WELCOME I am delighted to welcome you all back to Acklam Park this afternoon. After those wonderful, powerful, theatrical, majestic, and above all golden Olympics I know we’ll all do our level best to keep the spirit of sport alive and well. I am excited at the prospect of exhilarating, and I hope successful, rugby, whilst meeting old and new friends along the way, starting today with our first ever league game against Pocklington. Our visitors are here on the back of a very successful promotion season, scoring 700 points, and 15 bonus points, in winning 22 of their 26 games, finishing with 103 points, eight more than second placed Keighley. In fact Pocklington have won two consecutive promotions on the back of a 'home grown' side. All 15 of the starting lineup, and 17 of the 18 in the squad, have come through their juniors, and 14 of the squad played in the last league game of last season. I am also delighted that our Wasps are hosts to Pocklington’s second team, a most welcome return to life pre-league rugby.

We’ve met Pocklington before, of course, the last time being in the Yorkshire Cup, here, on Sunday, 28 Feb 1993 – I remember the date well. We were fortunate to get the match played at all. The weather was dreadful all weekend and we cleared snow from our lines umpteen times before the game and then played much of the second half in a hail storm. We were obviously more attuned to the arctic conditions than our visitors, scoring three tries in each half to win 43-3.

In the previous 20 years we met three times, twice in the Cup, at home (1976) and away (1978), and a friendly at home in 1985, the days of Merit Tables and Qualifying Tables. We won those matches (not by very many) but the thing that strikes me about those games is that Bernie Coyne, Mike Wright, Peter Riley, Stu Micklewright and Andy Duff played in all or some of them; the fact that they are all still heavily involved in the Club says much about the kind of Club we are.

On 1 September in 1159, Pope Adrian IV, the only English Pope died, in 1830 the nursery rhyme `Mary Had a Little Lamb` was first published, and in 1996 David Beckham played his first football match for England against Maldova. We can’t promise any history-making events today, although it is our first league game with Marty and Richie as coaches. Let’s hope, from a Middlesbrough point of view, that we can look back on it as a positive date.

CHANGES TO THE LAWS I started to summarise the changes as a paragraph to slot into these Club Notes, but quickly realised that the piece would dominate the Notes so you will find a separate (whole!) page on this very subject elsewhere in the programme. I will just say that predominantly we will now play with rolling substitutions, the ball has to be used within five seconds of it being made available at the back of a ruck, and for a quick throw in, the player may be anywhere outside the field of play between the line of touch and the player’s goal line.

TEAM NEWS We’ve won a couple of rollicking good pre-season friendlies. A fortnight ago we entertained Scarborough (Y1). With the sun beating down and a cricket match on the adjacent square Acklam Park really sparkled. So did we. It was 12-0 at the first break, with tries from Scottish newby Robin Cessford and Peter Whitaker; Pete Wright, Craig Chapman and flying winger Rhys Kilbride (Northallerton) made it 27-5 at half time. Richie Horton scored before a great break by Bellers led to a try for Toby Tremlett; 39-5 at ¾ time, with Paul Norris wrapping it up at 44-5. Last Saturday, with the sun again shining on us, we beat a strong West Hartlepool side 11-10, with a try from Matty Helm and two Jack Bircham penalties. It was no fluke; we were the better side and contained a bigger pack for much of the game. It all bodes well for a good season.
At the same time the Wasps were beating Redcar 1st 14-10 and the Lions beat Guisborough 2nds by 20 odd points. (See Marty Featherstone’s review of pre-season training.)

The Colts kick off the first of three consecutive home gamers next Sunday against Dinnington, followed by Rotherham. This should have been away, but has been switched with the corresponding fixture on 11 November, which is now away. This is to accommodate the Yorkshire U20s match against Northumberland, to be played here on 1 November, KO 2pm.

CLUB NEWS I am delighted to report that David Butcher, former player and coach, is up and running again following his second major heart operation. He now has a mechanical valve in place of his original one from a pig, and was completely surprised by a ‘Got Well Pretty Quickly’ party organised for him three weeks ago.

I’m afraid the glad tidings are tempered with some sad news. Jim Willis, father of Mark and granddad of Jack and long time member and good supporter of the Club, died last weekend. And on Wednesday the funeral took place of Ian Fellowes, a stalwart of the Club who played at scrum half in the 1st XV throughout the 1960s into the early 1970s, and also represented the Club in Yorkshire’s colours. Ian was certainly durable, playing in every one of the 38 games we played in 1967/68, the only one to do so. I think I’m right in saying that he holds the Club record for the most consecutive 1st XV appearances, along with Bernie Coyne. When Mike Wright joined the Club and took over the No 9 shirt he found Ian to be as helpful and supportive as possible.

There will be another of our fantastic Wine & Cheese Evenings on Saturday 29 September for a measly £6 a ticket (available from Glenis Wright or Jan Coyne) which includes a bottle of wine of your choice, a selection of cheeses, and a quiz and games. AND the Stuart Foster Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Tuesday 18 September at Romanby Golf Club. Get in touch with Mike Read or Mike Wright quickly – closing date for entries is Wednesday 12 September.

JUNIORS – U17S John ‘Budgie’ Burridge has coached and organised a group of lads as they moved through the Junior ranks, but with a combination of pride and sorrow he has made the following comments: “After eight incredibly happy and wonderful seasons, the U17s age group ceases to exist…a victim of its own success. It all began many years ago and the team developed into a formidable side that swept almost everything before them. Cups and festivals were claimed, but most of all we had fun and built a real spirit of TEAM and togetherness, both on and off the field. We met some great people and had some epic battles, the peak of which was probably the finest game of rugby ever seen on the planet – the U14 Yorkshire Cup Final v York; two great teams playing exciting, open and fully committed rugby at an unbelievable skill level. We made great friends along the way, including York of course, and, I’m pleased to say, Pocklington. Our demise is as the result of our high level of success with seven of our finest players moving away from home to go to rugby schools of excellence. This combined with having four lads at Yarm School meant we just would not be able to raise a side…and thus we will play as Colts this season. Thanks to everyone involved; it was a truly, truly memorable journey.”

SPONSORS First, let me congratulate the newly married Ian Horton and his new bride Kath. I’m delighted to report that Ian is now pretty much over his battle with kidney stones, and has arranged, as he did last season, for Hertel UK Ltd to be our first sponsor of the season, and I am delighted to welcome the company and their guests from ConocoPhillips. Hertel is a worldwide organisation with its UK HQ in Middlesbrough, employing over 13,000 people worldwide. I hope that they and their guests enjoy themselves this afternoon.

REFEREE’S CORNER I am delighted to welcome David Charlton back to Acklam Park this afternoon, not that he’s refereed us previously, but he was here as a player about 10 years ago. He played for Northern and Percy Park, initially as a three-quarter and latterly at scrum half, before turning his hand to refereeing five years ago. David, who is a civilian with Northumbria Police, will see one or two changes since his last visit and I hope he enjoys his time with us this afternoon. I’m also pleased to welcome Clive Pointon back to the Park to officiate at the Wasps match, and, a bit ahead of myself I know, can I just tell you that next Saturday we are more than happy to welcome the return of those happy whistlers, Peter and Helen Ashman.