DURHAM V CHESHIRE 10TH DECEMBER 1994

\Vdco me LO LOday's mat ch in the O S Insurall ce Co unry Champio n ship _
T hi s is the second scason that wc have had the privilegc of sponsoring a tournament
that givcs liS ail th e opp o rrunity of s!.:eing exciti ng Engli sh r ugb y o n a prac l ic al and
local lcvd , Lasl year's ch:lInpio nship was aClion-packed from SI art 10 finish and
culminall.:d in Yo rksh ire's 26-3 vic tor)' over D urham in Ihe linal pl aycd al Tw ickenham,
T his po pular com petition , played al ' -CllUes acrûss thc enlire co unlry, pro\'es that
repres!.: nt:ltive r ugby is a force 10 be recko ned with _ Rugby is a highl}' parLic i p:j(ive
spo rt and it is imparl:lnt thal ther!.: arc stru Ctures in p l:lCe to f0 l111 a bridge bctween
Ihe small dite of the internatio na l gallle andlhe man y enthusÎ:lsls w h o p b )' Ihe gallle
al a local levcl. The Counry Champi onship is an illlcgrai part of that struc t ure, and wc
arc proud to be associa ted with il.
Fi n:llly, l 'd Jikc l a wis h yo u ai l a mûst enl enaining and mc mo rable day. 1 :1111 sure yO ll
\Viii thal'Oughl y enjoy th e;: act ion ,
C~IS
Co-ope
'e Il
ln
ADSneddon
CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER
Welcome from the President
of Durham County R.F.o.
Our game today is our last in this season's championship an, after a much
improved performance last week against Northumberland, we will be 100 king ta
go out on a winning note. Although results have been disappointing, l'm sure
that we have ail enjoyed being back in the old Northern Group, and amongst
friends of long standing. We look forward ta the present system continuing.
To the Cheshire President Frank Povall, his committee and players , we
welcome you ail to Durham taday. We hope you ail enjoy the lime spent with
us, and that we ail witness an exciting game between the two teams this
afternoon.
The Friarage has been the venue of many County Championship games and is
one of the players' favourite grounds.
We thank the officiaIs, ground staff and everyone involved for their part in
ensuring that everything is up to the standard we have come ta expect at the
Friarage.
We again welcome c.I.S. and trust that they continue their support of rugby for
many years to come.
You can be assured that the financial support received goes a long way tawards
the running of youth and juni o r rugby in ail the count ies. We thank you for
being with us today, and tn.st you enjoy the afternoon.
Bernie Lewis
Horden RFC
President, Durham Cou nt Y RFU
NORT HERN GROUP
Northumberland
Cumbria
Lancashire
Yorkshire
Cheshire
Durham
P
4
4
4
4
4
4
W
D
L
3
3
0
0
1
1
2
2
1
1
0
0
3
4
1
0
1
For
70
51
103
103
49
21
Against
49
42
62
81
90
73
Pts
6
6
5
5
2
0
Durham
Cheshire
(M.1IoonJerst:ys, Whir< Shons)
15
14
12
13
10
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
John Murray
Dave Tweddle
Piers J,T. Nickalls
Paul Collins
Bill Ridley
Gary Ellis
Steve Havery (Captain)
Mike Wardle
lan parnaby
Maurice Douthwaite
John Dixon
Peter Black
Kevin C10ugh
Darren McKinnon
John Hutchinson
16
17
18
Replacements:
David Davison
Rob Preston
Barry Corbett
11
Newc3Stle Gosforth
1·
D.A.C. CHAPMAN
11
(R.FU. & Yorkshire Society)
10
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
IanKennedy
Dean Crompton
Matt Farr
Matt Tetlow
Jes Owens
Steve Swindells
Simon Wright
Dave A1cock
Iain Taylor
Peter Mitchell
Chris Brierley (Captain)
Paul Rees
Stuart Deely
Paul Billington
Andy Mc FarIa ne
16
17
18
Replacements:
Simon Morrison
Mark Dinnington
Chris Crompton
Gateshead FeU
DarlinglOn
Nonhem
West H:/ftlepool
Horden
Referee:
Gateshead FeU
Durham City
WCS{œ'
Stockton
West Hanlepool
TouchJlIdges:
R.A. SCOTT
(R.F U. & Manchester Society)
W. LOWE
(R.FU. & Yorkshire Society)
Horden
Gateshead Feil
Dllrh.,m City
Darlington Mowden Park
Horden
Suxkton
DarlinglOn
15
14
13
12
Medic.11 Officer:
W.M. BOWDEN
FR.è.s.Ed.
New BrighlOn
S:J1e
Orrell
Newc3Stle Gosforth
Winningron P3rk
Waterloo
W;Jt~rloo
Winninglon Park
WinninglOn P3rJ.:
Waterloo
Orre/l
WinnùJgton Park
Waterloo
Chester
S:J1e
Cong/eton
New Brifihton
S:J1e
Good aftemoon and welcome to the Friarage for today's final Northern Group clash
in the crs County Championship, and how times have changed in the four weeks
since Durham were last on home terrÎ[ory. When Steve Havecy led Durham out o n
to the field at Hollow Drift against Yorkshire last month, we were play ing out a
repeat of the 1994 CIS Championship final.
Four matches o n, we have still to win a point in the 1994-95 Championship and,
after starting the programme as the previollS season's losing finalists, today wc are
bauling 10 avoid the wooden spoo!!.
Cheshire arrive at Hartlepool Rovers with two points. courtesy of a home win over
Cumbria, and with a points difference now orny 11 beuer than Durham. Durham will
climb off the bottom if they win by six points today but anything less will mean that
we will be Ieft clutching the wood.
This season's fortunes have mirrore d the times we had afte r wc last visited
Twickenham in 1989. The season after we beat Cornwall in that
never-IO-be-forgotten final, the wheels really came off. Instead of building on that,
we drew one and lost three of the first four group matches in the 1989-90
championship campaign. That meant we met (you guessed it ) Cheshire in the final
game at Gateshead Feil and Durham showed their resilience by winning 27 -1 8
thanks to tries by Owen Evans (2) and John Saunders plus 15 points from the boot of
Jonathan Bland. We avoided bottom spot, but were still placed - along w ith
Cheshire - in the Third Division of the c hampionship. So there is something of a
feeling of deja vu about todays game.
We played Cheshire twice during the national leagues structure, lo sing at
Birkenhead Park and winning al Brierton Lane, but Î[ is nice to be playing them
again in the Northern Group.
Ir is an understatement to say it has been a poor season for Durham. We started
aga inst two strong sides: Yorkshire and then Lancashire before away defeats at
Cumbria and Northumberland. Worse still, we have scored just 21 po in ts, but
hopefully we can do better today.
New coach Graham Cook has been unlucky not to have a settled side to work with
as injuries and unavailability have played havoc. But there have been plus points;
Pal~ Collins has played weil at centre while John Hutchinson has do ne superb ly in
his first season in the side aiter not being used last year.
We must look to build for next season, there is a lot of untapped potential in
Durham clubs and hopefully via the Un der 21 Championship and B games we can
bring new players through 10 the squad. For Cheshire, there must be a feeling of big
frustration . They began with a narrow mid-week defeat by Lancashire, beat
Cumbria, then were sunk 19-17 by North umberland who won it thanks to a late
David Johnson penalty, before being hammered 49-19 by Yorshire. Winger Chris
Crompton scored the Cheshire try with stand-off Steve Swindells kicking fou r
penalties and a conversion
Despite the ohvious pressure of wanting 10 avoid the wooden spoon, hopefully
today's garne will be an entertaining one with both sides free to express themselves.
To close off with, a few thank yous, 10 cou nt Y secretary Chris McLoughlin for his
hard work, to Hartlepool Rovers FC for staging the game and a1so a thank you to our
sponsors from CIS Insurance.
Finally, just a plug for two forthcoming attractions at the Friarage. Next Saturday
Rovers play Hawick and, on Boxing Day, local rivais West are the visitors (both kick
offs 2.15pm).
Roy of the Rovers
Here's your chance to win a fabulous ClS rugby shirt.
Simply take the first le tter of your answer tO each question below tO fo rm the name of a
famous South African rugby ground. Write your answer co each question, plus the name of
the ground, on a postcard and return it to: Agency and Marketi ng, CIS, Miller Street.
Mancheste r M60 OAl. Please specify which size of rugby sh irt you requi re (mediu m. large
or extra large) should you win.
. . Who achieved
G
tI
back-to-back Grand Si am win in 1991 and 1992?
What was the surname of the only 3 brothers co ever play in the same team at
incernationall evel?
. . W hich English councy side has scored the most points in a season?
o
W hich councry's national scadium is at Lan sdowne Road?
. . Where was the first Australian club founded?
o
Over which team did Argentina score their largest ever victory?
. . What is the surname of England's most capped ny-half?
e
What is the prem ier domestic trophy in New Zealand calle d?
. . . At which ground were the Rugby Union's first seven matches played?
RU l ES
1. The closing da te for enuies is Monday 1St May 1995.
2. Thrœ dl';'\ws will be made. one on eac.h of the following dates: 1st Dec.ember 1994. 9th january 1995 ",nd 1st May 1995.
Ten entnes will win on eac.h of those dates.
3 . Ali c.orrec.t entries will be entered into the next dr.lw ah cr the d"'te thcy arc received. and will not be entered into
subsequent dr.lws.
4. Only one enuy per person is ",lIowed.
S. The winners will bc notified in writing.
6. The prize will bc a free rugby shirt. No cash altcmative is available.
7 . This offer Is not open t O employecs o f the Co.oper.ltive Insu rance 50cicty Umited or their families.
8 , The decision o f thc CIS Is final and no corrcspondencc will be entered into.