News
On this page you can access past issues of the Tarleton RFUC newsletters "Tarleton Rugby News", "Touchline" and "Terrier News" plus the current newsletter "Tarleton RUFC Newsletter", just click on the newsletter you are interested in. Other news stories first shown in the media, or otherwise, are also presented.
Tarleton hosts Skofic Shield
THE Skofic sons did their father proud when they won a rugby sevens tournament staged in his memory.
Jack, Max, Archie and George lifted the inaugural Jonathan Skofic Shield after an emotional competition at Tarleton RUFC at the weekend. Fifth son Frankie, too young to play for the family team, did his bit by presenting the trophy to his brothers.
And proud mum Pat handed over the day’s other piece of silverware – the Jonathan Skofic Sevens Cup – to national champion Durham University, who triumphed in the elite section of it.
“Dad would have been very proud,” said eldest son Jack after the Skofic side beat Tarleton Exiles 31-10 in the Shield final.
Jonathan, a founder member and ex-chairman of Tarleton RUFC, died last autumn at the age of 52, just weeks before daughter Violet was born.
The Skofic family team, comprised of the brothers, relatives and friends, cruised through their pool games, blanking Tarleton B 29-0 and Hutton Grammar School Old Boys by the same impressive scoreline.
Hutton included businessman Ian Jackson, who flew in from Hong Kong just to play in the tournament.
After trouncing Tarleton A 43-0 to reach the final, the Skofics never looked in any danger of losing after scorching into a 19-0 lead against the Exiles early on. George (two), Max, Andrew Bushell and Danny Matthews got the tries, with James Smith and Sean Taylor replying.
In the elite competition Durham were pushed close by Caldy RUFC from the Wirral, trailing 19-17 before snatching a dramatic late try to win.
Chairman Barry Cook added: “Our club has never organised an event on this scale before and we will now be looking to build on it next year. Jonathan would have been very proud.”
Thanks to the Ormskirk Advertiser who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 7 June 2012 edition
Rugby match to mark Italian Job, 92 years on
A Lancashire Rugby Club will represent England in the Memory Cup friendship tournament at the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Great War. A side from Tarleton Rugby Club has been invited to Northern Italy in September to compete against clubs from other countries caught up in the 1914-18 conflict.
The people of Montebelluna never forgot the sacrifice made by young soldiers from the UK protecting their country from overthrow by German-backed Austro-Hungarian forces. And following a recent rugby tour to the region by staff and pupils of Hutton Grammar School, an invitation has arrived for Tarleton to compete in the Memory Cup in September, an event which brings together teams from 18 nations who fought in World War One.
“It is a tremendous honour to be invited to represent the UK,” said Tarleton first team coach Paul Mahon who assisted on the school trip to Northern Italy last month. We played at Montebelluna and the welcome they gave us was unbelievable. The local people were so hospitable and, even though it is more than 90 years ago, they are still incredibly grateful for the part our troops played in protecting their region from invasion.“
Teams from across Europe and the United States will descend on Montebelluna for a three-day festival of touch rugby which will include juniors, seniors and mixed sides. The theme is friendship and invitations have also been sent to Germany, Austria and Hungary – the three nations whose forces tried to take Italy in 1918.
“We want to honour the memory of those millions of people who endured so much in World War One,” said a spokesman for the tournament organisers. “All these nations are now friends again and it is only fitting that we involve all the countries who fought on the battlefields. “Rugby has never known the word ‘enemies,’ only rivals - proud rivals who at the end of games become best of friends to eat, drink and sing.”
Hundreds of British troops gave their lives repelling an invasion across the Piave River near Montebelluna, north-west of Venice. They are buried in five separate military cemeteries in the area. The battle proved a pivotal moment in World War One, virtually crushing the Austro-Hungarian army and hastening the end of hostilities across Europe. The British forces, including two battalions of the York and Lancaster Regiment, were diverted from the Western Front in France to support the Italians along the line of the Piave River.
Casualties on both sides were high, with the Italians having 80,000 either killed or wounded and enemy losses totalling 150,000. Eventually the invasion was repelled and the people of the region still talk of the river “running red with British blood.”
Jonathan Skofic, chairman of Tarleton Rugby Club, who was at Montebelluna for the Hutton game, said: “We struck up an instant friendship with the locals and when they asked our club to be England’s representatives at the Memory Cup we had no hesitation accepting.
“They are wonderful people and it will be an honour and a privilege to go back over there in September for what should be a terrific occasion. Of course with all trips like this we would love sponsorship help. But the idea of a friendship tournament to bring nations closer together is a tremendous cause to support.”
Amongst the thousands of casualties in the Battle of the Piave River was an 18-year-old Ernest Hemingway who was seriously wounded by mortar fire. The author was in Northern Italy as a volunteer with the Red Cross and won a gallantry medal after ignoring shrapnel wounds to both legs to carry an Italian officer to safety.
Thanks to the Lancashire Evening Post who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 28 May 2010 editon together with the picture. Webmaster's Note: A report of this Memory Cup Tournament can be found on the round-Up page of this website
Lancashire Lads
After playing in a number of North Lancashire District selection matches, and a Final Trial at Preston Grasshoppers, where over 40 boys competed for just 26 places, Tarleton Under 14s centres Frankie Skofic (right), and Ben Cromack have been selected for the Lancashire Under 14s Rugby Union Squad.
They will be hoping to be selcted for forthcoming matches in February, and March, and a 10-per.side Festival in April. Both Frankie, and Ben are following their older brothers by starting their representaive Rugby Union with Lancashire Under 14's.
All Junior Teams play at home in Quarter Finals
Sunday 4 March 2007 was another big day for Tarleton Rugby Union
Football Club. All four Junior Teams played a home Quarter Final match
in the relevant sections of the Enterprise Finance Europe Junior
Challenge Lancashire Cup.
The opposition was provided by Liverpool Collegiate under 13s, Littleborough under 14s, Leigh under 15s and West Park under 16s. All the teams gave a good account of themselves with three of the Tarleton Teams progressing to the Semi Final Stage.
The advert published by the Ormskirk Advertiser to publicise the day is
shown below.
Tarleton rise from Terriers to Tigers
Only 16 years after formation, Tarleton Rugby Club celebrated the opening of a £255,000 extension to their clubhouse.
Tributes to the rate at which the club has evolved were paid by Ted Mitchell, RFU Funding and Facilities Manager for the North.
“The club is living proof of what can be achieved through hard work,” he said. "They have done a tremendous job, not simply in providing the chance for young people to learn the game, but also for them to continue playing in their senior years, and enjoy the game for a lifetime. What they have done is absolutely tremendous and they should be very proud of themselves as another chapter in their success story is completed.”
From early foundations in 1990 with the formation of a mini rugby section “Tarleton Terries” based at a local High School, the club has gone from strength to strength at its Carr Lane ground.
Total investment has been more than £800,000 over an eight year period, and the club now runs a full structure of mini, junior, colts and open age rugby, with more than 250 members.
The new extension provides four additional changing rooms, kitchen and refectory area which is designed not only to serve rugby needs, but as a social meeting place for the wider community funding came via various agencies, including Sport England, the Landfill Communities Funds Biffaward and Sita Environmental Trust, and the Rugby Football Foundation.
Commented club chairman Hugh Paterson: “We have come along way in a relatively short time. Our success is due to the hard work and commitment of our many volunteers and the generous financial support of the funding agencies whpo have shared our vision.”
Below, David Burrow MP cuts the tape to formally open Tarleton RUFC extension.
Thanks to Geoff Howard who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 28 December 2006 issue of the Ormskirk Advertiser, together with the picture.
Tarleton on the Map
Tarleton came to this repeat of last years EFE Lancashire Challenge Cup as favourites, having amasses 449 points in seven games and conceded not a single point. Vale of Lune on the other hand, were determined to keep their grip on the trophy after a 12-5 victory last time around.
Tarleton’s dominance however failed to produce any reward until the 16th minute when Lancashire captain. Jonny Edwards, picked up a loose ball and drove it over the line for a try. Andrew Bushal followed up with a conversion.
Vale of Lune were still unable to apply any pressure and it always looked like Tarleton would score more points. But these did not come until four minutes before time when Bushel collected the ball from nippy scrum half Phil Charters. A moment’s hesitation deceived the Vale of Lune back line and Bushel sprinted through the gap to score the second try, though the conversion was missed.
Whatever the Vale of Lune coach said to his players obviously had the desired result after the interval. Their clever and determined forwards collected the ball and James Hesketh, with a very powerful and straight run scored Vale’s first try, the first points conceded in the competition by Tarleton.
But after playing 10 minutes of injury time, the referee blew his whistle and Tarleton had won the club’s first ever Junior Cup Final, a fantastic performance considering they had beaten larger clubs along the wayincluding Preston Grasshoppers,Broughton Park, Manchester and Rochdale.
In only the club’s 12th full season. The under 14s had certainly put themselves and their club on the rugby map.
Thanks to the Ormskirk Advertiser who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 21 April 2005 issue, together with the picture.
RFU Seal of Approval
 Fifteen years on from the foundation of Tarleton Terriers in 1990 Tarleton Rugby Union Club has been achieved the RFU’S “Seal of Approval” quality assurance kite-mark in respect of its management arrangements, with particular emphasis on its policy and procedures around child protection.
By achieving this standard, the Club also qualifies for the Sport England “club-mark” accreditation for setting high and consistent standards of management. This accreditation is the culmination of two years of developing systems and procedures to ensure that Tarleton RUFC provides a safe and inclusive service to young players taking part in mini and junior rugby.
Stuart Urquhart, the RFU’S Rugby Development Officer for North Lancashire stated:-
“This is a well deserved and creditable achievement by the Club in attaining this standard. They are only the fifth club in Lancashire to have done so and have come through what is an extremely rigorous and demanding process with enormous credit. They have over 50 adult volunteers involved in the Club delivering an extremely high standard of sporting service and care to young people”
The club has come a long way since its inception at Tarleton High School in 1990 with a small group of junior school children playing mini rugby. The success and strength of the club has been due to a long and sustained working relationship with local junior and secondary schools, which has resulted in a full mini and junior structure involving over 200 players between the age of 6 and 16 years of age.
The Club now has an under 17 colts side, many of whom started as minis and who have recently won through to the semi final of the Lancashire Cup.
The open age section of the club runs two senior sides. They are also going from strength to strength with the first XV currently participating in North Lancashire Division 1 having won Division 2 at its first attempt last season.
The other major factor in the club’s rapid rise has been the successful development of purpose built playing, training and clubhouse facilities at Carr Lane. Over £550,000 has been raised in only six years with two lottery grants and contribution from a variety of other public bodies such as the Lancashire Playing Fields Association and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.
The club is also looking to extend its service by developing a girls and ladies section. It is planning secondary school after school clubs and is also hoping to start Tag Rugby (non- contact) sessions on Tuesday evenings 7.30 – 9.00. for teenage girls and ladies.
Max Skofic selected for 'Lancashire Under 16s' and joins a line of family representation
Max Skofic has, this week, discovered he has been selected for the 'Lancashire Under 16s' first team. From a squad of 45, Max will maintain his hold on the number 7 shirt and represent his family and Club against Durham on Sunday 31st October at Vale of Lune, kick off 2:00pm.
The Skofic household are no strangers to representing their County. Father Jonathan was originally selected to play for his County followed by eldest son Jack. Max has already represented Lancashire at under 14s and 15s and Archie has recently been selected for the under 14's development squad. The latter will now seek to emulate his older brothers by impressing the under 14s selectors at games against Merseyside and Greater Manchester within the next 4 weeks. We wish him luck!
If there was not enough representation within the ranks of the Lancashire squads from the Skofic family, George has been selected to join the under 13's Development squad. He will move up for selection into the final squad next year if he continues to develop his rugby skills and receives a second nomination from the club. And if that was not enough, Frankie plays for the under 9's and is apparently no push over. Is it any wonder they won the recent 'Tarleton TAG tournament?'
I wonder if there is a record for the most brothers representing their County at any one time and I wonder if poor Pat has ever considered playing for the newly formed Lancashire ladies who won their first game against Yorkshire last week at Preston?
Well done to them all and we hope they represent their family and Club with honour!
Colts Make Giant Step
Tarleton RUFC under 17s made club history as they kicked off this season
in the Lancashire and Cheshire Junior Colts League.
The under 17s are the first Tarleton age group to progress from mini and junior rugby to colts level.
The journey began as under 7s so many of the boys have been together with their coaches for 10 years.
Recruited as minis from many of the surrounding schools, they have helped to put Tarleton on the map as a successful rugby centre who are committed to the development of young players.
This progressive coaching system started in Tarleton back in 1990 will now begin to provide a strong feeder of young players to the open age club, who last season lifted the North Lancs Division Two title.
With successive age groups coming up behind this years Colts and the
successful development of purpose built playing and training facilities at Carr lane, Tarleton, the future looks bright for rugby in the Northern Parishes.
The Colts kit was generously sponsored by the Nat West Bank Southport.
For further details about the club and its age group squads, contact club playing convenor or visit the club's website www.tarletonrugby.com.
Thanks to Clifford Birchall who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 15 September 2004 issue of the Village Visitor, together with the picture.
New Home and Away Gear for Rugby Club
With first team promotion in sight, Tarleton Rugby Club received what secretary Chris Walmsley termed "a huge boost" in the form of brand new home and away kits. They were presented at The Black Horse pub which has acted as club house for the past two years during ongoing fundraising for a new clubhouse at Carr lane.
It was the latest night of celebration in a meteoric rise from a junior rugby team 12 years ago to a vibrant sports club. The club now has 250 mini and junior members aged five to 15, there are 60 senior players registered, and the first team is currently top of North Lancs 2 with an impressive 4000 points scored and only 64 conceded in 11 games, 10 of which have been won.
Landlord Robbie Jarvis, with Andy Bowden, Business Development Manager of Pubmaster who own The Black Horse, handed over kits at a celebratory night which also marked Tarleton Rugby Club's second season playing in the Rugby Football Union. Robbie said: "Being a massive supporter of rugby myself, it was a real privilege for the Black Horse to be chosen as the venue for the Tarleton Rugby Club's clubhouse. I have watched the club go from strength to strength over the years and it has been fantastic to have witnessed it first hand at the pub."
The club receives incredible backing and has seen more than £500,000 raised through relentless fundraising efforts and through contributions from the Sports Lottery Fund and the Foundation for Sports and the Arts. Walmsley added: "We as a club are coming on leaps and bounds. With England winning the rugby World Cup it has created a huge interest in the game and there are a lot of aspiring Johnny Wilkinsons out there."
Thanks to Geoff Howard who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 3 March 2004 issue of the Village Visitor, together with the picture.
Sale Sharks World Cup
On Saturday 8th November 2003 the under 9s and under 10s competed in the inaugural Sale Sharks 7's competition for junior clubs. The group stages were held at the Sharks' Carrington Training complex and the finals were played prior to the Sale Sharks v Leeds Tykes match at Edgeley Park. Clubs who took part included; Vale of Lune, Stoke, Caldy, Glossop, Grasshoppers, Hoylake, Wilmslow, and Northwich.
Following the group stages all of the players were invited to the banquet suite at Edgeley Park for lunch. Then prior to the match all of the teams who had taken part paraded around the ground to the cheers of the fans packing the stands. The children then settled into their complimentary seats to watch a highly entertaining Zurich Premiership match that resulted in Sale Sharks recording their first home victory at Edgeley Park.
The overall winners of the under 9s event were Broughton Park, whilst Vale of Lune claimed the under 10s title.
There is a detailed report on "Round Up" of how our teams fared in the tournament.
Grand Opening
Tarleton Rugby Union Football Club celebrated a major landmark in its history with Sunday's (28 September 2003) official opening of their new £500,000 changing room complex and playing fields at Carr Lane and they went straight to the top for the occasion as a famous son of the area, former England captain Bill Beaumont performed the honours.
Completion of the changing rooms represents the second phase of the Tarleton Rugby Development Project, to provide purpose-built facilities to support the playing fields and floodlit training area constructed in 2001. It's the culmination of a remarkable community sports project which has seen the organisation grow from one junior school age-group in 1990, to a vibrant sports club with over 200 registered players, a spokesman said:
"The club boasts a full mini rugby structure with age group squads from under seven to under 12. At junior level there are now four age group squads ranged from under 13 to under 16 and the senior club now runs two sides with the first XV playing in the North Lancashire Division Two national league for the first time this season. Their first league match resulted in a 65-0 defeat of Broughton Park."
The development of the rugby complex has seen over £500,000 raised through public grants and other fund raising. The Sports Lottery Fund has contributed over £350,000 through two grants, the first to the field complex and the second for the changing rooms. The Foundation for Sports and the Arts contributed £60,000, West Lancashire District Council added £10,000, among others.
"In addition to these generous amounts, the club through its charitable status and volunteer network has strenuously fund raised internally, in the region of £30,000 over a five year period. There are now over 50 adult volunteers involved with the club, including coaches, team managers, management committee members, trustees and an army of parents."
The club continues to plan for the future and will be soon embarking on phase three, provision of a clubhouse extension to the changing rooms.
Thanks to Geoff Howard who wrote the report. It originally appeared in the 1 October 2003 issue of the Village Visitor.
Season 03/04 Summer School
The last week in August 2003 saw the staging of the annual Mini Rugby Summer School for children between the ages of five and twelve.
This year over fifty players and coaches enjoyed playing various forms of rugby in the shadow of the increasingly impressive changing room complex at Carr Lane. Fortunately for all concerned the summer sunshine continued to beam down on all the participants and sun block became the order of the week.
On the Friday Anthony Sullivan of St Helens, Cardiff and Wales fame joined the group and gave an "impromptu master class" to the awe struck youngsters. He happily worked alongside the players giving out many tips and inside stories gained from his distinguished career in both the league and union codes.
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