Writing for InTouch Magazine #3- Rugby Rivalry

A feature written for InTouch rugby magazine (May 2007), which was produced by myself during my time at university:

What the f**k is that piece e’ shite roond ye neck?” is the gracious greeting I am met with as I walk up the stairs into the sizeable bar at a traditional East Midlands rugby club.
Rather naïvely I had chosen to wear a scarf emblazoned with the English Rose, a mark on which they spit in Corby. That’s because in this small town borne out of the steelworks in the 1970’s, Scottish is the native tongue and Irn Bru is the drink of choice.
This drop of Scotland in the middle of England adds a bit of spice to a local rugby rivalry, between the Scots of Stewart’s and Lloyd’s RFC (S and L) in Corby and the English of Kettering RFC just eight miles away.
Hatred rules in this place of two towns, as ex- S and L fly-half Phil Lewis, 41, describes: “I remember the first derby I played in between Kettering and us and it was carnage. The ref struggled to control the match, which was more of a brawl than a game. Every ruck someone was putting in a cheap shot and it would flare up. That was in 1987, and I was only 21.It wasn’t something I was surprised with, though.”
The rivalry between the two towns stretches much further than the rugby. Each town is roughly the same size but, while Kettering has prospered, Corby has gone downhill since the closure of the steelworks in the 1980’s.
It means that maybe Corby has something to prove. Lewis elaborates: “There’s always a running battle between us and them. Our footy team is crap, I mean, so is their’s, but they can beat ours easily. With the rugby we are a little bit closer, so it always feels good to get one over on them.”
It wasn’t always that way. S and L have been in the shadow of their red and black shirted neighbours for the best part of the last 60 years, starting with Ralph Bainbridge’s unbeaten side of 1954. Notable trouncings have been received by S and L, such as 1976 (42-16 to Kettering) and 1992 (62-3).
Kettering’s current first team coach, Doug Bridgeman, is enjoying relative success at the moment. Kettering are pushing for promotion from the Midlands Division Two, while S and L are languishing in seventh place in Midlands Division Three South.
The balding, massive figure that is Bridgeman thinks that Kettering can only get better: “If we can get promotion this year, which I think we can do, then I reckon we can hold our own in Midlands One.”
The mention of S and L brings a wry smile: “I don’t think we’ll have to play them again any time soon. We only meet them now and again in the cup these days. I can’t see them climbing out of their league, and we are only going up!”
S and L can take some solace from the fact that their few victories over Kettering have been notable ones. In the semi-finals of the 1973 East Midlands Cup, the Corby side won 12-6 to progress to the final and in the end managed to take the silverware.
Kettering obviously weren’t too pleased about this, and packed their trophy cabinet in 1975 with the local Evening Telegraph Cup, the East Northants Cup and the East Midlands Cup. Dominance ensued, and S and L wouldn’t beat Kettering again until 1985 where they squeezed past their opponents 7-6 in the East Midlands Cup.
So, back in the dark, wooden panelled club house of the Stewarts and Lloyds RFC, I am surrounded by a spattering of old men, red nosed and whisky drinking, who have something to say about their beloved club. As Lewis speaks, he is greeted by either a grunt of approval or a mumbled correction. I am told that if there is one man worth listening to, and that’s Chairman Evan Martin.
“Aye son”, the 70 year-old man, with a harsh Scottish accent, begins. “We meet be a couple e’ leagues below them, but it doon’t half make it better when we dee thi bastards in thi cup!”
And you thought that rugby wasn’t life and death.