Rugby Club Issue 58 | Page 72

Halifax FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Halifax Halifax RUFC was first established in 1919 at the end of the 1st World War when the British Expeditionary Force returned home from France. Since first being established they have gone on to put together a history of which they have every right to be proud. Without doubt their most successful competition has been the Yorkshire Cup which they have won an incredible 13 times with the most recent being in 2005. Their most recent silverware came in 2009-10 when they were crowned champions of Yorkshire 6. Their current group of players will be keen to add to these triumphs over the coming years. 72 Issue 58 At present the club is based at Ovenden Park on Keighley Road in Yorkshire and their first team currently competes in Yorkshire Division 3. They are led by the team of President Tim Greenwood and Chair Grayham Smith and the club is looking to progress under their guidance. This season their first team has made a steady start to their league campaign, putting together a record of four wins and four defeats from their eight league matches. This has left them sitting in a steady mid-table position with 21 points on the board. This should provide them with a solid platform from which to build as they look ahead toward the rest of the campaign. So long as they are able to retain their current group of players and perhaps make one or two quality additions they should be in with a good chance of pushing on up the table. Halifax is not a club to focus solely upon their senior section however and this is reflected by the fact that they also have a number of youth sides in place. These teams look to provide youngsters 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 in the coming years. In order to help ensure that they enjoy a smooth transition into the senior game they also run a second XV. This allows them to gain experience of adult level rugby even if they are not yet considered ready for first team action which can be an important step in the development process. Another benefit of having an extra side is that it allows the first XV to benefit from far greater strength in