\Vdcome LO LOday's match in the O S Insurallce Counry Championship_

This is the second scason that wc have had the privilegc of sponsoring a tournament that givcs liS ail the opporrunity of s!.:eing exciting English r ugby on a prac l ical and local lcvd, Lasl year's ch:lInpionship was aClion-packed from SI art 10 finish and culminall.:d in Yo rksh ire's 26-3 vic tor)' over Durham in Ihe linal playcd al Tw ickenham,

This popular competition, played al ' -CllUes acrûss thc enlire counlry, pro\'es that repres!.: nt:ltive rugby is a force 10 be reckoned with_ Rugby is a highl}' parLic ip:j(ive sport and it is imparl:lnt thal ther!.: arc struCtures in p l:lCe to f0 l111 a bridge bctween Ihe small dite of the internationa l gallle andlhe many enthusÎ:lsls w ho p b )' Ihe gallle al a local levcl. The Counry Championship is an illlcgrai part of that structure, and wc arc proud to be associated with il.

Fi n:llly, l 'd Jikc la wish you ai l a mûst enlenaining and mc morable day. 1 :1111 sure yO ll \Viii thal'Oughly enjoy th e;: act ion ,

C~IS Co-ope 'e Il ln

ADSneddon CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER Welcome from the President of Durham County R.F.o.

Our game today is our last in this season's championship an, after a much improved performance last week against Northumberland, we will be 100 king ta go out on a winning note. Although results have been disappointing, l'm sure that we have ail enjoyed being back in the old Northern Group, and amongst friends of long standing. We look forward ta the present system continuing.

To the Cheshire President Frank Povall, his committee and players, we welcome you ail to Durham taday. We hope you ail enjoy the lime spent with us, and that we ail witness an exciting game between the two teams this afternoon.

The Friarage has been the venue of many County Championship games and is one of the players' favourite grounds.

We thank the officiaIs, ground staff and everyone involved for their part in ensuring that everything is up to the standard we have come ta expect at the Friarage.

We again welcome c.I.S. and trust that they continue their support of rugby for many years to come.

You can be assured that the financial support received goes a long way tawards the running of youth and junior rugby in ail the counties. We thank you for being with us today, and tn.st you enjoy the afternoon.

Bernie Lewis Horden RFC President, Durham Cou nt Y RFU

NORT HERN GROUP P W D L For Against Pts Northumberland 4 3 0 1 70 49 6 Cumbria 4 3 0 1 51 42 6 Lancashire 4 2 1 103 62 5 2 1 1 103 81 5 Cheshire 4 1 0 3 49 90 2 Durham 4 0 0 4 21 73 0 Durham Cheshire (M.1IoonJerst:ys, Whir< Shons)

15 John Murray Newc3Stle Gosforth 1· 15 IanKennedy New BrighlOn 14 Dave Tweddle Gateshead FeU 14 Dean Crompton S:J1e 12 Piers J,T. Nickalls DarlinglOn 13 Matt Farr Orrell 13 Paul Collins Nonhem 12 Matt Tetlow Newc3Stle Gosforth Referee: 11 Bill Ridley West H:/ftlepool D.A.C. CHAPMAN 11 Jes Owens Winningron P3rk 10 Gary Ellis Horden (R.FU. & Yorkshire Society) 10 Steve Swindells Waterloo 9 Steve Havery (Captain) Gateshead FeU 9 Simon Wright W;Jt~rloo 1 Mike Wardle Durham City TouchJlIdges: 1 Dave A1cock Winninglon Park R.A. SCOTT lan parnaby WCS{œ' Iain Taylor WinninglOn P3rJ.: 2 (R.F U. & Manchester Society) 2 3 Maurice Douthwaite Stockton W. LOWE 3 Peter Mitchell Waterloo 4 John Dixon West Hanlepool (R.FU. & Yorkshire Society) 4 Chris Brierley (Captain) Orre/l 5 Peter Black Horden 5 Paul Rees WinnùJgton Park Medic.11 Officer: 6 Kevin C10ugh Gateshead Feil 6 Stuart Deely Waterloo W.M. BOWDEN 7 Darren McKinnon Dllrh.,m City FR.è.s.Ed. 7 Paul Billington Chester 8 John Hutchinson Darlington Mowden Park 8 Andy Mc FarIa ne S:J1e

Replacements: Replacements: 16 David Davison Horden 16 Simon Morrison Cong/eton 17 Rob Preston Suxkton 17 Mark Dinnington New Brifihton 18 Barry Corbett DarlinglOn 18 Chris Crompton S:J1e Good aftemoon and welcome to the Friarage for today's final Northern Group clash in the crs County Championship, and how times have changed in the four weeks since Durham were last on home terrÎ[ory. When Steve Havecy led Durham out on to the field at Hollow Drift against Yorkshire last month, we were play ing out a repeat of the 1994 CIS Championship final. Four matches o n, we have still to win a point in the 1994-95 Championship and, after starting the programme as the previollS season's losing finalists, today wc are bauling 10 avoid the wooden spoo!!. Cheshire arrive at Rovers with two points. courtesy of a home win over Cumbria, and with a points difference now orny 11 beuer than Durham. Durham will climb off the bottom if they win by six points today but anything less will mean that we will be Ieft clutching the wood. This season's fortunes have mirrore d the times we had after wc last visited Twickenham in 1989. The season after we beat Cornwall in that never-IO-be-forgotten final, the wheels really came off. Instead of building on that, we drew one and lost three of the first four group matches in the 1989-90 championship campaign. That meant we met (you guessed it ) Cheshire in the final game at Gateshead Feil and Durham showed their resilience by winning 27 -1 8 thanks to tries by Owen Evans (2) and John Saunders plus 15 points from the boot of Jonathan Bland. We avoided bottom spot, but were still placed - along w ith Cheshire - in the Third Division of the championship. So there is something of a feeling of deja vu about todays game. We played Cheshire twice during the national leagues structure, losing at Birkenhead Park and winning al Brierton Lane, but Î[ is nice to be playing them again in the Northern Group. Ir is an understatement to say it has been a poor season for Durham. We started aga inst two strong sides: Yorkshire and then Lancashire before away defeats at Cumbria and Northumberland. Worse still, we have scored just 21 poin ts, but hopefully we can do better today. New coach Graham Cook has been unlucky not to have a settled side to work with as injuries and unavailability have played havoc. But there have been plus points; Pal~ Collins has played weil at centre while John Hutchinson has do ne superbly in his first season in the side aiter not being used last year. We must look to build for next season, there is a lot of untapped potential in Durham clubs and hopefully via the Un der 21 Championship and B games we can bring new players through 10 the squad. For Cheshire, there must be a feeling of big frustration. They began with a narrow mid-week defeat by Lancashire, beat Cumbria, then were sunk 19-17 by Northumberland who won it thanks to a late David Johnson penalty, before being hammered 49-19 by Yorshire. Winger Chris Crompton scored the Cheshire try with stand-off Steve Swindells kicking four penalties and a conversion Despite the ohvious pressure of wanting 10 avoid the wooden spoon, hopefully today's garne will be an entertaining one with both sides free to express themselves. To close off with, a few thank yous, 10 cou nt Y secretary Chris McLoughlin for his hard work, to Hartlepool Rovers FC for staging the game and a1so a thank you to our sponsors from CIS Insurance. Finally, just a plug for two forthcoming attractions at the Friarage. Next Saturday Rovers play Hawick and, on Boxing Day, local rivais West are the visitors (both kick offs 2.15pm). Roy of the Rovers Here's your chance to win a fabulous ClS rugby shirt.

Simply take the first letter of your answer tO each question below tO fo rm the name of a famous South African rugby ground. Write your answer co each question, plus the name of the ground, on a postcard and return it to: Agency and Marketing, CIS, Miller Street. Manchester M60 OAl. Please specify which size of rugby sh irt you requi re (medium. large or extra large) should you win.

.. Who achieved tI back-to-back Grand Si am win in 1991 and 1992? G What was the surname of the only 3 brothers co ever play in the same team at incernationallevel? .. W hich English councy side has scored the most points in a season? o W hich councry's national scadium is at Lan sdowne Road? .. Where was the first Australian club founded? o Over which team did Argentina score their largest ever victory? .. What is the surname of 's most capped ny-half? e What is the premier domestic trophy in New Zealand called? ... At which ground were the 's first seven matches played?

RU l ES 1. The closing da te for enuies is Monday 1St May 1995. 2. Thrœ dl';'\ws will be made. one on eac.h of the following dates: 1st Dec.ember 1994. 9th january 1995 ",nd 1st May 1995. Ten entnes will win on eac.h of those dates. 3. Ali c.orrec.t entries will be entered into the next dr.lw ahcr the d"'te thcy arc received. and will not be entered into subsequent dr.lws. 4. Only one enuy per person is ",lIowed. S. The winners will bc notified in writing. 6. The prize will bc a free rugby shirt. No cash altcmative is available. 7. This offer Is not open t O employecs of the Co.oper.ltive Insu rance 50cicty Umited or their families. 8, The decision of thc CIS Is final and no corrcspondencc will be entered into.