Pre-Preview - Otley v Harlequins 10 September 2005

By Old Kings No.8
September 7 2005

Whilst plenty of travelling fans will already have visited West Yorkshire to watch Quins play the Tykes, not so many will have found their way up the A660 to Cross Green, the home of Otley RUFC.

Hopefully this preview of our second ND1 fixture will not only provide everyone who already intends to head north again this season with all the information they’ll need to find the club and enjoy the trip to its full potential, but might also persuade some of those who are currently undecided that the journey would be well worth it, and not just for what promises to be an extremely enjoyable rugby match.

The Club

Otley FC was founded in 1856 and is one of only eleven clubs, including Harlequins, which began life with the “FC” suffix. In 1889, having just won the Yorkshire Cup for the first time, Otley joined the Northern Union, playing league rugby in Division 1 North at Wharfe Meadows until rental issues and a landlord who preferred union resulted in the club switching codes again. In 1922 the club moved to Cross Green and has remained there since. The ultimate re-naming of the club as Otley RUFC took place when the club became a friendly society for charitable reasons. Of course, Otley’s most famous export has been former England captain, British Lion and (unfortunately) Wasp, Nigel Melville, who led the club up through the divisions as coach in the early 90's after his playing career ended through injury before moving back to Wasps and then onto Gloucester where he remains today. 

Getting There 

The club’s address is Cross Green, Pool Road, Otley LS21 1HE. If you’re driving up from London, the directions are as follows:-

Take the M1 northbound towards Leeds and The North.
At Junction 43 of the M1, turn onto the M621.
At Junction 2 of the M621, bear left onto the A653 after approximately 500 yards.
After about 1 mile bear right onto the A61.
Turn left onto the A58(M).
Leave the A58(M) and bear right onto the A660 signposted towards Skipton.
Follow the A660 out of Leeds; after about 9 miles you'll be approaching Otley.
Follow the signs for the town centre.
Turn right following the signs for A659 out of town. The ground is on left hand side of Pool Road, half a mile from Otley town centre.

Parking for fans is available off Bremner Street which is just opposite the club itself (turn right off Pool Road when you reach the club if following the above directions) at a cost of £2. There is also pay-and-display parking available on Walkergate about five minutes’ walk from the club, although there should be plenty of space on the Bremner Road site. The coaches will be parked in the area directly outside the ticket gates. Please note that there will be no car parking in the club itself other than for sponsors.

Staying There

As advertised on the Otley sportnetwork site, there is a Holiday Inn at Bramhope, four miles from Otley which can be contacted on 0870 4009049. Other options include the Chevin Lodge - http://www.chevinlodge.co.uk/. 

Getting In

Adult tickets are £10 whilst concessions and under-16s are £7. Entrance to the grandstand (which seats 499) is an additional £2. Match-day programmes are also £2.

As various postings on the message boards have already confirmed, tickets can be purchased at the gate, although advance purchases are apparently available through Marc Lawrence on 01943 461180. If you want the tickets to be sent to you it will be necessary to provide a stamped, addressed envelope since this service isn’t available through the club itself.

The total capacity of the ground is 7,000, so there should be no problems getting everyone in. Nevertheless, it is a long way to travel without guaranteed entry so you may wish to make sure of your ticket in advance. 

The Facilities 

During a recent visit to Yorkshire I took a trip down to Cross Green with the club’s press officer, John Finch, to have a look round the ground, take a few photos and gather some more information for this article. Many thanks to John for taking the time to go down to the club with me and answer all my questions. 

The clubhouse is situated at the south-west corner of the pitch, to the left as you enter through the turnstiles, and is comprised of three sections. The first, and lowest, contains the Long Bar in which a hot all-you-can-eat buffet will be served from 12.30pm onwards at £5 a head or £2.50 for under-16s. The Long Bar also contains the club’s trophy cabinets and various other items of memorabilia and I understand that a big screen television has now been fitted. Whilst there is also an open fire, I doubt it will be in service in early September.

The second stage of the clubhouse contains another bar. The beers on tap are Black Sheep, John Smith’s and Tetley’s (bitter and mild if it hasn’t changed since my days at the club), various lagers, spirits, and wines available by the glass or bottle. The third, tallest and most recently built part of the clubhouse contains the kitchens, the dining room and the sponsors’ bar on the first floor. Otley have been putting on a three-course, pre-match lunch for some time now, priced at £23 for non-members including the match ticket. I understand that all of the availability for lunch on 10 September has now gone, but I mention it anyway for the sake of completeness. 

To the right as you enter through the turnstiles is a tea room (pictured) which will be serving hot and cold drinks, hot beef sandwiches and the obligatory pork pie and mushy peas for all those seeking the true northern match-day experience. Yet more food will be available at a barbeque stationed in the south-west corner of the ground between the pitch and the clubhouse.

In addition to the two supporters’ bars I understand that there will be a beer tent in front of the clubhouse and a further sheltered bar opposite the tea room to the right of the dressing rooms which face you as you enter the ground. There certainly seems little prospect of anyone going thirsty at this match. 

The Experience

It has always been my understanding that the pitch at Cross Green is one of the best in the country, a view supported by the RFU’s decision to hold the Italy v USA RWC match at Cross Green in 1991 which saw Italy hand the Americans a 30-9 thrashing. I certainly enjoyed playing on it myself once when I led out a junior Otley side against Sandal in the dim and distant past, and it looked in fine condition when I had a look at it on 18 August. Otley will be hosting Bedford on 3 September, but that’s only one match before we get there so I expect the pitch to be in superb condition for our visit and, subject to the weather, we should have a fine playing surface to look forward to. 

The north and east sides of the pitch are bordered by open terracing whilst the south terrace is covered. As noted above, the west stand (which has more terracing at each side) now seats 499, reduced from a previously higher number to comply with fire safety regulations.

As I promised Harley Quin, disabled access to the touchline near the main stand and the south west corner of the pitch is not a problem, as the photographs show.

Making a nice change from the usual soundtrack, the Otley silver band will be situated nearby to provide entertainment and celebratory tunes in the event that the home side score.

Whilst the incredible amount of beer which will apparently be on sale at the club itself should remove the need for anyone to take the trouble to venture into Otley itself to get a drink after the match, if you’re up early enough to go before the match or if you’re making a weekend of it, I can guarantee that Otley contains some of the best pubs in the country. The two closest to the club itself are the White Swan on Boroughgate and the Manor House on Walkergate, both of which are pictured. However, I think the best drinking is to be had just further into town along Charles Street, Bondgate and Kirkgate, where you’ll find pubs such as the Junction, the Rose & Crown and the Woolpack. On the beer front, Tetley’s and John Smith’s should be overlooked in favour of the superior Black Sheep and Theakstons.

Conclusions

Whilst my rugby loyalties now lie firmly in Twickenham, I remain extremely proud of Otley both as a town and a rugby club and I cannot wait for this match. I hope there are many of you who share my enthusiasm for what should be a fantastic away trip and which promises to serve up outstanding rugby, hospitality and beer.