5^th January 2026

It’s been a while, folks, since my last musings on the DadLadTour blog. My previous entry was waaaayyyyy back in August of the year just departed (#52 Confusion”).

But, New Year, new energy. New vibes and all that malarkey.

So, to paraphrase Marvin Gaye, what has (been) going on?

What did 2025 – the last few months of it, anyway – bring?

Well, Bradford City-wise, I did take that bus ride into Bradford for the home game against Luton Town. After a dip into Waterstones in the centre of town – if you are ever in Bradford, you must visit what has to be the most beautiful bookshop in the land – I made my way up the hill and along to Valley Parade.

My return to the stadium after a few years exile wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it would be. I didn’t feel as anxious or stressed as I thought I may have been. Then again, I didn’t experience the levels of delight or excitement when we scored as I once did. And, despite City winning 2-1, I still felt quite discombobulated at being back in the stadium that I once felt was my “home”.

I did thoroughly enjoy the bus rides there and back, though.

Due to various reasons – having tickets to many of the Women’s Rugby World Cup matches up and down the country, family stuff, etc – and simply not wanting to go to see City, I have only been to one other game at VP so far this season. That was just over a month later when Barnsley visited Bradford and both teams settled for a point following a 2-2 draw.

Again, I felt discombobulated. And I haven’t been since. My decision to buy a season ticket is proving expensive per match attended.

However, City play hosts to Rotherham this coming Saturday (10^th January) and, with nothing else so far planned, I may go. I have yet to decide. There is a record fair taking place in Leeds that I would like to go to but, as I am currently bereft of the necessary funds to purchase vinyl albums, I may yet find myself on the X63 bus bound for Bradford.

Meanwhile, I have attended all but one of the Manchester United Women’s matches. WSL, Subway Cup, Champions League. Yes! Champions League!! Heady days.

For most of these games I have been “Billy-No-Mates”.(Sad face )

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#DaughterNo1 and #SonInLawNo1 have found it difficult to join me. They cite “caring for #GrandDaughterNo1” as one of the reasons they cannot go. Also, something to do with “having to work”. Both seem rather flimsy reasons to me. But, hey-ho, what can I do?

Unlike my Bradford City experiences/emotions, I love going to see United Women. Leigh Sports Village is where I feel comfortable these days.

Despite the sometime absences of Liam and Bethany, my MUWFC season tickets means I am regularly sat with a small group of fellow “Red Deviless” (trademark/patent/copyright pending) fans. Each of us enjoying the growth and increasing importance and success of the “women’s game”. (Yes…I do know some people take exception to that description.) Two of my season ticket neighbours are Michaela and Amy, both of whom Liam and I met up with at the Euros in Switzerland ahead of the Holland game.

What else has been going on?

Well, as I briefly alluded to, I attended a number of matches in the Women’s Rugby World Cup (RWC). 

On Friday 22^nd August, #WifeNo1 and I travelled up to the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, for the tournament’s opening game, Red Roses versus USA. What an occasion that was! Superb stadium. Wonderful atmosphere. Some stunning rugby on display and a resounding win, 69-7, for England.

The next day, Saturday 23^rd August, we drove to the Salford Community Stadium in Manchester for the double header featuring Australia versus Samao (73-0) and Scotland against Wales (38-8). It was my first visit to the stadium, the home of Sale Sharks mens and womens rugby union sides,  and I thought it was a terrific venue. Very tidy and compact. Great views. And two good games.

The Sunday (24^th) saw me going solo and making the hour-or-so journey to York to watch New Zealand take on Spain (the Black Ferns triumphed over Spain in a 54-8 win). York Community Stadium is another superb venue – great road access – a tidy, neat and compact little ground. This wasn’t my first visit as Sarah and I had brought #GrandDaughterNo1 to an England (mens) rugby training session back in February; little Emilia’s first ever visit to a sporting event. I am so excited by the prospect of taking her to many, many more fixtures – rugby, football and cricket – in the years ahead.

The RWC also saw me travel to Ashton Gate, Bristol, on two successive weekends. 

My first trip, Saturday 13^th and Sunday 14^th September, was a solo adventure to see two of the quarter-final matches. Canada brushed aside Australia with a very convincing – and, quite frankly, terrifying display – in a 46-5 victory on the Saturday. Sunday saw England take on Scotland. The Red Roses dominated and secured a heathy 40-8 win to see them into the semis against France.

It was a great weekend. Solo, yes. But I did buy myself a new hat en route.

The following weekend (19^th-20^th September) saw Sarah and I in Bristol for both semi-finals. Canada give a Friday night thrashing to New Zealand. Canada’s 34-19 win was a performance that flagged them as potential champions. Then, on the Saturday afternoon, the Red Roses put in a sparkling display against a very strong France side. It was a tough game but our girls overcame a resilient French team to secure a 35-17 victory and a place in the final at Twickenham the following weekend.

Only Canada now stood between England’s Red Roses and World Cup glory on home soil at the home of Rugby.

So….that next weekend (27^th September), Sarah and I were off travelling again.

I cannot tell you how nervous I am was ahead of the final. Thankfully our match tickets included the Bronze Final match between last weekend’s beaten semi-finalists, New Zealand and France. Watching this game helped soothe my nerves ahead of the final. New Zealand proved too much for France and polished off their tournament with a 42-26 win to claim the bronze.

And then….the final.

I won’t bore you too much. Suffice to say that England were imperious and, despite a strong showing from Canada, the Canadian team had no answer to the power, precision and perfection of every single Red Rose who wore the white of England that day.

Canada did give us a scare as early as the fifth minute when the delightfully named Asia Hogan-Rochester went over for the game’s first try. Twickenham was in disbelief. This isn’t how the tournament was supposed to go…

Thankfully Ellie Kildunne, a Yorkshire lass from just outside of Bradford, was on fire. She ran from deep, jinking and side-stepping past the Canada defence, to score one of the tries of, not just this word cup, but of any rugby match. The sublime boot of Zoe Harrison ensured England got maximum points to lead 7-5 after 8 minutes.

As I promised, I won’t bore you with the details. Do go and Google the game, though. It was a brilliant match between two sides at the top of their games.

The Red Roses triumphed 33-13 in front of a sold-out Twickenham. A record 81,885 fans witnessed England win their third world title after coming runners-up in both 2017 and 2022.

So, that’s a very brief recap of the last few months of 2025 as seen through the eyes of the DLT, especially the eyes of GrumpPa.

2025 proved to be a wonderful year for two of the sports I avidly follow.

Bradford City won promotion of a thrilling final day of the season. Heck, a thrilling final 6 minutes of the season.

Those fabulous Lionesses travelled to Switzerland and, not only successfully defended their Euro crown, but became the first England team to win a major trophy on foreign soil.

And those marvellous Red Roses were simply, well, marvellous. They won a seventh consecutive Six Nations title in the spring and then, well….you’ve just read about their World Cup.

Added to all that, three of this summer’s heroines were shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. England’s Lionesses, Hannah Hampton and Chloe Kelly, were in the running along with rugby’s Ellie Kildunne.

Ellie, that splendidly curly-haired Yorkshire rose and Red Rose, was voted second place.

2025 wasn’t a bad year for women’s sport, was it?