All Golds v Newcastle Thunder KPL1 2016 - FINAL_2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE >> NEWCASTLE PREVIEW >> MATCH REPORTS >> UPDATE FROM THE BIRTHPLACE 

1 

ALL GOLDS 

Vs. NEWCASTLE THUNDER 

THE PRINCE OF WALES STADIUM 

KICK OFF - 15:00 | 24/04/2016 

OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

Subscribe to our website mailing list to UNIVERSITY get exclusive OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE All Golds news ALL first. GOLDS 

SEASON 2016 PRICE FREE

2 

@AllGolds facebook.com/AllGoldsRugby

ALL GOLD 

CONTENTS AND INFO 

04 WELCOME TO THE ALL GOLD 

05 #GetGaryToLauras30th 

06 BEYOND THE THUNDERDOME 

08 CLUB DIRECTORY 

10 TOM FORD - SUPPORTING LOCAL SPORT 

12 MATCH PREVIEW 

14 MATCH REPORTS 

16 UPDATE FROM THE BIRTHPLACE 

18 SKY TRY PROGRAMME 

21 WEST OF ENGLAND UPDATE 

23 ALL GOLDS CLS MATCH PREVIEW 

24 ALL GOLDS CLS FIXTURES & RESULTS 

26 ALL GOLDS CLS MATCH REPORTS 

27 ALL GOLDS CLS vs. NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS PREVIEW 

28 OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER 

32 THE SUPPORTERS VIEW 

34 FANTASTIC 50 - JOE McCLEAN 

35 ‘DREAM COME TRUE’ FOR UNI DUO 

36 PLAYER SPONSORSHIP 

38 FIXTURES & RESULTS 

40 ALL GOLDS & NEWCASTLE SQUAD LINE-UP 

CLUB INFORMATION 

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS 

Home Ground: The Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham 

Offices: 

Oxstalls Campus, Longlevens, Gloucester. GL2 9HW 

Telephone: 01242 715332 

Email: 

allgolds@glos.ac.uk 

Official website: allgoldsrugby.com 

10 

TOM 

FORD 

PRESIDENT 

Lionel Hurst LL.B 

ADVISORY BOARD 

Krista Woodman, 

Kevan Blackadder. 

DIRECTOR OF SPORT 

Andy Pitchford 

HEAD COACH 

Lee Greenwood 

ASSISTANT COACH 

Simon Phillips 

PERFORMANCE 

CO-ORDINATOR 

Patrick Evans 

ALL GOLDS CLS COACH 

Alex Davidson 

ALL GOLDS CLS 

TEAM MANAGER 

Martin Lovegrove 

CLUB DOCTOR 

Phil Cox 

WELFARE OFFICER 

AND LOGISTICS 

David Friend 

HEAD SPORTS THERAPIST 

Hollie Sims 

NUTRITION PARTNER 

Nutrition X 

SKY TRY AND 

COMMUNITY MANAGER 

Dan Garbutt 

BUCS CO-ORDINATOR 

Ken Stone 

BUSINESS AND SPONSORSHIP 

Michelle Collins 

PROJECT OFFICER 

Kelly Conibere 

MATCHDAY CO-ORDINATOR 

Trevor Moss 

MEDIA MANAGER 

Chris Wilson 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Jessica Allan 

REPORTER 

Patrick Baines 

PHOTOGRAPHER 

Lewis Mitchell 

ALL GOLDS TV 

Billy Hendle 

ALL GOLD DESIGNER 

Craig Paul Design Ltd 

STADIUM MANAGER 

Matthew Clapham 

14 

MATCH 

REPORTS 

16 

UPDATE 

FROM THE 

BIRTHPLACE 

Subscribe to our website mailing list to get 

exclusive All Golds news first. 

The views expressed in this programme are not 

necessarily those of the University of Gloucestershire 

All Golds, the Editor, or Craig Paul Design Ltd.

WELCOME 

TO THE 

ALL GOLD 

WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION 

OF THE ALL GOLD MAGAZINE. 

4 

You’ll find some great 

material in this issue, including 

previews of this weekend’s 

match between the All Golds 

and Newcastle Thunder; 

reviews of the national and 

local rugby league scene; 

some fascinating history 

and news of Gloucestershire 

success in a range of other 

top sports. 

Week by week we are 

improving the content of 

our new online offer and 

we hope you’ve enjoyed 

the editions so far. We feel 

we’re getting closer to the 

kind of product we want to 

share with you, and with a 

little bit of help from you we 

feel we can get there. We’re 

looking for feature articles on 

rugby league or any other 

sporting issues, so if you 

have something to get off 

your chest, some expertise to 

highlight or some memories 

to share, please get in touch 

with us at allgolds@glos. 

ac.uk. 

On the pitch we’re getting 

closer too! Our last few 

outings 

have 

seen 

the All 

Golds 

more than match very 

illustrious opponents before 

fading late in the game. We 

hope that won’t be the case 

this time around as we face 

Newcastle Thunder for the 

second time in a month. The 

previous clash saw the All 

Golds edge out winners in a 

pulsating cup tie, and we are 

certain that Sunday’s league 

match will be equally close 

and entertaining. As the 

mid-season split approaches, 

this game has acquired 

greater significance, with the 

winners giving themselves 

a good chance of a top 8 

finish. We wish both teams 

well and look forward to an 

entertaining match. 

Finally, a big thanks to our 

contributors this month, 

including Chris Wilson, 

Patrick Baines, Lionel 

Hurst, Andy Cave and 

of course the wonderful 

Craig Paul Design, We 

hope you enjoy today’s 

issue and come back 

for more when we face 

Hunslet Hawks at the 

Prince of Wales Stadium 

on May 22nd 

www.allgoldsrugby.com

FRIENDS UNITE TO ARRANGE 

EPIC 30TH BIRTHDAY PARTY 

FRIENDS OF UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE HR ADVISOR 

LAURA ADLAM HAVE BEGUN A CAMPAIGN TO GET TAKE 

THAT FRONTMAN GARY BARLOW TO 

PERFORM AT HER 30TH BIRTHDAY PARTY. 

Laura has played a major 

role in the All Golds’ off 

field operations, creating 

players’ contracts as well as 

helping out with other vital 

administrative duties. 

The idea came about when 

the 45-year-old singer, who 

has written 14 number one 

singles, posted on Twitter 

that he would perform at 

a fan’s milestone birthday. 

That proved enough for 

Adlam’s friend Fiona 

Lane to start the hashtag 

#GetGaryToLauras30th. 

Fiona said getting Barlow to 

attend her friend’s birthday 

party would be a dream 

come true. “Laura is a huge 

fan of his. We’ve gone to 

quite a few of his concerts 

together. It’s a massive 

long shot, but everyone 

likes a trier! We’re all 

hoping for the best”. 

Fiona added: “We all 

just think it would make 

her birthday such a 

memorable experience 

for her. But if it doesn’t 

happen, she’ll still have a 

night she won’t forget.” 


THUNDER IN THE 

NORTH EAST 

BEYOND THE THUNDERDOME 

WRITTEN BY CHRIS WILSON 

NEWCASTLE THUNDER’S STORY REFLECTS THE TURBULENT 

TIMES RUGBY LEAGUE HAS GONE THROUGH OVER THE PAST 

20 YEARS OR SO. 

6 

Both beneficiary and victim of 

the Super League vision of big 

city franchises which would 

involve mergers among the 

smaller clubs in the provincial 

towns of the North, the Thunder 

were both an expansion franchise 

and a club in a provincial town 

when launched as Gateshead 

Thunder in 1998. 

In the second of a two-part 

article, Chris Wilson looks at the 

history of Gateshead Thunder 

and how it resonates across the 

game today. The first part can be 

read here . 

Gateshead Thunder’s first win 

in their debut season came with 

a 24-6 Good Friday triumph 

over Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, 

who themselves were playing 

in their first season in the Super 

League after promotion from the 

Championship. 

As the 1999 campaign went 

on, the Thunder proved to be 

obdurate opponents and were 

able to boast home and away 

wins over St Helens as well as 

a 20-16 win over defending 

champions Wigan in a game 

taken ‘on the road’ to Heart of 

Midlothian’s Tynecastle stadium. 

The game featured a memorable 

try from little-known Irish winger 

Brian Carney. 

Gateshead won their last three 

games to secure sixth place just 

outside the play-offs, two points 

behind Castleford. 

As it transpired, their last Super 

League game as Gateshead 

Thunder ended 

in a 48-22 

win over 

Warrington 

and their 

last at the 

Thunderdome 

was a 66-6 

thrashing of 

Wakefield in which 

Ian ‘Chook’ Herron 

kicked a club record 

11 goals. 

After a respectable 

opening day 

attendance, crowd 

figures dipped, 

three times going 

below 2,000, and 

averaged 3,895 

overall. This was better than 

three other Super League sides 

but was still a little disappointing. 

Though competitive on the field, 

off the field things didn’t look so 

rosy. The balance sheet was not 

healthy and talks were taking 

place to save the club even as it 

named its squad for the 2000 

season including new signing 

Great Britain international Paul 

Broadbent from Sheffield Eagles. 

In November 1999 came news 

that Gateshead Thunder 

and Hull were to merge 

and move lock, 

stock and barrel 

to Hull. This, 

to some 

eyes, was 

a ploy to 

enable Hull 

to remain 

a Super 

League 

club – whatever the 

motivation behind it, 

Gateshead Thunder 

would be no more. 

During their sole 

season in the league, 

the Thunder claimed 

to have lost 

www.allgoldsrugby.com

£700,000, which precipitated their 

link with the Hull Sharks, for which 

they were paid a fee of £1.25 million 

by Super League Europe. 

The merger – and that of 

Huddersfield with Sheffield 

Eagles – caused a huge 

controversy throughout the 

game and beyond. MPs even 

condemned them in a House of 

Commons debate and they were 

fiercely contested by supporters 

and club officials alike. 

Fans of the original Gateshead 

club who were opposed to the 

merger established a grassroots 

organization called Thunder 

Storm to fight to keep the clubs 

separate. Although this ultimately 

proved to be unsuccessful, the 

degree of local fan support 

resulted in the formation of a 

new Gateshead Thunder club, 

which was accepted to play in 

the Northern Ford Premiership 

for the 2001 season. 

Who knows what Gateshead 

could have achieved had they 

been allowed to build on a 

relatively successful season but it 

is probably true to say that Hull 

FC were saved by the merger 

and would probably not be in the 

shape they are today without the 

North East pioneers from that 

rainy night in Gateshead. 

Meanwhile the new Gateshead 

Thunder started life in the 19- 

team Northern Ford Premiership 

with an 18-0 loss to Hull KR and 

finished in 16th place after a 

disappointing season. However, a 

couple of wins towards the end 

of the season and the emergence 

of a number of local players 

notably Paul Thorman, promised 

better for the future. 

Most of the next half dozen 

seasons were spent in the 

bottom two, though a play-off 

place in 2005 and again the 

following year were worthy of 

celebration. 

Things changed dramatically in 

2008 as, under head coach Dave 

Woods, Thunder romped to the 

National Two title and automatic 

promotion losing just three times 

and finishing seven points clear 

of second-placed Barrow. 

Survival in 2009 came at 

a cost as the club entered 

administration during the 

off-season and started the 

2010 season in Championship 

One with minus nine points. 

Basing their squad on talented 

youngsters they had good days 

- with a win over London Skolars 

early in the season - and bad 

following a 132-0 thrashing by 

Blackpool Panthers. 

Thunder remained a bottom 

three side until 2014 when they 

finished fourth under coach 

Stanley Gene and showed 

a marked progression from 

previous years thanks, in part, to 

a partnership arrangement with 

Hull KR. 

During the season, the club was 

taken over by Newcastle Falcons 

rugby union club and began the 

2015 season with high hopes 

of further progression though 

their eventual eighth place was 

something of a disappointment. 

With some key additions to 

their squad not least former 

Super League star Peter Fox, the 

Thunder are looking at a top-four 

finish in 2016. 

With awareness of the game 

being boosted by the inaugural 

Magic weekend at St James’ Park 

in 2015, Thunder are hoping to 

capitalise by hosting York on the 

Friday night before the Super 

League matches begin. They 

drew a crowd of over 2,500 for 

the fixture last season, their best 

of the season by a considerable 

margin. 

After many false starts and 

false hopes it seems like the 

journey towards a solid presence 

of professional rugby league 

on Tyneside is at last moving 

forward. 

7 

Subscribe to our website mailing list to get exclusive All Golds news first.


CLUB DIRECTORY 

HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS WE HAVE A NUMBER OF 

OFFICIAL PARTNERS AND SPONSORS THAT HEAVILY SUPPORT THE CLUB AND, AS AN 

ALL GOLDS FAN, WE ARE SURE YOU WILL FIND THIS CLUB DIRECTORY VERY USEFUL. 

If you are interested in contacting any of our partners or sponsors but you feel that you need 

more information then please don’t hesitate to call our Commercial Department on 

01242 715297 or email allgoldsbusiness@glos.ac.uk 

8 

www.allgoldsrugby.com 



TOM FORD 

A PROFILE OF THE 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE SQUASH PLAYER 

CLIMBING UP THE WORLD RANKINGS 

WRITTEN BY PATRICK BAINES 

10 

TOM FORD FIRST PICKED UP A SQUASH RACKET 

WHILE AT PRIMARY SCHOOL. SINCE THEN HE’S 

RISEN FROM PROMISING JUNIOR TO SUCCESSFUL 

PROFESSIONAL AND, AFTER RECENTLY WINNING 

TWO PRESTIGIOUS CHAMPIONSHIPS, HAS RISEN TO 

A CAREER HIGH 64 IN THE WORLD RANKINGS. 

At the time of writing, the 

22-year-old will be on court 

in Egypt in the El Gouna 

International championship. His 

first few years on the professional 

circuit have seen him climb up 

the rankings after winning five 

PSA titles. 

Travelling is something Tom has 

become accustomed to, with 

the biggest tournaments taking 

place all over the globe. “I really 

enjoy it. I love going to other 

countries. UK travel can actually 

be a lot more demanding than 

flying abroad, which sounds 

strange”. In 2015 the left-hander 



acked up some serious air 

miles, playing in tournaments in 

the USA, Canada, India, Macau, 

Switzerland and Sweden. 

Tom turned pro at 18 after 

finishing his education at 

Cheltenham’s Bournside school. 

From Monday to Friday he is 

based in Bristol where he trains 

under the guidance of coach 

Hadrian Stiff. “With squash 

being an individual sport I can 

mix up my training regime. I 

train Monday to Friday in Bristol 

then spend my weekends in 

Cheltenham. I don’t have to stick 

to a set plan - I like the flexibility 

of being my own boss. A lot of 

my time is spent either in the 

gym building up my strength 

and stamina or on court with my 

coach working on my game.” 

Squash is a sport that tests 

both a player’s physical and 

mental capabilities. The game 

mimics the hardest cardio and 

aerobic workout you can get. 

Constant running and following 

the ball, coupled with making 

hard, consistent contact with the 

ball and your racquet are tiring. 

Not only do you need supreme 

physical fitness but you need 

to mentally prepare for where 

your next hit is going to come. 

A successful player needs to get 

inside his opponent’s head and 

anticipate what kind of shot he’s 

going to play so he can be one 

step ahead. 

Tom says the support of his 

parents was crucial in the early 

years. “I’ve wanted to be a 

professional squash player since 

I was about ten years old. My 

parents used to drive me all over 

the country to junior events, their 

support enabled me to progress 

up the junior system which gave 

me the opportunity to turn 

professional.” 

While training full-time and 

competing internationally Ford 

also finds the time to organise 

the annual East Glos Doubles 

Tournament. “This year it’s taking 

place on June 4-5 at the East 

Glos Squash Club. Essentially it’s 

a pro-am so it gives recreational 

players the chance to compete 

with full time professionals. 

Anyone can enter, it’s a really 

good way of bringing everyone 

together regardless of their 

standard to have a good time 

and get out on the court.” 

When asked to name a career 

highlight, the answer didn’t take 

much thought. “Late last year 

I won back-to-back titles in 

Canada - the Goodlife Open in 

Ottawa then, two weeks later, 

the Saskatoon Boast Open. 

They were $10,000 events and 

winning them gave me a huge 

amount of confidence and saw 

my world ranking improve. 

“I’m really enjoying things at 

the moment. I hope to get the 

opportunity to win again and 

carry on improving my world 

ranking.” 

If you want to contact Tom or are 

interested in entering the East 

Glos Doubles Tournament email 

him at tomfordsquash@gmail. 

com 

11 


ALL GOLDS vs. 

NEWCASTLE 

PREVIEW 

WRITTEN BY PATRICK BAINES 

THE ALL GOLDS WILL BE HOPING A RETURN TO THE 

FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES 

STADIUM WILL INSPIRE THEM TO A MUCH NEEDED TWO 

POINTS ON SUNDAY. 

12 

Lee Greenwood was critical 

of his team following a 

late collapse at Keighley 

last weekend, the second 

game in a row they have 

wilted late on. Trailing by 

just six points at the start 

of the last quarter, the All 

Golds ended up losing by 

24 which angered the All 

Golds Head Coach. “We 

were competitive for the 

first 60 minutes but we’ve 

got a bad habit of caving in 

at the moment when we’ve 

got to defend our try line. 

Until we sort that out we’ll 

carry on getting beat. They’ll 

definitely be some changes 

for the Newcastle game 

which is unfortunate as I’d 

like a settled starting line-up.” 

Greenwood will be pleased 

to welcome back Almer 

Tagayuna who missed 

the Keighley game with 

concussion. The on loan 

Widnes hooker recently 

extended his loan deal with 

the club until the end of 

the season. Wingers Jonny 

Leather and Phil Cowburn 

and prop Alex Davidson 

could return to the squad 

having missed out against 

Keighley. 

The home side will be 

confident of gaining victory 

on Sunday having been on 

the right side of a 36-28 

score in the iPro Sport Cup 

quarter final three weeks 

ago. In fact, the Golden 

Fern will be looking to make 

it three in a row against 

Thunder having won the 

most recent league clash 26- 

10 last August. 

Newcastle are in desperate 

need of two points 



themselves having recorded 

just one win in their opening 

four league games. An 

opening day victory at 

Oxford was followed a 

week later by a defeat on 

home soil to North Wales 

Crusaders. Arguably their 

best performance of the 

season thus far came at 

Barrow where they held the 

Raiders to a 24-24 draw. 

Most recently they conceded 

a late try to go down against 

Hunslet. 

If you can’t make it to the 

Prince of Wales stadium 

then follow live, running 

text commentary at: 

allgoldsrugby.com/matchcentre/ 

To keep up to date with club 

news follow us on: 

Twitter - @allgolds and on 

Facebook - facebook.com/ 

AllGoldsRugby/ 

Or subscribe to our 

website mailing list at www. 

allgoldsrugby.com 

TICKET PRICES: 

Adults - £10 

Concessions - £5 

UoG staff and Students - £3 

Under 16s - £1 

THE LATEST FROM YOUTUBE 

Footage from the first half of our last home clash against 

Newcastle Thunder in the iPro Sport Cup 

Footage from the second half of our last home clash against 

Newcastle Thunder in the iPro Sport Cup 

13 


MATCH REPORTS 

14 

ALL GOLDS vs. 

NEWCASTLE THUNDER 

REPORT 

PURSLOW SENDS ALL 

GOLDS THROUGH 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

ALL GOLDS 36 – 28 


Sunday 3rd April, Prince 

of Wales Stadium, 

Cheltenham 


The All Golds second win in a row 

over Newcastle in a row earned 

them a place in the semi finals 

of the iProSport Cup for the first 

time but true to form they made 

it hard for themselves. 

In an increasingly tense second 

half, twice the Golden Fern 

crossed for back-to-back tries as 

they built two-score leads only to 

allow the Thunder back in to the 

game by conceding back-to-back 

tries themselves. 

Having opened the scoring, they 

were pegged back but Thunder 

didn’t help themselves with some 

poor handling, Benn Hardcastle 

being particularly off form with 

at least three of his passes being 

picked off by the home defence. 

Phil Cowburn had already been 

dragged back by the shorts after 

snaffling one before Lewis Reece 

pounced on a loose ball to set up 

an attack finished by Josh Allison. 

Harrison Elliott added a close 

range try as the sides went into 

the break level at 10-10, 

The All Golds opened the scoring 

in the second period through 

Jonny Leather and then,attacking 

from the restart, Reece sent 

Cowburn away for the All Golds 

to lead 20-10. 

Newcastle closed to within two 

but goalkicking was their Achilles 

heel as Hardcastle missed the kick 

to level the scores. The All Golds 

went back-to-back again. Steve 

Parry’s unbelievable run through 

tackle after tackle to the line was 

followed by Reece’s more direct 

crash over from close range. 

Again the Thunder closed to 

within two points. This time Dan 

Parker badly shanked the kick 

that would again have levelled 

matters and the All Golds finished 

the game with Ollie Purslow’s try 

in the last minute. 

TEAM: Jamie Murphy (g); Jonny 

Leather (t), Josh Allison (t), Lewis 

Reece (t), Phil Cowburn (t); 

Courtney Davies (3g), Brendon 

Newton; Alex Davidson, Steve 

Parry (Capt.) (t), Morgan Evans; 

Lamont Bryan, Joe McClean; 

Emmerson Whittel. 

INTERCHANGE: Almer Tagayuna, 

Richard Jones, Ollie Purslow (t), 

Harrison Elliott (t). 

ROCHDALE HORNETS 

vs. ALL GOLDS REPORT 

HORNETS UNBEATEN 

LEAGUE RUN 

CONTINUES 

ROCHDALE HORNETS 38 

– 16 GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

ALL GOLDS 

Sunday 10th April, 

Spotland Stadium, 

Rochdale 


The All Golds defeat at Rochdale 

had its moments of good rugby 

league but too few of them. As at 

Doncaster, the Golden Fern were 

competitive and in the contest for 

long periods but just lacked that 

extra bit of defensive resolve and 

attacking spark that could have 

brought them the advantage at 

key points in the game. 

It was also a costly game in terms 

of injury with Graham O’Keeffe 

suffering a suspected ACL injury 

just minutes after coming on as a 

substitute on his return to the side 



(t); Courtney Davies, Brendon 

Newton; Alex Davidson, Almer 

Tagayuna, Harrison Elliott; Lamont 

Bryan, Richard Jones; Emmerson 

Whittel; 

INTERCHANGE: Steve Parry 

(Capt.), Graham O’Keeffe, Ollie 

Purslow, Morgan Evans. 

and field position given away by a 

penalty, the Cougars pulled away 

to lead 24 - 14. Though Lamont 

Bryan’s show of strength as he 

scored despite the attentions of 

at least four defenders kept the 

All Golds in touch, the score went 

unconverted and they trailed 24-18. 

KEIGHLEY COUGARS 

vs. ALL GOLDS REPORT 

SAME OLD SCENE 

following a broken hand. Almer 

Tagayuna received a knock to the 

elbow and then one to the head 

when he returned to the field in 

the second half and may face a 

week or so out. 

KEIGHLEY COUGARS 42 

– 18 GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

ALL GOLDS 

Sunday 17th April, Cougar 

Park, Keighley 

Courtney Davies and others all 

took bangs of varying severity 

leaving Lee Greenwood with a 

selection headache before the 

game against Keighley. 

After quickly equalising 

Rochdale’s early score through 

the excellent Jamie Murphy, 

the All Golds fell behind to two 

quick tries which seemed to be 

the preview to another collapse. 

However, this did not materialise 

and at 20-4 they were still just 

about in the game at the break. 

After a period of pretty dire play 

in the second half, the Hornets 

extended their lead and that 

looked to be that but two tries 

in almost as many minutes from 

Phil Cowburn (thanks to Jonny 

Leather’s ball steal) and Leather 

himself, as he supported a 

magnificent break from Lamont 

Bryan. 

However, a mistake on the next 

set conceded an interception try 

and there was no way back from 

there. 

TEAM: Jamie Murphy (t, 2g); 

Jonny Leather (t), Josh Allison, 

Joe McClean, Phil Cowburn 


At Keighley it was the same story. 

The All Golds were competitive 

for much of the game but 

conceded 12 points in the final 

ten minutes to give the scoreline 

a lop-sided look to it that wasn’t 

really deserved. 

One serious bright spark was 

the performance of new signing 

James Rowland who oozed class. 

His kicking game earned the 

All Golds repeat sets and he 

dummied his way over for his 

side’s opening try before giving 

Brad Kislingbury his first try for 

the All Golds. 

Sadly, Courtney Davies and 

Jamie Murphy couldn’t convert 

but the All Golds led 8-6. By the 

interval, the Cougars were 18-8 

ahead thanks to tries scored from 

repeat sets donated by All Golds 

indiscipline. 

Rowland’s sublime pass put Joe 

McClean through a gap and the 

second row celebrated his 50th 

All Golds game by racing through 

to score under the posts. 

Again on the back of possession 

The Cougars had a try disallowed 

in similar circumstances to one 

Josh Allison had chalked off in the 

first period but the end was near 

and with 15 minutes left, Keighley 

captain Paul Handforth saw a 

gap and sent loose forward Ash 

Lindsay through it for the try. 

A penalty immediately afterwards 

and a try with the last play of the 

game blew the scoreline out to 

42-18. Harsh and unfair, but the 

story of the season so far. 

TEAM: Jamie Murphy (g); Chris 

Barlow, Brad Kislingbury (t), Lewis 

Reece, Josh Allison; Courtney 

Davies, James Rowland (t); Ollie 

Purslow, Steve Parry (Capt.), 

James Walter; Joe McClean (t), 

Richard Jones, Lamont Bryan (t); 

INTERCHANGE: Emmerson 

Whittel, Harrison Elliott, Harry 

Kidd, Morgan Evans. 

15 


UPDATE FROM 

THE BIRTHPLACE 

OF INTERNATIONAL 

RUGBY LEAGUE 

16 

The Challenge Cup, which 

culminates at Wembley 

each year, threw up some 

wonderful games last 

weekend – and a shock 

result not seen since the 

Winter era. 

Pride of place belongs to 

Oldham who won at full-time 

Hull Kingston Rovers. A quite 

remarkable achievement for 

the famous, though currently 

part-time, Roughyeds. It 

must be remembered also 

that the Robins went all the 

way to the final last August. 

Sky Sports then showed 

the superb West Riding 

derby between Batley and 

Featherstone Rovers and 

what a treat this was for the 

fans and viewers. Known 

since Victorian times as ‘The 

Gallant Youths’ Batley won 

the first ever competition in 

1897. After a titanic struggle 

they triumphed over ‘Fev’. 

Batley still play at their 

revered old venue and how 

splendid it looked - all spick 

and span, painted in club 

colours and maintained with 

loving care. 

The continued development 

of the sport throughout the 

globe is so important but 

we must never lose sight of 

our roots and heritage. York 

City Knights also performed 

well against higher 

ranked opposition but the 

Minstermen fell just short. 

Conversely Toulouse 

Olympique XIII again showed 

everyone that they mean 

business with a stunning 

10-8 success on French 

soil against Super League 

promotion favourites, Leigh. 

These are exciting yet 

turbulent times in the land 

of treize with the Catalans of 

Perpignan sitting atop Super 

League but with growing 

unrest amongst French clubs 

and revolution in the offing. 

Indeed, this is being led 

by former international 

and Carcassonnais, 

Marc Palanques. He and 

others are pushing for the 

Presidential elections to be 

brought forward and the 

ousting of the man with 

THE moustache Carlos 

Zalduendo. 

It really is time, too, for the 

French national team to 

return to the great days 

of yesteryear when many 

thousands lined the streets 

of Marseille to welcome 

Puig Aubert’s conquering 



The man to whom we all owe so much 

heroes back from triumph 

in Australia. Allez Les 

Chanticleers! 

Closer to home, I had a 

marvellous time on the 

Dominic Cotter Show on 

BBC Radio Gloucestershire 

last week with my co-guest 

Caroline Rawlinson of The 

Vivid PR Consultancy. We 

are next appearing on May 

13. 

Breakfast so please book 

your tickets now. 

Back abroad and to another 

continent and that entity 

without equal, the NRL once 

more delivered feats of 

human brilliance in the last 

round. The closing match 

played on Toyota Monday 

Night Football saw the 

Sydney Roosters host the 

Penrith Panthers at Allianz 

on a night fit for Noah’s Ark. 

A constant deluge was 

no deterrent to sheer 

magnificence displayed 

by the Tricolours and 

the Mountain Men. 

The Panthers ‘got the 

chocolates’ but not before 

a stunning touchdown 

from the Roosters which 

was described by the 

commentators thus: 

“That shouldn’t happen 

in these conditions. 

Gymnastics, Volleyball and 

Rugby League - all in the 

four-pointer. Sensational!” 

Finally, is Coventry showing 

the way ahead? Recently 

declaring itself the City 

of Rugby, it is pleasing to 

see Wasps working with 

the Coventry Bears club 

in promoting both codes. 

Indeed the Bears will play 

their League 1 match against 

Keighley at the Ricoh Arena. 

We wish them well and will 

watch developments with 

interest. 

17 

Then on Monday June 20 at 

Park campus in Cheltenham 

Dominic and the station’s 

Managing Editor Mark Hurrell 

will be the principal guests 

at the All Golds Business 


FESTIVAL CAPS OFF 

GLOUCESTER PRIMARY SCHOOLS 

SKY TRY PROGRAMME 

THE UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S OXSTALLS 

CAMPUS HAS ONCE AGAIN HOSTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS 

FROM ACROSS THE CITY OF GLOUCESTER IN THE 

CULMINATION OF THIS YEAR’S SKY TRY PROGRAMME. 

Sky Try is the biggest ever 

programme of Rugby League 

opportunities in schools and is in 

its second year of delivery by the 

All Golds. 

18 

Nine schools and around 300 

pupils from across the city have 

benefited from six weeks of 

coaching at Year 3 and 4 level 

followed by a festival that was 

attended by over 100 children. 

The format for the tournament 

was based on the RFL’s Primary 

Rugby League model, a modified 

version of the sport which aims 

to introduce children to the 

game in a fun, inclusive and 

developmental way. 

The touch Rugby League format 

includes modified rules such as 

guaranteeing six tackles for each 

team and small squads, which 

means that kids are able to play 

more of the time and they were 

well received by players and 

teachers alike. 

Speaking after the festival, Julie 

Bassett, a teacher at Hempsted 

Primary School, was full of praise 

for the programme and the 

festival: “This is the third year 

that Hempsted C of E Primary 

School have taken part in the 

Gloucestershire All Golds’ Sky Try 

scheme and we have thoroughly 

enjoyed it. After some amazing 

coaching from Lewis and George 

this year we took three teams 

to the festival at Gloucestershire 

University; Hempsted Cherries, 

Hempsted Whites and Hempsted 

Golds. Every child enjoyed the 

experience, played a lot of rugby 

and left with huge smiles on their 

faces. As usual we had huge 

support from our parents.” 

Following on from the coaching, 

the Community programme 

will be running ten weeks of 

community coaching, starting in 

June, to give those young players 

the opportunity to continue their 

Rugby League journey. 

Programme manager Dan 

Garbutt explained: “With so 

many players across the city 

being introduced to the sport 

we’re keen to provide an outlet 

for the school game. This club 

activity, which will be mirrored 

in Cheltenham, will provide just 

that and it’s hoped that we can 

support volunteers to develop 

this coaching into stand-alone 

community clubs”. 

Parents and players wishing to 

find out more info should email 

dgarbutt@glos.ac.uk 

The Sky Try programme for the 

county now changes its focus 

to secondary school level, with 

the upcoming 1908 Cup and 

Golden Fern Cup taking place 

in May, before it switches back 

to Primary level in June as 

Cheltenham schools get their 

opportunity to be involved in the 

project. 





WEST OF ENGLAND 

UPDATE WRITTEN BY CHRIS WILSON 

Bath & Wiltshire Romans RLFC 

have a new home ground for the 

2016 rugby league season. 

They will play at Corsham RFC 

at Westrop. The ground share 

begins immediately with training 

and social events now being 

scheduled. 

Club chairman Chris Chatten said: 

“This is a very positive move for 

the club on a number of fronts. It 

enables us to develop a second 

team; we will have enhanced on 

and off-pitch facilities and the 

opportunities for sponsors are 

going to be greater too.” 

The Gloucestershire Warriors 

have added to their coaching 

and leadership teams with the 

appointments of Paul Bolger as 

assistant to head coach Matthew 

Robinson and Ben Brinkworth as 

captain. 

Bolger a student at Glos Uni 

brings experience to the set up 

while prop Brinkworth has played 

33 times for the club since making 

his debut in 2010. 

The Warriors will be playing their 

home games at Gordon League 

RFC and will host three double 

headers with the All Golds’ CLS 

side this summer. 

West of England 9s will have nine 

participants this year. Swindon St 

George will host the tournament 

at Swindon Supermarine RFC’s 

ground on Saturday 7 May with an 

11am start. 

Last year’s tournament, also 

in Swindon, saw Cheltenham 

Phoenix run out winners defeating 

Bath & Wiltshire Romans 10-0 in 

the final. 

The West of England fixtures 

have been released and are now 

available on the website HERE 

The ten-team league has been 

split into two Pools and the 

opening games in Pool 1 see 

2015 champions Bath & Wiltshire 

Romans travel to Gloucestershire 

Warriors and Portsmouth 

Seahawks hosting Bristol Sonics. 

In Pool 2, Cheltenham Phoenix 

entertain Southampton Spitfires 

while Somerset Vikings host 

Swindon St George. 

Matches take place on Saturday 14 

May with a 2.30pm kick off except 

for the Warriors game which is 

to be played as a double-header 

with the All Golds CLS side’s 

match with Torfaen Tigers. 

21 




CONFERENCE 

LEAGUE SOUTH 

UPDATE 


ON THE CHARGE! 

London Chargers have 

announced their arrival in the 

Conference League South by 

beating both of last season’s 

Grand Finalists in their opening 

two matches. 

They followed their 23-16 win 

over Valley Cougars with a 26-16 

defeat of champions Nottingham 

Outlaws last weekend. 

23 

The Chargers were formed from 

an amalgamation of the West 

London Sharks and the South 

London Storm and went on to 

dominate the London league as 

well as winning the national Harry 

Jepson Trophy three years in a 

row. 

An application to join the CLS 

was the logical progression and 

they have justified their inclusion 

with two good wins and a place 

in the leading pack at the head of 

the table. 

The Chargers are third on points’ 

difference as the Outlaws lead 

the way following two good wins 

over Torfaen Tigers and the West 

Wales Raiders. 

Valley Cougars recovered from 

their defeat by the Chargers 

to beat the All Golds 36-28 in 

Gloucester before thumping the 

Raiders 62-18 last weekend and 

they are in second place after four 

weekends of matches. 

The Raiders have started slowly, 

losing their opening two matches 

and Torfaen are also yet to win 

having been battered 54-0 

at Nottingham and 68-10 by 

Coventry Bears in their last game. 

Both the Bears and the All Golds 

have won one and lost one of 

their two matches to sit in midtable 

and both will be looking 

to put together a run of wins 

as the season goes on to be in 

contention for a play-off place. 

Round 5 takes place this weekend 

with Outlaws looking to bounce 

back from their defeat last week 

with a win over the All Golds. 

Coventry Bears host West Wales 

Raiders hoping to inflict more 

misery on their visitors with 

another big win while on Sunday 

the Valley Cougars and Torfaen 

Tigers lock horns at Treharris 

in what should be a fiercely 

contested derby. 


ALL GOLDS CLS FIXTURES & 

DATE K.O. OPPONENTS RES FULLBACK WING CENTRE CENTRE WING STAND OFF 

Sat Apr 2 14:30 A Coventry Bears (CLS) 28-34 UREN MCKISSICK 3T KISLINGBURY HODGE BARLOW THOMAS 

Sat Apr 9 14:30 H Valley Cougars (CLS) 28-36 THOMAS 1T MCKISSICK HODGE 1T FESTA BARLOW GIBBS 

Sat Apr 23 14:30 A Nottingham Outlaws (CLS) 

Sat May 14 14:30 H Torfaen Tigers (CLS) 

Sat May 21 14:30 A London Chargers (CLS) 

Sat Jun 11 14:30 H Nottingham Outlaws (CLS) 

Sun Jun 19 17:30 H West Wales Raiders (CLS) 

Sat Jun 25 14:30 A Valley Cougars (CLS) 

Sat Jul 2 14:30 H London Chargers (CLS) 

Sat Jul 26 15:00 A West Wales Raiders (CLS) 

Sat Jul 23 14:30 A Torfaen Tigers (CLS) 

Sat Aug 13 14:30 A Valley Cougars (CLS) 

Sat Aug 20 14:30 H Coventry Bears (CLS) 

Sat Sep 3 14:30 H Torfaen Tigers (CLS) 

Sat Sep 10 14:30 ? Conference League South Play Off R1 

Sat Sep 17 14:30 ? Conference League South Grand Final 

THE KEY | Home games appear in bold | CLS = Conference League South 

Sin-binned Red Card (Sent Off) | T = Try | C = Conversion | P = Penalty | DG = Drop Goal 



RESULTS 2016 

SCRUM HALF PROP HOOKER PROP 2ND ROW 2ND ROW LOOSE FWD SUB 1 SUB 2 SUB 3 SUB 4 

GIBBS 3G BRADBURY SHARRATT (C) 2T KIDD 1T JONES ARCHER O’KEEFFE RICE-WILSON 2G DIMECH HINTON WORMHOUDT 

RICE-WILSON 4G BRADBURY UREN 1T WALTER 2T TRUE (C) JONES BINKS DAWSON WHITTALL DIMECH WORMHOUDT 


CLS MATCH REPORTS 

26 

COVENTRY BEARS vs. 

ALL GOLDS CLS 

REPORT 

PERFECT START FOR 

ALL GOLDS 

COVENTRY BEARS 28 – 

34 ALL GOLDS CLS 

Saturday 2nd April, Xcel 

Leisure Centre, Coventry 


Three tries from wing Lewis 

McKissick all engineered by the 

excellent Brad Kislingbury laid the 

foundations for a debut win in 

the competition for the All Golds’ 

Conference League South side. 

However, they had to show grit 

to dig out the win having let 

a 20-12 interval lead slip. After 

Rory Sharratt wriggled over the 

line from close range to open 

the scoring with the Bears yet 

to touch the ball, the first half 

developed very well for Alex 

Davidson’s men. 

Though the Bears levelled the 

scores, McKissick went over twice 

in four minutes to give the All 

Golds the advantage. The sides 

exchanged scores before half 

time with McKissick completing 

his treble seven minutes before 

the break. 

The Bears resumed the second 

half with more determination. 

They patched up their weakness 

down the right and began to run 

with more purpose. Tom Tsang 

scored with a neat chip and 

chase but Harry Kidd went over 

to keep the All Golds’ noses in 

front. 

Two tries in as many minutes 

from the Bears turned the game 

on its head and put them two 

points in front. Things got heated 

as both sides conceded penalties 

for dissent while in possession 

and it was a miracle that the 

referee kept his cards in his 

pocket. 

The All Golds finished strongly 

and captain Sharratt forced his 

way over to put the All Golds 

back in front and Liam Rice- 

Wilson’s conversion and late 

penalty saw them home. 

TEAM: Jack Uren; Lewis 

McKissick (3t), Brad Kislingbury, 

Sam Hodge, Chris Barlow; 

Dieter Thomas, Archie Gibbs 

(3g), Callum Bradbury, Rory 

Sharratt (Capt.) (2t), Harry Kidd 

(t), Connor Jones, Stef Archer; 

Graham O’Keeffe, 

INTERCHANGE: Liam Rice- 

Wilson (2g), Kaine Dimech, Jono 

Hinton, Wijnand Wormhoudt. 

ALL GOLDS CLS vs. 

VALLEY COUGARS 

REPORT 

NO HOME COMFORTS 

ALL GOLDS CLS 28 – 36 

VALLEY COUGARS 

Saturday 9th April, Gordon 

League RFC, Gloucester 


A young All Golds side made a 

promising start against the Valley 

Cougars but were eventually 

overwhelmed and a brief second 

half fightback came too late to 

save them from a disappointing 

home defeat. 

As against Coventry, the All Golds 

built a lead but proceeded to 

fritter it away. However, unlike 

against the Bears, they were 

unable to recover and seal the 

win as the 2014 champions 

showed too much power and 

organisation for the home side. 

Making their debut at Gordon 

League, the All Golds took 

advantage of early rustiness from 

the Welsh side and posted three 

good tries to lead 18-4. 

Jack Uren, with a fine run from 

dummy half, James Walter after a 

good offload from Chris True and 

Dieter Thomas with a solo effort 

all crossed under the posts to 

give Liam Rice-Wilson three easy 

shots at goal. Once the Cougars 

had found their feet, they ground 

their way upfield and used their 

powerful pack to batter their way 

over the whitewash. 

With a 22-18 lead at the break 

and running down the hill, the 

visitors increased their lead early 

in the second after Sam Hodge 

was sin-binned for a professional 

foul and by the time they had two 

men in the bin themselves in the 

last fifteen minutes, the Cougars 

led 36-18. 

Late tries from Hodge and Walter 

came too late to save the game 

for the home side. 

TEAM: Dieter Thomas (t); Lewis 

McKissick, Sam Hodge (t), Joe 

Festa, Chris Barlow; Archie Gibbs, 

Liam Rice-Wilson (4g); Callum 

Bradbury, Jack Uren (t), James 

Walter (2t); Chris True (Capt.), 

Connor Jones; Jack Binks; 

INTERCHANGE: Hanley Dawson, 

Connor Whittall, Kaine Dimech, 

Wijnand Wormhoudt. 



NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS 

vs. ALL GOLDS CLS 

PREVIEW 

CHAMPION OUTLAWS AWAIT 

ALL GOLDS CHALLENGE 


THIS WEEKEND THE ALL GOLDS’ CONFERENCE LEAGUE 

SOUTH SIDE FACE THEIR TOUGHEST FIXTURE TO DATE AS 

THEY TRAVEL TO CHAMPIONS NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS. 

The Outlaws lead the table 

again this season and the task 

has been made doubly difficult 

by the fact that they suffered 

their first league defeat of the 

campaign last weekend at the 

hands of London Chargers. 

The All Golds, too, were 

defeated last time out and will 

be looking to make amends 

with a strong performance this 

weekend. 

Head coach Alex Davidson is 

once more looking forward 

to the challenge and 

picks some positives 

from the 36-28 defeat 

by the Valley Cougars: 

“Last time out 

we required 

more rugby 

intelligence in 

contact and in our 

play,” he said, 

adding: “Some 

more physicality 

wouldn’t have 

gone amiss!” 

“Doing what 

we do well we 

caused Valley major problems, 

demonstrated by the length 

of the field set finishing with 

Sam Hodge’s try in the corner.” 

Hodge leapt to catch Liam 

Rice-Wilson’s pinpoint kick to 

the corner and touch down for 

the score that sparked a late 

revival, but one which came 

too late. 

Meanwhile, having won 

their two opening games by 

comfortable margins, the 

Outlaws came a cropper in the 

capital going down 26- 

16 to the Chargers, 

but they 

are not a 

champion 

side for 

nothing and will be looking to 

bounce back on home turf. 

“This week will be no different 

with Nottingham’s physical 

pack who are well drilled,” 

Davidson added. “This week 

I’m looking for improvements 

from the lads to progress them 

as players. 

“Some lads are really standing 

out currently and hopefully 

they’ll continue to do so. 

I’m looking to players to 

start challenging them now, 

creating a healthy competition 

in the squad.” 

The All Golds CLS squad to 

face Nottingham is: Andy 

Gamble, Archie Gibbs, 

Brandon Denton, Callum 

Bradbury, Chris True, Connor 

Whittall, Dieter Thomas, Don 

Tydeman, Hanley Dawson, 

Jack Binks, Jack Uren, Joe 

Festa, Jono Hinton, Kaine 

Dimech, Lewis McKissick, 

Mitchell Dent, Sam 

Hodge, Stef Archer, 

Wijnand Wormhoudt 

27 


OLD ENOUGH 

TO KNOW 

BETTER 

28 

AS A CURTAIN RAISER TO SUNDAY’S MATCH, WE ARE 

DELIGHTED TO HOST THE FIRST EVER GAME OF MASTERS 

RUGBY LEAGUE TO BE PLAYED IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

AS THE HALCYONS FROM THE NORTH EAST 

WORCESTERSHIRE RAVENS CLUB TAKE ON MEDWAY 

DRAGONS MASTERS BASED IN GILLINGHAM, KENT. 

Masters RL is a modified 

version of the game for 

over 35s. Essentially it is a 

mix of touch and full rugby 

league designed to protect 

ageing bones. Andy Cave 

from the Halcyons explains 

what Masters RL is all about 

and why it is one of the 

fastest growing forms of The 

Greatest Game. 

I have been a keen follower 

of Rugby League from the 

age of five, but never played 

the game and hadn’t even 

heard of Masters RL until last 

year. 



union safely, and for those 

carrying injuries or disabilities. 

Small wonder that so many 

rugby league clubs in the 

UK, Australia and New 

Zealand (where the game 

began) are now recognising 

the importance of having a 

Masters section. 

I was invited along to what 

was basically a reunion 

game for players from the 

old Redditch Halcyons, 

Worcester Saints and 

N.E.W Ravens sides. I really 

couldn’t understand how it 

was possible to play “noncompetitive 

rugby league” 

- surely a contradiction in 

terms if ever there was one. 

And how was it possible for 

old codgers like me (then 

aged 55) to play against fit, 

fast and huge blokes in their 

late 30s? 

I had read the rules, seen 

how different age groups 

wore different colour 

shorts and understood 

the modifications from the 

normal rules of the game 

designed to give greater 

levels of protection with age; 

but surely it couldn’t really 

work in practice? 

35 to “seasoned” 65 year 

olds wore huge grins as they 

formed the traditional postmatch 

huddle and posed for 

photos. Many were playing 

with old mates they hadn’t 

seen, let alone played with, 

for decades, including my 

brother who could never 

have dreamt he would be 

celebrating his 50th birthday 

playing rugby league 

(unbeknown to his wife!). 

Every sport has more explayers 

than current players 

and rugby league is no 

exception. 

Historically once rugby 

league players, be it 

professional or amateur, 

could no longer meet the 

physical demands of the 

game their only option was 

to take up rugby union and 

they were lost to the game. 

In June I will be joining 40 

other players on a tour to 

France where we will be 

playing new Masters teams 

from Toulouse, Carcassonne 

and Avignon, whilst on 26 

June there will also be a first 

Masters RL festival in Wales 

at the home of South Wales 

Scorpions. 

In August we welcome the 

touring Australian Masters 

and next year the GB Masters 

will tour Australia and New 

Zealand coinciding with the 

World Cup. 

The “Spirit of Masters” is 

really all about cameradarie 

and having fun; the essence 

of social rugby. The official 

Masters motto is “we don’t 

stop playing because we 

grow old; we grow old 

because we stop playing”. It 

could just as easily be “old 

enough to know better but 

still daft enough to do it 

anyway”. 

29 

Well, after 50 minutes of 

running more than I had 

in the previous 30 years, 

it all made sense and I 

was absolutely hooked. 

The game ended, like 

every Masters game, in an 

honourable 0-0 draw – no 

matter how many tries are 

scored. 

All of the 30 players, ranging 

in age from a fresh-faced 

Masters RL enables those 

players to stay with their first 

love and carry on playing 

with their mates for many 

years to come. It means they 

remain actively involved with 

their clubs. It also introduces 

newcomers into the game 

at any age - the chairman of 

Masters RL played his first 

game of rugby league at 62; 

it is ideal for rugby union 

vets no longer able to play 

For more information about 

Masters RL go to http://www. 

mastersrl.co.uk/ or contact 

Andy Cave on 07946 384546 

Last year Medway Masters 

featured in a BBC “Get 

inspired” article. To see them 

in action and learn more 

about Masters RL go to 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/ 

get-inspired/33279690 


FANTASTIC 

BALL CREW 

OPPORTUNITY! 

The University of Gloucestershire All 

Golds Rugby League Club is looking for 

enthusiastic boys and girls to become its 

2016 Ball Crew for all home games at the 

Prince of Wales Stadium 

30 

1. Ball Crew t-shirts supplied at each game 

2. Post-match meal with opportunity to meet the players after the game. 

3. You will receive 1 adult match day ticket for each game you attend 

4. You will receive free entry to games when not attending. 

5. At the end of the season if you have attended 7 games or more you 

will receive a signed match ball by the team and you can keep your 

Ball Crew t-shirt. 

*Minimum age 11 years 

If you are interested in becoming a Ball Crew member for 

this professional rugby league club we would like to hear 

from you by email at allgolds@glos.ac.uk 


#FOLLOWTHEFERN 

University of Gloucestershire All Golds 

T 01242 714 468 | E allgolds@glos.ac.uk 

@AllGolds facebook.com/AllGoldsRugby 

allgoldsrugby.com

Subscribe to our website mailing list to get exclusive All Golds news first. 

31

THE 

SUPPORTERS 

VIEW 

A FEW WORDS FROM THE CHAIR OF THE ALL GOLDS 

SUPPORTERS GROUP, LEE RANDALL. 

32 

HELLO AND WELCOME. 

AFTER TWO LONG AWAY 

TRIPS TO ROCHDALE 

AND KEIGHLEY THE ALL 

GOLDS END APRIL AS 

THEY STARTED IT WITH 

A HOME GAME AGAINST 


HERE AT THE PRINCE OF 

WALES STADIUM. 

HISTORY WAS MADE 

In the iPro Cup the All Golds 

created history by reaching 

their first ever semi final in an 

exciting encounter against 

Newcastle Thunder running 



out 36-28 victors and setting 

up a semi final clash away 

at York City Knights next 

Sunday. 

SAME OLD STORY 

This seems to be the story 

of the season so far as the 

All Golds seem to match 

their opponents for 60-70 

minutes and then fade off 

in the last ten to give the 

scorelines against us a false 

reading and this continued at 

Rochdale and Keighley. 

The preparations didn’t 

start well at Rochdale as a 

disruption with the team 

bus meant the players only 

arrived 30 minutes before 

kickoff and this showed at 

the start of the game as the 

All Golds started off slowly 

and at half time trailed by 

20 points to 4. They came 

out in the second half with 

a spirited performance and 

got the scoreline back to 

a respectable 26-16 but an 

inception try for Rochdale 

on 75 minutes and another 

try three minutes later made 

the final score 38-16. And 

that was the same old story 

at Keighley. After 60 minutes 

it was only the missed 

conversions that meant the 

scores were not level at 24- 

24 but trailing 24-18 with 20 

minutes to go a respectable 

scoreline was on the cards. 

Once again the team faded 

late on and 18 unanswered 

points from Keighley in the 

last 15 minutes meant a 

disappointing 42-18 defeat. 

50 UP 

At Keighley Joe McClean 

became just the third player 

in All Golds history to reach 

50 appearances for the 

Golden Fern. The other two 

players being Phil Cowburn 

and Matt Bradley. Well done, 

Joe. Here’s to the next 50! 

SUPPORTERS’ PLAYER OF 

THE MONTH FOR APRIL 

It’s that time of the month 

again where we decide on 

who is the All Golds player 

of the month for April. 

The voting will open on 

Monday and you can vote 

on the supporters page on 

Facebook. (Gloucestershire 

All Golds Supporters) If you 

haven’t already liked our 

page, then make sure you 

do in order to cast your 

vote. There will be four 

nominations and you can 

vote by liking the picture 

of the player you think has 

performed the best in April. 

Enjoy the game 

Come On You All Golds 

33 


THE 

FANTASTIC 

50 CLUB 

MCCLEAN’S RING OF CONFIDENCE 

34 

The All Golds’ Fantastic 50 club 

was launched in June 2015 to 

honour those who have worn the 

Golden Fern on 50 occasions. 

The club’s inaugural member 

was Phil Cowburn. Shortly 

afterwards Matt Bradley reached 

the landmark and now comes 

the third member of the club, 

Joe McClean. 

Joe reached the milestone 

at Keighley having made his 

debut in the All Golds’ first ever 

game against Hemel Stags. To 

celebrate the occasion, he scored 

a superb 40-metre try early in 

the second half to put his team 

right back in the game. 

Casting his mind back, Joe 

recalls: “I remember being 

extremely proud to play in the 

first professional game for the 

All Golds back in 2013 against 

Hemel. 

“Unfortunately we didn’t come 

away with the win but it was a 

close fought game which I really 

enjoyed and it made me realise 

how much I was going to have 

to improve if I wanted to be 

successful in this league. 

“Four seasons on and with 

50 games under my belt, I’m 

extremely proud of the distance 

the club and I have travelled in 

the sport.” 

That distance includes 

international recognition as 

part of the triumphant Scottish 

side that won the European 

Championship in 2014. Selected 

again in 2015, Joe saw All 

Golds team mates Steve Parry, 

Courtney Davies, Lewis Reece 

and Jamie Murphy take the 

title with Wales. 

Looking to the future, 

Joe says: “I’m looking 

to consistently 

perform 

to a high 

standard. I 

would like to 

see the club 

continue to 

improve, get out 

of this pool of 

Southern teams 

fighting at 

the bottom 

and begin 

reaching play 

offs year on 

year until 

promotion.” 

Having played 

a number of 

positions including a spell at 

centre “because I’m so quick”, 

Joe may have designs on Parry’s 

number nine shirt. “After my 

performance at Rochdale there 

could even be a future with me 

at hooker, who knows...” 

But as to the rumours 

of him forming a 

brass band with 

Phil Cowburn, he 

says the project 

is on ice for the 

moment. “Internal 

issues in the band 

have put a halt to 

the world tour 

and Phil now 

only performs in 

his room, alone, 

with the door 

shut late at night. 

I’m now talking 

with Richard 

Jones regarding 

potential progression 

routes.” 

It’s on the field where the 

progress has been substantial 

and fans of the Golden Fern 

will be eagerly awaiting further 

barnstorming performances 

in the seasons to come as 

Joe embarks on game 51 and 

beyond. 



‘DREAM 

COME TRUE’ 

AS UNIVERSITY 

DUO EARN 

WORLD CUP 

SELECTION 

TWO UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE STUDENTS 

HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO PLAY FOR ENGLAND AT 

THE NETBALL ‘NETS’ WORLD CUP. 

35 

Nineteen-year-old Kellie 

Hull and 20-year-old Thea 

Thompson will represent 

their country at the Under 

21 Netball ‘Nets’ World 

Cup that will be hosted in 

Wellington, New Zealand, 

between 20 and 27 August. 

Both students made it 

through trials in Bristol and 

London in March to make 

the final cut – a squad of 12 

players. 

‘Nets’ is a version of netball 

that is played indoors on 

high-tensioned netted 

courts, where the ball 

doesn’t go out of play. 

Gloucester-born Kellie is a 

first year student studying 

Sports Development and 

Coaching. She said: “I saw 

videos of Nets and was 

interested instantly. The 

idea of having no ‘out 

of court’ as well as the 

opportunity to score two 

points from outside the 

‘D’ was really appealing to 

me. I didn’t know what to 

expect from trials but when 

I heard I had made the 

England World Cup squad 

it was like a dream come 

true.” 

“I started playing netball 

at school when I was nine 

and fell in love with the 

sport straight away. I now 

play for Worcester Reds 

who are in the National 

Premier League Division 

2 and the University of 

Gloucestershire first team.” 

Thea is a second year 

student studying Primary 

Education and hails from 

Barnard Castle in county 

Durham. She said: “I’ve 

been through trials, made it 

into the long squad initially 

and so I’m absolutely 

delighted to be called up 

for the World Cup squad. 

I can’t wait to get out to 

New Zealand and represent 

my country.” 


2016 PLAYER SPONSORSHIP 

Whether you are a supporter, small business or a friend of the 

club, sponsoring a player or staff member is a great way to 

get involved with the #FollowTheFern. 

PACKAGE INCLUDES: 

• Company/individual accreditation 

alongside chosen player’s photograph 

in each match day programme for the 

2016 season. 

• Company/individual accreditation 

alongside player’s profile on website 

• link from player profile to your 

• company’s website 

• Player’s shirt at the end of the season 

• x10 match day tickets of your choice 

• Tannoy announcement as player’s 

sponsor when the player scores 

COACHING TEAM 

LEE GREENWOOD 

HEAD COACH 

SIMON PHILLIPS 

ASSISTANT COACH 

PAT EVANS 

PERFORMANCE COORDINATOR 

36 

SPONSOR 

Available to sponsor 

Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

ALL GOLDS 2016 SQUAD 

AARON LYONS 

PROP 

ALEX DAVIDSON 

PROP/SECOND ROW 

BRENDON NEWTON 

HALF BACK 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 

PROVIEW 

SPORTS 

ACADEMY 

SPONSOR 

JESSE 

MCINTYRE 

CHRIS BARLOW 

FULL BACK 

CONNOR JONES 

SECOND ROW 

COURTNEY DAVIES 

HALF BACK 

SPONSOR 

LANGLEY 

JONES LTD 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 

BAGLAN SAFETY 

LIMITED 

JAMES ROWLAND 

HALF BACK 

EMMERSON WHITTEL 

SECOND ROW 

GRAHAM O’KEEFFE 

PROP 

SPONSOR 

NEIL GAYLER & CO. 

FINANCIAL PLANNING 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 

CARLAIN 

PROPERTY 



HARRISON ELLIOTT 

PROP 

HARRY KIDD 

SECOND ROW 

JAMES WALTER 

PROP 

SPONSOR 

PETER 

ROWAN 

SPONSOR 

PROVIEW 

SPORTS 

ACADEMY 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

JAMIE MURPHY 

FULL BACK 

JOE McCLEAN 

PROP 

JONNY LEATHER 

FULL BACK 

SPONSOR 

THE 

GREENWAY 

HOTEL 

SPONSOR 

HOLIDAY INN 

EXPRESS 

CHELTENHAM 

SPONSOR 

BROOMFIELD 

AND ALEXANDER 

ACCOUNTANTS 

JOSH ALLISON 

CENTRE 

LAMONT BRYAN 

SECOND ROW/LOOSE FORWARD 

LEWIS REECE 

CENTRE/SECOND ROW 

SPONSOR 

THE 

GREENWAY 

HOTEL 

SPONSOR 

CRAIG PAUL DESIGN 

LIMITED 

SPONSOR 

RICHARD 

EVANS 

LUKE STEPHENS 

HOOKER 

MORGAN EVANS 

PROP 

OLLIE PURSLOW 

PROP 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 

BRIAN STACK 

37 

PHIL COWBURN 

FULL BACK 

RICHARD JONES 

SECOND ROW 

STEVE PARRY (C) 

HOOKER 

SPONSOR 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 

WARRIORS 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

SPONSOR 

ALL GOLDS 

SUPPORTERS CLUB 

ALMER TAGAYUNA 

HOOKER 

SPONSOR 


Call 01242 715332 

#FollowTheFern 


ALL GOLDS FIXTURES & RES 

DATE K.O. OPPONENTS RES FULLBACK WING CENTRE CENTRE WING STAND OFF 

Sun Feb 21 14:00 A Coventry Bears (IC) 24-48 LEATHER MURPHY ALLISON 1T KISLINGBURY COWBURN 3T NEWTON 2T 

Sun Feb 28 14:30 A North Wales Crusaders (LCCR3) 36-40 LEATHER 1T MURPHY 1T ALLISON KISLINGBURY COWBURN 1T DAVIES 1T 6G 

Sun Mar 6 15:00 A Doncaster (KPL1) 40-8 LEATHER MURPHY 1T ALLISON KISLINGBURY COWBURN 1T DAVIES 

Wed Mar 16 19:30 H South Wales Scorpions (KPL1) 44-22 LEATHER 1T BARLOW 2T ALLISON KISLINGBURY COWBURN LOMBARDO 5G 

Sat Mar 19 15:30 A Toulouse Olympique (LCCR4) 62-28 LEATHER 1T BARLOW ALLISON COWBURN MURPHY DAVIES 4G 

Fri Mar 25 19:30 H Coventry Bears (KPL1) 28-29 NEWTON BARLOW 1T ALLISON KISLINGBURY COWBURN DAVIES 1T 4G 

Sun Apr 3 15:00 H Newcastle Thunder (ICQF) 36-28 MURPHY 1G LEATHER 1T ALLISON 1T REECE 1T COWBURN 1T DAVIES 3G 

Sun Apr 10 15:00 A Rochdale Hornets (KPL1) 38-16 MURPHY 1T 2G LEATHER 1T ALLISON McCLEAN COWBURN 1T DAVIES 

Sun Apr 17 15:00 A Keighley Cougars (KPL1) 42-18 MURPHY 1G BARLOW KISLINGBURY 1T REECE ALLISON DAVIES 

Sun Apr 24 15:00 H Newcastle Thunder (KPL1) 

Sun May 1 15:00 A York City Knights (ICSF) 

Sat May 7 15:30 A Toulouse Olympique (KPL1) 

Sun May 22 15:00 H Hunslet Hawks (KPL1) 

Sun Jun 5 15:00 H Barrow Raiders (KPL1) 

Sun Jun 12 14:30 A Hemel Stags (KPL1) 

Sun Jun 19 15:00 H North Wales Crusaders (KPL1) 

Sun Jun 26 15:00 A York City Knights (KPL1) 

Sun Jul 3 15:00 H London Skolars (KPL1) 

Sun Jul 10 14:30 A Oxford (KPL1) 

THE KEY | Home games appear in bold | KPC = Kingstone Press Championships | LCC = Ladbrokes Challenge Cup | IC = iPro Cup 

Sin-binned Red Card (Sent Off) | T = Try | G = Conversion | P = Penalty | DG = Drop Goal 



ULTS 2016 

SCRUM HALF PROP HOOKER PROP 2ND ROW 2ND ROW LOOSE FWD SUB 1 SUB 2 SUB 3 SUB 4 

DAVIES 5G PURSLOW PARRY (C) DAVIDSON REECE McCLEAN WHITTEL LOMBARDO 1G ELLIOTT 1T KIDD 1T EVANS 1T 

LOMBARDO 1T PURSLOW PARRY (C) DAVIDSON BRYAN McCLEAN WHITTEL NEWTON ELLIOTT 1T KIDD 1T EVANS 

NEWTON PURSLOW PARRY (C) EVANS BRYAN REECE WHITTEL LOMBARDO ELLIOTT KIDD DAVIDSON 

NEWTON 2T PURSLOW PARRY (C) 1T EVANS BRYAN McCLEAN ELLIOTT 1T POULTON WHITTEL DAVIDSON 2T KIDD 

NEWTON PURSLOW PARRY (C) 3T ELLIOTT BRYAN McCLEAN WHITTEL LOMBARDO KISLINGBURY DAVIDSON 1T EVANS 

LOMBARDO PURSLOW PARRY (C) 2T ELLIOTT REECE McCLEAN WHITTEL TAGAYUNA BRYAN 1T DAVIDSON EVANS 

NEWTON DAVIDSON PARRY (C) 1T EVANS BRYAN McCLEAN WHITTEL TAGAYUNA JONES PURSLOW 1T ELLIOTT 1T 

NEWTON DAVIDSON TAGAYUNA ELLIOTT BRYAN JONES WHITTEL PARRY (C) O’KEEFFE PURSLOW EVANS 

ROWLAND 1T PURSLOW PARRY (C) WALTER McCLEAN 1T JONES BRYAN 1T WHITTEL ELLIOTT KIDD EVANS 


ALL GOLDS 

HEAD COACH: 

LEE GREENWOOD 


HEAD COACH: 

MICK MANTELLI 

40 

ALEX DAVIDSON 

ALMER TAGAYUNA 

CHRIS BARLOW 

COURTNEY DAVIES 

EMMERSON WHITTEL 

HARRISON ELLIOTT 

JAMES ROWLAND 

JAMES WALTER 

JAMIE MURPHY 

JOE MCCLEAN 

JOSH ALLISON 

LAMONT BRYAN 

LEWIS REECE 

MATT BRADLEY 

MORGAN EVANS 

OLLIE PURSLOW 

PHIL COWBURN 

RICHARD JONES 

STEVE PARRY 

THOMAS RUEDIGER 

JOE BROWN 

DARRELL OLPHERTS 

JOSH ATKINSON 

PETER FOX 

AARON TEROI 

BEN HARDCASTLE 

VINCENT RENNIE 

CRAIG COOK 

RHYS CLARKE 

HARRY ALDOUS 

DAN PARKER 

FRAN WELSH 

EVAN SIMONS 

JASON PAYNE 

JOSH STOKER 

MIKEY WOOD 

REFEREE: C. STRAW 

RESERVE: S. RACE 

TOUCH JUDGES: T. OWEN & J. PAGE 

MATCH COMMISSIONER: A. BARNBY 

MATCH ASSESSOR: ALAN SMITH 

NEXT HOME GAME 

HUNSLET HAWKS 

SUN 22 MAY 2016 | KINGSTONE PRESS 

LEAGUE 1 | KICK OFF: 15:00 


Oxstalls Campus, Gloucester, GL2 9HW 


Tel: 01242 715332 | Official Website: www.allgoldsrugby.com

All Golds v Newcastle Thunder KPL1 2016 - FINAL_2

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?