The rebirth of England's most remote club
Drive 50 miles north from Newcastle into the wilderness of Kielder Forest Park and you will come across the most remote, and one of the most special rugby clubs in England.
And since 1961 the secluded community has also been home to a rugby club formed by a group of foresters and hill farmers.
For 55 years the club survived despite a dwindling supply of players as a change of industry led forest workers to re-locate.
“Last year I thought it was all over,” says 72-year-old Tom Richards who played his first game of rugby for Border Park aged 38 and only stopped four years ago.
“It got to the point where there were only three of us left. I would mark the pitch in the morning, get everything ready for the match and then go out and play. It wasn’t the same anymore.
“I don’t mind admitting that I shed a few tears. My wife used to say I should accept things had changed and move on. But I refused to accept that. This club has been the love of my life, I couldn’t let it die.”
Luckily Richards wasn’t the only person who was desperate to keep the club going. During a dinner put on for his services to rugby in Northumbria, a group of young players from the Tyne Valley stood up and pledged to revitalise Border Park.
“Border Park is special to a lot of people but we knew it would have to change in order to survive,” says Richie Gledson, who along with David Batey, Jamie Dixon and Joe Northwood, forms part of Border Park’s new committee with Richards remaining as President.
“The lack of players meant we had to switch from a competitive team that played on Saturdays to a more fun, social approach using players from the surrounding areas and playing games on Friday nights or Sundays.”
The committee was supported in its efforts by local Rugby Development Officer Dave Reed as well as the Northumberland Rugby Union.
“There is no way we wanted to lose the club,” said Andy Thomson, Chairman of rugby for Northumberland. “So we all worked together to find ways of supporting Border Park including developing links with other clubs who helped as well.”
In November 2016 the revamped club held its first friendly hosted at the home of Newcastle Falcons, Kingston Park on a Friday night.
“We had players from nine different clubs representing Border Park. They had travelled from all over the north and south Tyne valleys just to play for us,” says Dixon.
“Over 200 spectators then turned up for our next fixture against Ponteland RFC so the support is definitely there. The way people want to play sport is changing up her and we are trying to capitalise on that while also protecting Border Park’s identity."
For Richards, the feeling of seeing Border Park RFC thriving once again, a club that has been such a huge part of his life, is hard to put into words - “It meant everything, absolutely everything to me.”
Despite being on the brink of extinction, it is easy to see how Border Park survived. The passion and love of the club shown by Richards, the new generation of players as well as crucial local sport has meant England's most remote club will thrive for many years to come.
