I put in three good shots on Jonah Lomu

BACK in the day, when we first started in Leagues in 1987, we began in North East 2.

- JOHN DUDLEY

I missed the very first league game because I was still banned from the year before. I can’t remember what I’d done, but that was when rucking was rucking so boots or fists would likely have been involved. People who’d never been to a rugby match before would say, ‘what’s gone off there? There’s been 27 acts of GBH and everything else’! I loved the fact that it would all be forgotten once the final whistle went and you’d shake hands, walk off and then go and get pissed together. The camaraderie you get from rugby is something else.

My debut Rotherham match was at home to Old Crossleyans, we won 17-9 and Kevin Plant scored a try. Planty never scored tries, but he kicked a load of points. He had an absolutely sweet left foot on him; he were brill. The bottom left hand corner at Clifton Lane, next to the drive, used to be called Planty’s Corner because he always banged over the goals from the left side when we were attacking the clubhouse. Clifton Lane was unique. If you played it right, you could have the wind behind you both halves. If you defend the clubhouse first half, the wind comes with you because you’ve got Herringthorpe Playing Fields behind. But by half-time, it can come off the valley at the other end, where the cricket pavilion is. It doesn’t just blow in one direction.

We had a lot of local lads who came up through the system together, from the Colts. Climbing the leagues with your mates was a lot of fun. There was probably 13/14 of us and a few from outside who came to the area because of work. Dave Wright, a hooker from down south, came up because of his job as a teacher and became one of us. He wanted to find a rugby club and one evening when he was driving around he saw the car in front had a Rotherham RUFC sticker up in the rear window. So he decided to follow it. Luckily for him they were going to the club for training that night otherwise he could have ended up anywhere.