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All Golds v Newcastle Thunder KPL1 2017

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FREE MATCHDAY MAGAZINE<br />

JUNE 4 th <strong>2017</strong> | KO 3pm<br />

PRINCE OF WALES STADIUM<br />

ALL GOLDS vs. NEWCASTLE THUNDER<br />

HERE COMES<br />

THE THUNDER...<br />

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:<br />

• THUNDER PREVIEW<br />

• MATCH REPORTS<br />

• WEST OF ENGLAND<br />

www.allgoldsrugby.com


ALL GOLD<br />

CONTENTS AND INFO<br />

04 WELCOME<br />

06 THUNDER HISTORY<br />

08 THUNDER PREVIEW<br />

10 CLUB DIRECTORY<br />

12 THUNDER BACK IN TOWN<br />

14 ALL GOLDS MATCH REPORTS<br />

16 CHELTENHAM JUNIOR RL<br />

17 WEST OF ENGLAND<br />

18 FLAME OF THE WEST<br />

20 STEVE PARRY FEATURE<br />

22 STUDENT RL<br />

24 FIXTURES & RESULTS<br />

26 SQUAD LINE-UPs<br />

CLUB INFORMATION<br />

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS<br />

Home Ground: The Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham<br />

Offices:<br />

Oxstalls Campus, Longlevens, Gloucester. GL2 9HW<br />

Telephone: 01242 714468<br />

Email:<br />

allgolds@glos.ac.uk<br />

Official website: allgoldsrugby.com<br />

PRESIDENT<br />

Lionel Hurst LL.B<br />

ADVISORY BOARD<br />

Krista Woodman, Ken Stone,<br />

Kevan Blackadder<br />

GENERAL MANAGER<br />

Patrick Evans<br />

HEAD COACH<br />

Lee Greenwood<br />

ASSISTANT COACHES<br />

Anthony Murray,<br />

Dan Poulton<br />

S&C COACHES<br />

Nick Lane, Joe Festa<br />

TEAM MANAGER<br />

Martin Lovegrove<br />

KIT AND LOGISTICS<br />

David Friend<br />

CLUB DOCTOR<br />

Phil Cox<br />

HEAD PHYSIOTHERAPIST<br />

James Clap<br />

SPORTS THERAPIST<br />

Katy Stephens<br />

NUTRITION PARTNER<br />

Nutrition X<br />

SKY TRY AND<br />

COMMUNITY MANAGER<br />

Kane Krlic<br />

BUSINESS AND SPONSORSHIP<br />

Sophia Wood-Jenkins<br />

MATCHDAY CO-ORDINATOR<br />

Fee Cragg<br />

MEDIA MANAGER/EDITOR<br />

Chris Wilson<br />

SOCIAL MEDIA & JOURNALIST<br />

Patrick Baines, Jack Conlon<br />

PHOTOGRAPHERS<br />

Lewis Mitchell, Glenn Watts<br />

ALL GOLDS TV<br />

Jeremy Power<br />

ALL GOLD DESIGNER<br />

Craig Paul Design Ltd<br />

06<br />

THUNDER<br />

HISTORY<br />

08<br />

THUNDER<br />

PREVIEW<br />

14<br />

MATCH<br />

REPORTS<br />

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exclusive <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> news first.<br />

The views expressed in this programme are not<br />

necessarily those of the University of Gloucestershire<br />

<strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>, the Editor, or Craig Paul Design Ltd.


WELCOME TO THE ALL GOLD<br />

WRITTEN BY CHRIS WILSON<br />

4<br />

We are just over halfway<br />

through the first part of the<br />

league season. I look at it as a bit<br />

like qualifying for a motor race.<br />

Toronto and Barrow are Lewis<br />

Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel<br />

haring off into the distance<br />

while the rest of the teams scrap<br />

for the remaining places on the<br />

grid before qualifying ends on<br />

16 July. Answers on a postcard<br />

which driver you think the <strong>All</strong><br />

<strong>Golds</strong> most take after!<br />

The difference is mainly that the<br />

13-a-side ‘drivers’ start the actual<br />

race with the results achieved<br />

during qualifying to make the<br />

second part of the season<br />

effectively a handicap. Whether<br />

they should carry the points<br />

earned over into the play-offs is<br />

an argument for a long winter’s<br />

evening. But it’s a situation likely<br />

to remain as it is for the time<br />

being.<br />

League 1 is developing into a<br />

really interesting scrap with<br />

about a dozen sides in the hunt<br />

for a top eight place behind the<br />

Raiders and Wolfpack including,<br />

of course the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>. This<br />

means that picking up points<br />

is vital to stay in the hunt and<br />

hopefully a win this week will do<br />

just that for the Golden Fern.<br />

Elsewhere, congratulations go<br />

to the Barrow Raiders who<br />

lifted the League 1 Cup last<br />

weekend in Blackpool, their first<br />

silverware since 2009, beating<br />

our conquerors North Wales<br />

Crusaders in an exciting match<br />

that was in doubt until the final<br />

few minutes. It was a fitting way<br />

to draw the curtain down on the<br />

competition, which I understand<br />

won’t take place next year.<br />

The Student World Cup draws<br />

ever closer and the club is<br />

immensely proud of those <strong>All</strong><br />

<strong>Golds</strong> selected for the England<br />

squad. They have each made<br />

important contributions to the<br />

team over the past few weeks<br />

and they will be missed but it’s<br />

a tremendous honour to gain<br />

selection particularly for such a<br />

prestigious tournament and we<br />

wish them good luck.<br />

Of course we also send<br />

congratulations to those UGRL<br />

players selected for the Welsh,<br />

Irish and Scottish Student World<br />

Cup squads for what will be an<br />

intense fortnight of competition<br />

beginning next month.<br />

Again on the team front, it’s<br />

a warm welcome to Brad<br />

Hargreaves who will be making<br />

his home debut this afternoon -<br />

if selected, of course. Welcome<br />

to Gloucestershire, Brad, and we<br />

hope you enjoy your time as an<br />

<strong>All</strong> Gold.<br />

This edition of the <strong>All</strong> Gold<br />

covers the usual angles with<br />

contributions from Pat Baines<br />

and Jack Conlon focusing on the<br />

game today, George Cowburn<br />

takes a look at the <strong>Thunder</strong>cats<br />

(not something I’m familiar with,<br />

I’m afraid) while I put finger to<br />

keyboard to look at the RFL’s<br />

proposal for a Southern Rugby<br />

League in 2018, which could, in<br />

the future, assist clubs like the <strong>All</strong><br />

<strong>Golds</strong>, Hemel Stags, Coventry<br />

and Oxford, etc.<br />

Jack also has penned a great<br />

feature on our captain Steve<br />

Parry and there’s a round-up<br />

of the opening two weeks of<br />

action in the West of England<br />

league<br />

There’s some great writing and<br />

perceptive analysis throughout<br />

so wherever you read this, I hope<br />

you find it thought provoking<br />

but above all enjoyable.<br />

www.allgoldsrugby.com<br />

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THUNDER HAS NINE LIVES<br />

WRITTEN BY GEORGE COWBURN<br />

6<br />

If the saying that a cat has nine lives is true, then<br />

Gateshead/<strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Thunder</strong> must be a cat - a<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong>cat perhaps? (Ask anyone in their mid<br />

thirties or their parents)<br />

There is probably no better example of one of<br />

the pitfalls of the Rugby League’s then franchise<br />

system for Super League than that of Gateshead<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> - the original name for today’s opponents<br />

<strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Thunder</strong> - in their one and only season<br />

in Super League.<br />

Beating off the claims of Cardiff and Swansea,<br />

Gateshead were awarded a franchise for Super<br />

League starting in 1999 as a new club.<br />

They were based at the Gateshead International<br />

Stadium (which they named the ‘<strong>Thunder</strong>dome’)<br />

with Australian Shaun McRae as their first coach.<br />

In the squad were upwards of nine Australians,<br />

the best known of which were Deon Bird, Matt<br />

Daylight and Tony Grimaldi.<br />

Added to these were a young Gareth Carvell<br />

(on loan from Leeds and later to become an<br />

International), the experienced forward Steve<br />

O’Neill and dual code Irish International and Gaelic<br />

footballer Brian Carney (now a presenter with Sky<br />

Sports).<br />

In Matt Daylight, <strong>Thunder</strong> had the joint top try<br />

scorer in the Super League season with 25 tries<br />

from 30 games. A very respectable sixth place<br />

finish was achieved in that debut season.<br />

However... despite a top crowd of 6,631 for the<br />

visit of Bradford, home crowds averaged less<br />

than 4,000 and at the end of the season the club<br />

announced an astronomical loss in the region of<br />

£700,000.<br />

A merger was announced with Hull Sharks<br />

(today’s Hull FC) which was effectively a takeover<br />

which enabled Hull to retain their Super League<br />

status.<br />

After just one season <strong>Thunder</strong> ceased to exist as<br />

a separate entity, proving how difficult it is to start<br />

a club from scratch in an area with little rugby<br />

league history or organisation to fall back on.<br />

Nothing daunted, a new Gateshead <strong>Thunder</strong><br />

rose from the ashes to join the Northern Ford<br />

Premiership (second tier) for the 2001 season.<br />

Still operating out of the International Stadium<br />

and retaining the mainly purple colours, the club<br />

was coached by Andy Kelly (now attempting a<br />

rescue operation at Dewsbury Rams).<br />

Their first game was an 18-0 loss to Hull KR and<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> finished third bottom of the league.<br />

More financial trouble was brewing, though, and<br />

part way through 2002 with just a 12-12 draw with<br />

Featherstone to their name, major cost cutting<br />

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Paul Franze left Gateshead<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> at the end of the 2009<br />

Season following the club<br />

entering administration<br />

resulted in the release of Kelly<br />

and fifteen Yorkshire- based<br />

players.<br />

The club later went into<br />

administration with the now<br />

young and inexperienced side<br />

finishing bottom of the league.<br />

Despite these problems and<br />

with the help of a supporters’<br />

committee things were slowly<br />

turned round. Now in Rugby<br />

League’s third tier, <strong>Thunder</strong><br />

reached the play offs in 2005<br />

and 2006 and after<br />

the arrival in 2007 of Australian<br />

coach Dave Woods, <strong>Thunder</strong><br />

won their first honour – the 2008<br />

National League Championship<br />

- and won promotion back to<br />

the Championship (second tier).<br />

They finished a creditable<br />

seventh in the Championship in<br />

2009 but once again financial<br />

problems were about to kick<br />

them in the teeth.<br />

The 2010/11 and 12 seasons<br />

were lean years for Gateshead<br />

who finished bottom of the<br />

league each season with a slight<br />

improvement to third bottom<br />

in 2013. This was, of course, the<br />

year the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>, Hemel and<br />

Oxford joined the league and<br />

Gateshead provided the <strong>All</strong><br />

<strong>Golds</strong> with their first win against<br />

professional opposition when<br />

the Golden Fern enjoyed an<br />

18-16 victory in the North East<br />

- Matt Bradley’s goalkicking<br />

proving decisive that day as<br />

he converted tries scored by<br />

former Telford Raider, Mike<br />

Venn, Jordan Rice and Tyla Hepi<br />

(son of coach Brad Hepi), who<br />

was to become the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>’<br />

top scorer that season with 11<br />

touchdowns.<br />

The promise of a brighter future<br />

arose in 2014 when <strong>Thunder</strong><br />

were taken over by the company<br />

running <strong>Newcastle</strong> Falcons. A<br />

move to their Kingston Park<br />

ground and a change of name<br />

to <strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Thunder</strong> followed<br />

with Papua New Guinea legend<br />

Stanley Gene installed as Head<br />

Coach, although his tenure was<br />

to be relatively short.<br />

Last season, the club added a<br />

second honour when they beat<br />

North Wales Crusaders 31-26 in<br />

the inaugural League 1 Shield<br />

Joe Brown in action<br />

Final for the clubs finishing in<br />

the bottom seven of the league.<br />

Pre-season optimism this year<br />

has not yet been matched by<br />

results so head Coach Mike<br />

Mantelli was “shown the door”<br />

and club stalwart Jason Payne<br />

has taken over on an, at least,<br />

temporary basis with a view to<br />

improving matters.<br />

Hopefully, <strong>Thunder</strong> can take<br />

advantage of the increasing<br />

interest in Rugby League<br />

in the North East shown by<br />

the successful Super League<br />

“Magic Weekend” at St James<br />

Park <strong>Newcastle</strong> a fortnight<br />

ago. The evening before this<br />

event, <strong>Thunder</strong> played what is<br />

probably their ‘derby’ fixture<br />

against York and drew a crowd<br />

of 2,111 but went down 18-22.<br />

On the ground, the excellent<br />

work by community clubs such<br />

as Cramlington Rockets has not<br />

gone unnoticed and <strong>Thunder</strong>,<br />

to their credit, run an Academy<br />

team.<br />

Just as here at the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>,<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong>’s aim is for a team of<br />

locally based players and, in<br />

future, a team full of Geordies<br />

would be great for <strong>Newcastle</strong><br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> and great for Rugby<br />

League.<br />

7<br />

The limited company that ran<br />

the club was wound up and<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> were found to be in<br />

breach of the Rugby League’s<br />

insolvency rules.<br />

Once again, a new club was<br />

formed and agreed to a<br />

voluntary relegation to League 2<br />

with a six point penalty to boot.<br />

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8<br />

ALL GOLDS vs. THUNDER<br />

MATCH PREVIEW<br />

WRITTEN BY PATRICK BAINES<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> host <strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Thunder</strong> on<br />

Sunday with both teams desperate for a win<br />

to maintain their top eight chances.<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> have won their last two league<br />

games, against North Wales Crusaders<br />

and Coventry, whilst <strong>Thunder</strong> come into<br />

Sunday’s game having lost their last five.<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> head coach has warned his<br />

players to expect a tough battle against<br />

a <strong>Newcastle</strong> side that currently sits two<br />

points, and two places, below the Golden<br />

Fern. Lee Greenwood said: “I’ve seen a lot of<br />

<strong>Newcastle</strong> this season, they’re a decent side.<br />

They probably gave Toronto their toughest<br />

test yet and pushed York close last time out.<br />

We’ve had some really good battles against<br />

them in the last two seasons and we know<br />

we’ll need to be at our best to beat them.<br />

“I gave the players a week off last week. It<br />

had been a tough run of games so I’m sure<br />

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they appreciated a bit of rest. Training this<br />

week has been good and we’re ready to go<br />

for Sunday. League 1 is so competitive this<br />

season, there’s 12 or 13 teams looking for a<br />

place in the top eight. <strong>Newcastle</strong> know they<br />

have to win so the pressure will be on them.<br />

Of course it’s a massive game for us as well.<br />

“We’ve got three players - Harry Kidd, Ben<br />

Stead and Brad Kislingbury - who will be<br />

playing for England Students at Headingley<br />

on Friday night so we’ll<br />

need to keep an eye on<br />

them for Sunday. We’ve had<br />

some good wins so far this<br />

season, if we turn up with<br />

the right attitude and play<br />

our best, hopefully we can<br />

have another on Sunday.<br />

Phil Cowburn will miss the<br />

game with a shoulder injury<br />

but he is hopeful of being<br />

available for the trip to<br />

Whitehaven the following<br />

weekend. Alex Gaskell and<br />

Graham O’Keeffe are still on<br />

the sidelines.<br />

<strong>Newcastle</strong> got off to a flying start this season<br />

but have struggled in recent weeks. They<br />

won their first three games in impressive<br />

fashion, beating Workington, London<br />

Skolars and South Wales Ironmen but have<br />

lost their last five. Their head coach Mick<br />

Mantelli was sacked after their 22-18 loss<br />

against York last time out so assistant coach,<br />

and former player, Jason Payne will step up<br />

as interim head coacher the foreseeable<br />

future.<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> strengthened<br />

their ranks last week<br />

with the signing of Steve<br />

Snitch. Snitch played for<br />

Featherstone last season<br />

and has an impressive<br />

rugby league CV having<br />

turned out for Wakefield<br />

Trinity, Huddersfield and<br />

Castleford. He could make<br />

his debut on Sunday and<br />

will certainly be one the <strong>All</strong><br />

<strong>Golds</strong> will have to keep a<br />

close eye on.<br />

9<br />

Lee Greenwood after <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> 36-28 North Wales Crusaders<br />

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UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS<br />

CLUB DIRECTORY<br />

HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS WE HAVE A NUMBER OF<br />

OFFICIAL PARTNERS AND SPONSORS THAT HEAVILY SUPPORT THE CLUB AND, AS AN<br />

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

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

more information then please don’t hesitate to call our Commercial Department on<br />

01242 715297 or email allgoldsbusiness@glos.ac.uk<br />

10<br />

PLAYER SONSORS<br />

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TODAYS OPPONENTS<br />

NORTH WALES CRUSADERS<br />

WRITTEN BY JACK CONLON<br />

12<br />

FORM<br />

<strong>Newcastle</strong> have had a tough time of late,<br />

with their last win coming at the end of<br />

March against South Wales. Their opposition<br />

in recent weeks have included high-flyers<br />

Toronto and Barrow who put 40 and 50<br />

points past them respectively, as well as the<br />

ever-improving York City Knights. With such<br />

a tough schedule <strong>Thunder</strong> have struggled to<br />

nail down any good form and currently find<br />

themselves in 12th position in the League 1<br />

table. Having lost six games in a row, coach<br />

Mick Mantelli was replaced by Jason Payne<br />

who brings his side to Cheltenham in the<br />

hope of turning their bad form around, but<br />

will face a tough task against an <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong><br />

side who have racked up impressive wins in<br />

their last two games.<br />

SQUAD<br />

BACKS<br />

<strong>Thunder</strong> have numerous strike weapons across<br />

the field and no more so in their strong and<br />

consistent backline. On the right, Jamaican<br />

international Joe Brown combines effectively<br />

with Ali Blair, who has become renowned for<br />

his strength and hard running. On the opposite<br />

side, experience mixes with flair through former<br />

England international Peter Fox and centre<br />

Derrell Olpherts. Olpherts has become a potent<br />

threat for the northeast side, scoring 13 tries<br />

in 16 games last season. Ex-Hull KR Academy<br />

graduate Benn Hardcastle forms a lethal halves<br />

partnership with Lewis Young, while former<br />

<strong>All</strong> Gold Danny Nicklas provides back up from<br />

the bench. Huddersfield Giants fullback Jared<br />

Simpson has recently turned out for <strong>Thunder</strong><br />

on dual-registration and could cause problems<br />

with his speed and evasiveness.<br />

FORWARDS<br />

Harry Aldous<br />

Jack Aldous<br />

Matt Barron<br />

Ali Blair<br />

Joe Brown<br />

Zach Clark<br />

Rhys Clarke<br />

Tyler Craig<br />

Peter Fox<br />

Benn Hardcastle<br />

Paddy Hargreaves<br />

Corbyn Kilday<br />

Sam Luckley<br />

Liam McAvoy<br />

Danny Nicklas,<br />

Derrell Olpherts<br />

Dan Parker<br />

Sandy Rae<br />

Vincent Rennie<br />

Kruse Robinson<br />

Liam Scott<br />

Tom Shaw<br />

Evan Simons<br />

Josh Stoker<br />

Aaron Teroi<br />

Dan Turland<br />

Brett Waller<br />

Lewis Young<br />

George Milton (loan)<br />

Jared Simpson<br />

(dual-registration)<br />

<strong>Newcastle</strong>’s forwards certainly pack a punch,<br />

boasting plenty of size and power. Cook Island<br />

international front rower Vincent Rennie leads<br />

the line with his sizeable frame, with the likes of<br />

former Leeds Rhino Liam McAvoy and Aldous<br />

brothers, Jack and Harry providing support.<br />

Hooker Evan Simons has developed a real<br />

knack for unlocking opposition defences with<br />

his work around the ruck and has formed a<br />

potent combination with his halves. This young<br />

pack is supplemented by the likes of Brett<br />

Waller, Matt Barron and Rhys Clarke, who all<br />

carry a wealth of Championship and League<br />

1 experience having spent years in both<br />

competitions. <strong>Thunder</strong> also recently acquired<br />

George Milton on loan from Hull KR, with the<br />

young prop a useful addition to the squad.<br />

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KEY MAN<br />

ONE TO WATCH<br />

Halfback Benn Hardcastle has become a<br />

pivotal part of the <strong>Newcastle</strong> squad since first<br />

joining in 2013 from the Hull KR academy. He is<br />

now in his second spell in the northeast, having<br />

spent 2014 with York City Knights and last year<br />

became the club’s all-time leading point scorer,<br />

surpassing the 500 mark this season. While<br />

not a particularly prolific try-scorer himself,<br />

Hardcastle creates countless opportunities<br />

for the likes of Blair and Fox out wide, with his<br />

vision and core skills being<br />

key assets in his game. He’s formed a great<br />

partnership with local talent Lewis Young and<br />

will cause problems for the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> defence<br />

all afternoon.<br />

Outside back Ali Blair has become a key part<br />

of the <strong>Newcastle</strong> squad and is leading the<br />

way for the northeast’s rugby league talent.<br />

The 27-year-old joined <strong>Thunder</strong> in 2015 from<br />

rugby union outfit Percy Park RFC and has<br />

since become a sensation for the club, scoring<br />

15 tries in 33 games in his first two seasons. His<br />

hard running style makes him not only a threat<br />

from close range, but also when driving the ball<br />

out from his own half, as he takes plenty of runs<br />

to get his side out of dangerous situations. His<br />

explosive speed makes him an all-round solid<br />

player and with enough ball distribution from<br />

those inside him, a potent threat on the wing.<br />

His try-scoring record has continued in <strong>2017</strong>,<br />

with six in eight games already but having not<br />

scored in his side’s past two games, Blair will be<br />

eager for any chance at the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> line.<br />

STATS<br />

HIGHEST SCORE:<br />

66-6 v Wakefield, 5/9/99; 66-6 v Skolars, 29/6/2014<br />

HIGHEST SCORE AGAINST:<br />

0-132 v Blackpool Panthers, 16/5/2010<br />

MOST APPEARANCES:<br />

218 – Robin Peers 2002-2012<br />

HIGHEST POINT SCORER:<br />

519 – Benn Hardcastle 2013 – present<br />

HIGHEST TRY SCORER:<br />

74 – Kevin Neighbour 2001-2006; 2008-2010<br />

13<br />

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ALL GOLDS MATCH REPORTS<br />

WRITTEN BY CHRIS WILSON<br />

14<br />

AGORO<br />

HUNTS DOWN<br />

PRICELESS<br />

VICTORY<br />

BEARS 18-26 ALL GOLDS<br />

SUNDAY 21 st MAY<br />

BUTTS PARK ARENA<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> dug deep to secure a crucial<br />

fourth win of the League 1 campaign.<br />

The first half was an even contest and ended<br />

level on the scoreboard after the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> had<br />

taken an early lead only to see it pegged back<br />

by the home side who briefly led until Ben<br />

Stead knocked over a penalty with the last kick<br />

of the half.<br />

It was a great start from the visitors. Ollie<br />

Purslow’s offload in the fifth minute sent<br />

in Jack Mitchell for the opening try quickly<br />

followed by the second as Stead’s pinpoint<br />

kick on the last tackle was pocketed by Mo<br />

Agoro for his 12th League 1 try of the season.<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> were imposing themselves<br />

physically but the Bears survived the battering<br />

without conceding. Three times they denied<br />

the visitors with desperate last-ditch tackles<br />

and were relieved when Purslow’s pass<br />

touched down by Danny Fallon was ruled<br />

forward.<br />

Then a midfield miscommunication saw a pass<br />

by Fallon decked by Harry Kidd and Harry<br />

Chapman picked up the pieces to trot under<br />

the posts, Brad Delaney’s conversion putting<br />

the Bears ahead 12-10.<br />

On the stroke of half-time, Stead nailed a<br />

35-metre penalty to level the scores and<br />

added another in the opening minute of the<br />

first half to edge the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> in front.<br />

Superb hands from Brad Kislingbury as he<br />

slipped a pass to Chris Barlow extended the<br />

lead before the centre freed Joe McClean to<br />

rampage through the middle, Steven Nield<br />

crossing for his first <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> try on the next<br />

play and you could have heard a pin drop in<br />

the stadium.<br />

They were quietened further when Kislingbury<br />

scored himself, juggling Fallon’s chip kick<br />

before touching down the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>’ third try<br />

in eight devastating minutes. The 14-point lead<br />

would have been more had Stead not missed<br />

all three conversions so that with a quarter of<br />

an hour to go, there was still hope for the Bears.<br />

But they just couldn’t get close to the <strong>All</strong><br />

<strong>Golds</strong> try-line often enough to post points as<br />

the visitors tackled like demons until, with six<br />

minutes left, Chris Barratt forced his way over,<br />

Delaney adding the goal.<br />

ALL GOLDS: Jack Mitchell; Mo Agoro, Steven<br />

Nield, Brad Kislingbury, Chris Barlow; Ben<br />

Stead, Danny Fallon; Ollie Purslow, Steve Parry,<br />

James Walter; Lewis Reece, Joe McClean;<br />

Chris Worrall; INTERCHANGE: Billy Brickhill,<br />

Brad Hargreaves, Harrison Elliott, Harry Kidd.<br />

www.allgoldsrugby.com<br />

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ALL GOLDS<br />

WIPE AWAY CUP<br />

MISERY WITH<br />

REVENGE WIN<br />

ALL GOLDS 36-28 CRUSADERS<br />

SATURDAY 13 th MAY<br />

PRINCE OF WALES STADIUM<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> avenged their League 1 Cup<br />

semi-final defeat to Crusaders with a crucial<br />

eight point victory.<br />

The Crusaders had eased into an 18-6 lead and<br />

it looked like the home side were in for another<br />

miserable 80 minutes but they fought back to<br />

level the scores with the final play of the half<br />

and took the lead in the opening minutes of<br />

the second period.<br />

Though the Crusaders regained the advantage<br />

with two quick tries, the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> came back<br />

to record their third league win of the season.<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> were their own worst enemies<br />

with their discipline letting them down<br />

time and again and their lack of defensive<br />

line-speed allowing plenty of space for the<br />

Crusaders halfbacks to dictate play.<br />

And it was the Crusaders halfbacks who<br />

combined to open the scoring, Ryan Smith<br />

supporting Jack Hansen’s break up the<br />

middle for a converted try. Three minutes later,<br />

Earl Hurst ran a great line to score a fine try<br />

doubling the visitors’ lead.<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> capitalised on their first decent<br />

attack and won a repeat set that ended when<br />

Reece forced his way over, Ben Stead adding<br />

the goal.<br />

Having got back into the match, they promptly<br />

frittered away their foothold with ill-discipline<br />

that caused the referee to put them on a team<br />

warning.<br />

Almost immediately, Hurst went over for his<br />

second score, but that seemed to energise<br />

the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> and Harrison Elliott added some<br />

powerful surges from the bench to gain decent<br />

field position.<br />

This brought its reward as Stead’s kick to the<br />

corner fell to Mo Agoro and the division’s top<br />

try-scorer added another touchdown to his<br />

tally.<br />

Harry Kidd crashed over for identical tries<br />

either side of the break and Stead converted<br />

both to give the home side the lead for the first<br />

time.<br />

However, it lasted barely ten minutes as James<br />

Dandy scored from close range but Johnson<br />

was wide with the conversion which meant<br />

the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> held a slender 24-22 lead. Alex<br />

Thompson then gave the visitors a four-point<br />

advantage when he powered through some<br />

ineffective defence to score.<br />

On the hour the lead changed hands again<br />

and for the final time, Billy Brickhill forcing his<br />

way over from a standing start close to the<br />

line for his first <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> try against his former<br />

club. Stead added the goal and began to find<br />

his range with his kicks including a superb 40-<br />

20 that set up a chance at the game-breaking<br />

score with seven minutes left.<br />

But the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> lost possession and the<br />

Crusaders looked to have gone back in front<br />

when Thompson ploughed over for what<br />

would have been his second try but the referee<br />

ruled he had lost possession in Jack Mitchell’s<br />

tackle.<br />

The <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> closed the game out effectively<br />

from the restart. They played out a safe set,<br />

Danny Fallon finding a good touch and then<br />

forced an error which set up the position for<br />

Reece to drive over for the winning score.<br />

ALL GOLDS: Jack Mitchell; Mo Agoro, Steven<br />

Nield, Brad Kislingbury, Chris Barlow; Ben<br />

Stead, Danny Fallon; Ollie Purslow, Steve Parry,<br />

James Walter; Lewis Reece, Joe McClean;<br />

Chris Worrall; INTERCHANGE: Billy Brickhill,<br />

Harrison Elliott, Malikhi Lloyd-Jones, Harry Kidd<br />

15<br />

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JUNIOR RUGBY<br />

LEAGUE<br />

AT CHELTENHAM PHOENIX<br />

16<br />

Cheltenham Phoenix are running<br />

junior rugby league programmes at<br />

two separate venues in Cheltenham<br />

this summer. The six week<br />

programme is designed to introduce<br />

boys to the sport of rugby league<br />

with all sessions being led by a level<br />

2 coach. No prior rugby league (or<br />

rugby!) experience is necessary.<br />

Venue one:<br />

Cheltenham North RFC<br />

Sunday mornings 10.30 - 12.00<br />

June 11th - July 16th<br />

Open to boys U14 and U15<br />

(school years 9 and 10)<br />

Venue two:<br />

Cheltenham North RFC<br />

Wednesday evenings<br />

5.00 - 6.00<br />

June 7th - July 12th<br />

Open to U14 (school year 9) only<br />

For more information please contact<br />

Mike www.allgoldsrugby.com<br />

Hughes on 07833 030987 or email @<strong>All</strong><strong>Golds</strong> facebook.com/<strong>All</strong><strong>Golds</strong>Rugby<br />

mikehughes.ets@gmail.com


FLAME OF THE WEST<br />

WRITTEN BY CHRIS WILSON<br />

ROUND 3 PREVIEW<br />

Pool 1 is all about the haves and<br />

the have nots with three teams<br />

on maximum points and the<br />

other three yet to get off the<br />

mark.<br />

Cheltenham Phoenix, Forest<br />

Bulldogs and Somerset Vikings<br />

have won both of their matches<br />

in impressive style leaving<br />

Gloucestershire Warriors,<br />

Bath Romans and Swindon St<br />

George A awaiting their first<br />

victory.<br />

<strong>All</strong> that should change this<br />

weekend as the Warriors<br />

travel to Wiltshire to take on St<br />

George in a fixture that has extra<br />

spice with ex-Warriors coach<br />

Matthew Robinson in charge of<br />

the Swindon outfit and former<br />

player Paul Bolger likely to be in<br />

their ranks as well. The Warriors<br />

have been on an upward curve<br />

despite their losses and a win<br />

would maintain that trajectory.<br />

The Romans have a tough task<br />

to score their first win as they<br />

travel to Cheltenham to face a<br />

big, powerful Phoenix side that<br />

looks like making the play-offs<br />

once again. They have scored<br />

heavily in their two wins and<br />

though the Warriors found a<br />

few chinks in the armour to<br />

score five times themselves a<br />

fortnight ago, the Romans will<br />

have to be on their game to get<br />

something from the fixture.<br />

A 100% record will go at Weston<br />

as Somerset Vikings take on the<br />

Forest Bulldogs. Having won<br />

two home games, the match will<br />

be a test of the Bulldogs’ ability<br />

on the road while the Vikings<br />

racked up a half century in their<br />

win over Swindon and will be<br />

confident of maintaining their<br />

early season promise.<br />

In contrast, Pool 2 has yet to find<br />

its feet as both Portsmouth and<br />

Southampton suffered a false<br />

start in week one and may seek<br />

to rearrange their fixtures with<br />

Swindon St George and Oxford<br />

Cavaliers respectively for later in<br />

the season.<br />

Elsewhere the big surprise has<br />

been the form of the Bristol<br />

Sonics who have lost both their<br />

games so far. They were poor<br />

for the most part in their loss<br />

to Bath RL but threw away a<br />

promising position to go down<br />

21-20 to Swindon last time out.<br />

The new Bath club has won both<br />

its games as the side followed<br />

their triumph over the Sonics<br />

with an impressive 32-30 win<br />

over the Cavaliers. They travel to<br />

Southampton in a clash of the<br />

top two sides in the Pool aiming<br />

to remain in pole position.<br />

Having beaten local rivals<br />

Portsmouth in their first outing<br />

of the season, the Spitfires will<br />

be hoping to make the most<br />

of home field advantage to<br />

maintain their unbeaten record.<br />

Portsmouth, meanwhile, travel<br />

to Bristol where something has<br />

to give with both sides looking<br />

for their first win. The Sonics’<br />

narrow loss at Swindon should<br />

give them confidence and they<br />

will be looking to make home<br />

advantage count.<br />

The match of the round looks<br />

to be the clash at Supermarine<br />

RFC between Swindon St<br />

George and Oxford Cavaliers.<br />

The home side have won their<br />

only game so far while the<br />

Cavaliers went down to Bath<br />

in their only 80 minutes of the<br />

campaign. Swindon are buzzing<br />

as a club at the moment and,<br />

having had a taste of the Grand<br />

Final last season will be looking<br />

for more this year. A win this<br />

week will certainly help them in<br />

that aim.<br />

Fixtures (2.30pm unless stated)<br />

Pool 1<br />

Swindon St George A vs Gloucestershire Warriors (3pm)<br />

Somerset Vikings vs Forest Bulldogs<br />

Cheltenham Phoenix vs Bath & Wiltshire Romans<br />

Pool 2<br />

Southampton Spitfires vs Bath RL<br />

Swindon St George vs Oxford Cavaliers (1pm)<br />

Portsmouth Navy Seahawks vs Bristol Sonics<br />

17<br />

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NEW SOUTHERN RUGBY<br />

LEAGUE COMPETITION SET TO<br />

LAUNCH IN 2018<br />

RFL – 26 MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />

18<br />

A recently-formed Southern RL Management<br />

Group have been exploring plans to create<br />

a coherent pyramid structure for Open Age<br />

community Rugby League in the South of the<br />

UK, that enables clubs to find an appropriate<br />

level of competition.<br />

The first part of these plans would be to develop<br />

a Premier competition which would run two<br />

divisions, one in the East and one in the West.<br />

These competitions would aim to provide more<br />

playing opportunities that pit the best clubs<br />

from the southern regional leagues against<br />

each other on a weekly basis, throughout an<br />

extended season. This competition would<br />

provide a more intense and a longer playing<br />

season for Rugby League players from the<br />

south who wish to play at a higher level.<br />

The Eastern Premier would be open to teams<br />

who currently play in the Midlands, East of<br />

England and London & South East Men’s<br />

Leagues.<br />

The Western Premier would be open to clubs<br />

in the West of England League and Wales, as<br />

well as Rugby League clubs from Devon and<br />

Cornwall.<br />

The regional competitions currently in place<br />

across the south of England would remain<br />

in the new structure, with the new ‘East’ and<br />

‘West’ Leagues becoming a pair of Premier<br />

competitions for Rugby League in the south of<br />

England.<br />

It is hoped that the proposals will allow the<br />

regional leagues to flourish, making the<br />

various competitions more open to potential<br />

new clubs, while also giving different teams<br />

the opportunity to fight for silverware within<br />

leagues which may have been dominated by<br />

the same teams in recent years.<br />

Rugby Football League Competition Manager<br />

for the South, David Raybould, said: “The<br />

aim of this project is twofold; first, to provide<br />

those clubs who are ready with a more intense<br />

competition, and to provide all the other clubs<br />

in the south with a vibrant structure to be part<br />

of.<br />

“<strong>All</strong> the parts of this may not come to life<br />

immediately - we are keen to work with the<br />

clubs to ensure the structure works for them.<br />

“The feedback we have received from clubs so<br />

far has been really positive and I am excited to<br />

see the plans develop over the coming months.”<br />

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Clubs in the South are encouraged to send their expressions of<br />

interest to enter the new Eastern and Western Premier Divisions<br />

to competitions@rfl.uk.com by Wednesday, June 7.<br />

There will then be a meeting on Sunday, June 18 at Hemel Stags’<br />

Pennine Way Stadium (HP2 5UD) where more information will<br />

be available.<br />

Full details of the proposed restructure can be found below:<br />

The plans, as David Raybould<br />

says, may not be the finished<br />

article from day one but there is<br />

room for them to grow and for<br />

clubs to grow with them, finding<br />

their own level at which they are<br />

comfortable. It may be messy at<br />

first and may take a few years<br />

to settle down into the strong<br />

competition it is hoped it will<br />

become, but perseverance will<br />

be the key and the support,<br />

understanding and will to make<br />

it work from the RFL will be<br />

essential.<br />

Of the clubs in the West of<br />

England, my personal thoughts<br />

are that Bristol Sonics would be<br />

a good fit as they move into a<br />

new home. Swindon St George<br />

look ideally set up to take full<br />

advantage of the arrangement,<br />

while it would help cement the<br />

partnership between Oxford<br />

Cavaliers and Oxford RL for the<br />

Cavs to compete at that level.<br />

Editor’s comment: Firstly, I<br />

must declare a vested interest<br />

in the plans as I am currently<br />

Chairman of Gloucestershire<br />

Warriors and the Warriors will<br />

be looking to play somewhere<br />

in this set-up.<br />

Looking at the proposal<br />

through a Warriors lens, it<br />

seems to make sense.<br />

These plans have actually been<br />

knocking around in one form<br />

or another for a while now but<br />

I think the time is right to put<br />

them into practice. They give<br />

scope for clubs who want to<br />

go forward and play a longer<br />

season the chance to do that<br />

while equally clubs who just<br />

want a shorter, more social<br />

season can be accommodated<br />

as well.<br />

With the demise of the<br />

Conference League South<br />

(CLS), this format is one that<br />

can stretch over time to fill the<br />

void and give the likes of the<br />

Valley Cougars and London<br />

Chargers the opportunity<br />

to play at a decent standard<br />

and strengthen their club<br />

infrastructure.<br />

It could also provide<br />

opportunities for semi-pro sides<br />

such as the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>, Hemel<br />

Stags, Coventry and Oxford to<br />

run development sides at the<br />

appropriate standard.<br />

Whilst the Warriors are<br />

probably not in the position to<br />

move into the West Premier<br />

league in 2018, the club is<br />

supportive of the structure. The<br />

Warriors are ambitious enough<br />

to want to move forward and<br />

work towards achieving a place<br />

in the West Premier where they<br />

can provide the (currently)<br />

missing step in the pathway<br />

from novice to professional.<br />

As I have said, the Warriors<br />

are not in a position to move<br />

there immediately and from<br />

what they have said in the<br />

past I believe that Cheltenham<br />

Phoenix would not be looking<br />

at entering, though I may of<br />

course, be wrong.<br />

A strong West Premier league<br />

would be the opportunity for<br />

the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> to run a reserve<br />

side until such time as the<br />

RFL gets a national reserve<br />

competition up and running to<br />

replace its dual reg and loan<br />

system.<br />

There have been plenty of ups<br />

and downs since the Summer<br />

Conference kicked off 20 years<br />

ago now thanks to the hard<br />

work of the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> very own<br />

president and visionary Lionel<br />

Hurst.<br />

Perhaps now there is a<br />

competition that will help to<br />

support and encourage clubs<br />

and individuals playing the<br />

great game of rugby league in<br />

the south of the country.<br />

19<br />

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20<br />

STEVE PARRY<br />

WRITTEN BY JACK CONLON<br />

Setting fires on the pitch,<br />

extinguishing them off it<br />

Mention ‘Rugby’ to just about anyone in Wales,<br />

and they’ll chew your ear off talking about 15<br />

men forming rucks and mauls. The whole nation<br />

dreams of representing their country in a World<br />

Cup, facing the <strong>All</strong> Blacks, the Wallabies and<br />

even the old enemy from across the border.<br />

But for one man, a full-time firefighter from<br />

Merthyr Tydfil, that dream is reciprocated in a<br />

different code, and could soon become a reality.<br />

Steve Parry, captain of the University of<br />

Gloucestershire <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong>, managed to slip the<br />

Rugby Union net as a youngster, and has gone<br />

on to<br />

become<br />

one of the most<br />

talented hookers<br />

in League 1, even<br />

earning several<br />

international caps<br />

along the way.<br />

And while he started<br />

his career on the<br />

conventional Welsh<br />

route into Union, it was<br />

his family who swayed<br />

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him in the direction of the 13-<br />

man game, before he signed<br />

his first professional contract<br />

for South Wales Scorpions.<br />

“I didn’t play Union until I was<br />

15 so I started quite late, but<br />

sort of got into Rugby League<br />

that following season through<br />

my Uncle and my Dad,” he<br />

explains.<br />

“They were big Rugby League<br />

fans and my Dad found me a<br />

team in Cardiff, so I signed up<br />

at U15’s and went from there.”<br />

“I signed for Scorpions in<br />

2010, which was quite funny<br />

because I’d just come back<br />

from playing Rugby Union in<br />

New Zealand and had plans<br />

in my head that I was going<br />

to go back travelling, possibly<br />

back to New Zealand, possibly<br />

Australia.<br />

“But I got a call from<br />

(South Wales coach)<br />

Mark Rowley, asking<br />

if I wanted to go to an<br />

open trial for this new<br />

professional team.<br />

“So I went down to Sophia<br />

Gardens in Cardiff for the trial<br />

and managed to get picked<br />

for the squad.”<br />

As is the nature of League<br />

1 Rugby League, Parry<br />

combines his playing<br />

commitments with his full<br />

time job as a firefighter for the<br />

South Wales Fire and Rescue<br />

Service. However, despite the<br />

demanding schedule, he says<br />

that the two jobs complement<br />

each other well.<br />

“I’ve always liked the thought<br />

of being in the public services,<br />

something to help the<br />

community, it’s an exciting job.<br />

“I’m a bit of an adrenaline<br />

junkie so being a firefighter<br />

fits in well with what I want to<br />

do.<br />

“The schedule is pretty hectic<br />

but it works around the<br />

Rugby well. I have to do my<br />

number of hours when I’m out<br />

of training and when I’m not<br />

playing so it does fit in nice.<br />

“I think the fire service like<br />

having sportspeople work for<br />

them. They want fit people<br />

who can do the job effectively<br />

so they kind of encourage<br />

sportspeople to join and work<br />

around it.”<br />

Just seven years after making<br />

his professional debut for<br />

the Scorpions, Parry could<br />

be about to embark on his<br />

biggest achievement to date;<br />

the <strong>2017</strong> Rugby League<br />

World Cup in Australia. With<br />

a place in John Kear’s squad<br />

beckoning, the 28-year-old<br />

knows he needs to stay<br />

focused to cement his spot.<br />

“I know I’ve got to be on my<br />

best form because Wales<br />

have a lot of good players<br />

now and that’s been evident<br />

over the last two years.<br />

“I need to work a little bit<br />

more on my kicking game,<br />

bring that to the forefront and<br />

hopefully that’ll give me a bit<br />

of an edge but it’s all about<br />

working on everything, trying<br />

to be a well-rounded player<br />

and not having too many<br />

weaknesses.<br />

“I pride myself on my work<br />

ethic. I don’t stop and I give<br />

110% every game and try and<br />

be a leader on the field so I’m<br />

hoping that stands out.”<br />

Wales have a tough group,<br />

facing Ireland and Papua<br />

New Guinea, as well as a<br />

star-studded Fiji squad that<br />

includes the likes of Jarryd<br />

Hayne, John Sutton and Tariq<br />

Sims. And while they are far<br />

from favourites, Parry says the<br />

squad still fancy their chances.<br />

“It’s a tough group,” he<br />

chuckles, “it’s a very tough<br />

group but Wales over the last<br />

two years have been a team<br />

based on belief and heart and<br />

have got some great results<br />

on the back of that.<br />

“That’s the big thing for Wales<br />

at the moment, we’ve got<br />

a real tight-knit squad that<br />

work hard for each other and<br />

sometimes it’s not the best<br />

players on the pitch that win<br />

but the hardest working.<br />

“We turned over a fantastic<br />

French team in Cardiff with<br />

probably a weaker side on<br />

paper, then beat Italy, who<br />

had some very good players<br />

including Terry Campese.<br />

“So I don’t think you can write<br />

off Wales. If we play to our<br />

ability and stay tight-knit, then<br />

we’ve got a good chance of<br />

making it out of that group.”<br />

As far as maximum effort<br />

and drive goes, Parry stands<br />

above almost all of his rivals.<br />

And should he get a place on<br />

the plane come October, I can<br />

guarantee that contrary to his<br />

day job, he’ll be setting plenty<br />

of fires on the pitch.<br />

This article was originally<br />

featured in seriousaboutrl.<br />

com – the website for all<br />

things rugby league!<br />

21<br />

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UoG STUDENTS MAKE<br />

WORLD CUP SQUAD<br />

WRITTEN BY PATRICK BAINES<br />

22<br />

Four members of the University of<br />

Gloucestershire rugby league team will fly to<br />

Australia on July 1 to represent England at the<br />

Student World Cup.<br />

Brad Kislingbury, Harry Kidd, James Mason and<br />

Ben Stead made the final 24-man squad, with<br />

another University of Gloucestershire student<br />

– Malikhi Lloyd-Jones – placed on the six-man<br />

reserve list.<br />

The five players helped UGRL win the Premier<br />

South Division earlier this year and were<br />

unbeaten at home all season until they lost 28-<br />

23 to the University of Hull in the quarter final of<br />

the national title.<br />

Their strong form for UGRL and the <strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong><br />

was recognised by the England Universities<br />

head coach Colin Baker who said: “We’ve had<br />

three games together against the RAF, St<br />

Helens Reserves and the UK Armed Forces<br />

and we have two more games to go before we<br />

depart. That is on top of the excellent Regional<br />

and Origin games that players played in ahead<br />

of selection for England.<br />

“For the 24 who travel, they know they have to<br />

continue to keep working hard as there will be<br />

strong competition for places in all the games<br />

we play in during our time in Australia.<br />

“I am confident that we have picked the best<br />

squad in terms of talent, commitment and<br />

attitude and I am looking forward to working<br />

with the players and staff on the Student World<br />

Cup campaign.”<br />

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Harry Kidd, captain of the<br />

UGRL side, said: “I’m over the<br />

moon to make the squad.<br />

Playing for my country will<br />

be a huge honour. I can’t wait<br />

to fly out to Australia and<br />

having three lads from UGRL<br />

with me will be great. The<br />

facilities at the University of<br />

Gloucestershire are superb.<br />

We’re lucky enough to have<br />

top coaches and support<br />

staff. <strong>All</strong> of the strength and<br />

conditioning staff, the physios<br />

and team managers work<br />

hard to create the perfect<br />

place to play rugby league.<br />

We have a state of the art gym<br />

which we have the privilege<br />

of using. It is the perfect place<br />

for a rugby league player to<br />

be based.”<br />

who also works as the head<br />

coach of the university side.<br />

“it’s not just nice for the lads to<br />

get that recognition, but also<br />

the university and the set up<br />

we have down here.”<br />

The England team will<br />

now ramp up their final<br />

fundraising effort, with player<br />

sponsorship, kit sponsorship,<br />

raffle tickets and an online<br />

fundraising account at<br />

gofundme.com/englandunirl<br />

all established to reduce<br />

the financial contribution<br />

that each player needs to<br />

contribute.<br />

ENGLAND UNIVERSITIES<br />

24-MAN SQUAD:<br />

Jacob Morgan (Leeds<br />

Beckett), Jake Reed<br />

(Leeds Beckett) James<br />

Mason (Gloucestershire),<br />

James Woodburn-Hall<br />

(Leeds), Jason Bass<br />

(<strong>Newcastle</strong>), Joshua Halstead<br />

(Birmingham), Joshua<br />

Hamilton (Hull), Kieran<br />

Sherratt (Coventry), Kieran<br />

Smith (Sheffield Hallam),<br />

Lewis Lord (Loughborough),<br />

Liam Wood (UCLan), Marcus<br />

Stock (Sheffield), Matt Ross<br />

(Nottingham Trent), Nathan<br />

Hill (Hull), Sam Druce (Leeds<br />

Beckett), Zack McComb<br />

(Leeds Beckett)<br />

Remaining England<br />

Universities’ <strong>2017</strong> UK<br />

Fixtures:<br />

23<br />

<strong>All</strong> <strong>Golds</strong> assistant coach<br />

Anthony Murray added his<br />

delight at seeing five of the<br />

club’s young stars gain their<br />

call-up.<br />

“I am really pleased for all the<br />

guys and congratulate them<br />

on their call up,” said Murray,<br />

Aaron Hall (Bolton), Ben<br />

Stead (Gloucestershire), Brad<br />

Kislingbury (Gloucestershire),<br />

Dan Harrison (Nottingham<br />

Trent), Dom Bryan<br />

(Manchester Met), Elliot<br />

Hall (Loughborough), Harry<br />

Kidd (Gloucestershire),<br />

Jack Lazenby (Hull),<br />

Friday 2nd June, 5.00pm –<br />

Headingley Carnegie v GB<br />

Armed Forces<br />

Saturday 17th June, 2pm<br />

– Cougar Park v Keighley<br />

Cougars Reserves.<br />

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ALL GOLDS FIXTURES & RESU<br />

DATE K.O. OPPONENTS RES FULLBACK WING CENTRE CENTRE WING STAND OFF<br />

Sun Feb 19 14:00 A Hemel Stags (L1CupR1) 12-48 GASKELL 1T AGORO 1T COWBURN KISLINGBURY 2T BARLOW STEAD 1G<br />

Sun Feb 26 14:00 H North Wales Crusaders (LCCR3) 36-18 GASKELL 1T AGORO 1T COWBURN KISLINGBURY 2T BARLOW HOUGHTON<br />

Sun Mar 5 15:00 A Hunslet (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 10-06 HOUGHTON AGORO BRICKHILL WILLIAMS KISLINGBURY STEAD 1G<br />

Sun Mar 12 15:00 H Keighley Cougars (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 46-22 GASKELL AGORO 4T COWBURN KISLINGBURY BARLOW MITCHELL 1T<br />

Sun Mar 19 15:00 A Doncaster (LCCR4) 48-22 GASKELL AGORO COWBURN KISLINGBURY 1T BARLOW 1T MITCHELL<br />

Sun Mar 26 15:00 A Workington Town (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 54-22 GASKELL AGORO 1T COWBURN 1T KISLINGBURY BARLOW 1T MITCHELL<br />

Sun Apr 2 14:30 A Workington Town (L1CupQF) 22-30 MITCHELL AGORO WILLIAMS COWBURN 2T BARLOW 1T FALLON<br />

Sun Apr 9 15:00 H London Skolars (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 22-24 COWBURN AGORO 2T BRICKHILL NIELD BARLOW FALLON<br />

Fri April 14 15:00 A South Wales Ironmen (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 30-36 NIELD AGORO 3T COWBURN 1T KISLINGBURY 1T BARLOW WARD<br />

Sun April 30 15:00 H North Wales Crusaders (L1CupSF) 28-37 MITCHELL AGORO 1T COWBURN KISLINGBURY 1T BARLOW 2T WARD<br />

Sun May 7 15:00 H York City Knights (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 10-56 NIELD AGORO COWBURN KISLINGBURY 1T BARLOW WARD 2G<br />

Sun May 14 15:00 H North Wales Crusaders (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 36-28 MITCHELL AGORO 1T NIELD KISLINGBURY BARLOW STEAD 6G<br />

Sun May 21 15:00 A Coventry Bears (<strong>KPL1</strong>) 18-26 MITCHELL 1T AGORO 1T NIELD 1T KISLINGBURY 1T BARLOW 1T STEAD 3G<br />

Sun Jun 4 15:00 H <strong>Newcastle</strong> <strong>Thunder</strong> (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

Sun Jun 11 14:00 A Whitehaven (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

Sun Jun 18 14:00 A Hemel Stags (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

Sun Jun 25 15:00 H Oxford (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

Sat Jul 1 18:30 A Barrow Raiders (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

Sat Jul 8 12:00 A Toronto Wolfpack (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

Sun Jul 16 15:00 H Doncaster (<strong>KPL1</strong>)<br />

THE KEY | Home games appear in bold | <strong>KPL1</strong> = Kingstone Press League 1 | <strong>KPL1</strong>S = Kingstone Press League 1 Shield<br />

LCC = Ladbrokes Challenge Cup | L1Cup = League 1 Cup | Sin-binned Red Card (Sent Off) | T = Try | G = Goal | DG = Drop Goal<br />

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LTS <strong>2017</strong><br />

SCRUM HALF PROP HOOKER PROP 2ND ROW 2ND ROW LOOSE FWD SUB 1 SUB 2 SUB 3 SUB 4<br />

HYDE 5G PURSLOW PARRY (C) 2T WALTER WORRALL McCLEAN 1T ELLIOTT 1T HOUGHTON WILLIAMS 1T LLOYD-JONES KIDD<br />

HYDE 2G PURSLOW PARRY (C) 2T ELLIOTT WORRALL McCLEAN 1T BRICKHILL MITCHELL ANDRADE LLOYD-JONES KIDD 1T<br />

HYDE PURSLOW PARRY (C) KIDD JONES McCLEAN ELLIOTT MITCHELL ANDRADE 1T LLOYD-JONES WALTER<br />

HYDE 5G PURSLOW PARRY (C) 2T KIDD WORRALL McCLEAN BRICKHILL WILLIAMS ELLIOTT 1T FALLON 2G WALTER<br />

HYDE 3G PURSLOW PARRY (C) 2T KIDD McCLEAN WORRALL BRICKHILL WILLIAMS ELLIOTT ANDRADE WALTER<br />

HYDE 3G PURSLOW PARRY (C) ELLIOTT WORRALL McCLEAN 1T BRICKHILL LLOYD-JONES ANDRADE WALTER KIDD<br />

HYDE 5G KIDD 1T PARRY (C) 1T WALTER ELLIOTT McCLEAN WORRALL STEPHENS O’KEEFFE PURSLOW LLOYD-JONES<br />

HYDE 3G KIDD PARRY (C) 1T WALTER ELLIOTT McCLEAN 1T WORRALL LOBWEIN JONES PURSLOW LLOYD JONES<br />

HYDE 6G ELLIOTT 1T PARRY (C) PURSLOW MCCLEAN WORRALL BRICKHILL LOBWEIN O’KEEFFE WALTER ANDRADE<br />

HYDE 2G PURSLOW PARRY (C) 1T KIDD 1T WORRALL McCLEAN BRICKHILL FALLON O’KEEFFE ELLIOTT LLOYD-JONES<br />

HYDE PURSLOW PARRY (C) 1T ELLIOTT O’KEEFFE McCLEAN WORRALL BRICKHILL REECE KIDD LLOYD-JONES<br />

FALLON PURSLOW PARRY (C) WALTER REECE 2T McCLEAN WORRALL BRICKHILL 1T ELLIOTT LLOYD-JONES KIDD 2T<br />

FALLON PURSLOW PARRY (C) WALTER REECE McCLEAN WORRALL BRICKHILL HARGREAVES ELLIOTT KIDD<br />

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ALL GOLDS<br />

HEAD COACH:<br />

LEE GREENWOOD<br />

THUNDER<br />

HEAD COACH:<br />

JASON PAYNE<br />

26<br />

MO AGORO<br />

CHRIS BARLOW<br />

BILLY BRICKHILL<br />

HARRISON ELLIOTT<br />

DANNY FALLON<br />

BRADLEY HARGREAVES<br />

KIERAN HYDE<br />

HARRY KIDD<br />

BRAD KISLINGBURY<br />

MALIKHI LLOYD-JONES<br />

JACK MITCHELL<br />

STEVE PARRY (C)<br />

OLLIE PURSLOW<br />

LEWIS REECE<br />

BEN STEAD<br />

LUKE STEPHENS<br />

JOSHUA WARD<br />

KADEEM WILLIAMS<br />

CHRIS WORRALL<br />

HARRY ALDOUS<br />

JACK ALDOUS<br />

ALISTAIR BLAIR<br />

JOSEPH BROWN<br />

RHYS CLARKE<br />

BENN HARDCASTLE<br />

SAM LUCKLEY<br />

LIAM MCAVOY<br />

DANIEL NICKLAS<br />

DARRELL OLPHERTS<br />

DANIEL PARKER<br />

VINCENT RENNIE<br />

THOMAS SHAW<br />

EVAN SIMONS<br />

STEPHEN SNITCH<br />

JOSHUA STOKER<br />

AARON TEROI<br />

BRETT WALLER<br />

LEWIS YOUNG<br />

REFEREE: M. ROSSLEIGH | RESERVE: T. ARNOLD<br />

TOUCH JUDGES: R. SNELSON, P. CROMER | M COM: M. HEPTINSTALL<br />

UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE ALL GOLDS<br />

Oxstalls Campus, Gloucester, GL2 9HW<br />

www.allgoldsrugby.com<br />

@<strong>All</strong><strong>Golds</strong> facebook.com/<strong>All</strong><strong>Golds</strong>Rugby<br />

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

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