George Crawford Memorial Match

REPORT WRITTEN BY ROB WILDMAN

Good memories rekindled of one of Newark s best.

The trophy might have gone missing but the George Crawford Memorial Match was re-launched when a Newark XV and an RAF Police squad met at Kelham Road on Wednesday night.

And some 30 years on the links between the 1980s team and the present day were renewed.
Nick Scott, the then captain, watched on as son Alex played at fly half in the Newark team.

Nick reminded those at the after-match presentation about George’s rugby prowess before the RAF prop was among those to die in a road accident when a bus carrying RAF personnel collided with a petrol tanker.

George was a Newark regular and Nick played in the first memorial match. The game was an annual feature of rugby at Kelham Road until the last few years so Wednesday s game was a timely renewal, though the trophy has somehow gone missing.

The RAF Police promised an investigation into the missing trophy after winning the game something like 35-5 against a young Newark team.

Wing Josh Clack scoring the home team’s try in the second half.

Hopefully, the RAF Police will be back next year and might even have found the trophy by then

And, finally, thanks to Trevor Sharpe and co from NLD Refs for organising the officials as part of an exchange from the United States in Curtis Ethridge and touch judge Nigel Platt.

Rob Wildman