***** A huge thank you on behalf of Sandal Rugby CLub is extended to Howard Newton for all his work over the years Including Treasurer, Chairman...the list goes on. Thank you Howard - The club is a better place for your involvment***

It is with some regrets that once I have completed the Driffield Programme Notes I will be parking my pen and shutting down my PC, since these notes will be my last. I am no longer in a position to attend away games, which fortunately those I have missed this season have been picked up by Justin English and between us we have managed to produce a report for every game and all have been published online, in a programme or by the Wakefield Express. But unfortunately, the time has come for someone, who is younger and more able, to take over the task of preparing the programme’s centre pages, covering news and reports, for each home game. The remuneration is poor but the satisfaction gained is immense.
I first started writing the notes at the beginning of the 1990/91 season and continued until the Millenium when I had a rest for six years but then for the start of 2005/06 season I was invited to resume writing the notes again. This I did for a further eleven years between 2005 and 2015, when again I rested until the start of the 2019/20 season from when I continued until the present time – all of which adds up to 26years of writing reports and articles for the programme’s centre pages.
Whilst I have generally put the words together over the years I have called upon the help of other people throughout that period. In the early days and for a number of years Bob Wilkinson or Mark Hardcastle typed up my written notes, had them copied and stapled them into the season’s pre-printed covers. Then some 20 years ago Peter Tunningley became involved with the help of his wife Kal and they have supported me over that period with the setting of the centre pages template and getting me out of trouble when things have gone adrift with their computerised preparation. So, thanks to both for their continuing back stop support over so many years because without them I would have been lost.
Whilst on the subject of programme production it is interesting to look back and see how they have changed but improved over the last 38 years. The first programme with pages of adverts was produced during the 1987/88 season and put together by Russ Holmes and Max Smith, which interestingly included “Scoop’s Player Profile” and “Dustbin’s Half-Time Titter”. The centre pages continued to detail both teams until the start of the 1995/96 season when both teams were then listed on a single page in order to provide two sheets to cover more Club News. This format has continued to the present day.
Then with the help of Peter the template of full pages of script was changed in 2005/06 to pages having two columns each, more in line with newspaper print making the news easier to read. This design continues today. From the start of the 2008/09 season, we sought the assistance of club member, David Stead and his printing company, to print the centre pages and staple them into the season’s pre-printed covers saving this task being carried out in house. This was the arrangement for the next two years but from 2010 David took over the whole printing process and manufacture of the quality programme we know today. In conjunction with this responsibility the format changed once more so that the whole of the written script could be covered on pages 2 and 3 instead of pages 1 and 2, again making the notes more reader friendly. Also, from this time a list of the 1st XV scorers was introduced as well as having a different coloured front cover of a player photograph for each programme. Then in 2023 Justin English took an interest in the programme’s design and introduced more content in colour providing articles covering the 2nd XV, Women’s rugby, Mini and Junior rugby, player interviews plus other articles of interest, which must place the Sandal programme as one of the best and most informative in the league.
Whilst I will not be writing the programme centre pages any longer, I will still continue to maintain the final fixture lists, scorers’ lists and league tables each year for archive purposes but hopefully Justin English will keep the programme ship sailing for the time being at least.
Howard Newton