Blue Hawks Up

Swindon St George v Portsmouth Royal Navy Sea Hawks

Swindon St George are the second incarnation of a rugby league team in Swindon, being formed in 2007 after the demise of the Bulldogs.  Whilst never being the whipping boys (hello Somerset Vikings!) it is fair to say they have never been real challengers for any success.  However, this year they have joined up with the Supermarine club and are using a lot of the Union players.  This has meant for the first time they have been in with a chance of winning something.  

The rugby league structure in the south changes each season with clubs coming and going as much of their existence is often based on the interest of a sole excited northerner.  Because Swindon is fairly central, they regularly get moved between the midland, south east and now the West of England league.  However, they seem to have settled in the latter.  The league includes teams from Somerset, Bristol, The Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Oxford, Bath and Hampshire.  It is split into two and Swindon won their pool, defeated Bristol Sonics in the semi, so have reached their grand final.

The medals and trophy were unceremoniously dumped in the bar at half time.

The game was being played at Chippenham rugby union club, which is handy as it is next door to a huge farm shop, so I made at least three visits for local cheese.

The Portsmouth Seahawks actually represent the whole of the Navy.  This means for big games they can draw on a huge pool of players of a decent standard, for instance, they always do well in the challenge cup.  Sure enough, the side bore no resemblance to that seen earlier in the season, and despite a spirited Swindon effort, the Navy triumphed 24-36.

St George's Day

Swindon St George 64 v Forest Bulldogs 28, West of England Rugby League. Pool 2.

Work took me back to Swindon for an opportune evening game. A trail of destruction on the way down as firstly a lorry stuck under a railway bridge at Burnham….

…and then the bus up to the ground hit a badly parked Nissan Micra.

Swindon normally play at the Supermarine ground, but this was being played at Swindon Rugby club, which is in Swindon itself. In the background is the WH Smith head office.

St George are the second incarnation of Rugby League in Swindon. The Swindon Bulldogs existed from 1982 to 1995 before disbanding. In 2007, St George were set up and have played, mostly in the West of England league, ever since. 

Forest Bulldogs have started this season and are based in the Forest of Dean, sourcing their players from a number of clubs. They have had a mixed season so far. 

The official timekeeper and scorer.

Crowd was given as 36, with Swindon Town playing Swansea affecting the attendance.

This year, St George have a much stronger team, and soon raced into a 20-0 league.

The good thing about evening kick offs here, is the kebab van in the car park.

The half time snack of kings.

Forest Bulldogs were playing in inside out shirts, having turned up in a red and black kit identical to Swindon.

The game finished 62 – 28 to the home side. This year, the West of England league has gained Portsmouth and Southampton from the South East championship. This has meant there are enough teams to have split them into two pools. The top two teams in each pool go into the play offs. This win puts Swindon top of pool 2, with two games to play.