Okay guys, you need to clear an evening in the schedule to get through this read... but we promise it is worth it!

Thank you to Alan for, as always, sending us through highly detailed and well-recounted rugby stories, this time delving a little deeper into his own playing history and his thoughts on Penrith RUFC to this day.

As Alan has never been a Penrith player, we had to adapt the questions slightly, but they still give for an interesting read.

What positions have you held at Penrith RUFC?
"The first position was that of Assistant Coach under Nigel Beaty. The year was 1999, when after 26 years at Keswick, including 7 years as Head Coach, it was right to take break from rugby. It was flattering to be asked, but puzzling that a club so full of rugby savvy ex-players wanted help from outside. I watched the first session of pre-season training. The majority of the forwards attending session 1 were young and a bit inexperienced. The exceptions were Glen Murray, Bob Lee and Paul Lowes, first teamers, not that far from being match fit. James Lund, who I'd propped against without much joy in Christmas matches, was Captain and at the first session exercised the props’ prerogative to 'take it easy'.

Nigel rang the next day and during a 55 minute call we discussed every player who had attended the session. I agreed to attend training again, Nigel started to refer to me as the Assistant Coach, and that was that.

Training numbers picked up and it was clear that amongst the later starters there was some outstanding ability. Amongst those present at the first 'forwards' session, were Glen Murray, Tim Shepherd, James Stainton, Kevin Walker, Paul Lowes, Steve Dixon, Bob Lee, Tex Taylor, Colin Titterington, Gary Johnson, Dave Preston and Derek Furness. We had two full packs and extras. After some high intensity unopposed work against the bag and shield, we moved on to live contact. “It's a bit early innit?", somebody asked.

We played four vs four, first to five, in a 20m square 'winners stay on' format. As with all contact sessions some players shone and some didn't. To finish, at the players' request, we practiced opposed lineouts and James demonstrated a peel-move called 'Scaffold'. It incorporated a well disguised shift and was brilliant in that it worked every time.

This session was an eye-opening experience confirming hard evidence that these forwards were set in their ways and needed little help. Their well drilled basics bore the unmistakable stamp of good coaching, specifically that of Peter Kremer and Nick Ellery. Apart from setting the agenda my presence at the session had been largely superfluous. 'You got them doing contact Al,'' said Nigel positively.

The season flew by and finished with us winning the Cumberland Cup.

The club invited me to be Coach Advisor in 2015."

What is your own playing history?
"I didn't start playing rugby until 1971, aged 16, when I moved from Lairthwaite School to Keswick School. The Keswick School headmaster, John Thompson, was a rugby fanatic and at interview, spent two-thirds of the time selling rugby to my Mam.

At the first games lesson I was told that my physique identified me as a prop, I said 'good' and 'thank you' without realising that prop was a position which nobody who wasn't a prop would ever want to play.

I packed down against the Keswick School first XV loose-head Ian Young. He gave me no quarter and for the first time in my life an upside-down view of Skiddaw.

My playing debut was one week later (15th September 1971) for Keswick School 2nd XV at Nelson Thomlinson School. We travelled by bus in driving rain and the greater part of the school pitch at Wigton was flooded. Keswick School 'A' won the match 15-9, I was told I was offside a lot and out of position. Keswick School head of PE and 'A' XV coach Mr Martin Bellarby told me I'd done well "considering" but that to stand, clueless, between the half backs was "one of rugby's most inexcusable lapses".

About five weeks, and four games later, school took us to Workington to watch North West Counties play and beat the All Blacks. It was a memorable experience. The next morning in Assembly when Mr Thompson talked of NWC's 'indefatigable desire', 'refusal to be subdued' and the presence in the side of five Cumbrians, I realised I was completely hooked on rugby.

Later in the year, a bit fitter, tougher and brighter, I was promoted to the school 1st XV and was moved to flanker. Traditionally Keswick School played Saturday matches which made you safe from the Keswick Rugby club press gang which invaded the playground during Saturday morning break, hunting for players. Mr Thompson knew about this and turned a blind eye. This practice fell into disrepute when an acquaintance of mine was press ganged during break and was next seen at 2am falling off the bus from Northallerton. He was drunk and still in uniform and had to have a diagram to find his house.

Two years later, l joined Keswick Rugby Club, where as a member of the 2nd team, I had my first experience of senior rugby.

During the time I attended Newcastle Poly (1974-1977). I played both prop and flanker. It was certainly the case that if you said you were a prop you had a better chance of selection in a higher team. Flankers were ten a penny and a lot of them weren't up to much. Inter college rugby was hard and sometimes nasty, and for the first time I experienced what it was like to be in a team containing loose cannons. Playing for the Poly Pythons Saturday side(s) at Geordie clubs was much more fun. We visited some great clubs, most memorably Seghill where we played their 2nd XV, finished in the dark and won 38-37. Other clubs that I remember with a smile were North Durham, Medicals, Gateshead Fell and after the removal of glass from the pitch, Rockliffe. At all clubs we were treated like royalty, store fed and very seldom had to put our hands in our pockets.

Returning to Keswick from Newcastle, I was a flanker, in and out of the 1st XV for 12 years. More and more I was asked to prop which seemed easier second time around.."

Who were your principal influences and who were the best players you played with/against?
"My first coach was my History master at Keswick School, Mr David Lockwood. He was in charge of the school first XV, but on Monday afternoon at after school training, he was happy to welcome anybody with a bit of rugby ambition. This was not an ideal way to learn the game, the sessions were tough and deadly serious, but I took to tackling quite quickly and developed the instincts of a survivalist in the scrum. Mr Lockwood knew his stuff and in matters of tactics and man management he was years ahead of his time.

At Newcastle Poly there were a great many coaches 'in house' and 'invited in' to contribute to our improvement. Gosforth were the best club side in England and I suspect that when their players helped us out they were also there to spot talent. Our best players were 3 Scots, a Cornishman and the brains of the operation, Martin Bromley from Leicester and (big) Stu Lewis from Manchester. One of the Scots, Richard Breaky, was a genuine class act good enough to be capped in 1977.

If I came home from Newcastle at the weekend it was to play for Keswick 2nds. This was great rugby, the Cumberland Shield was a well run, tough competition with teams which were a mixture of youths and older blokes on the way down. They played hard and fair, made the game look easy, and were fountains of knowledge.

I learned most playing for Keswick 2nds, mainly from the likes of Gareth Roberts, Mike Hodgson, Bertie Morrison and the greatest of Keswick legends, 2nd XV captain, David 'Sammy' Sewell. Sammy was a brilliant bloke, blessed with a great rugby brain, awesome capacities and an ability to inspire. Sammy's assessments of performance were based only on positives and he was so adored by the younger players, that promotion to the 1st XV was not always viewed with the enthusiasm it should have been.

Off the pitch, Keswick's Committee were men of integrity who were compassionate and approachable but ran the club with ruthless efficiency. They included Archie Evans who was a brilliant coach and administrator dedicated to player and coach development. Archie's initiatives were always presented to the General Committee in considered detail and usually in the manner of faits accompli.

Even the older blokes at other clubs seemed happy to help educate the next generation of players and we subsequently learned as much with a pint in our hands as we did on the pitch. Wise, older opponents for whom I had the greatest respect were Jackie Moffatt (Moresby), Geoff Edgar (Egremont), Reg Harrison and Jimmy Thompson (Whitehaven), Syd Graham (Aspatria), Keith Dewis (Penrith), Colin High (Vickers) and Joss Humes (Netherhall).

I could go on for hours about the best contemporary players of the era, but kept short the list is : backs; George Smith (Moresby), John Routledge (Egremont), Steve Dowson (Keswick), Paul Bradbury and Paul Cusack (Cockermouth) and forwards, Graham Robertson and John Sealby (Penrith), Les McTear (Aspatria), Jeff Sim and Jimmy Steele (Vickers), Neil Carruthers (Netherhall), Ian Marr (Egremont), Alf Harrington (Carlisle) and Alan McMullen (British Steels and Workington). The props who made my life most miserable were Rick Musseti (Windermere), Graham Briggs (Smith Brothers) and most hellish of the lot, Ian Nicholson (Netherhall). Most Keswick props of the era would also report that they never met an easy prop from Upper Eden."

What's your fondest memory of Penrith RUFC?
"There are many memories, I always loved coming here. The Christmas fixtures provide a mine of fond memories for players and officials of both clubs. Some Keswick regulars, 'the hard core', who would have played on the top of Latrigg if you asked them, appeared either in the first XV for both matches, the 2nd XV for both matches or, in the days where the fixtures were played at different venues, twice at Penrith. This meant playing in the 1sts on Boxing Day and surrendering your place in order to ensure that we'd have a viable 'A' XV at Penrith on New Year's Day. New Year's Day at Winter's Park could be grim in the old days, especially if it was cold enough to drive those few spectators not at Keswick, indoors. It was Keswick fixtures Secretary Tony Bragg in collusion with Geoff Matthews who came up with the idea of playing both matches at the same venue. Tony's masterstroke was making sure that the New Year's Day matches were held at Keswick. Tony knew that Keswick would never have been able to send two teams to Penrith on New Year's Day. Boxing Day was a big enough challenge, fraught with hassle, even in the good old days. Booking a bus on Boxing Day is impossible, so for years we went to Penrith, in our own or somebody else's car, not having a clue how we were going to get home. Boxing Day is traditionally 'girls' day out' in Keswick so there was never much chance of transport help from wives or girlfriends. My partner Gillian came to collect me once and she ended up with 7 in her Clio. She wasn't happy; I offered to walk, a lot of our charm offensive went to waste, so much so, it was unwise to ask again.

Who cared? The game was always competitive and enjoyable, thin air and a brush with exposure was said to be recuperative and character building, and Penrith's brilliant hospitality was consistent. Worth a plaudit is Dave Walker, a brilliant MC, Pam Matthews for the accuracy of her coin droppings, Willie Hodgson for walking with bottles, Nigel Beaty for limbo, Sarah Arragon for her 'Girl Power' and Mike Firby for supporting the fixture and donating a trophy.

The New Year's Day fixtures were invariably contested with changed sides and despite the human wreckage, always produced decent games. For those not playing, there was Port and Stilton in the grandstand. For the workers there was Guinness, XLs and Graham Robertson. It was a privilege. I played my last ever game for Keswick 2nds at Penrith on New Year's Day 2004. I'd been retired six years and offered when we discovered our shortage of props. I loved every second of the match but wasn't able to dress or walk properly until the end of February."

What do you hope to see Penrith RUFC achieve next season?
"The lockdown has seriously disrupted our rugby lives but that's all! Regarding the youth section, we need to carry on from where we left off with changes implemented only on RFU directives, Penrith RUFC directives, or our own 'need to improve' criteria. Our coaches are doing a superb job so 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. I could use my time more equitably and watch more coaches, but having successfully operated an 'ask for help, if you need it' system for 4 years, any changes could be counterproductive.

The merits of developing a playing style which would, as much as our kit, unmistakably identify us as being Penrith, have been assessed. As a means of promoting this idea a coaches' manual is in production and is almost complete. The lockdown has enabled the inclusion of far greater detail than originally thought possible. Where technical issues are common to different teams being coached by different people it makes perfect sense to suggest the same methods of correction. For 4 years, Penrith junior coaches have reported 'the tackle', 'the ruck' and 'appreciating width' as being the things that most regularly cause concern. The lockdown stalled the process but next season we sort the problem.

We have a very good structure, and with so many people involved, nobody should have to do too much work. There are exceptions.

Gary Atkinson is a brilliant Director of Junior rugby; a respected 'go to' guy unequivocally supported by Coaches, Managers, First Aiders, parents and players. We should all say, "Well done Gary, and keep up the good work mate - forever, never mind just next season".

Charlotte Tweddle – same. Fixtures secretary is plate spinning with mines.

Steve Barker - same; might there be anything that's too much trouble?

Mark Bowman – same, always there and willing to help out at anybody's session.

Senior rugby is far more problematic and we can only speculate on whether our post-pandemic glass is likely to be half full or half empty. Half full is well attended training sessions, no further loss of players, appropriate recruitment and the continued emergence of well coached players from the Colts. It will help to be in an interesting league, with an intelligently adapted format, including no long away trips between November and February, competing with attack minded non-professional sides run by coaches who can try harder to respect the referee. Most important is the maintenance of morale if things go wrong. This includes rejection of any idea that we are becoming a 'survival' club instead of what we really are which is upward looking and ambitious. Five point deductions are for other clubs, not us. Healthy morale is best achieved by our unconditional support for our Coaches and Captain. Dave and Scott are doing a great job and will tell you that coaching is challenging enough without having the added distraction of inconsistent and uncertain availability. Captaincy likewise is at its most effective and inspirational when it is fuelled by positive feedback, informed, constructive criticism, and the offer of help, advice, and praise where praise is due.

One of our biggest advantages, going forward, is that our colts are strong and are developing under the tutelage of expert coaches."

Penrith RUFC Ltd

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