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Relegation, ooooh relegation...

R

RoyalBlueStuey

Guest
After an undistinguished single-season stay in 2nd tier of English rugby little old Waterloo are headed back down to National Division 2.

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Quite frankly it was a season long pummeling by clubs with much better resources and infra-structure but that's life I suppose. It'd be harsh to say that the players got "found out" 'cause let's face it they are only amateur playing in a division that's dominated by the full-timers. Bedford snuck an England international into their line-up whilst Leeds were playing in the Heineken cup the season before running riot against our lot. There are of course clubs closer to our level and they were the games we should have targeted...a few leads were squandered, opportunities missed but ultimately they didn't do enough. One "8 pointer" victory coming against Moseley meant we were never really in with realistic chance of a Miracle of Castel di Sangro happening but the fantastic results against Cornish Pirates and Exeter Chiefs will go down into the club's folklore.

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So it's back to Division 2 we go...Launceston, Blackheath and Wharfdale are more fitting company for our friendly little club. As long as the core of the team stay with us we'll be okay but bare in mind the spector of what happened to Orrell. As long as that doesn't happen our kicking won't have done us much harm...a bit of an adventure down at the deep end.

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Going to see 'loo is always good regardless of the result or the speed and quality of the game...next year hopefully I'll be a full member. I've only been going two years...one promotion, one relegation but loads of thoroughly entertaining beer filled afternoons and hopefully many, many more.

The higher levels with razzmatazz and it's 8 foot tall forwards and Olympic sprinter backs are all well and good but for the time being I'll take my little clubhouse with it's real ale and open fire, the club shop with the scatty girl who never has change, players and officials mingling with the fans, announcements over the tannoy to see if an electrician is around to fix the floodlights, cheering as the cars by the side of the pitch get pinged by the ball, sarcasm pouring off our rowdy little brick terrace. This might sound like sour grapes 'cause, of course, it is.

We'll go down unlamented by the big boys....we didn't pack their stadiums with away fans 'cause let's face it hardly anyone in Liverpool goes the rugby. We didn't serve up fantastic, memorable matches 'cause let's face it we were out of our depth. We battled though...in defence mainly. I never saw the team give up no matter how hard they were hit, no matter how much faster the opposition player was. For that I salute Mick Melrose, Dave Blythe, Freeman Payne and the lads.

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It's hard to say we've enjoyed it but from what I've heard we were greeted warmly but all the fine, fine clubs in National Division One and I'd like to think we were equally welcoming to the away fans who tripped up to Blundellsands. Hopefully we'll be back and hopefully we'll have learnt and grown from the experience. In the mean time rugby, like life, goes on.

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Good luck to your team in the following season.
I hope your team can take heart that they have the abilities to get up there again at the end of the coming season and who's to say things won't be different next time?
 
Good luck to your team in the following season.
I hope your team can take heart that they have the abilities to get up there again at the end of the coming season and who's to say things won't be different next time?
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The gap between the top of Division One and the teams coming up from Division Two is immense but Waterloo ballsed up the 8 pointers...if we were to get another go at it and take more points from them games we might well have had a chance of remaining at that level. It is perhaps the division where the dividing line between the haves and have-nots is most accute...whilst 'loo are still only getting 500-750 people they are never going to compete in there.
 
Maybe you should try and get the attention of the Russian Billionaire who bought up TVR near blackpool and get him to power you guys back to Premiership glory!
 
Maybe you should try and get the attention of the Russian Billionaire who bought up TVR near blackpool and get him to power you guys back to Premiership glory!
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hee hee...can't see that somehow. Unless said billionaire really likes real ale.
 
Can I just take the opportunity to say that Waterloo and Otley are two clubs that will be missed by division 1. Otley have been here so long they were like part of the furniture! As for 'loo I have to say it was probably the most pleasant away trip I undertook this season and I have nothing but admiration for the way in which your players (particularly that No.8) never gave up and the wit and grace of your fans. I'll certainly miss you!

Good Luck!

PS:- Sorry about the Varndell thing by the way :p
 
Can I just take the opportunity to say that Waterloo and Otley are two clubs that will be missed by division 1. Otley have been here so long they were like part of the furniture! As for 'loo I have to say it was probably the most pleasant away trip I undertook this season and I have nothing but admiration for the way in which your players (particularly that No.8) never gave up and the wit and grace of your fans. I'll certainly miss you!

Good Luck!

PS:- Sorry about the Varndell thing by the way :p
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That's Rory McKay, top player. He was a new signing for the Div 1 season....I assume he'll move on now as, with all due respect to National Division Two, he's far too good to be playing third tier rugby next season. The Varndell thing was faintly ridiculous wasn't it.

Found out a lot about the team and the club this season...a lot of it to do with the limitations but a fair bit about the spirit and the dignity there. We also discovered that even getting stomped on week after week doesn't make you love the club any less. It's always great following 'loo...that's all we need to know.

You should be proud of your set-up at Bedford...good away following (air-horns excepted) and a lovely (if oddly slopey) ground at Goldington Road full of proper welcoming rugby people.

See you soon hopefully.

SB
 
well, relegation is indeed life mate... look at NORTHAMPTON!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA :p sorry... I couldn't help but laugh...
 
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well, relegation is indeed life mate... look at NORTHAMPTON!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA :p sorry... I couldn't help but laugh...
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Door. Open. Go through.
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I wouldn't go that far but a bit of sensitivity and empathy wouldn't go amiss.
 
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Can I just take the opportunity to say that Waterloo and Otley are two clubs that will be missed by division 1. Otley have been here so long they were like part of the furniture! As for 'loo I have to say it was probably the most pleasant away trip I undertook this season and I have nothing but admiration for the way in which your players (particularly that No.8) never gave up and the wit and grace of your fans. I'll certainly miss you!

Good Luck!

PS:- Sorry about the Varndell thing by the way :p
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That's Rory McKay, top player. He was a new signing for the Div 1 season....I assume he'll move on now as, with all due respect to National Division Two, he's far too good to be playing third tier rugby next season. The Varndell thing was faintly ridiculous wasn't it.

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Just checked the club site and it looks like we've signed him, makes me glad I mentioned it :p . And I remember being about a yard away as Varndell cried out in pain before limping off, complaining about f*****g Bedford. I just laughed, he was a joke.
 
Just checked the club site and it looks like we've signed him, makes me glad I mentioned it :p . And I remember being about a yard away as Varndell cried out in pain before limping off, complaining about f*****g Bedford. I just laughed, he was a joke.
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Ah well...good luck to him. He was getting praise both at Goldington Road when we were there and on the Blues message board so he obviously caught the eye.

That Varndell injury genuinely wasn't our fault I swear! It was great..."Oh no...Tom Varndell" "Ah well at least we'll get to see an England international" "Oh cack we've killed him".

In return for Rory you need to slam Pertemps for us...they were the only ones who annoyed us. Plus they took our only decent wide player and mashed him into the ground really late thus breaking his arm and putting him out for a couple of months.
 
At least Waterloo can point to stunning victories over 2 of the heavyweights in the divison - if Rotherham had matched your results against Exeter and the Pirates, we would have finished top!

Good luck for next season and beyond. Actually, until I saw you posting here Stu, I thought Waterloo was in Hampshire, and not Merseyside! I was thinking of Waterlooville.... :unsure:
 
What is the minimum ground size for a team to progress to the GP?

Allot of the Ground sizes in NL1 are about 5 - 6,000?
 
At least Waterloo can point to stunning victories over 2 of the heavyweights in the divison - if Rotherham had matched your results against Exeter and the Pirates, we would have finished top!

Good luck for next season and beyond. Actually, until I saw you posting here Stu, I thought Waterloo was in Hampshire, and not Merseyside! I was thinking of Waterlooville.... :unsure:
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Hee hee...Worry not. Most scousers don't know they're there either.

I have put the Cornish Pirates and Exeter Chiefs (Why Chiefs? does exeter have a link with the native americans or something?) onto the 'loo Wikipedia page.

The Cornish Pirates win was especially gratifying coming as it did on the same day our Everton's stunning table-topping derby victory.

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Day of days.
 
What is the minimum ground size for a team to progress to the GP?

Allot of the Ground sizes in NL1 are about 5 - 6,000?
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I think it's 10,000. Of this year's challengers, only Leeds had any real chance of satisfying the promotion criteria.
 
Well done Waterloo whent to a few of your games,i know the step up from div 2 to div 1 is like div 1 to prem.But if you work at it you can stay in that league.
 
Well done Waterloo whent to a few of your games,i know the step up from div 2 to div 1 is like div 1 to prem.But if you work at it you can stay in that league.
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Well going back down to Div 2 will be tough 'cause players who've done well will want to jump ship and try and get their rugby career going.

Can't really blame them.

Perhaps Div 2 is our level.
 
Yeah true,but great thing about rugby is you can always bounce back.Waterloo is a great example of how a rugby club should be.Abit more development and you could be up there challanging for prem status.Which would be great for all prem team fans to see a proper English rugby club.
 

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