Rugby in Christmas Past

Remember Christmas and those festive fixtures once watched by members taking advantage of the holiday period and the students back home on holiday leave from college or university? Do you recall the matches on Boxing Day or New Years Day, the banter in the bar at Moss Lane, Broughton Park, or Fylde after the match, and the “stop offs” at a nightclub in Blackpool? I do and I’m sure there are still many of my generation who still have fond memories of fixtures throughout the  Christmas period.

I am sure that we, the ex players, are not the only ones who look back on the Christmas fixture list as being one of the highlights of the season. The clubhouses were crowded, the bars were often packed to capacity, and the festive season was a time for clubs to take advantage of the extra income to be guaranteed over the holiday period. But what now?

Surprisingly today, at time when potential spectators and club members are invariably on holiday around Christmas and New Year, there are only blank dates staring at any potential customers from the season’s programme. Yes,a complete blank over the holiday period, at a time when most clubs could ease their cash flow problems with a few more members and visitors spending over the bar or in the kitchen. Is it not time we took another look at our fixture lists and played matches when spectators have some spare time to themselves, a few shillings in their pockets, and a festive smile on their faces?

Those however like me who can still recall a trip to The Polish Eagles Club in Blackpool after one New Years Day match at Fylde, or a dance on the end of Morecambe Pier following an outing to Vale of  Lune are asked to refrain from enlarging on the events in public.  

Ray French

December 2013