On a warm and sunny summer evening on 24 May rugby players with newly-ironed white shirts and PRUFC ties accompanied by wives and girlfriends adorned in outfits more fashionable than those witnessed at the last Met Gala attended Pontefract Rugby Club’s Presentation Evening to round-off another wonderful season of rugby at Moor Lane.

After a drinks reception, canapes and delicate meal, Director of Rugby, James Grant, welcomed warmly everyone to the event and thanked members, staff, volunteers and supporters for their various contributions over the season and, of course, the players who put on the blue shirt to represent their borough, before handing the microphone over to Head Coach Craig Fawcett to make the following awards:

Most Improved Player: Linden Metcalfe
Forward of the Year: Ethan Potts
Back of the Year: Will Cooke
Coache’s Player of the Year: Jayden Field
Players’ Player of the Year: Tom Papworth

Second XV awards went to:

Most improved Player: Joe Todd
Forward of the Year: Conner Gowdy
Back of the Year: Jake Todd
Coache’s Player of the Year: George Bailey
Players’ Player of the Year: the ever-young perennial, Scott Hawkins.

There were also awards to Ethan Grant and Tom Papworth for representing Yorkshire Under 20’s and a special mention to Callum Rogers who retired from rugby after spending six seasons at the Club.

The evening finished with a live band and DJ and, of course, it wouldn’t really be proper for a Rugby Club event to end without Cooky controlling the microphone to give a rendition of Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’.
So, folks: Live your life with arms wide open and feel the rain on your skin!