THINGS are looking up for Bradford & Bingley RFC after a difficult past two years.
The Bees have suffered back-to-back relegations and now find themselves in Counties Two Yorkshire, but they’ve started this season on the front foot.
A gutsy 22-17 victory at Northallerton on opening day was followed by a walkover win at home to Hemsworth, with the visitors unable to field the required number of players on the day.
Player availability has also been a major issue for Bradford & Bingley in recent years, but head coach Ali Macdonald is confident that the club have eased those worries going forward.
Speaking to the T&A, he said: “We are very lucky that we’ve got an extremely solid core within the group, players who have stuck with is over the years despite recent difficulties.
“It’s well known that we’ve been gutted of our players, some who have gone on to play at a higher level.
“It’s a good thing for us that our players are attracting interest from other clubs, but it has also left us with some difficulties over the past couple of seasons.
“A lot of clubs at this level do struggle to get an adequate squad out on the field on a weekly basis, Hemsworth being a good example of that last weekend, but we feel we are more equipped to deal with those difficulties this season.
“We’ve had a number of players return to the club after leaving for a while, and with the solid chore of 15 players we have already, the depth is there for us.
“Even this weekend when we travel to Otley, we have around 14 players unavailable to us, but we will still be able to field a strong lineup and squad.
“So, I’m confident about player availability this season.”
Having earned nine points from the opening two fixtures on the calendar, Bradford & Bingley sit in 2nd place in the early-season rankings, and Macdonald admitted that it was important for his side to get off to a fast start.
“September is always a difficult month for us because we have players away on holidays, at work, away with cricket and rugby league.
“That doesn’t mean we are going to just send a weakened team out there; we will always put our strongest side out no matter who we have available.
“I feel the quality we have within the group has enabled us to come through this month so far strongly, and I’m glad it has because we needed a solid start to the season.
“Back-to-back relegations meant that we’ve been written off even before a ball has been kicked.
“So, to go away to Northallerton, a tough place to go, and grind out a well-deserved away victory is extremely pleasing for me as a coach.
“It’s also a great confidence builder for the players.
“It would have been nice to build on that with a strong performance against Hemsworth, but it wasn’t to be. We got the victory though which has put us in a good position in the table with two games played.”
Bradford & Bingley return to action today when they travel to face Ossett, which signals the first time the two sides have faced each other in league rugby.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here