Penrith punish rusty Roosters
13 hours ago | Aidan Edgecomb
Trinity & All Saints RLFC's 10th Anniversary Old Boys day on Sunday October 9th was a resounding success, raising over ?1,500 for charity.
The team of current students claimed the Dave Cole Memorial Shield for the first time ever after scoring an impressive 24-8 win - their first victory in four years in the annual encounter - in front of large and vocal crowd at the Horsforth college.
South African stand-off Darragh O'Hara led the way for the students, with a man-of-the-match performance, whilst the Old Boys were well led up front by Mark Hyndman and former Gateshead Thunder prop Scott Harrison.
However, despite two tries by Bedford Tigers RLFC forward Sam Richbell, the Old Boys were unable to overturn a 14-4 half-time deficit.
Aidan Perkins led the Old Boys to a 3-1 victory in the corresponding football fixture.
Off the field, the day's fundraising activities were equally successful. The money will be directed to a charity nominated by the parents of David Cole, a popular student at the college who passed away in 2003 following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Club founder Rob Potts commented: "Trinity & All Saints RLFC's Old Boys Day is now one of the most established events of its type in Student Rugby League and today's special 10th Anniversary celebration was another memorable occasion."
"I'd like to thank all those who donated money to what is an extremely worthy cause, close to many people's hearts. I'd also like to say a big thank you to the past and present members of college staff and their families who gave up their Sunday afternoon to help with the fundraising, along with Tony Kenny from Rugby League Ireland who kindly donated the raffle prizes and a number of other items. This event continues to act as a fitting tribute to Dave."
The entire batch of commemorative 10th Anniversary Old Boys jerseys and match programmes sold out on the day - a second batch of shirts is currently being made to meet the high demand.
The other main highlight of the day was the unveiling of the Trinity & All Saints RLFC Team of the Decade, which was a selection of the 13 players judged to have made the most significant onfield impact during the first 10 years of the club's history.
Team of the Decade (Present club in brackets)
1) Matt Blaymire (York City Knights)
2) Daragh Coghlan (Coogee Dolphins)
3) Andy Eastham (British Police Rugby League)
4) Steve Kiely (Broughton Park RUFC)
5) Chris Samms (Luton Vipers)
6) Ben Keast (Loughborough RUFC)
7) Chris Harwood (Eccles & Salford Roosters)
8) Scott Harrison (Warrington Wizards)
9) Mark Sherwood (Lincoln City Knights)
10) Sam Richbell (Bedford Tigers)
11) Mark Gribbon (Campion Old Boys RUFC)
12) Dave Brown (Coogee Dolphins)
13) Mike McDarby (Campion Old Boys RUFC)
Anyone interested in buying a commemorative 10th Anniversary Old Boys jersey should contact pottsrob@hotmail.com or 07980 625 497.