14 Nov 09
Midlands 2 West (South)
Spartans 17 - Old Laurentians 5
Laurentians dropped two more valuable points as their league campaign stuttered again, this time in the face of a remorseless and determined display from a very competitive Spartans side.
OLs were severely handicapped by the loss of both lock forwards inside the first 35 minutes of the match, Ben O’Riordan and Paul Willis each being forced to retire injured. And their cause was certainly not helped by having their best players for this sort of forward battle, skipper Carl Adams and Glenn Todd, both sidelined and having to watch on helplessly.
The power of the Spartans pack was evident from early on and their mauling game was in good order, OLs having to work hard to contain their frequent drives. The tactic finally paid off after thirty minutes play when the home side won a lineout close to OL’s line and forced their way over for the opening try and a 5-0 lead.
OL’s most productive source of possession this season has been their lineout, but after both main jumpers were forced off injured, possession from this phase dried to a trickle and the OL’s back line were having to feed off scraps.
Spartans’ forward power again yielded a score when they heaved the re-shuffled OL’s pack over the line for a touch down in the fifth minute of added time, the conversion again missing for a half time advantage of 10-0 to the home side.
OLs were playing down the slope in the second period, and with just a ten point deficit the game was still there for winning. They did lift their performance and began to compete more effectively, even hustling Spartans back at a scrum when the home side had spurned a penalty kick with the obvious target of another push over try. But their efforts lacked composure and direction, too often the ball being surrendered lamely in contact; and the home side were clearly not going to relinquish their advantage easily, snuffing out OL’s best attempts with excellent defence.
Summing up OL’s day was a dropped pass when the try line was looming after thrusts by Parker, Amor and Evans had been held in the most fluent passage of play they had put together. A near certain seven points went begging which would have changed the complexion of the game with fifteen minutes left on the clock.
A generally undistinguished game ended with a breakaway try from Spartans, converted for a 17-0 lead, followed shortly by a well taken try from Grant Inch when OLs did manage to retain possession and create something from it.
Plus points for the visitors were the never say die attitude of scrum half Richard Parker, who never stopped going forward; and spirited contributions from Mark Todd and Rich Foxon, both emulating Parker’s example.
OLs travel to Melton Mowbray on Saturday for a tough looking third round tie in the Intermediate Cup and they face a number of selection problems as the injury count rises.
Report by Bill Wallis
Warwickshire League 1
Kenilworth 2nd XV 3 – Old Laurentian 2nd XV 25
OL’s 2nd team travelled to Kenilworth intent on maintaining their excellent form for a game that was played in difficult conditions with a strong wind and driving rain.
OLs took the pitch with Skipper Ricky Reed suffering from the onset of Samoan swine flu, picked up the previous night in Cardiff, and it was the home team who scored their only points of the game with a penalty to lead 3-0
From this moment on OLs gave a demonstration of how to play into a strong wind. The forwards were consistently driving the ball thirty yards at a time and the backs, expertly marshalled by veteran Kev White, were being released at exactly the right moment. Howard Harris was having a solid game at full back in the difficult conditions
OL’s scoring began with a turnover ball on halfway, which was quickly moved by Reed to Dan Volkman who released Lawrence Webb, the wing outstripping the cover defence to score in the corner
The OL’s pack were now dominating in all phases, with the front row of Hayes, McEwan and Ray Smith commanding the scrums
From inside his own half, Webb started a move that saw Volkmann and centre Brightwell to the fore. The ball was fed on the fourth phase to tenacious centre Deano Graham, who stepped his way to within five metres of the line when a sublime offload found evergreen Eddie Edwards on the hoof to romp over under the posts for a try converted by Ben Roberts.
The home team attempted to pick the game up but OL’s back row of James Melvin, Andy Orbison and Jon Deenik were putting in big hits and turning their ball over at will.
OLs again worked their way deep into the home side’s 22, where, after disrupting a Kenilworth scrum, the outstanding Volkmann picked up and drove over for a try and a half time sore of 17-3
After a quick check that there was no sign of the Bernai, the second half commenced with the home team expecting an onslaught from the OLs.
However, Kenilworth picked up their game before OLs hit their stride again after twenty minutes of lethargic play.
From a line out OLs again ran through multiple phases, causing Kenilworth to give away a penalty in their 22. The ball was moved quickly along the backline and a fantastic offload in the tackle by Jamie Brightwell allowed Ben Roberts a free run to the line.
OLs dominated the final quarter and were rewarded with a penalty by Ben Roberts to complete the scoring. Another excellent team performance with Dan Volkmann outstanding; and special thanks to Pete Rigg & Phil Walters for stepping up to the bench at the last minute.
Having drawn with Broadstreet the previous week in a game they could easily have won, OLs went on to tackle the other of Warwickshire’s two leading clubs in this game and came away with a fine victory based on a great all round team display. They retain their leadership of Warwickshire League One, unbeaten in seven games so far.
Next Sunday sees the 2nd XV travel to Daventry in the Clonmel Cup. This gives everyone at the club an opportunity to watch this outstanding team in action. See website for further details.
Report by Dean Cobley
