[iBozz]

The club are pleased to announce that the 1861 Ladies team have been granted league entry by the RFU for the upcoming season. The team has the backing of both Sale FC Rugby and Sale Sharks and over the past 12 months has grown in both stature and size and will be playing National Challenge 1 North West. read more here.

Results so far, and forthcoming fixtures, can be found here.

TheSale FC subscribable calendar has been updated with these fixtures, all to be played at 2:00pm* on Sundays, and I have assumed that home games will be at Heywood Road. Quite where the away games will be played will require a little bit of research, but I'm on the case!

* Edit: Plesse note the change of home match kick off times. This will now be ar 2:00pm and not 1:00pm as previously advised.

[Flumpty]

I was looking forward to watching Sale 1861 at Kendals ground, but it looks like Kendal are now playing in the North East Division.
The Senior Men were turfed out to the NE by the RFU for 2019/2020, I wonder if the Ladies were tarred with the same brush ?

[NorthernMaori]

I think that may be the case Flumpty. Always difficult for Cumbrian teams and you get the feeling that as much as the RFU would prefer to handle the clubs as a collective, assessing and discussing with clubs on a more time consuming individual basis may be required. All sorts of mess going on in the NW anyway with the relative success of the Lancashire breakaway leagues.

On Sale 1861, I don't see why the team should have been allowed to enter Level 3 despite the Club's ambitions. The leagues, quite rightly IMO, work on a meritocracy and those that have earned the right to be higher up are rightly placed there. Out of curiosity, if 1861 had been placed at Level 3 then who do they believe should have been knocked down to Level 4?

I hope they succeed as a team, but this will only be proven over time and no club/team should be given a helping hand by the RFU just because they have some notable associations.

[Flumpty]

I think that may be the case Flumpty. Always difficult for Cumbrian teams and you get the feeling that as much as the RFU would prefer to handle the clubs as a collective, assessing and discussing with clubs on a more time consuming individual basis may be required. All sorts of mess going on in the NW anyway with the relative success of the Lancashire breakaway leagues.

On Sale 1861, I don't see why the team should have been allowed to enter Level 3 despite the Club's ambitions. The leagues, quite rightly IMO, work on a meritocracy and those that have earned the right to be higher up are rightly placed there. Out of curiosity, if 1861 had been placed at Level 3 then who do they believe should have been knocked down to Level 4?

I hope they succeed as a team, but this will only be proven over time and no club/team should be given a helping hand by the RFU just because they have some notable associations.

I read the bit about Sale1861 wanting/anticipating/expecting to go straignt in at Level 3 as well and it just didn't seem "right". Other teams/clubs have earned their places on merit and it will feel all the better for Sale 1861 once they (hopefully) earn the right to be playing at the level that they want to be playing at.

Looking at 1861's division, there are quite a few Ladies teams that I don't recognise, so maybe the Northern Division has had a complete rehash. I've not managed to find Kendal's Division details/fixtures for next season, but I hope that it goes well for them.

I hear what you are saying about the Lancs breakaway League, it'll be interesting how that pans out in the future. In the meantime, up here in deepest, darkest Cumbria (there don't be Dragons here, honest) we'll just have to to what we've always done - head down and get on with it.

[NorthernMaori]

Who knows really. The lower regional leagues don't appear to be online yet and the RFU have decided to restructure/rebuild their website so no community club leagues or fixtures are visible via that route

[Flumpty]

Who knows really. The lower regional leagues don't appear to be online yet and the RFU have decided to restructure/rebuild their website so no community club leagues or fixtures are visible via that route

Maybe more victims of the budget cuts at RFU, to pay for the new stuff at Twickenham

[MikeGC]

Who knows really. The lower regional leagues don't appear to be online yet and the RFU have decided to restructure/rebuild their website so no community club leagues or fixtures are visible via that route

Maybe more victims of the budget cuts at RFU, to pay for the new stuff at Twickenham

...or paying for an all expenses 5 star trip to Paris and Rome for the blazerati for this season's 6N

[Flumpty]

Who knows really. The lower regional leagues don't appear to be online yet and the RFU have decided to restructure/rebuild their website so no community club leagues or fixtures are visible via that route

Maybe more victims of the budget cuts at RFU, to pay for the new stuff at Twickenham

...or paying for an all expenses 5 star trip to Paris and Rome for the blazerati for this season's 6N

.... whils slashing the travelling allowance for Clubs and making community coaches redundant

[Flumpty]

I'm happy to say that it looks like I'm wrong - things have been rearranged with the Ladies Leagues in the North West and now understand that Kendal playing will be playing in the NE, rather than the NW next season - but it was arranged amicably, without any underhand shennanigans, so Happy Days.

[iBozz]

In a pre-season friendly yesterday Sunday, 1st September Sale 1861 entertained Manchester Women RUFC, from the League above, and ran out winners.

I’ll let you decide the final score, your choices are:

Sale 1861 43 - 36 Manchester (according to Sale FC)

Sale 1861 41 - 36 Manchester (according to Sale 1861)

I am inclined to believe SFC as 1861’s last try, at the death, was scored “under the posts” so should have been an easy conversion but, as I couldn’t be there, I can’t be sure.

Whatever the true result, an encouraging start.

[TeflonTed]

iBozz,

It was 43.

https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/manchest ... 663/report

[iBozz]

iBozz,

It was 43.

https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/manchest ... 663/report

Ta very muchly, I thought that that would be it as to have missed a conversion from right in front of the posts was unlikely, although perfectly possible of course.

[iBozz]

Please note that 1861’s home games will now kick off at 2:00pm on Sundays and not at 1:00pm as previously noted in the OP (which has been edited to correct the time. The subscribable calendar has been updated, but from time to time please check back for information on away fixtures.

Sale FC, Heywood Road, Brooklands, Sale, Cheshire, M33 3WB.

How to get to Heywood Road.

The nearest Metro station is Brooklands on the Altrincham line.