In the black

Having had three weeks' practice, I am a little more punctual in my arrival at Thatto Heath Crusaders, and in two of those weeks, I would have been on time if we had Pay-As-You-Go Lobster cards for public transport like in London. As it is, an Arriva ticket on my phone is my best option for the week as a whole, but means I have to let Stagecoach buses (a third of the service on the 10A) go past. It's grim up north.

Play had only just started when I arrived for the Challenge Trophy game against Oulton Raiders. I was not sure from where the visitors had come, but the accents from their bench suggested one of the higher numbered junctions on the M62, and, as I later found, near the former grandly named, but rather less grandly operated East & West Yorkshire Union Railway.

Looking for fixtures online, you can encounter silos, and, had I been relying on the National Conference League, I would have thought there was no game this weekend, even though the Trophy is for clubs in that league. Fortunately, rugby-league.com turned out to be a reliable source of information.

I realised as I set up, that I would have a challenge I had not encountered before, a predominantly black kit on a bright sunny day. I do not come across this in football, as, at the level I watch, black is still reserved for the match officials.

The challenges for the players go without saying, and the water carriers were kept busy. For me, the camera exposed for an average of the kit and surroundings, so I had to tweak the lighting later to avoid a lack of detail, but to do so as not to wash out the background.

The visitors, were wearing light grey, which I have also not encountered before.

I still cannot make my mind up as to whether it is better to photograph from the end of the pitch or the side. I started from the end, as this put the sun behind the camera, and me in some welcome shade.

The unfortunate side effect was that a lot of play was happening with the white walls of the indoor training hall in the background.

I even captured a try under the posts - at least reasonably close to one, the referee was in my way when the ball was grounded.

With the hosts in the Premier Division, and the visitors in Division 2, there was a clear balance of advantage on paper. Oulton kept themselves within range for the first half, remaining within one try at half time. As often happens in games with this gap between the teams, Thatto Heath took a firm grip on scoring in the second. By this time I had moved to the side of the pitch, with the trees making a more manageable background on many of the pictures.

Being positioned near to Oulton's bench, I could hear they maintained a positive approach, still encouraging the team to keep pushing for a consolation score even when the game was well beyond them.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Thatto Heath Crusaders 36 Oulton Raiders 10

Online oubliette

A number of games covered in these pages fit the description of a bad day at the office, but for one where you not only have a bad day, but are manifestly seen to have had one, rugby, of either code, is the game for you. Thatto Heath Crusaders had been happy with the photos I produced from their game against Wigan St Patrick's, requesting permission to use a couple on the website, and asking if I would be coming again. Given their convenient location, I attended again for this weekend's game against Rochdale Mayfield.

I have still to master the timings for the journey on the 10A, so I was a couple of minutes late, but the teams were also a little late coming out, so I was there for the start. It started evenly enough, the visitors opening the scoring with a try, and the hosts replying and converting. Little did we know the hosts would not trouble the scoreboard operator again in his otherwise busy afternoon.

About 10 minutes in, a mass brawl broke out, with the referee, who looked somewhat inexperienced, deciding after extended consultation with the touch judges to send off one player from Rochdale and two from Thatto Heath. I am not sure about the grounds on which he chose those players, but it was harsh on the hosts, as both sides looked equally responsible for the incident.

I have not made a close study of the effect in different sports of a one man disadvantage, but suspect it may be bigger in rugby league than others. In football, there is the option of accurate long passes into space, and in rugby union the attacking side has some control over the ball coming out of the breakdown. In league, however, the extra man means there is always chance to be in more places than the opposition, particularly after the play-the-ball. The visitors were now able to assert their strength, passing and sidestepping to get 10 - 15 yards per tackle, and tackling the hosts after a couple of yards.

As I positioned myself at the end Thatto Heath were attacking, the kick off after one of Rochdale's relentless scores saw the play rapidly back at the other end with the hosts defending their goal line. This does not make for the best pictures, although got enough for a collection, including those times the hosts were able to break free for a good run with the ball.

A match that looks bound for a heavy defeat can acquire a momentum all of its own, particularly in rugby, with the hosts becoming more error prone as the game went on, and a final score from which they will be keen to recover. Looking online to check the score, I at first thought the game had disappeared from collective memory, with neither side nor the league having it, but I found the RFL has a very comprehensive set of results at rugby-league.com once you have worked out where to look, that link to Kingstone Press Leagues only takes you to the professional game, despite the amateur National Conference being sponsored by, er, Kingstone Press.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Thatto Heath Crusaders 6 Rochdale Mayfield 70.

Eat pies lad, not stones

As I made my way round the pitch at Thatto Heath Crusaders' game at home to Wigan St Patricks, I happened upon a two or three year old boy, who had picked up some stones from the hard standing, and, with the natural curiosity of the toddler, was about to see if they were good to eat. As his father was removing them from his grasp, an older gentleman, whom I took to be his grandfather, chipped in with, "You want to eat pies lad, not stones", advice fully endorsed by this blog.

I was surprised, looking back through these pages, that I have not covered rugby league. The last time I photographed regularly was for Liverpool Buccaneers, who have been defunct for some years, since the Kingstone Press National Conference League joined the rest of the game with a summer season, removing the pool of players who wanted to play in a summer and a winter league. I am not sure why I had not found Thatto Heath before, as they are only a few stops on the 10A bus (all human life is there) from Prescot, and they play on a Saturday, which is my preferred day for sport.

The ground has main and training pitches, a modern clubhouse and an indoor training facility, although with the traditional approach of rugby of both codes to wet weather protection for spectators, i.e. bring your own!

I arrived a few minutes late to find both sides had scored one try each, with the hosts having converted theirs. I took up a position on the clubhouse side, near the end Thatto Heath were attacking. The visitors were the first to score after I had started - the nature of the kick off placed active competition for the ball more or less in front of me.

I have a tendency when following a side to concentrate on their players with the ball, but in rugby in particular there is as good a photo in players making a tackle.

It started to rain towards the end of the first half, and the wind was coming in from the open side, so I went that way for the second half, as rain is easier to deal with on the back of my head rather than the front of the camera.

It stopped after a few minutes, leaving good light conditions. I tried some shots from behind the goal line, and was rewarded with a picture of a try.

One of the main differences between union and league is the absence in the latter of what the former calls the breakdown, the ruck or maul, an opportunity to train lenses ready for the ball to emerge. The play-the-ball, by which play continues after a tackle, is a much quicker affair, indeed it is a foul to delay it by keeping hold of a tackled player for longer than necessary. There is no time for a breather in this game, not even for the photographer.

The hosts had taken a firm grip by this time, securing a convincing win to recover their winning ways from earlier in the season and put them on top of the table.

The rest of the pictures from the game can be seen here.

Final score: Thatto Heath Crusaders 44 Wigan St Patricks 12