Rugby family legacy continues

Having been successfully selected for England National Lambs Rugby U18 team for the 2024 season, Joseph Martindale, son of former Hartlepool man Roger Martindale, is continuing the family's rugby legacy.

Joseph has played Bath academy rugby, Dorset and Wilts U17 & U18 and gained selection to the Lambs national team after a trial for the South West England squad and then in a three way tournament with the North and Eastern teams. After this tournament at Oundle School, Northamptonshire, he was selected for the Lambs team and also selected on the summer tour to South Africa and Namibia.

Joseph, whose dad played for Hartlepool Rovers and Hartlepool Sixth form, comes from a long and distinguished rugby family. His uncle Graeme 'Spud' Martindale, Stevie Armstrong and cousin Ian Dee all played for Rovers and Durham County and his Gran's brother was none other than British Lion, England, Barbarians and Rovers legend John MacKenzie Dee.

Joseph is the youngest of three brothers, all born in Bath in South West England, but has been a regular visitor to Hartlepool over his 17 years spending a lot of his holidays visiting family. His eldest brother Max is at Exeter University and plays rugby and is in the high performance squad. The middle brother, Lawrence, was in the Bath rugby academy but gave it up to pursue a career as an elite triathlete and is currently studying at Leeds and has represented GB 10 times in Europe over the past two years.

There are another five games in the UK before the end of the season taking on the Welsh Exiles, Irish Exiles and a clutch of academy teams. Joseph is looking forward to the rest of the season and he needs to balance the rugby with completing his A-level subjects a Monkton Coombe school in Bath. All the family are very proud of his achievements so far and his mum, Rachel, and dad will hopefully be joining the squad in South Africa and Namibia for the two week tour.