Rugby Club Issue 53 | Page 60

malton & norton FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Malton & Norton F irst established in 1953, Malton and Norton RUFC is based at The Gannock on Old Malton Road in North Yorkshire and their first team currently competes in Yorkshire Division 1. They are led by the team of Chairman Robert Harrison and President John Ainsworth and the club has been progressing well under their guidance. This season they have been in fine form, having put together a league record of nineteen wins and just five defeats from their 24 matches. This has left them sitting in 2nd place in the table with 92 points on the board. Although they would obviously have liked to claim the title, their failure to do so should not take away from what has been a very good season for them. Their performances should provide them with the perfect platform from which to build as they look ahead towards the 2015/16 campaign. A number of players have played a key role in the fine performances that the team have been putting in this season with Zwelakhe Sodladla leading the way in terms of points scored with 209 points. This includes 12 tries and he has also proven to be a reliable place kicker. Zizwe Zondo has been in excellent form as well and is their leading try scorer having crossed the line 14 times. Ian Cooke, George Harrison and Sam Triffit have also all come up with some important scores and Malton and Norton will be hoping that all of these players can continue to perform with distinction for them. One of the standout features of the Malton and Norton set-up is the superb youth section that they have in place. This part of the club looks to provide young players from the local area with an opportunity to play the game in a safe and enjoyable environment whilst helping them to reach their full potential. It is important for any club to be able to produce their own talent, particularly in the current financial climate and this is an area that they appear to have covered. It will certainly be exciting to see how their juniors can progress over the coming years. 60 Issue 53