/ v Ealing 03/09/16 Max Green Scrum half 1.86m 85Kg 13/02/ V Ealing 20/09/15 Jonah Holmes Winger 1.83m 91kg 24/0/ V Nottingham 31/08/12 Lee Imiolek Prop 1.85m 110kg 21/09/ V Nottingham 31/08/12 Pete Lucock Centre 1.83m 90kg 2/11/ V Rotherham 21/09/11 Mike Mayhew Hooker 1.88m 111kg 22/01/ v Ealing 15/10/16 Richard Mayhew Back Row 1.91m 109kg 24/06/ v Ealing 03/09/16 Stevie McColl Full back 1.85m 98kg 16/08/ V London Welsh 04/09/11 Mike Myerscough Second Row 1.96m 110kg 28/05/ V Nottingham 31/08/12 Phil Nilsen Hooker 1.8m 101kg 26/02/ V Cornish Pirates 23/09/06 Rob O Donnell Prop 1.98m 122Kg 15/12/ V Jersey 06/09/15 Ciaran Parker Prop 1.83m 1.88kg 05/10/ v Ealing 03/09/16 Jordon Poole Hooker 1.5m 90kg 02/04/ V Ospreys 15/11/15 Taylor Prell Full back 1.9m 80kg 03/0/ V Rotherham 10/10/14 Dan Preston-Routledge 2nd Row 1.95m 99kg 2/10/ V Aberavon 0/12/13 Dan Sanderson Second Row 2.03m 119kg 18/08/ v Ealing 03/09/16 Andy Saull Back Row 1.85m 101Kg 2/09/ V Jersey 06/09/15 Dean Schofi eld Second Row 1.98m 124Kg 19/01/ V Jersey 06/09/15 Warren Seals Fly Half 1.86m 9kg 12/02/ v Rotherham 01/10/16 Matt Smith Second Row 2.03m 111kg 26/10/ V Bristol 23/09/12 Ollie Stedman Back Row 1.91m 119kg 20/05/ v Scarlets 06/11/10 Seb Stegmann Winger 1.85m 93Kg 12/04/ V Jersey 06/09/15 James Thraves Prop 1.88m 118KG 05/01/ v Rotherham 01/10/16 Chris Walker Back Row 1.81m 95kg 21/01/ V Llanelli 06/11/10 Jack Whetton Back Row 2.00m 119kg 24/05/ v Nottingham 11/09/16 Max Wright Centre 1.84m 8Kg 24/05/ V Ospreys PS 15/11/15 Penalty tries 1 Average age , , TOP FIVE LEAGUE TRY SCORERS Rob O'Donnell Yorkshire Carnegie Jonah Holmes Yorkshire Carnegie Kristian Phillips London Welsh Tyson Lewis Doncaster Knights Ben Ransom London irish TOP FIVE LEAGUE POINT SCORERS Tommy Bell London Irish Joe Ford Yorkshire Carnegie Will Robinson Rotherham Titans Peter Lydon London Scottish Will Cargill Cornish Pirates FIXTURE LIST Date KO H/A Comp Opposition Result SEPTEMBER 2016 Sat 3 Sep 15:00 A CHAMP Ealing Trailfi nders Sun 11 Sep 15:00 H CHAMP Nottingham Sat 1 Sep 14:00 A CHAMP London Welsh Sun 25 Sep 15:00 H CHAMP London Scottish OCTOBER 2016 Sat 1 Oct 15:00 A CHAMP Rotherham Titans 3-21 Sun 9 Oct 14:00 A CHAMP Cornish Pirates Sat 15 Oct 15:00 A B&I Cup Ealing Trailfi nders Sat 22 Oct 14:30 H B&I Cup Bedford Blues Fri 28 Oct 20:00 H CHAMP Jersey Reds NOVEMBER 2016 Sat 5 Nov 15:00 A CHAMP London Irish 1-41 Fri 18 Nov 20:00 H CHAMP Doncaster 24-6 Fri 25 Nov 19:45 A CHAMP Richmond DECEMBER 2016 Fri 2 Dec 20:00 H CHAMP Bedford Blues Sun 11 Dec 14:00 H B&I Cup Dragons PS (at Pontefract RUFC) Sat 1 Dec 14:00 A B&I Cup Dragons Premiership Select Mon 26 Dec 14:00 A CHAMP Nottingham JANUARY 201 Sun 1 Jan 15:00 H CHAMP London Welsh Sat 14 Jan 15:00 A B&I Cup Bedford Blues Sat 21 Jan 14:00 H B&I Cup Ealing (at Scarborough RUFC) Sat 28 Jan 14:00 A CHAMP London Scottish FEBRUARY 201 Sun 5 Feb 15:00 H CHAMP Rotherham Titans Sat 18 Feb 15:00 H CHAMP Cornish Pirates Fri 24 Feb 19:45 A CHAMP Jersey Reds MARCH 201 Sun 5 Mar 15:00 H CHAMP London Irish Sat 18 Mar 14:30 A CHAMP Doncaster Sun 26 Mar 15:00 H CHAMP Richmond APRIL 201 Sat 8 Apr 15:00 A CHAMP Bedford Blues Sat 15 Apr 15:00 H CHAMP Ealing Trailfinders RFU CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL TABLE P W D L F A Dif 4T LB Pts 1 London Irish Yorkshire Carnegie Ealing Trailfinders Nottingham Doncaster Knights Cornish Pirates London Welsh Rotherham Titans London Scottish Bedford Blues Jersey Richmond P: Played W: Won D: Drawn L: Lost F: Points for A: Points against Dif: Points difference 4T: Try-scoring bonus LB: Losing bonus Pts: Points 2

3 CLUB NEWS YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE LAUNCH RUGBY READERS PROGRAMME Yorkshire Carnegie have launched a new programme to encourage school children to read more. The Rugby Readers programme will reward children for any extra reading they do outside of the curriculum with tries. Pupils who reach their target number of tries will receive a free ticket to a Yorkshire Carnegie game and take part in our matchday experience. There will be additional prizes for those who exceed their targets. The number of tries varies depending on the type of reading material and children who read a book would be rewarded more tries than reading a web article. The programme was designed by one of Yorkshire Carnegie s ERDPP coaches, Luke Pendlebury, and was piloted in Wales High School, who visited the stadium for an educational day last month. The programme will now be offered to all the club s affiliated schools prior to Christmas and will later be offered to Primary School children. Speaking about the programme, Yorkshire Carnegie community manager Lisa McCann, said: There are lots of benefits from reading and along with it being an enjoyable activity studies have shown that it can increase emotional intelligence, as readers are Pupils from Wales High School helped launch the Rugby Readers programme with stars from the Yorkshire Carnegie side able to understand a range of perspectives and motivations. It also helps to keep our brains active and stimulate imagination. I think using the children s interest in sport to encourage them to read more is a positive initiative and we hope that the children earn many tries so we can welcome them to a Yorkshire Carnegie game this season. The programme has the backing of the Yorkshire Carnegie players. Seb Stegmann said his love for reading started at a young age and believes the benefits of reading will help them in their education. My favourite book growing up was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I am a big Harry Potter fan and I like all the books in that series, but that one sticks out, said Stegmann. I like all the Harry Potter books and the imagination of the whole world and all the different rules that go on in the wizarding world. The fact that JK Rowling came up with such broad and crazy ideas that intertwine was amazing and kept me engrossed when I was a child. Reading is important as it helps to expand your imagination, improves your vocabulary, spelling and concentration which will help you at school and in all aspects of life. I enjoy reading all kinds of books now and this passion for reading started when I was at school, so I would encourage school children to pick up a book and get reading. For more information on the Rugby Readers programme contact lisa.mccann@ yorkshirecarnegie.com MEET THE PLAYER Date of birth: 13th June 1989 Place of birth: Leeds Former club: Roundhegians Representative honours: Yorkshire Under-18 and North Under-18 University: I studied Economics and Politics at Leeds University Favourite sportsperson: James Graham Which sports teams do you support? Leeds United and Leeds Rhinos Interesting fact about you: I m a Chess grandmaster! What do you hope to do as a career post rugby? A coach What is your greatest achievement? Reaching 108kg! First rugby memory: Watching Dave Baldwin play his first game for Sale! Biggest rugby influence: My parents - they come to every game If you won the lottery what would be the first thing you would buy? A horse What is the most embarrassing thing to happen to you on the pitch? Being knocked out Which of your team-mates is the most competitive? Oli Goss What would be the first word people would use to describe you? Noodles Who is the biggest moaner in the team? Lee Imiolek Best dressed in the team? Seb Stegmann Funniest person in the team? Lee Imiolek If you could be the lead singer of a band which would it be? Arctic Monkeys If you could be anyone famous for the day who would it be? David Beckham FANS FORUM The Yorkshire Carnegie Fans Forum have spoken and they suggested offering a larger food range on a match day to include soup and sandwiches! We have worked with our Carnegie Café Bar Team and this started at our last game against Doncaster, so we hope you enjoy the new range on offer. If you have any feedback that you would like to be discussed at one of the Fans Forum meetings then please fansforum@ leedsrugby.com and this will be discussed and published in the minutes shortly after the meeting has taken place. The next meeting is on Wednesday 14th December whereby the Yorkshire Carnegie and Leeds Rhinos Fans Forum members will meet for the fourth Annual Christmas forum. TRAVEL TO THE 'ON THE ROAD' GAME AGAINST DRAGONS PREMIERSHIP SELECT Part of our continuing strategy to grow our business is to develop a closer partnership with all clubs in Yorkshire and this season we are continuing our 'On the Road' initiative. The next game is against Dragons Premiership Select on Sunday 11th December at Pontefract RUFC. Yorkshire Carnegie members get free entry to all On the Road matches on production of your Yorkshire Carnegie Season Membership Card and we are offering members the chance to purchase return travel to the venues with Yorkshire Carnegie Official Travel for only 1 per person ( 5 for non-members). The coaches will depart from Headingley Carnegie Stadium - there will potentially be an option for an additional collection point. This travel option is now available to purchase from the Rugby Retail Store at Headingley Carnegie Stadium, over the phone on or online at www. yorkshirecarnegie.com. Members must log in using their season membership customer number to obtain the member discounted travel. Coaches will depart from Car Park F on St Michael s Lane at Headingley Carnegie Stadium at 12.30pm and return from Pontefract RUFC approximately 45 minutes after the final whistle - the driver will confirm this on the day. 3

4 CLUB NEWS THE GRASS IS GREENER AT HEADINGLEY CARNEGIE Tonight s game will be our first in December here at Headingley Carnegie and the lush green surface should be the perfect stage for tonight s game. However, following the pitch renovation during the summer and the mild Autumn temperatures the grass is greener than ever at this time of year. The Headingley Carnegie groundstaff recently were named runners-up for the Rugby Union Stadium Pitch of the Year, just missing out at the prestigious IOG awards to the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry. Head Groundsman Ryan Golding explains how the recent dry and mild weather has led to a change in strategy from what the groundstaff are normally doing at this time of year. He commented: At the stadium we received only 21mm of rain in the four weeks ahead of our game against Doncaster. This meant we had to water with 30mm of irrigation, mostly in the lead-up towards games to consolidate the fibresand surface. Just like when you are building a sandcastle on a beach, unless you have water in the sand it isn't strong or stable, so we have to ensure that water is maintained in the fibresand surface to give the pitch strength to stand up to things like scrums. Also in the four weeks leading up to the Doncaster game the average temperature was around 18 c while the usual temperature for October is around 8 c-10 c. We applied 160kg of seed in October as the soil temperatures were still above 6 c. We have also used the undersoil heating to supplement this to keep the growing period going as long as possible but the pitch dries out very quickly as a result. This has caused issues with the pitch like diseases appearing such as leaf spot. During that period we also took off 1.5tonnes of grass clippings which is unheard of at this time of year. We only just applied the grow lights two weeks ahead of the Doncaster game as the heavy wear areas had enough sunlight and temperatures to recover, added Golding. All this has meant when the pitch would normally be thinning out at this time of year with no new growth due until the spring, we still have a lush surface at Headingley Carnegie to play on. As well as the runners-up spot for the Rugby Union category, Headingley Carnegie Stadium assistant Groundsman Lewis Pattinson was named IOG Rigby Taylor/Top Green Young Groundsman of the Year a year after missing out on the top award. Back in 2015, Pattinson was runner-up to his counterpart from Everton FC, however, he continued to work hard during a tough year for the club s ground staff in 2016 and was rightfully rewarded for his efforts with the top award in The whole groundsteam had further success after being named Rugby League Stadium Pitch of the Year at the awards as well. CAN YOU BEAT LITTLEBOROUGH FOR A CHANCE TO WIN 5,000? The Pitchero Star Kicker competition took place at our home game against Doncaster, with the top spot on the leader board secured by George Roberts from Littleborough RUFC who successfully converted 5/5 kicks in seconds! The second spot was secured by JJ O Connell from Baildon RUFC who converted 3/5 kicks in 26.6 seconds. Can your club rise to the challenge? Pitchero and Yorkshire Carnegie have launched an epic competition where your kicking expertise WELCOME TO OUR AFFILIATED SCHOOLS AND CLUBS can win 5,000 for your club. Kick Star puts you in the spotlight as you kick to win a serious cash injection for your club. To win, all you have to do is strap your kicking boots on and take on the Kick Star challenge during half-time at a Yorkshire Carnegie home match. The challenge sees you converting five balls from the 22-yard line against the clock. Visit www. yorkshirecarnegie.com/ fanzone/competitions for more information and enter your star kicker now. We are delighted to welcome several of our schools along this evening, including Winterton Junior School who have travelled from Scunthorpe to take part in our pre-match activities. Speaking about tonight s visit to Headingley Carnegie, Will Turnbull from the school, said: This is probably the first sporting event some of these children have been to, and definitely their first rugby one. The kids are looking forward to it so much and are ready to cheer Yorkshire Carnegie to victory. Tonight, we also welcome Allerton C of E, St Augustine s and Rodillian Academy who are following up their recent success on the pitch with a visit tonight. They will all be taking to the field at half-time to play in our half-time games so please give them your support. At half-time, we will be making presentations to Richmond House, who are our School of the Month and Selby Girls, who have been awarded our Club of the Month. Well done to both and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future. 4

5 CLUB NEWS AFFILIATED CLUBS AND SCHOOLS BENEFITTING FROM CARNEGIE LINK-UP Schools and clubs from across Yorkshire are benefitting from their link-up with Yorkshire Carnegie through the club s affiliation schemes. At Yorkshire Carnegie s last home game against Doncaster Knights, hundreds of school children attended Headingley Carnegie as part of the school and club affiliation scheme run by the Yorkshire Carnegie community department. Before the game pupils from Carr Manor, Cardinal Heenan, Allerton Grange and Allerton High all took part in an RFU Coaching workshop, which was supported by Yorkshire Carnegie players Andy Forsyth, Josh Bainbridge and Dan Preston-Routledge. The school children were then invited to play in the half-time games along with teams from Bronte House, Lady Lane School, Moorlands, Westville House and Richmond House. More of the club s affiliated schools planned a trip to support Carnegie in their huge game against the Knights and pupils from Hill House School, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Pocklington School, Kings Pontefract and Horsforth were all welcomed to the stadium. It was a special occasion for the Under-9s from Roundhegians and Under-10s from York RUFC who got the opportunity to run out with the first-team players as their player escorts and then play in the half-time games. Commenting on the success of the club s affiliation schemes with clubs and schools, Yorkshire Carnegie s community manager Lisa McCann said: We were delighted to see so many schools attending our Friday night fixture, many for the first time. As a club we aim to support schools and clubs across Yorkshire through player visits, coaching sessions and assemblies or offering their players unique match day experiences at our games. Through our work in the community department we hope to support the development of the game at grassroots level and also spread the word about our club and increase our fan base. For more information on the school and club affiliation schemes please contact lisa. mccann@yorkshirecarnegie. com SAFEGUARDING IN RUGBY The RFU this week reiterated its commitment to safeguarding the welfare of children in rugby. The RFU have worked closely with the Child Protection In Sport Unit (CPSU) within the NSPCC to develop robust policy and procedures to safeguard children, achieving the CPSU s National Advanced Standards for safeguarding and protecting children in sport. The RFU work closely with all clubs and statutory agencies to CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR WITH THE FAMILY AT YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE V LONDON WELSH Yorkshire Carnegie will start 201 with a home fixture against London Welsh on Sunday 1st January, kick-off 3pm. To celebrate the New Year we will be providing family friendly entertainment and activities along with an offer for a family of four or more to purchase tickets for the game and then 'eat for free' (minimum order 2 adults and 2 children). For our Junior Season Ticket Holders who bring two full paying adults or concessions*, the entire ensure that safeguarding children is prioritised. Any allegation, suspicion of harm or concern is taken seriously and responded to swiftly, fairly and appropriately. Any person involved in Rugby Union, including all RFU employees, must report all safeguarding concerns of which they become aware to the RFU Safeguarding Team. For more details visit www. englandrugby.com and search for safeguarding in rugby. group will all eat free. Adult and Concession* Season Ticket Holders can also take advantage of this offer if they bring two full paying adults or concessions*. To take advantage of these offers contact the ticket office on before 12noon on Friday 30th December. Please note this offer will not be available in conjunction with any other offer. *Concessions = Seniors over 65 and students with a valid student card 5

6 YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE PLAYER SPONSORS JAMES THRAVES JOE FORD PETER LUCOCK CHRIS WALKER ANDY FORSYTH MIKE MAYHEW JACK WHETTON OLI GOSS JOSH BAINBRIDGE RICHARD MAYHEW MAX WRIGHT SEB STEGMANN ROSS GRAHAM RICHARD BECK STEVE McCOLL ALEX GRAY CHARLIE BEECH MIKE MYERSCOUGH MAX GREEN LEWIS BOYCE PHIL NILSEN JONAH HOLMES RYAN BURROWS ROB O DONNELL LEE IMIOLEK TOM CASSON MICHAEL CUSACK ALEX DAVIES TONY & SHEENA YULL DVD CONSULTING DVD CONSULTING THE GILLESPIE FAMILY CRAVEN SHIRES TECHNOLOGY FOR TEXTILES AND NONWOVENS MIKE SHOTTON & FAMILY TONY SNOWDON MIKE SHOTTON & FAMILY J S WOOD COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THE GILLESPIE FAMILY J S WOOD COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES TAYLOR PRELL JENNY MACDONALD SMITH DAN SANDERSON ANDY SAULL DEAN SCHOFIELD WARREN SEALS MATT SMITH OLLIE STEDMAN AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR JAMES BAIRD J S WOOD COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR For more information on sponsoring a Yorkshire Carnegie player, or for details on any other commercial opportunities with the club, contact the Sales Team on

7 OPPOSITION PROFILE: BEDFORD BLUES Agood preseason campaign saw two impressive victories over Pontypridd and a hard-fought encounter with Sarries which went the way of the Premiership and European Champions However, the Blues suffered an opening day defeat at Goldington Road to the Cornish Pirates going down 1-26 with Dean Adamson and Elliot Clements-Hill getting the tries. A week later, the Blues headed across the English Channel to face Jersey in awful conditions and it ended up being a miserable afternoon as Bedford went down 14-9 despite a late surge. Bedford s fans always keep the faith and they saw just what the team were capable of in a Round Three encounter against former Premiership side London Irish. The Blues gave a superb account of themselves against the unbeaten Exiles with Pat Tapley scoring a brace and George Edgson also crossing the whitewash, but ultimately the home side came up just short as Irish held out to win A trip to Doncaster saw the Blues controlling large parts of the game, but some late disciplinary issues allowed the Knights to sneak back into the game and pinch it But the Blues found their mojo and racked up three victories on the trot which looked to be the catalyst that they needed. The visit of Richmond to Goldington Road saw the Blues running in six tries - including a Tapley hat-trick - during a victory. The always popular Friday Night Lights saw the Blues win at home the following week in a much closer contest against Rotherham Titans. Well worked tries for Adamson and Jacob Fields saw the Blues take control but they had to dig deep late on to secure the 1-16 win. The opening round of the British & Irish Cup saw Bedford overcome a game Dragons Premiership Select XV before the Blues were brought down to earth with a bump in the second round as they went down to Yorkshire Carnegie. Blues slumped to defeats against Ealing Trailfinders and Nottingham by one point and two points respectively. Bedford s trip to Vallis Way saw them concede a cheap try early on before mounting a stiring comeback after the interval only to slip too far behind as the game wore on and a late Edgson try secured a losing bonus point. Despite taking a 22-0 lead against Nottingham a week later at Goldington Road, Bedford somehow managed to lose the game with former Blue Darryl Veenendaal converting the winning try for the Green and Whites. Blues Director of Rugby Mike Rayer described the performance as one of the most difficult he d ever endured. It was then a case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for the Blues. Two weeks ago, following the poor result against Nottingham, Bedford put in a wholehearted display against London Welsh at Old Deer Park to win The Blues also secured a four try bonus point thanks to scores from Will Carrick-Smith, Jordan Burns and a brace for George Perkin. However, Bedford failed to follow up the performance as they once again let a lead slip to taste defeat at Goldington Road. Having gone 10-0 up at half-time against London Scottish, the Exiles were allowed back in the game with Peter Lydon slotting a late penalty to win the game However, if there is one thing that you can be sure about Bedford - they ll be looking to bounce straight back in the next game. Written by Simon Hutchinson. TOM GRIFFITHS BEN ADAMS MICHAEL LE BOURGEOIS JAKE SHARP ED TAYLOR

8 YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE vs BEDFORD BLUES FRIDAY 2nd NOVEMBER, 2016 YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE Try Con Pen DG Try Con Pen DG STEVIE McCOLL JONAH HOLMES ANDY FORSYTH PETE LUCOCK SEB STEGMANN JOE FORD (C) ALEX DAVIES LEWIS BOYCE ROSS GRAHAM MIKE CUSACK JACK WHETTON DAN SANDERSON RICHARD BECK CHRIS WALKER OLLIE STEDMAN MIKE MAYHEW CHARLIE BEECH ROB O DONNELL ANDY SAULL RYAN BURROWS MAX GREEN MAX WRIGHT 15 FULL-BACK 14 RIGHT WING 13 OUTSIDE CENTRE 12 INSIDE CENTRE 11 LEFT WING 10 FLY-HALF 9 SCRUM-HALF 1 LOOSEHEAD PROP 2 HOOKER 3 TIGHTHEAD PROP 4 LOCK 5 LOCK 6 BLINDSIDE FLANKER OPENSIDE FLANKER 8 NUMBER EIGHT BEDFORD BLUES MATT GALLAGHER GEORGE PERKINS MICHAEL LEBOURGEOIS (C) TOM GRIFFITHS DEAN ADAMSON JAKE SHARP TOM WHITELEY CAMILO PARILLI-OCAMPO JACOB FIELDS CHRISTIAN JUDGE WILL CARRICK-SMITH BYRON HODGE ED TAYLOR JOSH BUGGEA BEN ADAMS DAN GEORGE JACK CULVERHOUSE BILLY WALKER PAUL TUPAI JASON HILL JORDAN BURNS MYLE DORRIAN YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE vs DRAGONS PREMIERSHIP SELECT 11TH DECEMBER, KICK-OFF 2PM (PLAYED ON THE ROAD AT PONTEFRACT RUFC) Yorkshire Carnegie will be on the road for their next British and Irish Cup game when they take on Welsh outfit Dragons Premiership Select. Carnegie will play at Pontefract RUFC for the first time as part of the club s 'On The Road' initiative. The Dragons are currently bottom of the table, having failed to earn a victory in the opening two rounds. Carnegie are second behind Ealing with one win so far in the competition. YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE B&I CUP PRICING (MATCH DAY PRICE) Adults: ( 12) Concessions*... 5 ( 6) Juniors**... FREE (free access on the day) Concession: *Seniors are 65 and over and students upon production of a valid student card ** Junior denotes a child who is 16 and under. Advance tickets can be bought in person at the club, online at or by calling MASCOT AVA SYMMONDS Age: 8 Plays for Harrogate RUFC Under-9s Favourite Player: Phil Nilsen CLUB PARTNERS: TONIGHT'S MATCH OFFICIALS Referee: Andrew Jackson Assistant Referee 1: Matt Daubney Assistant Referee 2: Chris Sharp THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHES: Friday 2nd December London Scottish v Ealing Trailfinders, ko pm Saturday 3rd December London Welsh v Nottingham, ko 2pm Rotherham Titans v London Irish, ko 2pm Jersey Reds v Doncaster Knights, ko 2.30pm 8