Good afternoon and welcome to Sandhill Lane for our fourth home fixture of the season against high-flying Middlesbrough, a match which I understand may carry the double significance of also being a Yorkshire Shield First Round Match. I would also like to extend a special welcome in particular to those Club stalwarts who will be enjoying a pre-match lunch and who have received the accolade of Vice President or Honorary Life Member. The Club owes each and every one of them a debt of gratitude for many years service, which have helped create a ground and facilities that are the envy of many many people who are lucky enough to pay us a visit.

A look at the current League table shows that Middlesbrough currently sit in second place whilst we have improved our own position with a couple of hard earned and very valuable wins. Middlesbrough played their latest fixture against Guisborough on a Friday night and I will be very interested to hear the reasons for that being the case and of course to find out whether the evening was a success and something we could look at for future League matches, particularly at the time of the 6 Nations when player availability can sometimes provide us with a selection headache. Middlesbrough enjoyed a comfortable victory in their local derby so will no doubt consider it all worthwhile. I think most people would have been somewhat surprised by Middlebrough’s previous heavy loss at Crossleyans, given their previous results, and I am certain that our visitors today will be keen to show that it was just a blip in their own quest for promotion.

Last weekend saw us again totally dominate the Scrum against Keighley, however all other areas of the game were closely fought and ensured another tense match but ultimately a thoroughly deserved victory. Amongst the disappointments were the concussion injuries to Skipper Charlie Cicero and Harry Cruise with barely a quarter of the game gone, but the resilience and sense of togetherness amongst the squad will no doubt stand the players in good stead for the difficult fixtures to come. Best wishes for a speedy recovery go to Charlie and Harry and of course any of our players currently recovering from injury.

It is really good to see that we have been able to continue to turn out 4 sides even though the 4th team fixture against Old Modernians had to be cancelled due to lack of opposition. The thirds were even able to travel to Ribblesdale with 3 subs, which is another very positive indication of the work being put in to ensure as many people as possible are able to turn out on a Saturday. My congratulations and thanks go to Captains, Managers and players involved in all of our lower sides. It was really interesting to read in Keighley’s programme last weekend that the RFU are again looking at the composition of Leagues in the Northern Division and having to consider the possibility of combining some of the teams in farthest West Yorkshire with teams from the Eastern fringes of Lancashire. There are a number of important meetings taking place in the next couple of months and the views represented at them will no doubt help to shape the future of Leagues throughout the North.

Following on from our pre-match lunch today we intend to hold a couple of pre match Members’ Lunches before Christmas to gauge their popularity. I am sure that details about them and how to book a place on a table will appear in the match day programme and on the Club’s Pitchero website very soon.

Finally a gentle reminder to everybody taking part in or spectating this afternoon's game to please show respect to the match officials, players from both sides and other spectators. There is nothing better than a hard fought game of Rugby played out in front of a knowledgeable and friendly crowd and we all have to play our part in ensuring that everybody here this afternoon can go home afterwards having enjoyed some great entertainment, whether a player, flag man, referee, water boy, allickadoo or a member of the paying public. We have a duty to all visitors to Sandhill to ensure that their afternoon is not ruined by the actions of one or two individuals and that everybody adheres to the RFU Code of Conduct, so I would ask that everybody makes sure that they behave in a manner befitting our great game.