Review of 2008 - 2009 Season

	P	W	D	L	For	Ag	Dif
League	22	19	0	3	685	190	495
Cup	6	4	0	2	115	104	11
Total	28	23	0	5	800	294	506

Player statistics for the season are also available
Click here to view the Stats

Match Reports for the season are also available
Click here to view the Match Reports

Old Rishworthians 1st XV looked forward to life in Yorkshire 4, but little did the players and members realise that the team would be successful in winning the league and achieving back to back championship victories for the first time in the clubs history.

Coaches Jamie Bloem and John Clough were reappointed for the season and Royal Marine, Andrew Morgan, provided fitness training. Gary Morris led the side for the fourth successive season with Paul Savage captaining the 2nd XV. The Club looked forward to several former Under 17 players joining the senior teams, and entering Division 1 of the Colts league, but 6 players decided to return to Old Brodleians and unfortunately the Colts and Under 17`s teams were disbanded.

The season started on a positive note with the team winning the plate trophy at the annual Halifax 7`s. Three friendly fixtures were arranged in August between, Halifax Vikings, Southport and the team suffered one defeat against Goole, who are in Yorkshire 3. Unfortunately Jamie Bloem injured his leg in the pre-season games and he was unable to play until mid October. The team travelled to Pontefract Pythons in the 1st round of the EDF Junior Vase and sneaked into the next round, thanks to a try by Anthony Shoesmith, winning 17-19.

The selection of the 1st team would still include a number of players who played in last seasons Under 17 side, including, Anthony Oxley, Tom Clough, Ben Robinson, James Kidd, and Ben Porritt and the first league match against Hornsea at home saw the young side defeat Hornsea 34-0. The next game was a potential banana skin when fellow promotion rivals Rotherham Phoenix visited Copley. The young home side scored the necessary points and won 18-5. The last match in September was against Port Sunlight in Round 2 of the EDF Junior Vase. Unfortunately the opposition gave the Copley men a walkover, so the team looked forward to a visit to Liverpool to play St Edwards Old Boys on October 18th in the 3rd round.

The team reached new heights on October 4th by defeating York RI at home 51-0. The following week the eagerly awaited local derby against Halifax Vandals, saw Aaron Canning make his return debut after playing at Halifax RUFC for 17 seasons. With Jamie Bloem still injured, Canning was selected at outside half and but for a difficult wind at Warley would have ensured that the Copley men returned with a draw, however the defeat by 16-13 was the jolt the team needed and proceeded to score 146 points in the next four games, conceding 25 and winning them all.

Things were really buzzing. Bloem returned from injury and the EDF Junior Vase 3rd round match against St Edwards Old Boys was unusual as the referee did not turn up! Both teams played using a home official and the Old Rishworthians proceeded to win 47-0. All players and spectators must be congratulated in their acceptance of the referee`s performance. A potentially difficult period up to Christmas was easily overcome when Old Modernians visited Copley in successive Saturdays. First of all in the EDF Junior Vase, and then in the league. The Cup game was a tight affair, but the home side turned on the gas in the second half to win 8-3. Old Modernians returned to Copley the following week in a top of the table clash, but had no answer to the speed of Canning and the boot of Bloem, winning 39-3. Leeds Corinthians were eventually thrashed 53-22 and the following week the team entertained Goole from Yorkshire 3 in the 5th round of the EDF Junior Vase. What a start! From the kick off Tom Clough scored a superb try to shock the visitors and only a few inches spared Goole from an unexpected exit. The last game before Christmas was a difficult fixture at Rotherham Phoenix, but the team produced the most professional defensive display of the season, whilst scoring 2 tries with a dropped goal from Canning. This victory ensured that Old Rishworthians were top of the Yorkshire 4 table by 5 points, a lead which they would not let go.

Over the next 7 weeks in 2009 only 3 games were completed owing to the inclement weather. A preliminary round Silver Trophy match at Leeds Corinthians, where the team got over its Christmas Spirit, was won 16-13, and a difficult game at Thornensians saw the team scrape home by the only score of the game a Bloem penalty. Unfortunately Bloem suffered a further injury to his leg and he was unable to play for a further 6 weeks. However the team which played at York RI was probably one of the youngest teams in the clubs history (22) and after a few unusual errors ran out winners 37-16. The team was believing in itself and the back row players of James Clarke, Tom Clough, Ben Robinson, Gerrard Rollings and Jioti Bakoso proved a handful, irrespective of the combination selected. The eagerly awaited return match against Halifax Vandals ended after 30 minutes owing to an injury to the referee. The next game on February 21st saw a rather rusty Copley side score easily in the first half to defeat Burley 34-12. The Halifax Vandals match was unusual as the appointed referee did not turn up. A communication problem between the referees society and the club, meant that David Brooksbank, the referees assessor, carried the whistle and did a grand job. Rishworthians did not intend to let this game slip away and they were deserved winners of the John Payne Trophy and two league points, over their local rivals with Canning kicking four penalties. Gary Morris was man of the match, sponsored by Copley Cricket Club.

The momentum to become back to back champions was gaining pace and victories in the next two fixtures against Bramley Phoenix and Northallerton would ensure that the team was promoted as Champions for the second successive season. The game at Bramley went according to plan, although not before the Copley men found themselves 10 - 0 down after 10 minutes. Sound work by the back row of Clarke, Ben Robinson and Gerrard Rollings, together with second rows Anthony Oxley and Jioti Bakoso, ensured that the Champions elect came away with a 15-10 victory.

On the following Saturday Old Rishworthians entertained Northallerton, and whilst the away fixture had been difficult in the first half, the team composed itself and ran away winners by 28-15. However the coaching staff and players had not allowed for an indifferent refereeing performance and a very strong wind blowing from the clubhouse end. The more street wise Northallerton pack kept the ball tight, killing it and frustrating the young Copley team. Jamie Bloem was yellow carded and after withdrawing through injury, was red carded by the referee for allegedly abuse of the referee. As if this was not bad enough Northallerton were given a penalty on half way and kicked the goal to win the game 17-20.

A victory at Old Modernians would have ensured that Old Rishworthians gained promotion as champions of Yorkshire 4, but what a performance. No one looked as if they wanted to play and the swifter, mobile home threequarters ran the show, but the Rishworthians defence only let in one try, and were defeated 6-14. So the champagne was on ice until the following Saturday when the Copley men entertained Leeds Corinthians in a match sponsored by Highland Spring. What a game to seal promotion as champions! The final score of 46-5 to the Copley men, included a hat trick by Lee Atkinson, who had been on the pitch for 10 minutes. Aaron Canning was man of the match. The team celebrated long into the night on the karaoke machine.

The penultimate match at Garforth was going to be difficult and so it was. Old Rishworthians were 5-0 up after 10 minutes with a lovely dummy from Joe Billing, but Garforth came back and scored 19 unanswered points. The Copley men`s superior fitness told in the second half and they scored 29 points down the slope. The final league match at Hornsea included a night at Scarborough with the players dressed as Vikings! First though the league match, and what an example of championship rugby. Hornsea had no answer to the pace of the Rishworthians play and the visitors won by 78 -0. A truly fitting end to a magnificent league season.

The Yorkshire Silver Trophy has not yet been completed and after winning the preliminary round game at Leeds Corinthians in January the team has been handed two walkovers by Wibsey and Leeds Metropolitan University. The quarter final match is scheduled to take place at West Park Leeds on May 9th.

Yorkshire 4	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts	Adj
Old Rishworthian	22	19	0	3	685	190	495	38	0
Bramley Phoenix	22	16	1	5	548	255	293	33	0
Thornensians	22	14	0	8	455	295	160	28	0
Old Modernians	22	14	0	8	478	348	130	28	0
Halifax Vandals	22	13	1	8	339	314	25	27	0
Garforth	22	10	3	9	432	368	64	23	0
Northallerton	22	10	1	11	373	390	-17	21	0
Rotherham Phoenix	22	9	1	12	336	412	-76	19	0
Leeds Corinthians	22	7	2	13	344	437	-93	14	-2
York Railway Institute	22	5	2	15	257	550	-293	12	0
Hornsea	22	5	0	17	267	678	-411	10	0
Burley	22	4	1	17	222	499	-277	9	0

Date	Competition	Opponents	Venue	Result	Man of Match
August 16th	Pre Season	Goole XV	Home	L 10 - 30
August 23rd	Pre Season	Halifax Vikings	Home	W 15 - 5
August 30th	Pre Season	Southport XV	Away	W 36 - 0
September 6th	Junior Vase R1	Pontefract Pythons	Away	W 19 - 17
September 13th	League	Hornsea	Home	W 34 - 0	Dave Conroy /Fraser Davidson
September 20th	League	Rotherham Phoenix	Home	W 18 - 5	Tom Clough
September 27th	Junior Vase R2	Port Sunlight	Home	HWO
October 4th	League	York RI	Home	W 51 - 0	Wes Aldridge
October 11th	League	Halifax Vandals	Away	L 10 - 13	Joe Billing
October 18th	Junior Vase R3	St Edwards OB	Away	W 47 - 0	Anthony Oxley
October 25th	League	Garforth	Home	W 51 - 0	Ben Porritt
November 1st	League	Burley	Away	W 45 - 5	Fluff Faulkner
November 8th	League	Bramley Phoenix	Home	W 22 - 5	The Pack
November 15th	League	Northallerton	Away	W 28 - 15	Chris Fox
November 22nd	Junior Vase R4	Old Modernians	Home	W 8 - 3	Joji Bakoso
November 29th	League	Old Modernians	Home	W 39 - 3	Aaron Canning
December 6th	League	Leeds Corinthians	Away	W 53 - 22	Tom Clough
December 13th	Junior Vase R5	Goole	Home	L 20 - 21	Gez Rollings
December 20th	League	Rotherham Phoenix	Away	W 18 - 0	Ben Robinson/Martin Brook
December 27th	Friendly	TBA
January 3rd	Silver Trophy PR	Leeds Corinthians	Away	W 16 - 13	Richard Turner
January 10th	League	Thornensians	Home	P - P	Frozen Pitch
January 17th	League	Thornensians	Away	W 3 - 0	The Pack
January 24th	League	York RI	Away	W 37- 16	Tom Clough
January 31st	League	Halifax Vandals	Home	A - A	Referee injured during game
February 7th	League	Thornensians	Home	P - P	Snow & Ice on Pitch
February 14th	League	Garforth	Away	P - P	Pitch unplayable
February 21st	League	Burley	Home	W 34 - 12
February 28th	League	Halifax Vandals	Home	W 12 - 9	Gary Morris
March 7th	League	Bramley Phoenix	Away	W 15 - 10
March 14th	League	Northallerton	Home	L 17 - 20
March 21st	League	Thornensians	Home	W 34 - 17	Ben Robinson
March 28th	League	Old Modernians	Away	L 6 - 14
April 4th	League	Leeds Corinthians	Home	W 46 - 5	Aaron Canning
April 11th	League	Garforth	Away	W 19 - 34	Joe Billing
April 18th	League	Hornsea	Away	W 78 - 0
April 25th	Silver Trophy R1	Wibsey	Away	AWO	Wibsey withdrawn
May 2nd	Silver Trophy R2	Leeds Met Uni	Home	HWO	Leeds Met Uni withdrawn
May 9th	Silver Trophy Qtr F	West Park Leeds	Away	L 5 - 50