Over the hills and far away

With the weather performing the same feat for a third week in a row, namely a dry start to the week with heavy rain on Friday night and Saturday morning, there was once again no game for Prescot Cables, and therefore another rugby game for me. My options were limited, with National League 3 and below taking a week's break. Rather than having a long winter break, this seems a sensible way to organise fixtures, as it gives clubs the opportunity to play games that have had to be postponed, but avoids a long lay off when pitches are playable followed by a string of further postponements.

National League 2 had a full programme, however, so it was off to Caldy, who were at home to Otley: this blog always enjoys a visit from Yorkshirepersons. I have been before, but I was trying a new route, getting off the bus at Frankby and walking over the hill towards Thurstaston. Given that getting lost on the way to the club once spawned a whole photo project, this might have been setting the afternoon's entertainment at risk. I indeed got the timings a bit wrong, arriving about 15 minutes in to the game. No-one was posted to collect admission fees from latecomers, so I got in for free.

I am not sure what the home side did to the opposition, but they looked scary enough to me.

Both sides were keen to give us a robust game.

Both sides, but particularly Otley, made extensive use of the maul. This is when the ball is in a group of players with the ball carrier on his feet, and in this case the side with the ball uses weight of numbers to push forwards. At least, I think that is what was going on. It is a good piece of action to watch, as there is a fair amount of sheer power involved, but less useful for the photographer, as the ball tends to be hidden by the players.

Contrast where the ball is being fed back to be passed to the backs.

 It was an overcast day, the automatic white balance on the camera left the original photos looking a washed out. This can be corrected to a certain extent on the computer, but this left the players' faces with a somewhat pinkish hue, more than was actually the case despite the wind giving everyone a weathered appearance.

We saw in our last game how the law that the ball be put in straight at the scrum is to be strictly enforced - both the referee and the opposing scrum half were looking closely to see this was being done.

With Otley having had the lead for most of the game, Caldy came back with a late try and this conversion to clinch the result.

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

Final score: Caldy 26 Otley 25.

From Caldy's woods and fields

Prescot Cables' home game against Ossett Town a couple of weekends ago fell victim to another wet weekend (or more accurately a full week of wetness), so it was off to watch rugby union again, this time at Caldy, who were playing Preston Grasshoppers.

I have not been to Caldy before, although not for want of trying. The club play near Thurstaston on the Wirral, a pleasant walk from West Kirby through the village from which the club takes its name. Unfortunately, on that occasion, what I thought was a short cut turned out not to be, so I ended up using my long lens to take some pictures of the local woods, which started my Walk in the Woods series.

The club play at the foot of the sandstone outcrop of Thurstaston Hill. The soil looks to have good natural drainage, which will allow them to play when others are likely to have problems with excess water. To illustrate how dry the pitch was, this picture is from the end of the game - remember I was not watching football 10 miles away due to a waterlogged pitch.

The hill adds to some of the pictures...

The club attracts crowds a bit larger than Prescot Cables, and a club of this size in football would be subject to a whole series of ground requirements, such as a wall round the ground, to prevent the game being viewed from outside. If anyone wants to watch the game across half a cricket field standing in a busy main road, I suppose they could do so, but I am glad they are not required to spoil their setting when it is not necessary.

The main pitch was missing the equipment that has most effect on my activities, floodlights (although there were lights for the training pitch). With rugby union mainly played once a week, with midweek games only used to clear fixture congestion at the end of the season, it makes sense not to have lights, and move the kick off to 2pm or 2.15 to allow the game to finish in daylight.

I was surprised at this level (National League 2 North, the third level of the club game in England) that the only cover in the clubhouse: a football club with a similar crowd and admission price (£8 including a programme), for example, in the EvoStik League First Division, is required by the FA Ground Grading Rules to have cover for 300 spectators, with at least 150 being seated.

Having said that, the seats are often sparsely occupied, and it needs to be raining quite hard to drive me under the cover if I can get a better vantage point in the open. However, if the forecast is for heavy rain, I might cross Caldy off my list of venues for the day - I have never been a fan of umbrellas at the best of times, and I have never tried to combine holding one with photography. Or, I could just wear a hat with a brim.

There is a balance to be struck for all community sports clubs between spectator comfort and the cost of facilities. I sometimes wonder whether the FA's approach may be a little too prescriptive, and it may be better allowing the clubs more leeway in this area, and make their own balance between the cost of cover, and any lost revenue from those who may stay away because of its absence. I think clubs can trust their supporters to have some idea how to wrap up on a cold day.