THERE are some days when the result of a rugby match is irrelevant, even when you do record a home double, and Jenny Lane staged two such games at the weekend.

Baildon’s second team defeated Keighley Thirds 15-5 in the warm-up encounter, and Baildon’s first XV then beat late stand-ins Old Brodleians second strings 64-12.

Thornensians should have been the opponents for Jake Duxbury’s team in Yorkshire Two, with the first leg of the Brian Hawkins Memorial Trophy also at stake, but that is a contest for another day, as Covid-19 had afflicted the visitors.

What took centre stage, even though it might have been happening off the pitch, was Baildon v Cancer, which morphed into Rugby v Cancer.

Raffles were held on behalf of five leading cancer charities – Macmillan Cancer Care, Breast Cancer Now, Anthony Nolan, Prostrate Cancer UK and Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity.

It was a day to remember former Baildon RUFC president Harry Ormerod, a pioneer of colts rugby in the county, who helped to organise the day but did not live to see it, as he died on September 20.

A day to remember the battling Lou Helstrip, wife of former Baildon prop Danny, who took part in a sponsored walk on Sunday, October 10.

A day to remember former Baildon first XV coach David Jeanes, who has overcome breast cancer and gave a stirring speech in the clubhouse after the win over Old Brods.

He explained that cancer might afflict one in two of us eventually but that survival rates are improving, people are living longer and that, yes, men can suffer from breast cancer too.

At the heart of the day’s organisation was Baildon RUFC club president Mark Purvis, who revealed that he hoped that the five cancer charities would ultimately each benefit by £1,000.

He said of the day: “It has been absolutely brilliant.

“The weather could not have been better for a start – the weather up here in October can be a bit of a lottery and look at it – but somebody is smiling on us, and I think I know who it is.

“One of our club members, Harry (Ormerod), who has done an awful lot for the club but does not like being in the limelight, had cancer.

“Jeanesy rang me up and said ‘we have to do something for Harry and we have to do it quick’.

“And I spoke to Harry five days before he died and he was going to come up and say a few words, and we were going to do a small fund-raiser, but as soon as I floated it, the seconds said ‘we want to play as well’ so we made it a double header.

“The rugby family have been fantastic.

“Keighley offered to switch the fixture so that we were at home, which is our only double-header of the season, and it would have been absolutely right that we also had the Thornensians game for the Brian Hawkins Memorial Trophy as he was a member of both clubs.

“Unfortunately, Thorne pulled out with Covid late on Thursday night but Old Brods seconds stood in at short notice and put in a very good display against our first team.

“Everybody pulled together and that’s what rugby does – it pulls people up when they are on the floor, and that happens not only by your team-mates but also by the opposition.

“We called it Baildon versus Cancer but it is really Rugby versus Cancer. Minis and juniors also wanted to get involved and we had four bands playing for free on the cricket pitch until 9pm.

“We have had gifts given of a match-day package for four people by Gary Hetherington of Leeds Rhinos; a Keighley Cougars match-day package, and we have Hot Tub Hire Yorkshire, who offered a hot tub experience for the weekend to be installed at your home.

“People have been running stalls all day, people serving beer outside all day, serving food, marking pitches out, helping with the car parking, there has been an assault course for the kids.

“It has just been phenomenal and has blossomed into a festival in a matter of four weeks in tribute to what Harry and Dave have done.”

Purvis added: “The fund-raising started last Sunday (October 10) with a sponsored walk from Keighley RUFC to Baildon RUFC, a lot of it along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal towpath, which raised over £1,000.

“Danny Helstrip was dressed as Aquaman in a wetsuit on what was a really hot day, and team manager Chris Williams w,as a Smurf and painted himself blue.

“With the Baildon v Cancer day we hope to raise £1,000 each, and maybe a bit more, for five leading cancer charities.”

Purvis, still known as Doc despite not being one any more, added: “Cancer is a horrible thing, but when it affects kids it is triply or quadruply horrible, another level of nastiness.

“However, we also hope that the day raised awareness too as well as money, and some hope around cancer, and it is not just about bad news.

“It is about good news and what you can do – to make sure that people picked things up early.

“But perhaps one of the biggest things is that sport has got the power to change the world.

“When one of our team-mates or the wider family of our team-mates gets cancer, we don’t want them to feel like they are on their own.

“It is like when you go down into a ruck or go to ground: you look after your ‘man’.

“When they are going through hard times, we have got their back, and that is what we wanted to show.”