Nobody much in Ryhope, including us down below, normally takes much notice of the game played by men with funny shaped balls, nor for that matter does the national panic over east European immigrants usually get us roused, but I must admit a result I happened to notice in the egg chasing world gave me a moment's pause the other day. Seems the posh boys of Tynedale RFC up in Corbridge entertained none other than the boldly named Old Albanians RFC a week ago. Makes you think doesn't it? I wasn't aware that the Norman Wisdom loving folk of the lower Balkans even knew the oval ball existed, never mind that so many of them were over here, integrated enough to play our poshest, if somewhat barbaric game, and enough of them in fact, and so long established, as to have an old boys team. Does that Mr Farage know about this? It could cause some excitement in the UKIP fraternity I bet. Turns out they have even established themselves in St Albans, see what they did there? How cunning is that? Hiding in plain sight as Commander Bond would doubtless say. Sounds like a sub plot in the Thirty Nine Steps. I will keep an eye on this....
Anyway, back to the real game. A win on the road, and on Consett's brand new plastic of all places. Does this mean our bold young men prefer an artificial surface? Will we have to look seriously at transforming Meadow Park? Plays very nicely the new stuff so I hear, none of the old 20 foot high bounce you used to get, and every slide doesn't cost you a square foot of skin. We looked quite comfy on it I'm assured, knocking the ball about with aplomb, one-twos and everything. And it was flat, how weird is that? And the fact that it is being hired out every minute of the day and night certainly had our committee men looking thoughtful, another club with loads of money for us to have to compete with, is it fair? Well, nobody said it was fair, to be fair, if you see what I mean...