A glorious autumnal day greeted our journey north. We were
travelling back to where our rugby experience began – Huddersfield RUFC at
Lockwood Park. I took the decision to leave Huddersfield, the town, nearly two
years ago and I don’t regret it for one instant. I do, however, miss the
friendship and camaraderie of my fellow travellers at the club. We shared, joy
and agony, ecstasy and heartbreak. It was the best of times it was the worst of
times. Leaving HRUFC was emotional fo me as a coach and a parent. Tom missed
his friends but moved on and is still working his way into the Dinno
experience. He feels a lot more out of place than I do as Huddersfield is all
he ever knew.
We arrived early so that we could catch up with some old
friends and get the feel of the place into our bones again. It is a
breathtakingly beautiful ground nestled in the hills of Huddersfield with the
Penistone line crossing overhead on the viaduct. The weather added to the
beauty of the place. The rushing waters of the River Colne were an assault on
the senses which few grounds I have visited have been able to capture.
We watched the u9s for a bit and chatted with their coach
who was Tom’s first coach. Thirty plus players have joined his ranks this
season and he has the luxury of putting out three teams. We then went over to
watch the u15s who Tom trained with occasionally. Their rugby was stunning and
they destroyed Driffield. Their weakness, if they have one, is that they are a
bit cocky and can tend to coast. Then we watched one of Tom’s school friends
and playing pals from u7s referee an u11s game.
We went for some food and I am pleased to say that the bacon
sandwiches have improved since we left and as I understand it plans are afoot
to improve the facilities further in coming months. Slowly the players, coaches
and parents of our old club started to appear. There were lots of handshakes,
smiles and hugs. But, despite all this bonhomie, I felt a little unsure of
where to be and so I sat alone, an island unto myself lost in my thoughts and
memories.
The boy started the match at No 8 and for the first ten
minutes Huddersfield held back Dinno. Dinno built on a platform laid by their
pack and it was a matter of time before an opportunity would present itself.
The match was played over three periods. By the end of the first period
Dinnington were 17-0 up. Huddersfield didn’t know what hit them and even if
they did they didn’t appear to be able to counteract it. Their star players in
the backs couldn’t do anything to stop the flow of the Dinnington pack who were
aggressive in the tackle, the ruck and at set pieces.
The second period continued in much the same vane and ended
4 tries to 1. Huddersfield have the players who given the space and the ball
can do damage. Whenever they made a mistake the ball was handed to the Dinno
pack. Some words about this group of players. There are two full packs
available to Dinnington. They can select any 8 of these and put them in any
formation in the pack and they will dominate. They are far from the finished article
and can dominate opponents for years to come if they choose to.
The final period saw Huddersfield grab another try but
Dinnington pile on further pressure. The final score was 58-12 to Dinnington.
If we had had a better kicker the margin would have been greater. The
Huddersfield coach remarked that we have an outstanding side and that he has
not seen forward play like that for years. After it was all over we retired to
the bar to swap stories and to catch up. They are due to visit us in February .
They tend to start slowly and then find consistency later on. It was
heartbreaking for me to watch my old team be demolished like that. The Dinnington coaches and parents enjoyed
the day and hopefully it will be the first of many visits.
Next up Castleford in the cup.
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