SPOTLIGHT ON.....WEST HARTLEPOOL
for The Rugby Paper, July 11 2010

WEST DETERMINED TO BRING GOOD TIMES BACK

ADRIAN HILL looks at a North East club who have quite literally had their ups and downs.
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West Hartlepool was a regular stop on the Premiership circuit in the mid-1990s, but those glory days have long gone as the club considers life back in tier six of the pyramid after suffering the eighth relegation of a turbulent history in the leagues.

In 1999 West were tangling with Leicester, Bath and Wasps, in September they begin a campaign in North One East against the likes of Cleckheaton and Old Brodleians. Professional rugby has had many winners, `West` have been one of the biggest losers as financial ruin saw them plummet down the structure.

“We couldn’t say no to promotion, but the fact was that we had to go full-time pro to try to make it work,” says West’s chairman of rugby Les Smith. “That cost serious money and we had no back-up when injuries struck our first-choice players.

“A few months after our relegation from the Premiership we had just six players. How John Stabler made up the team that season I’ll never know. At times it was like we had to whistle for the bus driver to play...if only we could have registered him!”

Rugby came to Hartlepool in the late 19th century via migrant workers from Wales and Yorkshire. West and Hartlepool Rovers quickly became the superior sides in the area, with West providing England with the talented Jack Taylor in the early part of the 20th century.

West suffered a hiccup in 1908 when its committee decided to give up the oval ball and formed what is now the town’s Football League club. In 1911 West was reformed and soon produced another noted player in the shape of Carl Aarvold.

“Jack Taylor was outstanding. To become captain of England in those days while playing for West Hartlepool shows how good he was,” reflects Smith. “He was the greatest goal-kicker of his era, a big man with a big boot who showed superb leadership qualities.
The club moved to improved facilities at Brierton Lane in the 1970s, and soon attracted superior fixtures and players.

“The Whetton twins came to us through one of our members, Bernie Neasham,” recalls Smith. “Bernie had two sons who played for us and wanted to bring some quality in to help them progress. He identified Gary and Alan and in fact hired a small plane to bring Gary from Paris after he played for the All Blacks against France in 1981!”

West reached the cup quarter-finals in 1983, success which led to the club being placed in National Three four years later. Successive promotions saw West make their top flight debut in 1992 but they went straight back down when a 12th-place finish meant they were one of four teams to go as the division was reduced from 13 to 10 clubs.
West were back in League One for the first season of live TV coverage in 1994/95 and just kept their head above water until being relegated in 1997.
Mike Brewer, now coaching at Sale, guided the club to an immediate bounce back with a cosmopolitan squad but that disastrous 1998/99 campaign saw West finish bottom, ending their life in the fast lane with a 72-37 hiding at champions Leicester.

“When the leagues began and we won those successive promotions we had such camaraderie because we were all local lads,” reflects director of rugby Kevan Oliphant, who was full-back in those days. “The likes of Bath and Harlequins at Brierton Lane in front of crowds of 5,000 were wonderful days.

“But the reality was that there were only two professional clubs in the North East – us and Newcastle - and ultimately the crowds were not good enough to pay the players unless you had Sir John Hall’s money to attract people to the region. Overseas players were brought in and we lost the club ethos.”

West were forced to ground share with Rovers as the new century began, but this reignited the fierce rivalry with some diehard fans unhappy about the arrangement.
Four more relegations in a row, as the debts of professionalism were slowly paid off, left the once elite club in the backwater of North Two East. A move to Brinkburn, the home of Hartlepool Sixth Form College, created some stability and gradually things turned round with promotion back into tier five secured in 2008.

Despite the latest league setback, good news comes from West recently signing a 50-year lease at Brinkburn. This should allow them to lay down roots and develop stars for the future. But they may not have been a club to invest in if it wasn’t for a few dedicated individuals.

“To lose Brierton Lane was a huge blow and it was down to Les (Smith) and John (Stabler) that the club kept going,” adds Oliphant. “It’s amazing that the team are now playing on what was my old school field!”
An all-time West Hartlepool XV:
15 Derek Boyd, 14 Tim Stimpson, 13 Terry Arthur, 12 Carl Aarvold, 11 Dave Cooke, 10 Jack Taylor, 9 Ivan Waterson, 1 Phil Lancaster, 2 Bob Bateman, 3 Eddie Bell, 4 Gary Whetton, 5 John Dixon, 6 Alan Whetton, 7 Billy Neasham, 8 Dwayne Monkley
Among those who could have been selected: Steve Hackney, Mark Ring, John Stabler, Tu Nu’uali’itia, Derrick Patterson, Micky Young, Mike Shelley, David Barnes, Keith Baggs, John Howe, Jim Duthie, Alan Brown, Mike Brewer, Rob Wainwright, Mick Watson
WEST HARTLEPOOL
AT A GLANCE

Founded: 1881
Colours: Green, Red and White
Ground: Brinkburn (Cap 2,000)

SEASON-BY-SEASON LEAGUE
FINISHING POSITIONS

1987/88 Nat 3 2
1988/89 Nat 3 4
1989/90 Nat 3 3
1990/91 Nat 3 1 (P)
1991/92 Nat 2 2 (P)
1992/93 Nat 1 12 (R)
1993/94 Nat 2 2 (P)
1994/95 Nat 1 9
1995/96 Nat 1 10
1996/97 Nat 1 11 (R)
1997/98 Prem 2* 2 (P)
1998/99 Prem 1 14 (R)
1999/00 Prem 2 14 (R)
2000/01 Nat 2* 14 (R)
2001/02 Nat 3N 14 (R)
2002/03 Nor 1 11 (R)
2003/04 Nor 2E 5
2004/05 Nor 2E 6
2005/06 Nor 2E 6
2006/07 Nor 2E 3
2007/08 Nor 2E 1 (P)
2008/09 Nor 1 7
2009/10 Nat 3N* 14 (R)
(P) – Promoted, (R) - Relegated
* After re-organisation of the leagues






2009/10 League Points Scorers
Apps Tries Pts
Paul Moss 25 2 106
Jon Boatman 24 8 40
Gareth Kerr 13 5 25
Tom Wilson 16 5 25
Jamie Connolly 17 3 15
Tom Dixon 26 3 15
Davy Tighe 10 3 15
Andrew Cheslin 20 2 10
Adam Howard 21 2 10
Phil Wallis 5 0 6
Dan Boatman 18 1 5
Anthony Carr 24 1 5
Andrew Davies 20 1 5
Andrew Dixon 16 1 5
Dave Garside 15 1 5
Peter Hodgson 18 1 5
Scott Jordan 2 1 5
Jon Norris 7 1 5
Harry Readhead 11 1 5
Paul Rudd 19 1 5
Darren Thomas 13 1 5
Gavin Robinson 10 0 2
Zac Southern 4 0 2

DIRECTOR OF RUGBY
Kevan Oliphant
Former West Hartlepool full-back
Appointed DoR in 2008

PROSPECTS
West have been here before....Question marks over whether they can bounce back from relegation. Oliphant is hopeful that West can make an immediate return to the National Leagues: “Last season we showed that we can compete, despite finishing bottom. A number of games were only lost by a few points. We had some very talented youngsters who had to be used due to the number of injuries we had. At one stage we had a backline with an average age of 20 – it was not fair on them. We were disappointed to go down but when you use 45+ players before Christmas it’s almost impossible to get any rhythm.

“We have a good crop of players, I’m looking to recruit one or two more and have had some interest from people wanting to come here. It will be good to see what Scott Jordan can do. He’s been playing for England Schools at full-back and is a very talented player.”
Whatever lies ahead for Oliphant and his young squad, the highlights of the campaign should be the derbies against Hartlepool Rovers – there is an annual Boxing Day match but September 25 sees the first league meeting since West relegated their bitter rivals while clinching the North Two East title on the last day of the 2007/08 season.

“For the past few years the derby has involved local players who know each other, so has been more of a friendly than in the past; 20 years ago they were quite brutal games,” says Oliphant. “Now it’s more about bragging rights but it’s the first fixture everyone looks for – it’s a rivalry with a lot of history.”