Talking Sport Now & Then: Steve Hossack talks the Ryder Cup, Doncaster RLFC and toilets!

Despite producing the likes of Ian Garbutt and Rebecca Hudson, who both won English Amateur titles before turning pro, the city has never had a golfer who has played at Ryder Cup level.

But with another young teenage prospect, Josh Berry, currently flying the flag for the city in national events that could change in the years ahead should he continue to progress and have the desire to turn professional.

The fact the Ryder Cup is now a European team instead of a British team – as was the case for decades until the gulf became too big – makes it even harder for top Brits to make the squad.

The strength-in-depth in the professional ranks makes it a daunting prospect for even the best young amateurs considering turning pro as Garbutt, despite leading The Open one year after 12 holes, found out.

Despite playing some consistently good golf during his career, in keeping with most of his rivals at the time, he never won a European Tour event though he did win the Challenger Tour title in 1996.

Hudson, who was also a product of the Wheatley Golf Club junior programme at the time, fared better and won four European Tour events during her career.

Belated congratulations to Doncaster RLFC skipper Sam Smeaton setting a new club for tries in a season by a forward and also finishing as the top try-scorer in Betfred League One last season.

Congratulations, also to his team-mate Connor Robinson who kicked more goals than anyone else in League One as well as scoring the most points.

I’m sure Sam, the only Doncaster-born player in the current Doncaster squad, will understand when I say I’m sorry to see the late Kevin Parkhouse’s name expunged from the club records books after nearly 40 years.

Sam has given the Dons good service since joining the club three years ago and has proved to be a good captain, but ‘Parky’ was one of those special players who played with a smile on his face and who was a huge fans’ favourite.

He also had a good turn of pace for such a big man and good handling skills.

It was good to see a decent crowd at Sunday’s promotion play-off final between the Dons and North Wales Crusaders at the Eco-Power Stadium and hopefully some of those people who haven’t been regulars during the season will turn up next season.

Much will depend on whether the Dons can put a competitive squad together. If they can, and I’m not talking about one capable of challenging for a top-six spot in 2024, then the club should enjoy some decent gates with over half-a-dozen Yorkshire derbies to look forward to.

The Eco-Power Stadium is easy to get to, has decent parking and provides a good match-day experience all of which should encourage away fans to make the journey to the city.

Doncaster Rovers’ recent game at Forest Green reminded me of a Conference game I covered between the two sides in the early days of mobile phones.

I hadn’t been able to get a signal on all afternoon so I finished up using the club office phone post-match to file a 1,000 word report to a fellow journalist with the copytaker I should have been working with having left.

Twenty minutes or so later I popped into the free- standing toilet block only for someone, who presumably thought it was empty, to lock the iron gates leaving me trapped inside.

I shouted out but the ground was virtually deserted by this time and the loud music meant that no-one could hear me.

The Rovers team coach had been going for about five minutes when media manager Steve Uttley noticed I wasn’t on board so instructed the driver to turn back where he found me and managed to find the person with the keys shortly before he was due to lock up the ground and set off home.

Needless to say I had the p*ss taken out of me all the way home!

I’ve only caught a couple of the Rugby World Cup matches and neither the South Africa-Ireland or Australia-Wales games filled me with any great excitement – quite the opposite in fact.

I have often spoken in this column over the years about how rugby union has improved as a spectacle since going professional. But still far too much time is wasted during games – as was highlighted in both games above – on set-pieces and don’t get me started on the seemingly endless penalties.

There are a lot of fantastic rugby players playing the game at the top level – and their fitness and intensity are to be admired. I just wish they would get more chance to show their other skills as it would make for a much better game. I, for one, want to see some long-range tries scored by the backs in the big games and not just the one-sided affairs.

Mind you, listening to some of the commentators you would think things couldn’t get any better with even a basic handling move regularly bringing out all the superlatives.