Long time no hear from, eh? I’ve been away in France for most of the summer - hope you’ve all had a good one too - but now I’m back into rugby mode with a very busy week of action and portraits.
First up was Otley, playing their first home game of the season against Chester. Not a great day for them - the visitors notched up 50 points for the win. Well done to Otley though for sticking at it to gain a losing bonus point.
Sunday morning was rugby league - an under 14 encounter between Keighley Albion and Farnley Falcons. On Monday and Tuesday I was at West Park Leeds to photograph their squad pictures. You’ll be able to see examples of shots from those evenings on Instagram soon. Let me know if your club needs squad pictures!
Game of the week, however, has to be Leeds Beckett against Durham. I’ve photographed this fixture for a number of years now and on the earlier occasions a Durham win was almost a foregone conclusion. Last year was the first time in recent years that Beckett squeezed a win. This latest victory though, was emphatic. 
Trailing 16-21 at half-time, Beckett really took hold in the second half. Rampant is not too strong a word - fifty points amassed, with the visitors scoring scoring only a single try when the game was already lost. As readers will be aware, my loyalties are somewhat divided with this fixture as I was a student at Durham for a year, many moons ago. I also help to produce their regular sport report, the Durham Digest. So I stayed at the same end for the whole game - Durham playing towards me in the first half and Beckett in the second. It turned out to be a good decision as I was able to capture most of Beckett’s tries.
It was a great win which must give Beckett a huge amount of confidence for the challenges ahead. Another home fixture next week when Exeter are the visitors.