From the touchline by Dave Campbell

 CRAIG FARRELL

It’s been a busy sporting weekend with Rugby League’s ‘Magic Weekend’  from from the Etihad Stadium , the Aviva Premiership Grand Final and England versus The Barbarians today.  I may be proved wrong but the attendance seemed relatively sparse at Man City’s ground for a fair few of the games on Saturday and Sunday with perhaps Leeds-Bradford and Wigan-St Helens being the exception. I understand the powers that be in Rugby League continually striving to bring the game to a wider audience but hawking it around for me has had the opposite effect; with the appearance of a game desperate for acceptance outside it’s heartland. A note of caution here: when rugby union went open I wrote that I didn’t believe there was a fan-base to sustain a professional club game; this year’s massive crowds which turned up for club games at Wembley and Twickenham have certainly proved me very wrong!  So What the hell do I know! Quite a lot of people turned up at the J.M. Guthrie clubhouse at Scarborough rugby club on Saturday to watch the Premiership final on TV; they were disappointed as the game was on ESPN. I did mention this earlier in the week; however a few hardy souls did gather round a table and watched the game on a mobile phone!  A Win for Roy Hogdson’s England in Norway (1-0) yesterday evening was pretty tame stuff and England’s 57-26 defeat of the Barbarians at Twickenham today was predictable. The real test for both sides is to come in Ukraine and South Africa respectively and I can’t wait for those. Finally closer to home former Hull KR star Craig Farrell made his début for Scarborough Pirates yesterday and scored two tries in the Eastfield-based outfit’s 30-24 win at Leeds Akkies. He was also named man of the match. That’s to in a row for Pirates and a successful season beckons.

I’ve just seen on the internet that London Welsh have been denied their chance to move up to the Premiership following an RFU meeting this afternoon. So once more Newcastle who have struggled for years,  gets off the hook. I must admit I am really pleased for ‘Deano’ who was the guest speaker at Scarborough’s sportsman’s dinner at the start of last season. The big fella’ admitted to his part in ‘bloodgate’ and held up his hands. However it all looks farcical when you think that relegated Leeds who were struggling to get a couple of thousand to their home games last season are now hawking their home games around a few poorly supported clubs in Yorkshire. I’m completely biased but when one looks at the attendances at Scarborough and  the magnificent facilities at Silver Royd it really makes you wonder where the union game is going.      A busy stand at Scarborough – see below:

The first leg of the Championship final takes place in Penzance this evening with London Welsh taking on the Cornish Pirates. Due to the demands of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) no matter what the outcome, the Pirates won’t be going up as their facilities don’t satisfy the requirements of the Rugby Game board to play in the Aviva Premiership. To further complicate things London Welsh don’t know if their proposed move to the Kassam Stadium in Oxford will meet with approval of the board. They will know before the 7.45pm kick off of the game. If both sides are prevented from moving up WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE GAME?

Scarborough’s ARL side the Pirates won their first game on the road at Bradford Barbarians  last Saturday. Tom Ratcliffe and Craig Farrell who played for Scarborough RU last season have been reported as having signed for the Pirates for this season. Both have RL pedigrees; Tom played for a British Colleges side and Craig was a professional with amongst other clubs Hull KR. Ratcliffe didn’t get among the tries in the Eastfield-based side’s comfortable 24-10 win but played well converting two tries. Craig Farrell missed the game due to a family bereavement.

Tom Ratcliffe scores for SRUFC against YORK RU

Although the summer is upon us I thought I would make my way up to Silver Royd on Saturday to watch the Aviva Premiership Grand Final between Quins and Tigers on the big screen in the J.M. Guthrie clubhouse. Much to my consternation I noted in the Radio Times today that the game would be shown exclusively on ESPN!………….ES (what)!  We only have SKY SPORTS so it’ll have to be the second test and a couple of pints with the other old codgers. Who watches ESPN anyway?