ECCLES RFC THE HOME OF HOME GROWN 1897 Official Match Day Programme Season 2019-20 - Price £2 ECCLES v LEIGH SATURDAY 23RD NOVEMBER K.O. 2.15PM ECCLES 2XV v ALDWINIANS 2XV ECCLES LADIES v SUNDERLAND LADIES SUNDAY 24TH NOVEMBER K.O. 1.30PM SUNDAY 24TH NOVEMBER K.O. 2.00PM ECCLES SNR COLTS v WIGAN SNR COLTS
CLUB INFORMATION
PRESIDENT’S WELCOME Welcome to Eccles Rugby Football Club A warm welcome to all the teams playing at Eccles RFC this weekend. This is officially our 122nd anniversary and although we’ve only played here at Gorton Street for the last 71 years we’ve always had our home in this community. One of the great things about our club is our inclusivity; teams for Mini’s, Juniors, Girls, Colts, Ladies and Men means you can come down to the club Saturday or Sunday and be entertained. The 1XV gained promotion last year playing attacking rugby with renewed conviction, something which we hope cascades down through the club this season. At Eccles RFC we place great importance on developing youth and I’m particularly looking forward to seeing some of our talented Home-Grown colts stepping up to play in the seniors this coming year alongside our new recruits. For the start of the new season the club has installed a new 3G artificial turf floodlit training area which all teams will benefit and the technical area on the edge of the first team pitch has also been replaced and expanded meaning that some players will not even get mud on their boots ! The club would also like to thank all the volunteers for their dedicated effort. We’d not be able to operate without their contributions. I can’t name all them all as I’m limited to one page, but you all know who you are. The club would also like to thank their sponsors as the financial support you contribute greatly helps with maintaining our facilities and activities. We also now offer ‘Walking Rugby’ on Monday night at 7pm which, for those who’d like to give it a try, has no age, gender, or ability limitations. I would also like to thank our volunteers who operate our DofE section which complements the ethos of rugby and offers so much to young people in their future life. Congratulations to the groups who have achieved their Bronze, Silver or Gold award this year. Once again, welcome to the club and please enjoy your day. Our clubhouse bar is CAMRA award-winning and (for those over the age of 18) I’m informed has a fine selection of match refreshments. Mark Dutton, President, Eccles RFC
CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME Welcome to Eccles Rugby Football Club I would like to offer a warm welcome this weekend to the players and supporters of Leigh, Aldwinians, Sunderland and Wigan. Since the last programme Eccles 1XV have seen defeats against De La Salle and Manchester, with last week’s game against Glossop ending after only 37 minutes, when Mathew Parkinson was knocked unconscious and sustained a neck injury. Following concussion & neck assessment, Matt has been discharged from hospital. On a brighter note, the club screened the World Cup Final to a full clubhouse on 2nd Nov, and Eccles RFC was a nominated finalist in the Club Mirror Magazine Awards and Gtr Manchester Sports Awards. On Sunday, both the Ladies and the colts will be looking at repeating last week’s winning performance’s as we place host to Sunderland Ladies and Wigan Colts. ‘Home Grown’ is in our veins and our roots. We believe in Rugby for all and we take pride in our Home-Grown principles. Our Junior programme regularly produces talented young players and last year we were delighted to see eight Eccles lads wear the red rose of Lancashire. Boys are not the whole story either, as our Men’s and Ladies sections share the same belief and commitment to player propagation. Last season, no less than six players from our U18 Girls team were selected for the county and the future looks bright for the Ladies with several former Juniors graduating to play their senior rugby at Eccles. We achieve everything we do in, and for, our community, through the efforts of dedicated volunteers and the generous support of sponsors who share our ambition and passion. Thank you to all our referees, who like players, work during the week and then step out onto the field to officiate. They do their jobs under pressure and I would encourage rugby spectators and staff to understand and be more appreciative of their role in rugby. Without them we would not have the games today. Cheers Thorpey
HEAD COACH NOTES Hello and welcome to everyone visiting Gorton Street today. The club has a full house of senior fixtures this weekend with our Men’s teams facing Leigh and Aldwinians on Saturday, and our Ladies entertaining Sunderland and our U18 Colts hosting Wigan on Sunday. The prospect of four cracking games of rugby against strong opposition, where we’ll have to be at our best to chalk up Ws on the board. The 1XVs will certainly be looking to return to winning ways today after recent poor form. Last week’s game at Glossop was suspended in the first half following a tackle (deemed worthy of a red by the referee) resulting in concussion and a neck injury to Matt Parkinson, who was taken by ambulance to hospital for assessment and later discharged. The outcome of that result is being discussed and we all wish Matt a speedy recovery. Our defeats against Bolton, De La Salle and Manchester however, were consistent in our inability to be creative enough or strong enough in the second half to seize control of close contests. In all three of those games we did not capitalise on the early points and pressure we accumulated. Furthermore, the players did not respond well to handling the pressure of the different interpretations of the laws by match officials, week by week. Both things we look to improve upon today as Eccles, after a positive start to the campaign, now find themselves mid-table with 4 wins and 6 losses. Our opponents Leigh, currently in 4th place, arrive in good form having recently secured a 10-10 draw at Bolton and a dominant 41-18 win against our Salford neighbours De La Salle last weekend. The 2XVs, also struggling to find good form this season, have the opportunity with a win to move up the table alongside their opponent Aldwinians 2s, who also enjoyed a thumping 73-21 victory over De La Salle last week. Good Luck to everyone this weekend and thank you for all your support. Sam Simpson, DoR / Head Coach , Eccles RFC
The Duke of Eccles - Still the best Bates to play at the club. Ultra Welding Equipment Proud to support Eccles RFC
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MENS LEAGUE TABLES ECCLES MEN 1XV NORTHERN DIVISION NORTH TWO WEST Rochdale Manchester Glossop Leigh Anselmians Southport Bolton Eccles Winnington Park De La Salle (Salford) Tarleton Aspull Aspatria Sefton GAMES RESULTS P W D L POINTS F TOTALS 10 10 0 0 303 146 157 46 6 10 9 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 0 1 415 145 270 43 7 8 0 1 284 132 152 39 7 5 2 2 239 187 52 31 6 5 0 5 289 250 39 28 5 4 1 5 227 316 -89 23 4 4 1 4 236 243 -7 21 3 4 0 6 257 295 -38 21 4 3 0 7 244 283 -39 20 4 4 0 6 187 327 -140 18 1 2 0 8 229 297 -68 17 5 3 0 6 193 335 -142 15 2 2 1 7 227 257 -30 14 2 2 0 7 162 279 -117 12 2 A DIFF PTS TBP LBP ADJ 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 1 4 1 4 1 4 2 ECCLES MEN 2XV County Courier Services Division 2 North Orrell 2XV Leigh 2XV Keswick 2XV Leyland Warriors 1XV Tarleton 2XV Littleborough 2XV Aldwinians 2XV De La Salle (Salford) 2XV West Park (St. Helens) 2XV Eccles 2XV Oldham 2XV Southport 2XV GAMES P W D L 8 8 6 8 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 6 RESULTS POINTS F TOTALS 6 1 1 282 105 177 34 0 5 0 3 233 142 91 29 0 5 0 1 152 42 110 25 0 4 0 4 158 127 31 25 0 4 0 3 156 128 28 24 0 3 0 4 111 160 -49 20 0 4 0 3 183 170 13 16 0 2 1 3 162 200 -38 16 0 2 0 5 111 190 -79 16 0 2 0 5 122 222 -100 15 0 2 0 5 120 242 -122 15 0 2 0 4 111 173 -62 14 0 A DIFF PTS TBP LBP ADJ 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
MENS FIXTURES-RESULTS Date Mens 1XV HA Results 31-Aug-19 Aldwinians - CUP A 07-Sep-19 Southport 14-Sep-19 Tarleton 28-Sep-19 Aspatria 05-Oct-19 Anselmians 12-Oct-19 Aspull 19-Oct-19 Bolton 26-Oct-19 De La Salle 02-Nov-19 09-Nov-19 Manchester 16-Nov-19 Glossop 23-Nov-19 Leigh 30-Nov-19 07-Dec-19 Rochdale 14-Dec-19 Sefton 21-Dec-19 28-Dec-18 04-Jan-20 Tarleton 25-Jan-20 01-Feb-20 Anselmians 08-Feb-20 Aspull 15-Feb-20 Bolton 22-Feb-20 29-Feb-20 De La Salle 07-Mar-20 Manchester 14-Mar-20 Glossop 21-Mar-20 Leigh 28-Mar-20 Rochdale 04-Apr-20 Sefton 11-Apr-20 18-Apr-20 Southport 25-Apr-20 A 29 - 64W H 37 - 35W 21-Sep-19 Winnington Park A 49 - 25L H 16 - 10W A 29 - 12L H 46 - 22W A 28 - 20L H 15 - 17L H 52 - 22L A 24 - 00L H A H A 11-Jan-20 Winnington Park H 18-Jan-20 Aspatria A H A H A H H A H A H Littleborough 2XV Oldham 2XV De La Salle Orrell 2XV Keswick 2XV Leigh 2XV Aldwinians 2XV Southport 2XV Tarleton 2XV A H A A H A A H A West Park (St. Helens) H Leyland Warriors 1XV A Mens 2XV HA Results Leyland Warriors 1XV H Post Littleborough 2XV Oldham 2XV De La Salle 2XV Orrell 2XV Keswick 2XV Leigh 2XV Aldwinians Southport 2XV Tarleton 2XV H 35 - 29W A 17 - 00L H 12 - 29L H 12 - 38L A 52 - 07L H 6 - 21L H A H West Park (St. Helens) A
Eccles 1XV Leigh 1XV 1. Jack Robbins 2. Tom Egerton 3. Mark Greenhalgh 4. Cammy Higginbottom # 5. Nick Spooner # 6. Matt Lambert 7. Tony Haunschmidt 8. Adam Christie # 9. Sam Long 10. James Wright # (Capt) 11. Gavin Ackers-Johnson 12. Chris Fortune 13. William Hamer # 14. Will Parkinson # 15. Cammy Oates # 16. Rich Owen 17. Zak Brooker 18. J. Waring #Home-Grown at Eccles RFC Coach-Sam Simpson # 1. Dan Hunter 2. Adam Tustin 3. Phil Summers 4. Dave Penn 5. Charlie Wood 6. Andrew Philbin 7. Chris Cowley 8. Elliot Liku 9. Osh Griffiths 10. Rob Drake 11. Joe Harrison 12. Elliot Ryan 13. Jonny Drake 14. Jack Aspden 15. Jamie King 16. Jack Burdon 17. Chris Boyle 18. Matty Rudd TODAY’S REFEREE: Chris Holtn (MADREFS) TEAM SHEETS
Eccles 2XV Aldwinians 2XV 1. Simon Rogers 2. John Hibbert 3. J. Dowling 4. Anthony Dutta 5. Declan O’Regan 6. Curtis Bates 7. Kyle Pickford 8. Josh Green 9. Danny Holland 10. Reece James 11. Tim Bagolan 12. Steve Robinson 13. Freddie Oakey 14. Max Mulligan 15. Tim Cullen 16. David Smith 17. Reece Walker 18. Tom Bates Coach-Fin Cox # 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. TBA TODAY’S REFEREE: Rob Pearmund (MADREFS) TEAM SHEETS
Eccles Senior Colts 1. John Saunders 2. Cameron Smollett 3. James Hooker 4. Ollie White 5. Callum Brady 6. Kai Sumner 7. Max Mulligan 8. Ryley Thornton 9. Tom Bates 10. Alex Speakman 11. Cameron MacDonald 12. Joe Molloy 13. Dan Delaney 14. Anthony Davis 15. Tallis Keeler 16. Peter Adinnu 17. Paul Stringer 18. Jay Christey 19. Brad Greenhaugh 20. Anton Stewart 21. Josh Stafford Coaches - John Christey #, Chris Gaffey, Brendan Cullen # TODAY’S REFEREE: TBA Wigan Senior Colts 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. TBA TEAM SHEETS
Eccles Ladies 1. K. Redrand 2. Sarah Daly 3. Freya Waterhouse 4. Siobhan Mullen (Capt) 5. K. Kinahan 6. Mollie Young 7. Rebecca Roden 8. Lean Christian 9. Sheena Jamieson 10. L. J. Crawford 11. Jess Whitling 12. Georgina Cunliffe 13. M. Hale 14. Joe McCartan 15. S. Davis 16. Holly Grimes 17. Emily Thomas 18. L. Jones Coach - James Wright # Sunderland Ladies 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. TBA TODAY’S REFEREE: John Harries (MADREFS) TEAM SHEETS
ECCLES LADIES Over the last 21 seasons Eccles RFC Ladies have worked tirelessly to develop the women’s game in the Manchester area. We have been rewarded over the years with promotions, cup runs and country representation. As we enter our 22nd season we are proud offer rugby for women and girls of all ages and abilities. With a club and team ethos of rugby for everyone our qualified and skilled coaches offer a high-quality rugby experience for all whether complete amateur or old pro. After a difficult 2018/19 season we are extremely optimistic about the coming season with a new 1XV captain, multiple academy players graduating to the senior side and a strong preseason recruitment drive big things are expected. With the retention of our strong core squad and coaching team it is an exciting time to be an Eccles lady. Eccles back to winning ways and in style, the ladies returned to the home of an old rival on Sunday boasting and extremely strong backline, the prospect of a try fest has never been so real. Birkenhead Park Panthers are well known to the ladies section for there direct confrontational style and relentless physicality but this would not be the way this game was played. Eccles with a point to prove took this game by the scruff of the neck and went about picking apart this Birkenhead park side with phase after phase of controlled structure combined with glimpses of creative magic, that had the coaches and supporters purring at the possibilities. Final score Birkenhead Park 5 – Eccles Ladies 34. This team continues to grow week on week developing their skills and building on the foundations of comradery and determination engrained in our ethos. Eccles move forward this weekend into another fixture where they will hope to continue on this upwards curve and pick up there first back to back victories since the 2017/18 season. Any enquiries should be directed to james.g.wright@hotmail.com James Wright, Ladies Head Coach, Eccles RFC
ECCLES LADIES & COLTS TABLES ECCLES LADIES WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP NORTH TWO Sefton Ladies Crewe & Nantwich Ladies Darlington Ladies Manchester Ladies Eccles Ladies Didsbury TOC H Ladies Birkenhead Park Ladies Sunderland Ladies GAMES P 6 6 4 6 6 3 4 6 RESULTS W D 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 POINTS F 154 160 90 132 58 74 71 A 86 80 49 93 101 142 25 20 15 14 6 6 6 TOTALS DIFF PTS TBP LBP ADJ 68 80 41 39 106 223 -117 10 71 -13 -27 -71 5 4 3 4 2 2 2 0 ECCLES SENIOR COLTS Conference League-Senior D GAMES Senior Colts Senior D (U18's) Kendal Colts Birkenhead Park Colts Makos Colts Bury Colts Wigan Colts Eccles Colts Preston G/Hoppers Colts P 6 6 6 5 6 6 5 RESULTS W D 4 4 4 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 POINTS F 191 132 A 56 86 113 108 108 92 129 128 117 202 60 16 1 -85 178 -118 24 24 22 19 17 13 6 TOTALS DIFF PTS TBP LBP ADJ 135 46 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 1
ECCLES LADIES & COLTS FIXTURES Date Eccles Ladies 1XV HA Results 31-Aug-19 08-Sep-19 Darlington 15-Sep-19 Didsbury TOC H 22-Sep-19 29-Sep-19 06-Oct-19 Manchester 27-Oct-19 03-Nov-19 Sefton 10-Nov-19 17-Nov-19 Birkenhead Park 24-Nov-19 Sunderland 01-Dec-19 08-Dec-19 Didsbury TOC H 15-Dec-19 22-Dec-19 29-Dec-18 05-Jan-20 Manchester H 12-Jan-20 Crewe & Nantwich H 19-Jan-20 26-Jan-20 02-Feb-20 Sefton 09-Feb-20 16-Feb-20 23-Feb-20 Birkenhead Park 30-Feb-20 01-Mar-20 Sunderland 08-Mar-20 15-Mar-20 Darlington 22-Mar-20 29-Mar-20 05-Apr-20 12-Apr-20 19-Apr-20 A H A H Makos Kendal Tarleton A A Preston Grasshoppers H A A Post H 20 - 19W A 43 - 14L 13-Oct-19 Crewe & Nantwich A 86 - 10L 20-Oct-19 H 26 - 36W A 5 - 31W H A Birkenhead Park Bury A H Preston Grasshoppers A 22 - 29W H Wigan Senior Colts Tarleton Wigan Birkenhead Park Colts Cup - Southport Bury Makos Kendal HA Results H Post A 53 - 26L H 12 - 16L H A 28 - 28D H 17 - 22L H 5 - 61L
ECCLES JUNIORS Hello again and welcome to Eccles’ M&J section! Like most of you, I wonder once again where the year is disappearing! The dreaded ‘Christmas is nearly upon us’ has been heard too often recently! The excitement of the RWC Final has subdued and it’s time to look forward to the domestic fixtures along with our Junior Cup runs. Teams now have the added advantage of their RL players becoming available to bolster numbers and strengthen their squads. This is certainly the case with the U14s who made the trip to Bolton on Sunday in the Lancs Cup and chalked up an impressive 7-31 win and without our ‘league’ players, we would certainly have struggled. The point for debate is (again) how to embrace cross-code players whilst at the same time nurturing our own union players who for some, undoubtedly benefit from the inclusion of the league players. From a personal perspective, to have so many players playing both codes can only be good for the game and our club. The ‘foot traffic’ through the club house increases as does the impact on the kitchen and bar which helps the administration of the club. The reputation of Eccles receives a lift as word spreads of the welcome that awaits any new player to Gorton St. The calibre of rugby also gets improved thereby enticing other new players, but, it is all down to how we as coaches and club officials and indeed current players, interact with any player who switches between codes. Having seen the success of the RWC, how many players participated historically or currently, in both codes? Any RUGBY player just wants to play rugby, but for our juniors it matters not whether that be the 13 or 15 aside variation. It is up to us as a club to follow our ethos of ‘Home Grown Talent’ and if that means we ‘share’ our players, and then let’s work this to everybody’s advantage until the Lords and Masters arrive at an amicable solution. Sundays two minute silence was given the respect it deserved….. Regardless of which rugby they played.
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GORTON STREET GAZETTE Enlistment: Part 3 of the WW2 story of Eccles RFC... In October 1939, as the situation escalated in Europe and the BEF assembled along the French-Belgian border, the Eccles RFC committee focused their minds on matters closer to home. Fixtures for the new season had been abandoned and the 356 Searchlight Battery company (39th Lancs Fusiliers AA Bn) had taken over the club pavilion and ground at Redclyffe Road in order to guard Barton Power Station, sited on the Bridgewater and Ship Canals near the swing bridge and All Saints RC Church, where B&Q now stands today. Although Eccles’ facilities were officially off limits, the enterprising committee members wasted no time in arranging friendly away fixtures against local opposition and promptly recruited the Searchlight Battery to form a rugby team! The committee minute book records a result for Saturday 21st October "Eccles vs Army XV, WON 20 - 6". Many such matches were to take place with a good fraternity existing between the teams. It would appear Eccles were ahead of the game. On 11th November 1939, the RFU issued a statement recommending that county committees should encourage clubs to arrange fixtures with service XVs. Of particular interest to Northern Clubs were resolutions that approved the Rugby Union selection of Rugby League players belonging to HM forces and playing against Service teams containing Rugby League Players. The Eccles Journal on 8th December 1939, reported a future fixture between Eccles and an Army XV to be played “Somewhere in Barton”! No giving away the position to the enemy here! As the unofficial 1939/20 season progressed more players were called up and the club endeavoured to carry on as best it could. Following the outbreak of war Eccles played 15 away matches, the last recorded being a 23-6 loss at Warrington, on 27th April 1940. Eccles RFC did not play again until 1946. The war would cut short many promising playing careers. A story in instalments, by Sheila Thomas and Chris Gaffey
1897 September 2009, marked a tragic event in the club’s history when Christopher TIckle, whilst playing for Eccles RFC, suffered a severe neck injury and sadly died in hospital three weeks later. Chris was a popular 23 year old with a great love of life and sports, an infectious sense of humour, a willingness to help others and was about to begin studying at Salford University. In March 2010 he was posthumously awarded The Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award by HRH Prince Phillip. As a tribute to Christopher, Eccles RFC was to become the first rugby club in the country to establish its own DofE awards programme in 2011 and continues honour his memory each year with its Club Person of the Year Award and fundraising activities in aid of spinal injuries research. This season, in recognition of the 10th Anniversary, the annual Christmas Christopher Tickle Memorial Cup match will take on a special significance. More details on this event to follow later in the year.
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