Ormskirk RUFC

Ormskirk travelled to the Wirral hoping to put and end to their recent poor run of results but once again came up short in a tight affair after they failed to take the chances they created. ‘Kirk started the game well and took the game to their hosts, trying to move around Hoylake’s bigger pack […]

Smile like you mean it
Sometimes I find I drift away
Behind a distant smile……
Ultravox!, Distant Smile, from the album, Ha! Ha! Ha! 1977
No, not the Midge Ure entity from the 80s, but the original John Foxx line up of the mid to late 70s, though both good bands in my eyes. And a distant smile can […]

And if they stare
Just let them burn their eyes on you moving
And if they shout
Don’t let them change a thing what you’re doing
Hold your head up, hold your head up
Hold your head up, hold your head high
Argent, Hold your head up, from the album, All together now, 1972.
Cast your minds back to Sept 17th 2011, […]

Each blade of grass has its spot on earth whence it draws its life, its strength; and so is man rooted to the land from which he draws his faith together with his life.
Joseph Conrad, English Novelist.
Not strictly true, as I sing whatever the occasion, and I think you will find the Lions are of […]

Ormskirk 1st XV 15 – 28 Glossop 1st XV
Ormskirk lost out to mid-table Glossop in a real game of two halves at Green Lane that keeps them bottom of South Lancs and Cheshire 1. The match, sponsored by local business Newlands, started at a frantic pace with the visiting Derbyshire side piling on the pressure […]

ORUFC 2nd XV 17 - 14 Oldham 2nd XV
Ormskirk’s 2nd XV (Raiders) kicked off the New Year with a hard fought, yet stylish victory over Oldham at Green Lane. Sean Fogerty’s men had to be at their best to hold off a late fightback from their high-flying opponents, who began the day in fourth place […]

Ormskirk Lions (4ths) 20-17 Parkonians 2nds
In the right light, study becomes insight
But the system that dissed us
Teaches us to read and write
Rage Against The Machine, Take The Power Back, 1992.
Guile and bravery are required in any sport, in rugby they are essential. No amount of skill or technique can withstand the onslaught of sheer determination […]

Bowdon 1st XV 27 – 5 Ormskirk 1st XV
Ormskirk lost out at high-flying Bowdon in their first game of 2012 after a disappointing 2nd half performance. Kirk started brightly and, playing into a strong wind, really took the game to Bowdon and the home side struggled to cope with number 8 Ben Davis who went […]

Last Man Standing
“Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit”.
Anton Chekhov
It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it, and that applies both to Saturday’s playing conditions and that of the tenure of captaincy. […]

Warrington 1st XV 10 – 6 Ormskirk 1st XV
Ormskirk travelled to fellow strugglers Warrington hopeful of ending their recent dismal run of results and moving off the bottom of the league table. Even with four 1st choice players unavailable they produced a good performance but, as has been the case for much of the season, […]

Ormskirk Lions (4ths) 20-14 Formby Vikings
3rd December 2011
“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.” Aldous Huxley, English writer, 1894-1963
The acid test of any fledgling team is how they respond to adversity. Like a boxer who takes a punch to the chin, […]

Winnington Park 1st XV 13 – 6 Ormskirk 1st XV
Ormskirk travelled to Cheshire to take on 6th placed Winnington Park with a strong looking squad and hopeful of recording a surprise victory. Playing into the wind in the first half, Ormskirk’s pack, bolstered by the return of Graeme Bowling, Kieran Mahood and Ben Davis, took […]

26th November 2011
“And curlew calls to curlew, and I remember as I go
The merrier sounds and echoes out of seasons long ago
When nights were full of laughter and all the days were bright
And the heart too young to listen to the curlews in the night”
Idris Davies, 1905-1953 Welsh Poet.
Beautiful words from a little known Welsh […]

Eagle 2+1 71-14 Ormskirk Lions (4ths)
Developing the muscles of the soul demands no competitive spirit, no killer instinct, although it may erect pain barriers that the spiritual athlete must crash through.
Germaine Greer.
Half-time: Eagle 50-0 Lions. Yes, deal with it.
The second half was a much different affair. I should report that the last […]

Ormskirk 1st XV 7 – 26 Tyldesley 1st XV
Ormskirk lost out to 3rd placed Tyldesley in a stop-start affair played out in great conditions for rugby at Green Lane. Both teams started strongly, testing their opponents defence with direct running and good ball retention, meaning that for the first 5 minutes possession only changed hands […]

Ormskirk were the latest team to face the daunting task of visiting Heywood Road to face a Sale team that have aspirations of playing at a much higher level. No other team has come close to Sale this season and it is hardly surprising when they are regularly fielding many Sale Jets (Sale Sharks development […]

ORMSKIRK TIGERS (3rds) 38-21 ORMSKIRK LIONS (4ths)
SATURDAY OCTOBER 22TH 2011
DREAMS IN ELYSIAN FIELDS: JACK CALL CUP 2011
‘The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have done and what we might have been on the one hand, and the thing we have made and the things we have made […]

Liverpool Collegiate 1st XV 17 - 22 Ormskirk 1st XV
In perfect conditions for rugby and in front of a large crowd, Ormskirk produced their best performance of the season as they defeated Liverpool Collegiate in a highly competitive encounter. Collegiate were celebrating playing their first ever match on their new pitch in front of the […]

IN SEARCH OF SAM BOTFIELD
“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
From The Old Man and The Sea, by Pulitzer prize winning American novelist, Ernest Hemingway.
This is a Lions tale of a sunny Saturday October afternoon at Green lane with high expectations involving grim […]

Ormskirk again came off second best against a team that they will feel they could have beat after a mistake-ridden 10 minute period of the 2nd half allowed Hoylake to run in 3 unanswered tries. Due to a combination on injury, unavailability and suspension ‘Kirk were forced to make 6 changes to the team that […]