How strong is North West rugby?

With the World Cup now over, our attention will turn back to the domestic game and after reading an opinion piece from Mark Smith of the Newcastle Chronicle about the state of the game in the North East, we compared it to the North West.

Mark quite rightly pointed out that rugby in the North East is not really thriving at present if you look at the progress of the teams from the region in the higher leagues.

But can the same be said about the North West?

Well, we shall start with the Premiership. Sale Sharks have begun this new season quite well with two wins from their opening three matches. Sale have only been crowned champions once (2005-06), but nevertheless have been a constant in the top tier of English rugby.

In the Championship, there are no North West teams involved with no sides represented north of Leeds.

Fylde are 10^th in National One after a tough start to the season, but they are building and improving after changes at the club in the summer. They also finished 4^th last season in what is arguably the toughest league to be promoted from in the game.

Macclesfield were relegated into National Two North, but have won seven of their eight matches this season and top the table, while Sedgley Park and Caldy join them in the top three. Chester are currently 9^th with just four wins this season, but are still a strong outfit in that division as are Preston Grasshoppers despite them only being 12^th this campaign. Sale FC were promoted into National Two North and with some talented players and good financial backing, they do not look out of place so far.

Stockport dropped into National Three North last season, but did win promotion from that division two seasons ago and have a squad which is young and is looking to play an exciting brand of rugby. Firwood Waterloo, Wirral, Rossendale, Lymm, Birkenhead Park and Burnage make up the other teams representing the North West.

Its not just at club level where the North West is represented well. Every year, both Lancashire and Cheshire have teams that help promote the core values of the game at County Level. They retain their passion for playing the game at the highest possible level in its representative teams, its clubs, its schools, colleges and universities.

Macclesfield Head Coach Giles Heagerty (who has worked with Cheshire U20’s) said: “I think it would be fantastic for the region to have a Championship level club. Who that will be, that’s not for me to say.

“I think North West rugby is in a very good position. We have got some fantastic schools, great colts leagues and mini and junior rugby is thriving. You only have to look at the number of teams that are involved in National Leagues from the North West to realise that it is in a good state, bearing in mind we are not the largest region. It is a relatively small playing pool, yet we are being successful.”

When comparing all of this to the North East that looks impressive, but obviously as Mark pointed out in his article, just looking league position may not be an accurate reflection.

There is more to the game than that especially at grass roots level where players and volunteers give up their time to help improve the game in their region.

Having said all this, there is no doubt that the North West is constantly represented and to have a team like Sale, who have continued be a top flight side for a number years, is something the region should be proud of.

I think it is fair to say that the North West is in a better position in terms of team success than the North East, but what is clear, is that both regions are working tirelessly to better themselves and to become stronger each year.