RFU County Shield 2008
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| The Final 1st June 11.00am @ Twickenham | ||
| Northumberland | versus | Cornwall |
As we press on with another campaign in the championship we once again
hoped that we would reap the rewards of the preseason efforts of the selection
group in securing the services of a good squad of players keen to further
enhance the reputation of North Mids rugby. As has so often happens the
last few weeks of league rugby, contract negotiations and injuries have
seen many of the initial selections fall by the way side making meaningful
preparation very difficult. Add to this the need to address the new experimental
law variations being used in the championship for the first time and the
size of the challenge grows. Previous seasons have shown that given the chance to draw on our areas
senior clubs we can compete with the best. We don’t however have
the depth of clubs in levels 1 and 2 that the likes of Yorkshire and
Lancashire have so our dependence on the cooperation of the likes of
Moseley, Bees and Stourbridge is vital. |
We are joined in our division by Lancashire (last years winners), Yorkshire, and Cheshire. Two games are away with Lancashire the only home fixture. Back row forward Mark Evans will once again captain
the side and will be aided by fellow Moseley colleagues Paul Coles, Dean
Bick and Tom MacIntosh in the pack which should also feature influential
Bees lock Alec Davidson. James Aston rejoins a strong looking back line
on the wing after missing out on last year due to injury. Under the new rules expect some quick open rugby and hopefully
some favourable results. It will be interesting to see how the players
adapt to what most expect to be a much quicker game with plenty of free
kicks and more space at the set piece. David Stout Head Coach |
The County Championships will played under 'experimental' laws. See Paul Bolton's description of these laws on the news and reports pages.
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| The Final at Twickenham Bank Holiday 28th May 2007 | ||
| Lancashire 6 | versus | 27 Devon |
VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive VVVVV Archive
David Stout's County Championship Cup SummaryThe 2006 championship represented a new
challenge for the North Mids as they entered the Northern section pitted
against the traditionally strong counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire and
Northumberland. At least the first two games were at home giving us a
better chance of proving our worth. The win in the first game against Lancashire was a massive result. Any doubts over our ability to compete at the new level were dismissed and confidence grew. That said it was very close and the task was still clear. The desire to play an open game paid off with the starting XV under newly appointed captain Mark Evans performing well. The bench all made significant contributions raising selection issues for the Yorkshire game. The loss of Cameron Mitchell to a broken foot and Oli Thomas with a hand injury didn't help but Paul Cox and the ever green Hughes filled the gaps. The score line versus Yorhshire did not do justice to a genuinely close game. A dubious forward pass call with five minutes to go with the line beckoning proved to be the turning point as from the resulting scrum Yorkshire secured victory with a well worked try. Once again outstanding performances were given by James Rodwell, Mark Evans and Dean Bick with few failing to impress. The Northumberland fixture with three days away was always going to test our resources but with winning or avoiding a loss by more than eight points our objective there was a lot at stake. Heavy rain and high winds preceeded kick off and most anticipated a game of the proverbial two halves. What followed tested the resolve of all concerned with a poor first half display made worse by a disastrous first ten minutes of the second half and a scoreline of 45 - 12 against. By the end of the game the team had gone some way towards redeeming themselves by bringing the score back to 45 - 40 with the last and critical score resulting from a scrum under the Northumberland posts with three minutes to go. The fact that the referee was prepared to use the yellow card repeatedly for killing the ball certainly helped our cause. Once again some notable performances were recorded particularly from Alex Davidson and Paul Coles with the team spirit and belief providing just enough to see us retain our presence in the top level of the champoinship for next year. On balance I am pleased that we have proved to the many doubters that we are good enough however we could and probably should have done better. With a solid platform to build on and a very young side we can look forward to next year with optimism. The team gelled quickly with new friendships arising and for most an enjoyable end to the season. Once again my thanks to Duncan Hughes, Charlie Hemmings, Steve Guy, David Thomas and the commitees for all their support. David Stout
Lancashire are 2006 County Champions County Championship 2005 NORTH
MIDLANDS BEATEN IN SHIELD FINAL by Paul Bolton
THE
NORTH MIDLANDS SQUAD
Duncan Hughes, an independent financial adviser, has played three times at Twickenham over the past 12 years. He first appeared there for England Students, then in the BUSA final, followed by the County Shield final last year when he landed six conversions and two penalty goals in the 58-5 triumph over Eastern Counties. Was educated at King’s, Worcester and University College, Swansea and has represented Midlands Under-18s, East Wales, Wales Under-21s and England Counties. James
Lloyd Jones (Bromsgrove) Full back. Born 11.5.83 in Birmingham.
1.93m (6’4”), 100kg (15st 10lb) James Lloyd Jones, who works as a manager, is now with Bromsgrove, having played for Kidderminster from the age of eight to 19. He was educated at Wrekin College and went on to Worcester Sixth Form College. Jon
Hall (Stourbridge) Jon Hall, a design engineer, first played for North Midlands against Leicestershire three years ago and was educated at Oldbury Wells Secondary School and Loughborough University. He represented North Midlands and Midlands Under-18s and was a member of the squad for last year’s County Shield final. His brother Darron plays rugby for the England Deaf team. David
King (Malvern) David King, a teacher, appeared in his native country for Canberra Raiders and New South Wales Students before coming to England. Now plays for Malvern, who were in Powergen Midlands Two West this season and forms a club centre partnership with Mark Eastwood for the county. Mark
Eastwood (Malvern) Mark Eastwood, a sports coach, appeared for Sale Sharks, Worcester Warriors and Stourbridge before switching to Malvern. He was educated at Bramhall HS, Cheshire and University College, Worcester and represented Cheshire Colts and Great Britain Colleges. Initially played for North Midlands against Dorset &Wiltshire four years ago and made the first of his two appearances at Twickenham in the Middlesex Sevens in 1998. Toby
Wilson (Stourbridge) Toby Wilson, a physical education teacher, was schooled at St Ignatius, Sunbury and Hampton in Middlesex before studying at Birmingham University and Wolverhampton University. Played in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham while with Richmond (1995-98) and switched to Basingstoke (2000-01). Scored two tries when North Midlands beat Eastern Counties in last year’s corresponding final. His father Nigel captained Richmond to a Middlesex Sevens triumph and played scrum half for Oxford University. Gareth
Davies (Dudley Kingswinford) Gareth Davies, a teacher, won representative honours for Wales Students and Wales Under-21s and played for Llandovery and Stourbridge before moving to Dudley Kingswinford, who recently had a spell in National Three North. Ben
McGowan (Luctonians) Ben McGowan, a carpenter, was schooled at Pembridge C of E and John Beddoes in Presteigne and went on to Herefordshire Technical College. Has represented Powys Schools and North Midlands Under-21s and appeared in last year’s County Shield final at Twickenham. First played for the senior county side five years ago. He is a First Dan black belt. Richard
Arnold (Bromsgrove) Richard Arnold, a general sales manager for Ford, first played for North Midlands against Leicestershire two years ago and shared in last year’s final triumph. He studied at South Bromsgrove High School and Wolverhampton University and represented Herefordshire & Worcestershire Colts. Richard
Culley (Stourbridge) Richard Culley, is combining his part-time studies in building surveying at UCE Birmingham with property development. Educated at Lichfield Cathedral School and Uppingham, he can prop on either side of the scrum and previously played for Burton, Northampton Saints and New Zealand club Otorohanga Sports. Has represented England Schools 18-Group and Under-19s and competed in the 1996 National Swimming Championships.
Jon Taylor a police officer, studied at Catshill Middle School and North Bromsgrove Senior School before attending technical colleges in Kidderminster and Worcester. First played for North Midlands 15 years ago, having represented Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Previously appeared for Stourbridge (1991-98) and is married to Sara, the county physiotherapist. They have four children. Nick
Tisdale (Stourbridge) Nick Tisdale, a sports instructor, has been playing for North Midlands since 1998 and won honours for Midlands Under-18s. He was educated in Cleobury Mortimer and played for Worcester Warriors before joining Stourbridge, who played in National Two last season.
Stephen Halbert, a professional rugby player, first appeared for North Midlands last season, having worn the county jersey in the under-17,18,19 and 20 age groups. Represented Midlands Clubs and was educated at Solihull Sixth Form College, for whom he made one of his three Twickenham appearances.
Howard
Dawson (Old Patesians) Howard Dawson, a marketing manager, was schooled in Chichester and represented Hampshire at youth level. Made his North Midlands debut against Leicestershire two years ago and played for Stourbridge in 2003-04 before switching to Old Patesians. His higher education was at university in Cardiff. He says that one of his family’s claims to fame was that his brother was on Jim’ll Fix It!
Simon Daws, a Moto V8 project co-ordinator, has already played at Twickenham three times, including an appearance for England Students Under-21s. Was educated at Bridley Moor High School, Redditch and University College, Worcester and was with Worcester Warriors for 15 years from the age of seven before playing for Stourbridge (2002-03). Also appeared for Midlands Under-21s and made his North Midlands debut two years ago against East Midlands. Stephen
Jaques (Luctonians) Stephen Jaques, a self-employed design engineer, first appeared for North Midlands against Surrey four years ago after playing in Australia for Gungahlin Eagles, of Canberra. He was educated at Wigmore High School, Ludlow Sixth Form College and Hereford College of Technology.
Danny James, a first year student at Loughborough University, has appeared at Twickenham three times, including this year’s BUSA final. He was previously with Gloucester, Worcester Warriors and Stourbridge in consecutive years before taking up his studies. Has represented the Midlands Under-16s and 18s and England Under-16s and English Universities. Tom
Beechey (Lydney)
Layton Wilkinson, a sales manager, played for five clubs before joining his present one. He was with Kidderminster, Leicester Under-21s, Worcester Warriors and Stourbridge and Walsall and first appeared for North Midlands nine years ago. Represented Midlands Colts and Under-21s. Gareth Taylor
Ollie Thomas, a professional rugby player and the son of former Moseley wing Alan Thomas, is involved in the England Counties set-up and was in the squad for the match against France Amateurs in February. He was educated at King Edward’s, Five Ways and was a member of the Warwickshire Under-19s cricket team. He plays as a batsman and leg-spinner for the Moseley Ashfield club. Dan
Ott (Bromsgrove) Dan Ott, a solicitor, was educated at King’s School, Worcester and the University of Wales, Swansea and initially represented WorcestershireUnder-18s before playing for North Midlands. His club rugby was with Worcester (1999-2000), Keynsham (2000-01) and Moseley (2001-02) before he switched to Bromsgrove. MANAGEMENT
TEAM
RFU
President Malcolm Phillips said: “This structure will inject
new life into this historic competition. With each division having
its own final at Twickenham and promotion and relegation, it will
give each county and their players something to play. COUNTY
CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTY
SHIELD COUNTY
PLATE FIXTURES WEEK
2 (7th May 2005) WEEK
3 (14th May 2005) WEEK
4 (21st May 2005) WEEK
5 (29th May 2005) Information extracted from rfu.com
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