VISITORS PLEASE NOTE THAT MOST OF THE CLUB'S WEBPAGE CONTENT INCLUDING MATCH REPORTS, PHOTOS AND NEWS, HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO OUR NEW SITE WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.
Blyth Pitchero website
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PREVIOUS CONTENT HAS BEEN LEFT ON THIS RFU SITE FOR ARCHIVE PURPOSES BUT HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE MAY 2009
Welcome to Blyth's Club Pages we hope that you find them of interest. For further details or to suggest changes please contact Dave Grey at dave.grey@bt.com or Stuart Bainbridge at stuartbainbridge@yahoo.co.uk
LATEST NEWS
Cup Match under lights Blyth's much delayed Northumberland Senior Plate first Round tie against Medicals will go ahead on Wednesday 11th. March with a 7.00pm kick-off.
League leaders come out on top Blyth were unable to interrupt Seaton Carew's unbeaten progress to the league title last Saturday. In a fiercely fought contest the home side consolidated their table top position with an 18-3 win although this margin flattered the Teesside club. The game never really flowed, a result of the strong wind and the constant stoppages resulting from 38 penalty awards during the match. The match report can be found in the MATCH REPORTS section, more match photographs are available in the PICTURE GALLERY. (posted 8th. March 2009)
Points in the mud Blyth overcame a difficult muddy surface to subdue South Tyneside College 54-12 at South Shields last Saturday, scoring 10 tries in the process. Had most of the touch-downs not come in the corners then the margin would have been even more emphatic. Apologies for the late appearance of last week's report which was caused by severe computer problems - this report also appears in the MATCH REPORTS section. (posted 3rd. March 2009)
Marathon nail biter Had Blyth supporters paid admission to the league game against Guisborough on Saturday they would have had real value for money with a match that lasted an hour and thirty-five minutes. It turned into a nail biter as well for after leading 19-0 seconds before half-time Blyth allowed their opponents back to 19-12 before stretching out to 27-12 at the end of 80 minutes. But in the 14 minutes the referee added to the second half Guisborough clawed their way back to 27-12 before the whistle calmed Blyth nerves. (posted 23rd. February 2009)
Return to form After several below par performances Blyth looked their old selves in chalking up a stylish win over Hartlepool BBOB last Saturday. A few team changes, some forced and some on form, restored the flair seen earlier in the season as the side chalked up a 57-8 victory. (posted 18 February 2009)
A win - but ....... Blyth returned to winning ways on Saturday when playing their first home game for six weeks but it was a far from convincing performance against lowly placed Hartlepool Athletic. Blyth struggled to find rhythm in the 15-10 victory and left plenty of room for improvement. Read about the game in MATCH REPORTS on the left (posted 2nd. February 09)
Clubhouse cheer Members and spectators had a more comfortable after match drink last Saturday as the main clubroom was returned to near normal following the months long disruption caused by roof problems, Thanks to the efforts of Mel Cole and an army of helpers the room is now fit for use and will see the first of a series of monthly team socials on Saturday 8th. February. (posted 2nd. February 09)
Second loss creates big hurdle A second successive away league loss means that Blyth now face a major task if they are to gain promotion this season. In losing 21-3 at Bishop Auckland on Saturday Blyth are now 6 points adrift of the top 2 although we have a game in hand over Bishops. This means that there is no room for further slip ups with all remaining matches a 'must win' whilst hoping the top two suffer lapses. Ace reporter Roger Phillips was laid up with 'flu so this weeks match report is more limited than normal - see MATCH REPORTS on the menu. (posted 27th. Jan 09)
Yarm dent promotion hopes Blyth's hopes of promotion this season were severely dented in the re-arranged league game at Yarm on Saturday. Both sides played as if they were still suffering from festive season hangovers but Blyth were left feeling even worse after the 16-10 loss in a match they should have won. For details of the game see MATCH REPORTS on the menu (posted 18th. Jan 09)
Presidents Evening The annual Presidents Evening was held in the clubhouse last Friday thanks to the outstanding effort of the volunteers who gave up time over the Christmas break to make good the flood damage resulting from the leaking roof. Although still lacking the finer touches few of the guests could have had any idea what a mess the main clubroom had been only three weeks earlier. Chief guest was Northumberland RU President Andy James who was joined by presidents from other county clubs, the Referees' Society as well as many of our own club volunteers. Several former Blyth presidents were present and it was particularly pleasing to see Bill Brown after many years. The main heroes though were undoubtedly the army of plasterers and painters - well done to all! (posted 17th. Jan 09)
Welcome win after lay-off The First XV had a welcome return to League action on Saturday after a month of postponed and cancelled games. The team took the opportunity of consolidating second place in the league when over-powering Chester-le-Street to the tune of 82-5 at Plessey Road. It's entirely possible that the visitors were intimidated by spotting some of the touchline spectators that afternoon - an entire All Black front row! Coaches Joe McDonnell and Carl Heyman have attended several games this season when their Newcastle Falcons propping duties have allowed but they were joined on Saturday by fellow New Zealand international hooker and former captain Anton Oliver. Quite a welcome committee. (posted 21st. Dec 08)
Club Shop now on-line For this season Blyth have linked up with Top Marque Sports to provide a range of club logo-marked kit. There is a link to the Top Marque website on the Club Shop tab on the menu.
The Place To Be Seen ! Blyth may not normally be the place to meet international players but three were to be seen at last Saturday's match. All Black props Joe McDonnell and Carl Heyman who have been coaching the Blyth squad were watching the results of their efforts with the home team whilst on the opposite touch-line Newcastle Falcons colleague England centre Jamie Noon was supporting his former club Whitby. Happily for us it was the New Zealanders who had most to cheer.
Thanks For The Support The club is delighted to have obtained support from Martell Scaffolding and Plessey News. Both organisations are offering us major sponsorship backing this season which would have been very welcome at at time but is particularly important this season given the club's major development programme. We look forward to meeting the sponsors at all of our club events this season.
Girls Rugby Ready for Take Off The completion of the new changing rooms will mean that at long last we have facilities for Girls and Women's Rugby again. We are kicking off with some Tag Rugby and then, at the end of September will set about forming girls teams at U-16 and U-18 levels. Details of both can be seen by clicking on the Girls/Women's tab on the left.
New Changing Rooms almost complete! The long awaited changing room development is on schedule with the new facilities and club entrance due to be ready for use in mid-September. The £365,000 project is set to give Blyth players 5-star changing rooms comparable to any club in the north-east. Each changer, twice the size of the previous rooms, has its own toilet and shower suite which will allow much more flexibility of use including the first proper provision for girls/women's teams. Referees too get their own facilities.
Bright Prospects on the Field As well as looking forward to the openein of the new changing rooms we are keenly anticipating the new season on the field. We were given a great boost at the end of last season when All Black and Newcastle Falcons prop Joe McDonnell committed himself to the job of head coach . The fact that he has been able to call on assistance from fellow New Zealand star Carl Hayman to assist has been an added bonus. The 1st. XV squad has been strengthened by the return of several players who started their rugby careers at Blyth. Not least of these is scrum-half Tony Smithson who returns after a spells with Gosforth and Darlington Mowden Park. A combination of a new training regime and new players has led to a distinct air of optimism for the new season.
Superb Efforts from the Ground Committee The Club Committee recently recorded thanks to Nick Stafford and his team of helpers for the terrific work done on pitch maintenance and site improvement in recent months. Nick took over as Chairman of the Ground Committee during last season and has made an immediate impact. In addition to the work already done, he has a weekly programme for future clearance and improvement . The efforts made so far have greatly improved the appearance of the whole site despite the building work going on around the clubhouse. Hopefully all members will recognise and appreciate the work done and will do their bit in keeping the club clean and tidy. Meanwhile, the pitch looks in excellent condition for the new season.
Club Development took another step forward on July 12th as volunteers got to work on the stripping of the main clubroom. All walls were stripped completely and carpets removed as the 18 bodies, took 3 hours to gut the room. Many thanks to Martin Stephenson, Stuart Browne, James Bostock, Steve Harding, Stephen Danielson, Bailey Danielson, Giggsy, Callum Bradwell, Dean Langdon, Steven Long, Liam Stoker, Craig Turnbull, Andrew Jackson, Dave Hall, Tony Smithson, Stefan Krzysiak, Joe MacDonnell and Jimmy Bell for their hard work.
A Sad Loss Many older members will have been saddened to learn of the premature and unexpected death of Clelland Ferguson in May whilst mountain biking in Simonside Forest.. Clell. joined the club in the mid-1980's. and played for all Blyth's teams at one time or another, mainly at fly-half. He was a steady kicker and often ended up as leading points scorer for the teams he played in. Other team members and referees were never in any doubt as to Clell's opinions on playing matters with his views delivered in his distinctive Scots accent. After retiring from playing he moved to live in Chester-le-Street and turned up on the touchline to watch the firsts in their league game their earlier in the year.
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