PRE-MATCH LUNCH
This season lunches need to be booked in advance (by 23:59 on the Thursday) using a simple on-line reservation & payment system. Due to a maximum capacity this will be on a first-come-first-served basis.
The lunch prior to our next home match against Otley on the 9th March will be served from 12.30pm with BAR1876 opening from 12noon.
For further details: https://www.tynedalerfc.co.uk/a/prematch-lunches-66490.html
To Book:-

Sheffield RUFC v Tynedale
Saturday 24th February 2024 (KO 2.15pm)

The 1stXV are back down south into South Yorkshire this weekend as they travel down the A1 to take on Sheffield RUFC.

SHEFFIELD - SECOND PLACE SPECIALISTS
Sheffield were promoted in season (2021/22) into National Two North as runners - up to Newport (Salop) in Midland Premier, on league reorganisation.
Without finishing top of any league Sheffield have therefore managed to gain five promotions with second place successes, in 2003, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2022. That must be some sort of record!
Nonetheless, or maybe because of that, we were delighted to meet Sheffield RUFC again in September 2022 at Tynedale Park, not having played them since 2017. The return fixture was in April 23 at Abbeydale Park, and then last November the teams drew 19-19 at Corbridge.

PROGRAMME PROBLEM
When Sheffield RUFC started the season well, and beat Sheffield Tigers, their closest rivals and foes 28 - 32 at the Tigers home ground on 9th September 2023, Sheffield RUFC must have imagined that thereafter they were going to have a peaceful and pleasant season.
However, their players, committee and supporters arrived at Tynedale Park on the 4th. November to find to their horror that their team that day was described in the Tynedale programme as “SHEFFIELD TIGERS”.

Most of the visitors took this insult quite well, although one member of their committee did threaten to title their programme at Tynedale’s return match at Abbeydale Park in February as “Sheffield v Blaydon”.
Generally though the visitors took the mistake in good part and were very forgiving. Alexander Pope wrote:- “To err is human, to forgive divine”. Sheffield may have accepted it as a human error; less divine was their wag who posted the result on the Sheffield web-site as “TYNEMOUTH 19 SHEFFIELD 19”.
We guess Sheffield feelings were further mollified when, six weeks later, on the 16th December 2023, they beat the Tigers 33-24 at home.

TYNEDALE v SHEFFIELD
Tynedale have played four times against Sheffield in league matches. The first was on the 4th November 2017 when Tynedale won 47-11. The return that season at Sheffield was postponed and then not played as the result would not have affected the final table.

The two clubs had, however, met several times before. One of these previous encounters was on the 7th November 1992, in a Pilkington Cup second round match at Tynedale Park. Tynedale won that match 21-14, having beaten Hartlepool Rovers 39-16 at home in the first round – but they then lost to Morley (who played in National League Div.2 at that time) on the 28th November 1992.

Otherwise the league matches between the clubs have finished as follows:-
2017-2018 Tynedale 47 Sheffield 11
2022-2023 Tynedale 36 Sheffield 14
2022-2023 Sheffield 36 Tynedale 33 (5 tries each).
2023-2024 Tynedale 19 Sheffield 19
Draws in rugby are fairly rare. In the last twenty-four years before this season Tynedale played 645 league matches; only 19 (2.9%) have ended as draws.
That 19-19 draw in November has dramatically changed those statistics. Or has it? The figures are now 20 draws from 663 matches - still only 3.02%!

TYNEDALE’S LAST TRIP TO SHEFFIELD RUFC
Tynedale’s last visit to Sheffield RUFC was on 22nd April 2023 for our penultimate game of the season.
The match was a thrilling encounter with both sides scoring 5 tries, but a single penalty proved to be the difference with Sheffield winning 36-33.
Sheffield led 29-12 only ten minutes into the second half but Tyne came back strongly and scored three converted tries to lead 33-29 with fifteen minutes still to go. Sheffield however had the final word and a late converted try gave them a 36-33 victory in what was a pulsating encounter.
The Tynedale squad was:-
FORWARDS: White, Frankland, Carmichael, Wearmouth, Dunn, Blackburn, Bell
BACKS: Telford, Leslie, Hutton, Grant, Lilley, Forlow, Rodgers
REPLACEMENTS: Clark, Dodd, Morrell, Blackett, Todhunter

TYNEDALE V SHEFFIELD THIS SEASON
The reverse fixture earlier this season took place on 4th November 2023 after the fortnight World Cup break. The match ended all square at 19-19 with Sheffield scoring a late converted try to get a deserved share of the spoils.
The Tynedale squad that day was:-
FORWARDS: White, Oliver, Haigh, Wearmouth, Dunn, Cousin, Wainwright, Blackburn
BACKS: Telford, Leslie, Hutton, Miller, Lilley, Riley, Parker
REPLACEMENTS: Hughes, Rewcastle, Hall, Rodgers, Douglas

SHEFFIELD STARS
IANTO JONES
Ianto captained the Sheffield team which drew with Tynedale earlier this season, on 4th. November 2023, and played twice against Tyne in the 2022/23 season.

In December 2023 Ianto scored a try against Hull RUFC in the Sheffield club’s 15-33 away win, but then had to be replaced after 25 minutes when injured. Sadly the Sheffield club soon announced the immediate retirement from playing of their club captain and great leader.
Ianto joined Sheffield at the beginning of the 2017-18 season, played for six seasons, but due to some lengthy injury absences and a spell at Rotherham Titans, his total of 88 games was fewer than it might have been.

In his 88 games, he scored 33 tries, the most for a hooker in SRUFC history. Also, in 2021-22 he scored 19 tries in the season, again easily a record for a hooker. Before this season he had captained six times and this season as the official captain, nine times.

BILL REICHWALD 1974 – 1995. Played 515 Games; Appearances as Captain 372; Positions Played Fly-Half & Centre; Points Scored 481; Tries 98.
For those who played regularly with Bill, it was his captaincy that outshone even that playing ability. Demanding of high standards, clear in his expectations, flexible and adaptive in his thinking on and off the field, Bill’s pre-match team talks were legendary.
When he eventually retired in 1995 after 515 games, he became Director of Rugby, and had two separate stints as President.

ALAN OLD
Bill was Captain of Sheffield for five separate periods, covering ten years in total. In between, another star fly-half captained the club, the 16 times capped English International, A.G.B.Old. who was Captain of Sheffield RUFC from 1977 to 1979.
Alan had made his debut for England against Wales in 1972 and he made a further 15 appearances with his final one being against France in 1978. Old also played in the famous victory of the North of England over the touring All Blacks at Otley in 1979 with the English regional side running out 21-9 winners.

After retiring from playing Alan coached the Northumberland County team, containing many Tynedale players, and for many years he was Chairman of the Northumberland branch of the Wooden Spoon charity. Last year he moved south from Longframlington to Harrogate.
Alan has always been a great friend of Tynedale. His son Michael played fly-half and centre for our 1st XV from 1992 to 1995, and for the County

SHEFFIELD THIS SEASON
Sheffield have had a strong season to date and comfortably occupy third position in the league, although adrift of the top two. They have accrued 16 more league points than Tynedale and have won 8 of their 10 home matches, only losing out to Leeds and Rotherham, so its sure to be another tough one.

Sheffield's league results to date:-
Sheffield 35 Leeds Tykes 40
Sheffield Tigers 28 Sheffield 32
Sheffield 36 Preston Grasshoppers 14
Billingham 16 Sheffield 14
Wharfedale 33 Sheffield 25
Lymm 26 Sheffield 41
Sheffield 17 Rotherham 37
Tynedale 19 Sheffield 19
Sheffield 34 Fylde 28
Sheffield 71 Huddersfield 19
Otley 41 Sheffield 45
Hull 15 Sheffield 33
Sheffield 33 Sheffield Tigers 24
Sheffield 40 Hull Ionians 10
Preston Grasshoppers 24 Sheffield 26
Sheffield 26 Billingham 13
Sheffield 31 Wharfedale 14
Sheffield 28 Lymm 24