FORGET the 'Golden Jubilee' - the oldest swinger in Selby is celebrating his Silver Jubilee.

At 43-years-old, Ray Adamson could be forgiven for dropping down a gear or two for the more sedate pace of the veterans game, but 25 years after making his first team bow, he is still turning out at the top level.

"The Queen had a street party for her Silver Jubilee!" joked Adamson. "I think I'll just have a 'tinny' instead.

"I don't think many of the lads were even born when I made my debut."

The Rodillians School teacher is just enjoying the twilight years of a career which took him right to the top.

Adamson started his career at Selby, making his debut as a fresh-faced 18-year-old against Old Hymerians (now Hull), before moving to Wakefield.

While at College Grove, Adamson was part of the 1987 County Championship winning Yorkshire side, the North of England Divisional side which won the 1987 championship and capped by England A.

He was also an England tourist during their Bicentennial Tour to Australia and Fiji in 1988 and part of the national squad for that season's Five Nations Championship, only for the form of Jonathan Webb to keep him out of the reckoning.

During the tour down under, Adamson was even the goal-kicker ahead of Stuart Barnes and played alongside the likes of Dean Richards, John Bentley and John Orwin.

"Obviously I was disappointed to be on the bench and get so close, but not to have played," he added. "But I got to a position that a million rugby players would have loved to have been in."

Adamson returned to Selby in 1991 - after turning the wrong side of 30 - and has been an integral part of the Sandhill Lane club.

Today, after briefly turning his back on the game for refereeing, the full-back, who also acts as the clubhouse chairman and Under 17s coach, is determined to just keep on playing.

"It is just my ambition to keep on playing for as long as I can, at whatever level," he added. "My attitude is still to train twice a week and keep myself fit and I think this has allowed me to still play for the first team."

If his shining display against York last Saturday is anything to go by, then he could be tormenting first team opponents for the next 25 years as well - then maybe he will get his street party.

IRISH international Simon Easterby laid the ghost of last season's shock defeat by Scotland to rest with a try in the 43-22 rout at Lansdowne Road, Dublin.

The Harrogate-born Llanelli star, along with his brother Guy, came under heavy flak from the Irish media after the Emerald Isle's Six Nation Championship hopes went up in smoke against their Celtic rivals.

However, despite losing his place in the starting line-up to Eric Miller, Easterby made a storming impact off the bench to score the fourth of five tries after the Scots had spilled the ball.

Although Brian O'Driscoll stole the headlines, scoring a sensational, hat-trick, Easterby will have at least silenced his critics with his display.

THE giant-killers of Malton and Norton will hope to repeat their cup feats in the next round of the Yorkshire Shield.

The Gannock-based Yorkshire Three title-chasers toppled North Ribblesdale away in the first round of the competition, but they have now been drawn against another Yorkshire One outfit in the shape of Keighley.

Team spokesman Bill Laidler said: "It will be a tough game, but this is the cup and if you want to win you have to beat the top sides.

"We beat North Ribblesdale at their place and this is a similar situation."

Malton will head across to the Skipton Road outfit on March 23.

THE most anticipated moment of Selby's season will finally take place on Thursday - the official draw for rooms for the club's official tour.

At the end of this month, a selected party will be swapping the sandy pitches of Sandhill Lane for the sandy beaches of Malta - with the aim not to make the 'Maltese Cross'.

And although tours are the highlight of any season, the choice of room-mates can be vital into making it all the more special.

The all-important decisions on who shares with who will be decided at 9.15pm, although the veteran tourists - those over 35 - can pay a princely fee of £10 to rig the draw in their favour.

The draw will be made by tour managers Toby Pemberton and Andy Usher.

YORK, Pocklington and Selby will all have a say in the direction of the promotion spots out of Yorkshire One this season.

The trio of clubs all have to play their return fixture with third-placed hopefuls Yarnbury - after seeing their original ties postponed.

Selby and Pocklington are both due over to Brownberrie Lane - when the Horsforth-based side's pitch finally dries out - while York will face Yarnbury at Clifton Park.

The final weeks of the season will also see Selby and Pocklington take on current second-placed outfit Old Brodleians, while York still have to entertain Hull.

The most interesting battle could come at the other end of the table, with Pocklington set to make the trip to West Park Bramhope on the final week of the season. The match could quite possibly be the decider, depending on the results in the run-up to the tie, to see who finishes bottom of the pile.

Updated: 11:03 Saturday, March 09, 2002