At the end of the 1921/2 Season the Kersal Club fulfilled a long-standing ambition, that is, to take a touring team to France. Plans for touring parties to visit France had been arranged in the pre-war years but for one reason or another had been cancelled by their hosts. This time the tour took place with a touring party of twenty-one plus the President and one or two senior officials. Three games were played against Lille, Nancy and Verdun and the Club was presented with a flag by the town and people of Menieres. The Kersal party included H.C.Catchsides who was to play for England two years later.

Some strong links with French rugby circles must have been forged during the tour as two very good French players were to join Kersal during the following season when they came to study in the north of England. In October 1922 L.Chupuy joined the Club; he was a centre or wing three-quarter who was also a fine goal kicker. Prior to joining Kersal, Chupuy had played for Lorraine University, Lorraine County and the Stade Francaise Club. Eventually, he was to play for the French Army and for France as a full international.

As Chupuy was in the process of returning to France towards the end of the 1922/3 season, a second Frenchman arrived. He was S.Meyron from the south of France and the Stade Bordelaise club, an outside-half, a good tactician and fast runner. The new ground at Norwood Road was by all accounts in good condition for the start of the 1922/3 Season; the Club, generally, were looking forward to establishing themselves in their new environment and all omens looked good. G.S.Conway, the Cambridge and international forward, was to act as coach to the forwards and W.Watts, the Welsh international, was said to be joining the Club in November The first match at Norwood Road was against St Helen's Old Boys before a crowd of three hundred and fifty. Kersal won by two tries to one in a very good game; S.Brown, the England trialist and Lancashire forward was playing for St Helens.

The victory was a false dawn, however, as Kersal were only to win two more games, and draw two, in the twelve weeks or so up to Christmas - the wins coming against Manchester University and Chester College with the draws registered against North Staffordshire and Sefton. The Club ought to have been despondent but other developments were keeping up morale. The "A" Team began to be very successful whilst in December a "B" Team was fielded for the first time. In December the Club established liaison with Manchester Grammar School where it had been decided the School would "take up" rugby. The Club grounds were loaned to the School for training and senior players offered their assistance with coaching.

From January 1923, for the rest of the season a new spirit seemed to infuse the teams. The "A" Team won 20 out of its 25 matches and were unbeaten in fifteen consecutive games. The "B' Team played 10 games and won all 10; even the First Team improved, winning 7 more games and not losing at home from December onwards. The final First Team tally for the season was: Played 28 Won 10. The general view was that the move to Stretford had been a sound one with the future looking even more encouraging. Some of the losses, it was felt, might be attributed to a larger crop of injuries than usual and to the loss of players, like G.Wilson, W.L.Smith and A.D.Bateman to county trial games and other representative matches. In S.B.L.Jacks the Club had an excellent serum-half whom the sporting press reckoned ought to have been playing in the Cheshire side. Several well-known players had joined including W.James from Waterloo, but Watts, the Welsh international, despite the earlier promise had not appeared. It was also stated that the Lancashire and Vale of Lune player, F.Hogg, was to join for 1923/24 and already the Club had received between twenty and thirty applications from public schoolboys for the coming season. The two French players had been a success. L.Chupuy had played for most of the season and had scored nine tries and kicked nine goals. S.Meyron who joined late in the season soon settled and showed himself to be a very good outside-half and was looking a good prospect for the future.

STRETFORD - END IN SIGHT

The next two seasons saw little change in the pattern of results. There was a steady increase in the number of young players from some of the major rugby playing public schools - Sherbourn, Ampleforth, Mill Hill, Denstone. A fourth team appeared in 1923/4 and was just as successful as the other junior sides in the Club. First team results, however, still did not match up to expectation inside or outside the Club. Major success just did not come their way despite good individual players, sound administration, a good ground, a fixture list with an ideal mix of top clubs and the less formidable. The Stretford local press believed that more public support would be aroused in the Stretford locality if the Club would change its name from a "distant" district of Manchester (Kersal - Prestwich) to that of "local" Stretford! The players seemed to come from all over the Manchester area and beyond so that the call for a name-change did not evoke any popular reaction from players nor Club officials.

The first match of the season 1923 was against Wilmslow who were playing their first game as a newly formed club. It was to be the first of many games between the two clubs. Kersal won by seven tries to one.

Great praise came from the press over Kersal's draw during the season with Broughton Park at Chorlton. The clubs were old rivals and Park had also moved from the Prestwich area at about the same time as Kersal had moved to Stretford. Park were, however, regarded as one of "the" top clubs in the area and in rugby in the North generally. The fixture list still included Sale, Broughton Park, Fylde, Blackburn, Preston Grasshoppers, Sefton, St Helens, Bowdon, Southport, Manchester University, North Staffordshire and had been extended to include Halifax, Sheffield, Bingley and Rochdale.

The 1924/5 Season followed much the same pattern as before with the First Team results see-sawing and not coming up to expectations but, once more, with solid success in the junior sides.

The Club membership was now over one hundred and thirty with at least one hundred playing members. H.Glennie had joined; he had figured strongly in rugby at Marlborough School and had been captain of Hertford College, Oxford. He proved a decided asset to the Club in his first season and was to be influential in Kersal's teams for some time to come.

W.F. (Frank) Howorth had joined Kersal in 1919/20 and soon became a first team player, primarily as a wing-three-quarter. He was a big man but despite size he was very fast and excellent in defence with a devastating tackle. Frank would be switched to full-back. The move was generally criticised in the sporting press as he was considered too good to be so "relegated" and that whenever the switch occurred it was considered that the overall proficiency of the Kersal three-quarters was severely impaired.

Frank played in the First Fifteen for over ten years and was captain three times and then went on to captain the "A" and "B" Teams. Off the field he was always very active in administration and occupied most of the offices at one time or another - Secretary, Treasurer, Chairman of the Committee and Lancashire representative. He was elected President and occupied the post four times in the years 1930 -50 and was so honoured again in 1972 for the Club's 75th anniversary.

Like the A.S.Robinsons, the Howorths were a Kersal "Family" with both Frank's sons playing and one, Mike, following his father's footsteps, played outstandingly in the First Team for several years and then went on to serve, like his father, as Club representative and official on the Lancashire County RFU Committee. Undoubtedly, ill health in his later years prevented Frank from gaining high honours with the Lancashire County Union and the Rugby Football Union. Similarly, and sadly, a fatal car accident also brought a far too early end to Mike's life and rugby career. Truly, the Howorths must be said to have been a fine rugby family in every sense of all the words.

There was mention earlier of S.B.L.Jacks as an outstanding player. He went on to captain the Club; he stayed on once his playing days were over to become a valuable and influential member of the Kersal Committee. S.B.L.Jacks was a cousin of H.C.Greg who was also a Club Captain and who also went on to become one of the leading Club officials in the 1930's.

Another notable figure was J.L.Beech who joined the Club in 1911/12 and played as a front-row forward. A wound sustained during the First World War cut short his playing career but not his interest and participation in Club affairs. He held office in one senior capacity or another, including Secretary, for fourteen years continuously from 1919/20 until 1934/5. He died whilst President of the Club in January 1935.

Just one more - Dr Wheeler Hart, President for five years between 1925/30, was a very influential figure in South Manchester circles and was a most helpful publicist for the Club. He was a good centre three quarter on the First Team, an able administrator and a very respected President for five years. He was probably responsible for finding the ground at the Golf Club in Flixton.

Next page - Flixton Years

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