Training started on Tuesday 6th July at 7.00pm., and will continue each Tuesday and Thursday throughout the season. Players of all abilities will be most welcome.
Tom Borthwich has been appointed head coach at Tynedale this year. He played rugby for Aspatria and Cumbria, as a full-back or fly-half. In 1990 he qualified as a level 4 RFU Coach and took over as coach at Aspatria. In the following two seasons Aspatria won successive promotions to national Level 3 in the leagues.
In 1996 Tom became coach of the Cumbria senior squad, and in his first season Cumbria beat Somerset in the final of the County Championship. Between 2002 and 2004 Tom was Assistant coach to the England Counties XV, and is currently involved in conducting coaching activities for the RFU.
We all look forward to working with Tom, and trust that he gets the excellent support from players, supporters and officials which he deserves.
Keith Johnson, who has been such a successful captain for the club for three seasons, has stepped down, and Phil Belgian has taken over.
Phil is an experienced player, and, like Tom Borthwick, has played full-back and fly-half throughout his career. He has also been the club's top points scorer since joining the club; 120 points in 2001/02 when a knee injury limited his appearances; 250 points the following season and 194 points last season (2003/045).
He replaces Keith Johnson, who has had an incredible record as player and captain - with a tremendous commitment to his duties, so he will be a hard act to follow. In 2001/02 Keith was the only player to play in all 27 1st XV matches and in the last two seasons only the ever-present Peter Southern (30 games in 2002/03 and 31 games in 2003/04) had a better appearance record.
On Friday 2nd July Tom Borthwick took the opportunity to introduce himself to the players and back-room helpers with a Pie and Pea gathering at the clubhouse. The evening looked at ways in which the squad could build on existing foundations and determine the way the players wanted to play the game. It stressed the need for teamwork (both on and off the field) a team ethos, identifying leaders and those with special responsibilities, encouraging players in decision-making and building up mutual respect between players, players and coach, and with the playing support staff. The overall theme was - planning for success, in what proved to be an enjoyable and informative meeting for all concerned.
Sat. 14 Aug. 2004. 1st XV v Biggar HOME
Sat. 14 Aug. 2004. Raiders v Biggar HOME
Sat. 21 Aug. 2004. 1st XV v Hawick AWAY
Sat .21 Aug 2004 Riaders/Hoppers v Ormskirk HOME (2.00pm)
Sat. 28 Aug. 2004. 1st XV v Doncaster HOME
Sat. 28 Aug. 2004. Grasshoppers - Border Park 10's AWAY
The 1st XV has had to withdraw from the Kelso Sevens on Sat. 14th August.
Sat. 21 Aug. 2004. Colts - Langholm 7's
Sun. 22 Aug. 2004. Colts - Melrose 7's
Sat. 28 Aug. 2004. Colts v Gala (BL) HOME
Sun. 5 Sept. 2004. International Schools Tournament HOME
F = Friendly; BL = Borders League; NL = Northumberland League
Following the AGM (Part 1) held on 2nd June 2004 a new President - J.M.D. COUSON was elected to succeed Tony Smith who had completed his two-year term.
Mike Coulson, who lives in Corbridge, has been Membership Secretary at Tynedale for many years, with the unenviable task of extracting subscriptions from members and maintaining members' addresses and contact details. He has agreed to continue in this office during his presidency.
Mike was a leading referee with the Northumberland R.U.'s Referees' Society before joining Tynedale, and in recent years was seen running the touch in pre-National league days, and since then he has acted as fourth official and has been closely involved on the playing side with the first fifteen.
Four new VICE PRESIDENTS were also elected this year, bringing the number of V.P's to six, with Andrew Deacon and John Shotton remaining on the list. The new appointees are Paul Davison who played in the 1st XV in the 1970's and has acted as team manager for the Raiders and other teams for many years; Roger Dinning who was an outstanding No. 8 in the 1st XV of the late 1970's and 1980's, and was involved in mini-junior and senior selecting for many years at the club; Mike McGloughlin, a flying first team winger, in the Blyth era, and a staunch practical supporter of all the club's activities; and Richard Parker, recently retired veteran first team loose-head prop, who is now acting as assistant coach at the club. Richard won the Journal North-East Player of the Year last season, was Tynedale Sports Council's Personality of the Year in 2003/04, captained the club, Northumberland County and played for the North of England in a long and illustrious career. I am not sure how he will adapt to life as an alickadoo!
BEN DUNCAN was called into the Scotland U21 squad again, this time to compete in the U21 World Championships in Scotland between 11th June and 27th June 2004. Unfortunately, Ben injured his neck before half-time in the match against South Africa and wasn't fit enough to take any further part in the rest of the tournament.
PAUL MOONEY was selected for the England Counties squad which toured Canada 8th June to 20th June. The team beat Vancouver Island 43-0 on 12th June and a Canadian All-Star team 38-17 on 18th June 2004 with Paul scoring two tries and earning the man-of-the-match award.
Paul's displays attracted the attention of a number of National League teams and he has been offered a contract to play for Otley next season. We wish him every success. He was a popular and key figure for Tynedale last season and we hope to see him return to the club in the future.
The Northumberland Agricultural Show held on 31st May 2004 attracted the biggest crowd ever to an event at Corbridge. Perfect weather meant ideal conditions for exhibitors, spectators and organisers, and with better traffic control there were few problems on the day.
Fire burns on part of the 1st XV pitch were not as serious as feared at first and the main difficulties for John Lee and Jim Bell concerned the number of metal and wooden pegs inadvertently left in the ground, and the wood splinters from forestry displays.
The Traction Rally on 12th/13th June also enjoyed dry sunny weather, and the South Tyneside Steam Tractor Society also reported records over the two-day event.
The Beer Festival on 17th/18th/19th June was also very successful. The Thursday produced an average turn-out, but the Friday was fully-booked and visitors had to be turned away if they hadn't pre-ordered tickets. Saturday was cooler and quieter, but all in all the Lions Club of Hexham, local charities and the rugby club will benefit from another record event. This festival now seems to have established itself, after three years, as an important event in the calendar for the Tynedale area and beyond.
Full Members ……………….. £40
Social Members ………………£25
Under 21s/Students …………..£12
Colts ………………………….. £6
Ladies ………………………… £10
Telephone and Fax: 01434-632996;
Web site: www.tynedalerfc.co.uk; e-mail: tynedalerfc@hotmail.com
First XV. 39 different players represented the 1st XV in 31 games. Number of tries scored = 73. Top Points Scorer - Phil Belgian 194 points (3 tries, 1 drop goal, 25 conversions, 42 penalties). Top Try Scorer - Ben Duncan (10 tries) Peter Southern, Ed Holmes and Aaron Charlton were the only players to have been involved in every match.
Raiders. 65 different players represented the Raiders in 22 games. Number of tries scored = 88. Top Points Scorers - Greg Dawson 118 points (2 tries, 30 conversions, 14 penalties). Top Try Scorers - Jerome Parker (13 tries). No player was involved in all 22 matches - Dicky Hall and James Johnson appeared in 21 matches.
Grasshoppers. 72 different players represented the Hoppers in 22 games.
Hadrians. 77 different players represented the Hadrians in 13 games.
DOUGLAS HAMILTON.
Chief Executive.