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Latest
News Additions |
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Added
May 1st
2nds
fall at final hurdle (more)
Colts
overcome Lions (more)
Final
league promotion issues settled (more)
Marathon men (more)
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Archive News
Added
April 21st
Clean sweep over Earlsdon (more)
Captains turn out in force (more)
Clonmell Cup Final, OL’s v Lutterworth, Sunday 27th April
– be there (more)
Club Dinner & Awards Night – Friday 9th May (more)
Annual General Meeting – Friday 16th May (more)
Added April 1st
Vets retain crown at South Warwicks tournament (more)
Gale force wind – and Hughes – blow OL’s away
(more)
Mawande scores three for the 2nds (more)
League Three roundup (more)
RFU Grand Draw – a final call (more)
Added March 19th
Match Roundup – Saturday 15th March (more)
Rugby & District Representation (more)
Sutton Coldfield bite the dust (more)
Added March 13th
Saturday March 8th
Match Round Up (more)
Sutton Coldfield,
Champions in waiting (more)
A Day For The
Ladies (more)
A Perceptive
Analysis (more)
Old Rivalry
Renewed (more)
Added Tuesday March
4th
Saturday 1st Match
Round Up (more)
New Playing
Jerseys get their 1st airing (more)
RFU Grand Draw (more)
OL's Vets to
Defend Title (more)
Added Monday February
25th
Droitwich defeat
Edwardians to secure 2nd place, OL's now 4th, all teams have
played 17 games, with 5 to play
Added Monday February
18th
Promotion
hopes dashed (more)
New playing
strip (more)
Club Dinner
(more)
End of
season party (more)
Jody bids
farewell (more)
New
cameraman (more)
Nick
Johnson's farewell (more)
St.
Patrick's Day Out (more)
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2nds fall at final hurdle
A determined Lutterworth side retained the Clonmell
Cup by beating OLs at Webb Ellis Road in a final that failed to
ignite as a spectacle. Go to ‘reports’ for the full story of the
match.
Colts overcome Lions
At least one Old Laurentian side was successful in a
match at Webb Ellis Road this weekend (26th April) when
the Colts came away with a well deserved victory over their
counterparts from Rugby Lions. The 30-10 scoreline accurately
reflected the match, OL’s first victory over Lions in three meetings
this season. Read the full story in ‘reports’.
Final league
promotion issues settled
The final promotion issues were settled in a series of
play off games on Saturday 26th April and Droitwich will
stay in Midlands 3 next season after losing 3-18 at home to Stoke on
Trent in the north v south decider.
Old Coventrians secured promotion to Midlands 3 after
a comprehensive 44-0 beating of fellow hopefuls Ledbury and will
come up with champions Spartans. Also successful were Coventrians,
who beat Clee Hill to win promotion from Midlands 6 West (SE). They
will join yet another side from Coventry, Stoke OB, who are promoted
as champions of that league.
Broadstreet didn’t make the play offs for Midlands 1
as they needed Kenilworth to beat Luctonians in the last match of
the league season to ensure their place. That game ended in a 25-25
draw, so Luctonians went on to a play off with Huddersfield from
North 1, which they lost. Luctonians earned second place by virtue
of a better points difference than Broadstreet – amazingly, Street
were in contention despite a negative points difference!
The Midlands 2 play off was between two of our old
adversaries and Hinckley came out on top, travelling to Hereford and
beating them by the surprisingly wide margin of 43-13. Malvern go up
to Midlands 1 as champions, as do Kettering from the East section of
the league.
In Midlands 3 East, Leighton
Buzzard won the north/south decider with a 16-15 success over
Spalding, the club that beat us in the Midlands 2 play off in 2002 –
so they remain at our level despite the money that they were
obviously ploughing into the playing side when we met.
Clean sweep over Earlsdon
All three sides fielded on Saturday 19th
April overcame their Earlsdon counterparts, the first time that this
has been achieved against any club this season. To add to the
achievement, the 1st XV kept a clean sheet defensively
for only the second occasion this term and ended a dismal run of
five successive league defeats that has consigned them to a
disappointing 5th place in Midlands 3 South. Go to the
‘reports’ link on the left for a full account of all three games;
and the ‘league’ link for the final Midlands 3 league table.
Captains turn out in force
The crowd at the Earlsdon match was swollen by thirty
five former team captains, who saw one of the 1st team’s
most convincing displays for some time. As well as a number of
former captains still playing for the club (and still leading teams,
in some cases), the span represented by those present went back
fully sixty years to Bob Jinks, who held the captaincy reins
way back in the 1948/49 season. Our picture, by Ray Todd, shows all
those who turned up on the day - see picture
here
Clonmell Cup Final, OL’s v Lutterworth, Sunday 27th April
– be there
The 2nds have hit form at just the right time ahead of
their big day at Webb Ellis Road on Sunday 27th April,
when they face Lutterworth in the final of the Clonmell Cup, kick
off 2.15pm. They deserve a big turnout on the day to cheer them on
to what would be the club’s only silverware this season if they win
– and they have a really good chance of pulling it off.
Club
Dinner & Awards Night – Friday 9th May
The big night of the year is on Friday 9th
May, with dinner being served at 7.30. The guest speaker is now
confirmed as Stewart Burnett, so we are guaranteed an
entertaining evening. Get in touch with Alan Willis or Steve Pike to
book your tickets – and they would appreciate your cash with the
order, £20.00, or £10.00 for students.
Annual General
Meeting – Friday 16th May
This will be the Club’s first AGM since the new
constitution took effect last year so there is much to discuss. It’s
your club, so make sure you turn up for the chance to ensure that
your views are heard.
Vets retain
crown at South Warwicks tournament
For the third year in succession, OL’s Veterans won the Bob Jones Cup at
Old Leamingtonians ground on Sunday 30th March. They came
good in the semi and final, claiming the crown with an emphatic
victory over Kenilworth. An outstanding achievement by a team that
looks youthful enough (relatively!) to continue their run of success
next year. See ‘reports’ for the full story.
Gale force
wind – and Hughes – blow OL’s away
Promotion hopefuls Droitwich were the opposition at Fenley Field on 29th
March and left with a 23-3 victory in a match dominated by a gale
force wind – and Duncan Hughes. Fly half Hughes returned to the
Worcestershire side’s ranks for his first game after an injury lay
off and bagged all of his side’s points in a fine personal display.
The full story of this, and all the weekend’s matches, can be found
via the reports link on the left.
Mawande scores three for
the 2nds
Mawande Sinyakanyaja scored a first half hat trick as the seconds
overwhelmed Barkers Butts by 50-12. Eight tries were recorded in all
and Danny Orr kicked five conversions as the 2nds ran Barkers ragged
in the second half. Mawande’s trio takes him to a total of nine
tries in just four full games for the club, plus a half as a
replacement for the ‘A’ team.
League Three roundup
OL’s slipped to fifth – our lowest position all season - after the
matches of 29th March, as Earlsdon leapfrogged over us
with a narrow 8-7 success against Bedworth; and Leamington are now
four points clear of us in third, after they beat Nuneaton Old Eds
by 20-18. Sutton Coldfield are champions in waiting and Droitwich
are secure in second spot – they will probably meet Stoke on Trent
in the League Three promotion play off. Bedworth now look almost
certain to be relegated with Edwardians after Stourbridge Lions, one
place above them, pulled off an unlikely victory over near
neighbours Kidderminster. Go to the ‘League’ link on the left for
the full picture.
RFU Grand Draw – a final
call
A final reminder – please get your counterfoils and cheques (payable to
OLRFC) into Keith Baxter by this Saturday, 5th April. The
club stands to benefit handsomely, so it’s worth the effort!
Match Roundup –
Saturday 15th March
With no league match this weekend, we fielded an ‘A’ team against a
similar selection from Market Bosworth, a Midlands 2 East team. The
game featured an excellent debut at this level by fly half Danny Orr
and second half appearances by Mawande Sinyakanyaja (Randy) and Ross
Tonkin, two young South Africans currently working at Bilton Grange
School. An entertaining game produced a much needed win, by 21-14.
Go via ‘reports’ in the left hand menu for the story of this and the
other weekend games.
A ‘B’ team faced Old Leamingtonian 2nds and lost a tough fixture by 31-7.
They had several of their players claimed by the Vets, who were
getting into trim for the defence of their trophy at the South
Warwickshire tournament on 30th March and ground out a
hard fought win against Warwickians, by 10-0.
Rugby & District
Representation
OL’s provided four players for the District XV who played Nuneaton on 12th
March and contributed to a high scoring win. Matt Miller, Iain
Wallis, Ricky Reed and Mark Todd joined Mark Allen and players from
Newbold and St Andrews in the team, Matt and Iain each scoring a
try.
Wednesday 19th March is the date for the next game, Webb Ellis
Road is the venue and Coventry are the opponents. The team is also
likely to include Glenn Todd and Chris Le Poidevan for this match.
Sutton Coldfield bite the
dust
Sutton’s EDF Senior Vase odyssey came to an end in the
semi-final on Saturday 15th March when they went down at
home by 3-40 to Hartpury College. The college, from Gloucester, play
at the next level down in the league structure – but they are the
nursery for Gloucester, so their team is packed with aspiring
Guinness Premiership players on sports courses. What chance is there
for the humble ‘play for fun’ clubs with this sort of opposition
around to grab the trophies? |
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Match Roundup –
Saturday 8th March
The league match at Kidderminster ended in a disappointing and
inexplicable defeat, by 36-12. After facing a strong wind and
persistent rain in the first half and turning round all square at
5-5, we then scored a try to take an early lead in the second half.
But from there it all went badly wrong – go to ‘reports’ on the left
to read the whole story.
The 2nds faced Bedworth at home and won comfortably enough, the 21-10
scoreline not telling the whole story. For the third match in
succession, our young Springbok Mawande Sinyakanyaja (Randy) notched
two tries with his electric pace.
Market Bosworth were the opposition for the 3rds and the visitors’
superior firepower in the backs saw them to a 39-27 win. The
impressive Ben Nuttall went over for two tries (Stu Birch setting up
both) and Gary Hammond added to his rapidly growing tally with one.
League 3 West –
Sutton all but champions
Sutton Coldfield beat Leamington on 8th March and are now
within touching distance of the league title with a two point
advantage over second placed Droitwich. In their last three games
they play the bottom two, Edwardians and Bedworth, and finish
against Nuneaton Old Eds, so they can concentrate all their energy
on their upcoming EDF Senior Vase semi final on 15th
March.
Droitwich were again pushed hard, just getting home against Silhillians
by 8-7 on 8th March, but they keep winning, an excellent
habit to get into! They have made certain of second place as they
hold a seven point lead over Leamington with just three games to
play. We now trail Leamington by two points in fourth, so our match
against Droitwich no longer has the critical importance that we
forecast for it back in January!
At the bottom, Bedworth now look all but dead. They have a tougher run in
than their nearest rivals Stourbridge Lions and trail them by two
points.
A day for the Ladies
In the planning for early next season is a Ladies Day.
Kidderminster were staging just such an event when we visited on 8th
March, and their ladies were clearly having a great time, enjoying a
splendid looking buffet lunch accompanied by copious quantities of
wine.
A perceptive analysis
In Kidderminster’s excellent match programme on 8th
March, a perceptive comment made in their write up of us was that
“Old Laurentians seems to be a team that scores a lot of points, but
concedes a fair number too”. How very true! A quick glance at
the league table confirms that only Sutton Coldfield have scored
more points than us this season; but on the debit side, only the
bottom three teams have conceded more! Makes for an entertaining
spectacle for neutrals, but does our blood pressure no good at all!
Old rivalry to be renewed
Now joining us for certain in League 3 next season are
Newbold! They lost their match to Cheltenham North on 8th
March which finally consigned them to the drop, almost certainly to
be joined by Barkers Butts. |
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Matches on Saturday 1st
March, 2008
The
first team slipped to a disappointing home defeat to Nuneaton Old
Eds, a result which hammered the last nail into the coffin of our
league aspirations for the season. All our main rivals won and we
are now in 4th place, two points behind Leamington who
also have a far better points difference. The match report can be
seen by following the ‘reports’ link in the menu on the left.
The
2nds fought hard and led at half time, scoring three tries against a
bigger, more experienced Old Ed team who came through in the second
half to secure their win. Several Colts played impressively and
young South African winger Mawande scored two corkers.
The
3rds kept the OL flag flying with a handsome 61-0 victory, powered
by a second row pairing of Andy Spriggs and John Tull who boast a
combined age of 110 years; and debutant Ian Bracken scored a try
with his first touch of the ball in his first ever game of rugby.
See ‘reports’ for the full story.
New change strip

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Thanks
to the generosity of Webb Ellis Ltd, the club now boast an
impressive new change strip. Lawrence Webb was at the match on March
1st to formally hand over the new kit, which was worn by
the firsts in their league match against Nuneaton Old Eds.
Above;
The 1st XV in the new strip,
Right:
Colin Wiles , Lawrence Webb, Terry Wooton |
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RFU Grand Draw
Most
people should by now have received their supply of RFU draw tickets
to sell. If you haven’t, then seek out Andy Coleman or Garrie Reeve,
who will willingly oblige with supplies of books. It’s an incredibly
good deal for the club, as we get to keep £9.00 out of every £10.00
of tickets we sell – and there is a long list of impressive prizes.
So get selling those tickets as you will directly benefit OLRFC for
every one you sell. You know it makes sense!
Counterfoils, with a cheque made payable to Old Laurentian RFC,
should be returned to Keith Baxter by Saturday 4th April,
latest.
OL Veterans to
defend their title
The
fifth annual South Warwickshire 15-a-side Vets Tournament will be
held at Old Leamingtonians RFC on Sunday 30th March,
starting at 12.30. We will be defending the Bob Jones Cup and must
fancy our chances. The old guys deserve your support on the day (of
the touchline variety, that is – this isn’t an appeal for zimmer
frames and wheelchairs).
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Sutton Coldfield
51 – Old Laurentians 12
Any lingering promotion ambitions we
still harboured were demolished by league leaders and
champions-elect Sutton Coldfield in this rout in the leafy suburbs
of Birmingham. Laurentians were thrust aside by a dominant Sutton
outfit that showed no sign of being distracted by the imminence of
their EDF Senior Vase national quarter final the following weekend.
The
full report of the Sutton match can be seen by following the link on
the left "reports"
A
lengthening injury list, with no recognised number 10 available and
Carl Adams and James Murray unlikely to be fit, will cause some head
scratching at selection for the tough Coors Warwickshire Cup quarter
final at Kenilworth this Saturday (23rd February).
New Webb Ellis jersey
sponsorship
If
you’re at the home match against Nuneaton Old Eds on 1st
March, you’ll see the first XV turn out in their new strip,
generously sponsored by Webb Ellis. Lawrence Webb will be joining us
on the day to formally hand over the new jerseys, which stay
faithful to our traditional colours, presented in a striking new
way.
Club Dinner
The
date is now set for the Club Dinner this year – Friday 9th
May. Tickets are £20.00 each and will be available soon.
End of season party
The
end of season party will be held on Saturday 19th
April. A live band is being booked, to be announced shortly. See
Iain Wallis or Rich Hughes for more information, including the
likely ticket price.
Check out the full social calendar by following the
link on the left "social".
Jody signs off with a hat
trick!
Jody
Roderick’s work commitments meant that the 3rds game against Old
Coventrians on 9th February was his last this season, and
he signed off in style with three tries - see the match report by
following the link on the left "reports". As first mate of an
ocean going gin palace, Jody is now in Marseille keeping an eye on
the re-fit of the multi-million pound vessel.
A new man behind the camera
Ray
Todd, father of Glenn and Mark, is the club’s new lensman and has
already produced some striking action shots. Ray won’t be able to
cover every match, but you may have seen some of his work in the
Rugby Advertiser of 7th February – and more examples of his skill
appeared on the Observer’s web site at the same time. Whenever Ray
is at a match with his camera, you could well see the results of his
work in any or all of our three local weeklies, as well as in our
match programmes.
Nick’s farewell
Ssome
pictures of the Karaoke night staged to wish Nick Johnson farewell
before he returned home to the US will be uploaded soon Thanks to
Leemo, Jody and Lorri for the camera work.
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For the last
couple of years we have been to the St. Patrick’s Day party at
London Irish.
We are
looking at running this trip again on Sunday March 16th
and the approximate cost will be £25 -£30 which includes your
transport and entry ticket.
It is the day
after England play Ireland in the 6 nations and at the moment
there is no league fixture or social the day before either.
As usual it
will be on a money up front basis so that transport, tickets
etc. can be sorted out.
Please let
me, Big Wal or Hughesy know by Saturday 2nd February
if you want a place but remember no cash no place!
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The new training tops have arrived and are
available before and after training Mondays and Thursdays and for a
short period pre match Saturdays, they are £10.
The 1st team will implement a fine system
in the new year for members of the squad without them and the other
teams may follow suit.
Talking of training;
all those attending training on Thursday 20th will be eligible for
some of Neal Leeming's world famous pasta - be there or be hungry |
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By
all accounts the November 5th Fireworks Party was a huge success
again, due to the great work put in by all concerned. A big
thank you then to; Pat Dunne and Keith Finch for overall command,
Arwel's bonfire skills and, on the night, Mike Warwick's gate team,
Ian Wallis's parking team and of course Andi's bar team. |
- Missed the
tour, want to find out what really happened?
Click here
- The
1st XV league fixtures can be seen
here
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At the recent Club
Dinner the following awards were made
Newcomer
Most Improved Player
U21 Player
Young Player
Supporters Trophy
Veteran of the Year
Top Try scorer
Player of the Year
Clubman of the Year |
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~
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~
~
~
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Geoff Thomas
Simon Bayliss
Chris Le Poidevan
Matt Miller
Ian Wallis
Dave Longrigg
Simon Bayliss
Geoff Thomas
Mark Palmer |
Tankards were
awarded to
Dom Marsella, Leigh Fisher, Russell Kennedy and Simon Brown
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I would like to take this opportunity to
summarise my first season as Chairman.
Six
weeks ago we had only lost two games and were almost certain of
promotion. After that the wheels fell off one by one with losses to
Pershore, Hereford and finally Earlsdon. This was mainly owing to
the loss or unavailability of key players in the forward pack. We
must now put this behind us and accept that it was mainly a very
good season and the standard of rugby was excellent. We must hope to
have as much good rugby next season, that as I write, may well be in
the East region of Midlands 3 - more news to follow.
I
would like also to summarise the recent off field politics so that
everyone knows how important it is to attend the AGM on the 15th
May. First of all we have to take on board that the Old Laurentian
Society, which is our landlord, have made it clear now that the new
Hockey Club formed from GEC and Rugby Hockey club will be
integrating into the LS&SC whether we like it or not. I believe that
this will be for the common good and meanwhile would appeal to all
members to ask what they can do to strengthen our existing
organisation.
The
nomination sheet for committee members is on the notice board and we
have two vital positions open. One is for a Treasurer as David
Longrigg is taking a step back to run the bar operations and the
other is for a Commercial Manager as Simon Brown is to concentrate
on this very fine Web site and the program production. This still
leaves the Commercial Manager to deal with sponsors and advertisers
and fund raising generally. I would like to appeal to everyone and
particularly the “lost generation” to
consider if they can play a part in the Club's future.
Finally I would like to wish the tourists well for the forthcoming
Minneapolis tour and hope that everyone survives and comes back with
enough liver and brain cells intact to face the Club Dinner on May
18th.
Best wishes to all, and thanks to all those who
worked so hard this season,
Keith Baxter (Chairman) |
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The OL’s U17’s will be moving up to Colts from next season and want
to keep their winning ways. We welcome and want to actively
encourage new players who want to be part of this winning squad for
next season. (Midlands U17 winners – National Shield 2007), contact
Martin Murch on
07801 774890 if you
are interested. |
|
Got a Room To Rent?
Want a lodger?
Next season sees the
arrival of a new player at Fenley Field.
Joe Cullen
is a 21yr old who is from Luton and is currently at Leicester
University, he is spending his Placement year at GEC Alstom and is
looking to play for OL's next season.
Accommodation required from end of June 2007 for 12mths, either
sharing a house or renting a room Joe's contact details are mobile :
07895 906918 or email :
iamfes@gmail.com. Any more details required, contact Colin
Wiles.
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New items recently added include:-
-
OL's
Vets beat a strong Leamington side in the final 10-0. A try by Kev
White in the first half and Jim Darcy in the second half was
enough to see them through to win convincingly. The vets,
well led by captain Daz Price, played good solid rugby for all
the competition, not conceding a point throughout the afternoon.
They beat Nuneaton Old Eds. and Warwickians, who hosted the
tournament, in their group and went on to win their semi final
against Broad Street before meeting Leamington in the final.
-
The
fat lady sang, unfortunately she was from Hereford.
OL's championship
ambitions are now over as they gift wrapped the league title and
presented it to Hereford on a silver platter going down 13-50 in a
game that was as one sided as the score suggests.
It seemed as though
Hereford had travelled en masse to Rugby, whether it was to take
advantage of our renowned hospitality as our caterers endeavoured to
feed the proverbial 5,000, or to see their side claim the
championship their hopes in both instances came true. OL's
rolled over and as a result suffered their first home league defeat
and their heaviest defeat of the season, (more)
-
OL's
suffered their 3rd defeat of the season at Pershore losing 24-14.
Though I missed the game by all accounts it was a game of 2 halves
(cliché warning) as they trailed 24-0 at half-time in a game that
started late due to referee problems (report to follow).
Hereford won their rearranged game against Silhillians to open up a
2 point lead for the first time this season, Saturday's home game
against Hereford will therefore be the make or break game that could
decide whether they or OL's will be league champions. Should
OL's not be champions promotion is still an option as they will have
still finished in 2nd place and would face Sutton Coldfield in the
play-off game to determine who will go up to Mids 2.
-
Congratulations to the
Young OL's who beat Oundle in the midlands regional final of the
National U17's Shield winning 15-5 (more)
-
The 1st XV home game
against Hereford, this coming Saturday, is sponsored by The Fighting
Cocks and is also our Sponsors' and Captains' Day.
If you are reading this then might we ask that you join us at Fenley
Field and encourage the lads on to a win which might still decide
the Championship.
-
Leading 7-0 at half
time OL's enjoyed a 2nd half try fest to beat Ledbury 41-10 to
maintain the pressure on Hereford.
OL's tries came from
Simon "catch me if you can" Bayliss, Denzil "back at fly half"
Evans, Ricky "fit again" Reed, Paul "from the half way line" Willis
and a brace from Iain "wants to be top try scorer" Wallis, the other
11 points coming from the trusty boot of Evans. Report in,
yup, "reports"
Despite their defeat
at the hands of Paviors in the National U17's Shield competition the
Young OL's have progressed through to the Midlands regional final
playing Oundle at Broadstreet on Sunday 25th, KO at 10.00. At the time of writing
it is not possible to confirm the reasons why OL's have replaced
Paviors, however let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. If,
sorry, when, the Young OL's defeat Oundle they will play the winners
of the Northern Regional final before progressing to the final game
of the competition, we wish them well.
-
Having
progressed through to the National U17's competition the Young OL's
proved their mettle by defeating Worcester (yes, that
Worcester) 16-0 to go through to the next round (more)
-
Currently lying in 4th
position in Mids 3 East South Wellingborough travelled to Fenley
Field for a friendly fixture as their scheduled opponents, Daventry,
were involved in a Cup fixture. It was a great game to watch,
despite the one sided score line suggesting otherwise as our
visitors played an expansive style of rugby not unlike our own.
The downside of the fixture were the injuries sustained to Jason
King, Shane Betts, Ben Wiles and Rich Foxon, the upside was to
witness veterans Stuart Birch and Mark "Handbag" Palmer playing
together as our bench became emptier and emptier (more)
-
Despite being unable
to play all of their fixtures due to Rugby Lions' reluctance to
fulfil their game against us our U17's have progressed into the
National U17's competition and have a home draw against Worcester to
be played on Sunday 25th - well done to all involved.
- Our home league fixture against
Stratford due to be played this Saturday (17th) has been postponed
as Stratford have a rearranged Warks Cup tie against Broadstreet.
- Bavarian Evening
tickets at £10.00 each available from Reiner, Dom or Deano, more
details to follow
- Our Clonmell cup campaign
continues with an away fixture at Lutterworth to be played before
March 31st
- The Under 17's overwhelm Harbury
69-0 (more)
- Roger Cole shows off his balls (more)
- Warwickshire Cup 1/4 final
results and semi final draw (more)
- Important announcement in the
Members' section of the message board (more)
- Australian fans give nickname to
Murray (more)
- U17's miss out despite 14-5 win
against Leamington (more)
- Trip to watch London Irish v
London Wasps on Sunday March 18th (more)
- Pete Higgs has some additional
international tickets available (more)
- Under 17's Quiz Night planned
for March 2nd (more)
- Under 17's Festival planned for
Sunday April 29th, more details to follow
- Colin Wiles
celebrates his 50th (more)
- Graham Le May
and wife Julie are expecting (more)
- 2nd XV Merit
table (more)
- Draw for
Warwickshire Cup Quarter Finals (more)
- OL's Replica
Shirt details (more)

Copies of "Old Laurentians Walk
on Water" which, for those that weren't there or
are unable to recognise the ground, was taken at Silhillians on
November 11th 2006
are available to order
(please specify size, maximum A4 @ £5.00 per copy)
contact Simon Brown
here
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The
OL's baby boom continues, (is it something in the beer?)
with the announcement that Graham Le May and wife Julie are
expecting their first child in May.
|
Colin Wiles, 50 ? I
hear you ask, however despite not getting the win he hoped for he
was delighted to get some more Just For Men as a present, aren't
sons nice Colin!
|
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Personally I thought that the perfect
nickname for James Murray was "Minty" others thought different
and as "Nadal bounces from side to side like a welterweight as
he faces Murray at the net, Murray stares back. Apparently the
Aussie fans have nicknamed Murray 'Muzzer'. Genius, absolute
genius."
Taken from
bbc.co.uk report of Andy Murray's match against Nadal
Warwickshire Cup Quarter
Finals
|
Silhillians |
13 |
20 |
Kenilworth |
|
Stratford |
Post |
Broadstreet |
|
Old Leamingtonians |
11 |
44 |
Old Laurentian |
|
Newbold |
19 |
5 |
Berkswell &
Balsall |
|
Semi Final Draw
|
Old
Laurentians |
v |
Broadstreet or
Stratford |
|
to be played
at Old Leamingtonians on March 11th |
|
Newbold |
v |
Kenilworth |
|
Venue to be
confirmed |
|
|
 |
The rumours are
true, we do indeed have a replica shirt available from Leigh
Fisher, the design is as shown on the left. If you wish to order
one please pay your £10.00 deposit to Leigh - I am sure that
there will be more to pay but at the time of writing have not
been informed of the final cost. |
|
|
This weekend sees a return to
competitive rugby after the Christmas and New Year break however
things were still busy both on and off the pitch at Fenley Field.
The Under 17's held a successful a Christmas Tour Fundraising Disco,
there was the traditional Children's Christmas Party and New Years
Day Chill Out Part, Denzil tied the knot with Lindsey on December
30th and a number of our members' children enjoyed their first
Christmas as the OL's Baby Boom continued.
On Boxing Day the "Not So" OL's
played an highly entertaining game against the "Fairly" OL's and
despite training 17-5 ran out eventual winners 28-24 (more)
whilst on the 30th the 1st's played the 2nd's with the 1st's winning
convincingly. |
|
|
Boxing Day Game
The
"Fairly" OL's 24 - The "Not So" OL's 28
In
order to add a ‘bit of spice’ to the traditional Boxing Day match,
Birchy ‘laid down the gauntlet’ to the Chairman of Selectors, with
the idea of the ‘old boys’; taking on an Under 22 side, all of the
lads needed to qualify by having attended Laurence Sheriff School
thus also being entitled to be known as "old boys".
The
proceedings started badly, when the young upstarts ignored Boxing
Day tradition by claiming the 1st team dressing room, which was soon
resolved, and then to rub salt in wounds by putting on the 1st team
shirts, again this was quickly sorted out! Their penance, was to all
have to down a half of Guinness on the pitch, before the game
started.
The
game itself, was testimony to all that is good about OL’s rugby,
competitive open rugby, with the ball being quickly moved wide at
every opportunity. Experience definitely told in the1st
half, which saw the ‘old boys’ lead 17-5, with 2 tries from ‘the not
so old’ Rob Kerrigan and an anonymous forward touching down, with
Scott Wiles scoring for the youngsters.
However, the 2nd half continued at the same relentless
pace, but gradually the youngsters dragged themselves back into the
match, with tries from Richard Parker, Charlie Turney, James Rooke
and Ollie Cowley, with Rob Kerrigan completely his hat trick for the
senior side. Not sure what the deciding factor was, could of just
been those young legs or maybe just too much turkey for the senior
side, but what is certain, is that between the two sides, they
provided a feast of rugby, including 9 tries, which was thoroughly
enjoyed by a good sized crowd.
‘Next year ?’, I hear you ask, more of
the same I say, with a Young Laurentian's Under 23 side v a
‘slightly older’ Old Laurentian's side. |
|
Skinners couldn't be bothered to
send Christmas cards out this year and instead sent this message (more) |
|
Congratulations to Simon and Emma
Storey on the recent birth of baby Milly.
What the heck do they put in the
beer at the OL's? First it's Reedo, then Ted and now Arkwright all
becoming fathers in the first 1/2 of the season must be some kind of
record. |
|
Our Warwickshire Cup fixture
against Nuneaton Old Ed's has been cancelled due to Old Ed's being
unable to field a front row, as a result we progress into the next
round where we will be playing one of the 2 Leamington sides.
On Saturday December 23rd we will
be fielding 2 sides, an A and a B to give the players who have not
played recently the opportunity of a game - please let your captains
know of your availability |
|
RACE NIGHT
A
highly successful evening Saturday raised a further £1200.00 towards
the forthcoming USA Tour.
This figure was bolstered greatly by some
generous donations in the last race, the sponsor of which, Red Brick
paid £195.00 for the privilege after already shelling out £70.00 for
an earlier race. Thanks to Chris Cox and all the team at Red Brick.
Stuart Birch & Andre Nutter won the race and donated their winnings,
thanks to you both.
Thanks also to everybody who attended and to the
organiser, Steve Pike with his band of helpers Leigh Fisher, Gary
Reeve and Marcus Bailey. A special thanks to Andi Middleton who sold
all of the snails, sold raffle tickets and ran the bar all with her
usual enthusiasm.
Also
thanks to the Race Sponsors Tim Chambers, Dan Volkman, Kevin Jones,
Dean Cobley, Jason King, Russell Kennedy, Leigh Fisher, Michael
Pawsey & Reiner Ferguson. |
|
Wanted |
|
If any of member
has an unwanted old road atlas, or even better, a satellite navigation
system, please let Keith Baxter know as either may prevent him
getting lost on his way to away games, again.. |
|
|
Remember, remember the
5th of November.... a special thanks to: Fireworks; Pat
Dunne, Keith Finch, Guy Murphy, Jack Berwick, Paul Addison. Gate; Dave
Middleton, Mike Warwick, Ian Wallis. Car Parking; Garrie
Reeve, Steve Pike, Dave Wallis, James Melvin, Matt Miller |
|
|
We have recently
received a document from the Warwickshire Society of Referees
which draws players' attention to the laws governing the use of
foul and abusive language on the field and its implications
could be far reaching, to read it please click
here |
|
|
Skinners has just
sent an email detailing his exploits in South America, if you
have an hour or two to spare you might like to read it
here |
|
|
It would seem that
OL's excellent start to to the has even come to the
attention of royalty with a member of the Royal Family proudly
wearing an OL's tie (more) |
Our
Under 17's
section of the web site has been updated and now includes the
latest team photo. Like the 1st XV these guys have also
had an excellent season so far and as yet are undefeated in the
U17's league |
|
|
If you
don't ever look at
www.rugbyroundup.com you should do as this site is an
invaluable resource for all results and statistics from the
Premiership down to level 7. Included on it is their
"Heroes League" which shows the top 100 performing clubs
throughout the whole of the UK -
OL's are NOW 8th,
undefeated from 8 and with a 75.99% points for/against rating.
Iain Wallis currently heads the Mids 3 try scoring table and
is one of four, yes 4, OL's players in the top 20 try scorers
league, more details can be seen
here. |
|
|


|
The RFU would like to remind all those
who participate in the game that the use of obscene or
offensive language is contrary to the spirit and ethos of
the game as set out in the iRB Playing Charter and the RFU
codes of conduct for players and spectators (page 446 of the
RFU Handbook.
Verbal
abuse of match officials by players has always been dealt
with firmly through the disciplinary process under law
10.4(k) and breaches can carry severe sanctions. This same
law, which covers all acts contrary to good sportsmanship,
can be used by referees for incidents of unacceptable player
to player abuse.
Any
player who is regarded by the referee as having breached law
10.4(k) is liable to a severe warning by the referee as to
his conduct and/or suffer the sanction of a penalty kick.
In extreme or persistent cases he may be dismissed from the
field of play and attract sanctions ranging from 2 to 24
weeks (see RFU Handbook page 366).
Such
conduct, if not dealt with by match officials at the time,
may also result in disciplinary action under Rule 5.12
(conduct which is prejudicial to the interests of the Game
or bringing the Game into disrepute).
All
players should be aware that the RFU intends to take steps
to tackle the use of excessively profane language on the
pitch and has asked its referees to enforce law 10.4(k)
henceforth on a strict basis within the playing enclosure.
Match
Officials will also report any unacceptable abuse or
offensive language by coaches, spectators or others from the
touchline against Match Officials. They will also deal
appropriately with any unacceptable abuse of players from
those on the touchline to players. Our referees have been
instructed to report any instances of abusive/obscene
language whilst they are officiating. |
|
|
More News Below |
|
Congratulations to
James "Muzza" Murray who currently heads the Mids 3 West South stats
as top points scorer, top kicker and joint top (with David Longrigg)
try scorer. James please forget university rugby and maintain your
position! OL's are currently 17th in the Heroes league table -
tighten up that defence and we are in line for a £3,000.00 prize. |
Russ Kennedy recently
told us of a friend of his who was suffering from Leukaemia... more
information can be seen
here,
however Russ has just advised me that Pete Warren has today gone in
for a bone marrow transplant, we wish him well. Russ writes "GOOD
NEWS, Pete has today gone into hospital for transplant conditioning
and will have his bone marrow transplant next week. A match was
found a few weeks ago, in the good old US of A, so lets hope it
doesn’t turn him into an ignorant fat assed idiot!!! (no offence
Dan!), I and all that know Pete from the OL’s and outside the club
wish him the best of luck and a speedy recovery."
|
|
Congratulations to
Alan (father of Paul) Willis on his 60th birthday and Peter (father
of James) Murray on his 50th - Peter, thanks for rearranging your
go-karting, a word in your ear - Saturday's are for rugby, NOT for
you to arrange conflicting social events. |
|
OK, so you might be
able to play rugby, quite well actually, but Mr Le May, please
refrain from wearing that rather obnoxious blue shirt after the
game, it's not big, or clever. Trust us, you've won the bet, now go
and get a proper one. |
|
We wish Dave "the
other left" Perkins bon voyage on his 2 year trip to Australia, if
any Australians read this ... you have been warned, our loss is NOT your
gain. |
|
To date the following
players have been sponsored, |
|
Graham Le May (Dave
Eales), Gary Smith (Dave Eales & Roz Hunt), Paul Willis (Tom
Costello) and David Longrigg (Ray Roberts). If you would like
to sponsor a player, or shirt number please contact
Simon Brown |
|
We are delighted that
the U17's will be competing in the Warwickshire Colts RFU organised
U17's league (more). |
|
The
following International tickets have become available; England v New
Zealand, Nov 5th, 6 at £65.00 and 4 at £55.00, England v South
Africa; Nov 25th , 4 at £60.00 and 4 at £50.00 Contact Peter Higgs |
A warm welcome is extended to the
members of GEC Hockey Club who have recently become members of the
Laurentian Sports and social Club,
more |
 |
|
Our
ties with the school continue to strength and we are delighted to
report that a number of their rugby matches will be played at Fenley
Field including their Daily Mail Cup fixture against Princethorpe on
Wednesday September 20th, kicking off at 5.30. Rugby &
District are also making the most of our facilities for training and
games (more) |
 |
|
We are delighted that
Roz Hunt and Dave Eales will be taking over the control of program
selling as from Sat 9th September and would like to thank them for
this. Not only will they be sharing gate duty, but also
household chores as they will become Mr. and Mrs Eales next July!
All at OL's would like to wish them good luck, not just for their
future life together, but also for the task of selling programmes to
the tighter fisted visitors to Fenley Field. |
|
The draw for
Warwickshire First Team Cup has been made and will see us at home
against Nuneaton Old Eds for a fixture to be played before the 31
December 2006, if we are successful we then play Leamington Spa or
Old Leamingtonians AWAY in 2007. In Second Team County Cup, we
have drawn a home tie against Old Coventrians on Sunday 22 October
2006, once again if we are successful we play either Pinley or
Atherstone AWAY on Sunday 12 November 2006. The games that have been
nominated for the Merit League have also been nominated and can be
seen here |
|
Some exciting Social
Events have been planned for the forthcoming season, including The
June Swoon which will be a biannual event along with the OL's Ball,
click here for details |
|
A message from Russ
Kennedy .... Can you help? "I have a good friend, Pete Warren, some of
you may know him as he is a former OL's player, and last year he
thought he’d beat Leukaemia however...."
(more) |
|
 |
As
they say, "forewarned is forearmed".... the VP's Luncheon has
been set for October 21st which is the date of our 1st XV Mids 3
fixture versus Nuneaton Old Ed's. The VP's away day has
been confirmed as March 17th when we play Ledbury.
The Captains' Day has been set for 31st March when we entertain
Hereford and the Sponsors' Day is March 3rd when we entertain
Old Coventrians. |
|
|
 |
OL's
recent tour to Newcastle, well Middy's stag do, has been
captured on film. personally I think that their
impressions of Chipshop are spot on, click the photo to enlarge
it in a new window. |
|
|
Details of our cup
fixtures can be seen here, fixture lists for
all senior sides are now completed and can be seen
here. |
 |
Oh
what a night, June 17th saw over 200 members, former players and
friends of Old Laurentians gather at the Benn Hall for their
Summer Ball, click here to see more
...
if any of you took any pictures during the evening please
email them to me for inclusion in the gallery ...
click here
for the email link
|
|
|
 |
The
club has received its allocation for England's series of
Pre-Christmas Internationals against South Africa, Argentina and
New Zealand,
click here to download the order form which needs to be sent
back to Pete Higgs as soon as possible. |
|
|
|
|
with the following dates confirmed; Thursday 21st
U15's v South Warwickshire, 2September 25th, 2nd & 9th of October
and 6th, 13th & 20th of November for coaching sessions .... good
luck with your rugby.
|
|
Since
the sale of their Hillmorton clubhouse the Hockey Club have had no
facility to enjoy a post match meal and drink, and we are delighted
| |