Five minutes with…. new Cumbria RFU president Brian Mitchelhill

Brian Mitchelhill is the new Cumbria RFU president, taking over from Malcolm Brown at a time when league rugby has undergone more restructuring.

I caught up with Brian for his thoughts on rugby union in Cumbria, the new leagues and his hopes for the game in the county.

First of all Brian, congratulations on your appointment as Cumbria RFU president. Can you just tell us about your rugby career – playing and refereeing?

Thanks John, it is a real privilege to be county president and I am most grateful that the clubs have put their faith in me for this year.

I first started playing at quite a young age for Cockermouth 2nd team, filling in when they were short. I then continued to play until I was in my early 40s. Throughout the years I played a mixture of first team and second team rugby, finally hanging up my playing boots after a serious knee injury.

I continued to watch Cockermouth play and it was by chance at one of their games that I was introduced to refereeing seriously. I was lucky enough to be considered quite good in the job and got to travel across the North to officiate.

I am currently the chair of Cumbria Referees and would urge anyone retiring from the game to give refereeing a go, it is the next best thing to playing, we provide kit, training and mentoring to all of our referees and we would particularly like more women in our society.

Who were the players in the county who stood out for you in your formative years in the sport – and why?

I am a Cockermouth lad through and through and over the years I have had the pleasure of watching and playing alongside many extremely good players, names like David Robinson, Ian Wright, Kevin Maughan, Walter Forsyth, Joe Fagan, David Coulthard, John Thurlow and Derek Thompson immediately spring to mind, although there were and still are many others.

Of course, there were other great players in Cumbria at the time I was playing, my predecessor as county president, Malcolm Brown being one.

Every club, in the late 70s early 80s seemed to have at least one stand out player, names that spring to mind are Tommy Callan at Moresby, Raymond Graham at Wigton, Peter Stoddart at Netherhall and Tommy Borthwick at Aspatria, I could name many more, it was such a good time to be playing rugby union.

We met a few times on the cricket field. What about your involvement in the game and your best moments?

Cricket is still my second sporting love, I played well into my 40s. I recall the many good games against your team in the West Cumbria midweek league, which at the time was very competitive, our games always had a tenseness but good craic afterwards in The Commercial.

I first played for Cockermouth 2nds in the early 1970s when Nelson Chicken was the team captain, from there I then played for James Walker and Dovenby in the midweek league, both sides having some success and I played a bit for British Steel before returning to Cockermouth in the 90s to enjoy many happy years playing with a great group of people in the 2nds.

My best moment would have to be when I won the batting and bowling averages in the same season whilst playing at James Walker’s.

In general terms at the start of a new season how healthy is rugby union in Cumbria?

There are areas of the game in parts of the county that we would obviously like to improve, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that we have currently got three3 clubs at Level 5 of the English Clubs Championship and four clubs at Level 6 which is a real positive.

But, along with other sports, player participation is a real cause for concern. The pandemic had a real negative effect on how younger people spend their leisure time.

You mention Furness, in a later question, and they are an example of how many different factors can impact on playing numbers. I think a doctor’s report would say that whilst Cumbria rugby is fit, some remedial work is necessary, which I am pleased to say is happening, as I write.

Have you any goals set as president and would you like to leave a legacy of some kind in the county?

Not necessarily goals but I would like to encourage and see greater numbers of people playing in our lower level or 2nd team rugby.

Ambleside and Moresby are very good examples of clubs who have not played a great deal in recent seasons, and it would be great to see them playing regularly again as well as those other clubs who have been struggling to raise 2nd teams.

My legacy? Just to see all clubs in Cumbria doing the best that they can and that maybe I contributed a little to helping them do that.

Shortage of referees is a massive problem in rugby league locally. How is Cumbria RU off for referees and what’s the general standard like?

Cumbria Rugby Union Referees are always on the lookout for more people to come forward. In recent years there have been times when we have been supported by colleagues from the North East to ensure that games could be played.

The standard of refereeing is generally quite good. Referees are monitored and assessed on a regular basis to ensure that they are maintaining the level to which they have been assigned.

How pleased or disappointed were you with the reorganisation of League rugby carried out by the RFU?

Overall disappointed, some teams, namely, Cockermouth, St Benedict’s and Upper Eden appear to have been badly done to, and I agree they have.

However, we must also recognise that other teams in Cumbria have been treated favourably in the reorganisation, so there are winners and losers in all of this.

What we can do now is regroup and recognise the revenue and recruitment opportunities that may come out of playing local derbies regularly.

The Cumbria Cup has almost become a low-key sideshow in recent seasons when it used to be a high spot. How can this be rectified?

The County Cup is the most polarising of all rugby matters. It evokes strong opinions amongst many regarding its importance to the game, but they are predominantly the older members of clubs, the younger players don’t appear to value it as highly as former players.

The Cumbria Cup has a long and notable history. I myself have been fortunate enough to play in one final and to referee two so I am in the former group.

However, the introduction of league rugby has changed the focus of clubs and players priorities. League success is given primacy above all else and the Cup is becoming an annual distraction for clubs.

This season we had 11 clubs enter the Cup, we have now reached the semi-final stage with Upper Eden v Kendal and Carlisle v Penrith due to take place on October 8. The final date and location is yet to be determined, largely because it depends on the finalists.

Compared to recent years this can be regarded as a success, however, we shall not rest on our laurels. We are continually looking at ways of how we can improve the competition and make it more relevant and meaningful to all. We are on the lookout for a major sponsor for the Cup and would be happy to talk to anyone who would be interested.

What is, or can be done, to bring the likes of Furness, Moresby and Ambleside back into competitive rugby in the county?

Work has commenced to provide help and assistance for the clubs you mention. The county is working alongside the RFU to do everything it can to ensure we get these clubs back playing rugby as soon as possible.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the hard work being undertaken by individuals at those clubs. They are continually looking for ways to resolve their respective issues, and good luck to them.