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The Young Guns 52 -
The Dream Team 14 |
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The
reputation of the OL's 3rd XV, aka, the Dream Team was at stake on
Saturday when they faced the OL's Development XV, aka, the Young
Pretenders and would their experience and power be enough to combat
the threat of the enthusiasm and pace of a side that had only played
together a couple of time before?
Five
minutes into the game the Young Guns made their intentions known
with a try, created by the influential Chris Le Poidevan and
cynically finished off by the try machine, Simon Bayliss.
Five minutes later Andy Orbison added to the tally with a try
that owed more to soccer skills than rugby, converted by and
James Murray, 12-0. The Dream Team, though very much on
the back foot reduced the deficit with a try from Kev White,
converted by Daz Price, 12-7. The Young Guns responded
immediately with another try straight from the restart, a break from
Bayliss saw David "not so young" Longrigg in space, he
received the pass and touched down under the posts for Murray
to convert, 19-7, the resulting half time score.
The
2nd half began with the youngsters again dominant with two of their
replacements, Graham Le May and Dan Tilley combining
well to put Bayliss in for his second try, converted by
Murray, 26-7. What, on paper, looked like a win for the
Dream Team, was turning into a rout by the youngsters and when
Murray converted his own try an unassailable 33-7 lead had been
established. The backs were running riot through the old
stagers with Scott Whyment and Ben Wiles in the centre
receiving good ball from fly-half Murray the wingers were
always going to find space and Bayliss duly made the most of
it with his 3rd try, converted by Murray, 40-7. Murray
made a fine break of his own to touch down for a converted try, 47-7
and Bayliss rounded of an excellent performance with his 4th
try that followed a great break from Poidevan and Wiles,
52-7.
Though the Dream Team had been run off the park they were eventually
to get some reward for their endeavours with a try from evergreen
Andy Spriggs, converted by Price, to bring about a final
score of 52-14.
Regardless of which league OL's find themselves playing their rugby
next season if the players who contributed to this highly
entertaining spectacle are available for selection next season a
return to Mids 2 is on the cards. With players like le
Poidevan and le May in the pack winning good ball and making it
available for the likes of Wiles, Miller and Bayliss, the style of
play that saw OL's promoted to Mids 1 just a few seasons ago is
guaranteed to win games and friends. |
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Hinckley 37 - OL's 15 |
OL's 2nd's 41 - Hinckley 2nd's 20 |
|
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OL's
finished their season with a loss to Hinckley and though the score
flattered the home side this was a game that OL's never looked like
being able to win. The home side were the more disciplined of
the two and were able to exploit OL's tendency to give away to many
unnecessary penalties. The result sees OL's finish at the
bottom of a league that they won just 3 seasons ago and relegated to
Midlands 3 for next season.
The
game started with Hinckley pegging OL's back into their own half and
taking a 6-0 lead with 2 penalties and with Chris Wade bizarrely sin
binned Hinckley extended their lead to 13-0 with a converted try.
The second period of the half saw OL's play with more commitment and
structure and this led to a try from Charlie Turney who chased a
well placed kick from Matt Brown and charged down the attempted
clearance to touch down, 13-5.
An
intercepted Hinckley pass by Dave Wallis almost saw him through but
Hinckley recovered well and broke through to score an unconverted
try, 18-5. OL's response was immediate and a line out won in
the home sides 22 saw the ball sweep through the backs for Jamie
Brightwell o score, 18-10. The final minutes of the half saw
some great defence from Turney who tackled well to prevent Hinckley
ending the half with a try.
The
second half began in the same fashion as the first, Hinckley
dominant and OL's reduced to 14 with the sin binning of Jason King.
A lovely phase of play saw the mercurial Dave Wallis combine with
brother Iain and a try seemed to be on, alas not, the delightful
pass was adjudged to be forward. Another penalty saw a quick
tap and go from Hinckley and their break from the half way line saw
them touch down for another converted try, 25-10. Another
break from Hinckley saw them with a 4 man overlap that Charlie
Turney was unable to prevent from combing to touch down for another
converted try, 32-10.
Despite he difference in points OL's were by no means out of the
game and when they conspired to give the ball to their wingers they
always looked a threat and this proved to be the case when Brown and
King broke through the middle before the ball was fed to the wing
for Brightwell to score his second try of the game, 32-15.
Hinckley finished the game with an unconverted try from the restart
seeing OL's lose a game in which they had always been second best
37-15.
Old Laurentian
2nds 41 Hinckley 2nds 20
Once again a mixture of youth and experience took to the field with
OL’s coming out on top in a battle against two very attack minded
sides, which was a pleasure to watch.
The game started very brightly with Hinckley on top, the scrum half
and inside centre being the pick of the team. However, OL’s absorbed
this pressure, Andrew Orbinson and Gary Adkins putting in a number
of strong tackles. From one of these tackles the ball was fed to the
backs and eventually with a small amount of space Matt Miller scored
in the corner. John Edwards, practising for the kicking contest
later in the day, slotted the conversion.
From the restart the ball was immediately fed to Simon Bayliss who
rounded his opposite number went through the full back and scored
under the posts, Edwards converting. These early tries seemed to
spur Hinckley on and they came back with a penalty and try of their
own. There seemed to be a lapse in concentration in the OL’s team
and Hinckley scored again. The lapse didn’t last long; from a
turnover Chris Le Poidevan raced away, fed the ball to Simon
Collier, who had an outstanding game at centre and also in the back
row, drew the defence and fed the ball to Bayliss on his inside who
once again showed his pace and power to score. Half time score was
26-12.
The 2nd half continued in much the same vain; with OL’s
breaking from immense pressure in their own half to score. A number
of breaks orchestrated from outstanding fly half Scot Wiles allowed
OL’s to increase the points and make the game safe. Wiles added a
try of his own, James Murray raced clear and scored an excellent
solo effort and a fine team try finished by Tony Jones, for his 1st
of the season were the main talking points. Edwards completed the
scoring with a penalty from the 10m line to finish with a penalty,
and 4 conversions to give OL’s the winning score line of 41-20.
Again, it proved that with the right level of experience and the
ever attack minded youth led to a fine team performance. With so
many of these new faces being about next season we can look forward
to an exciting attacking year. |
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Spartans U 21's
19 - OL's Development XV 22 |
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With
the Easter break and the club tour to the fleshpots of Newcastle
OL's took a side comprising of past and present pupils from the
school supplemented by a couple of older players to Spartans to play
their own development side and gave the crowd a hugely entertaining
example of free-flowing and committed rugby.
It
was to be the home side who made the stronger start scoring a
converted try in the 7th minute. OL's responded straight from
the restart with a try from Simon Bayliss who made space for himself
and broke through Spartans' defence, 5-7. Spartans were the
more organised of the 2 sides, no doubt due to the number f games
they had played together, were quick to the break and sharp in
attack and always looked to be a threat. OL's were defending
well, though not well enough, when Spartans, having been awarded a
penalty, increase their lead with an unconverted try, 5-12 however
this deficit was reduced with a try from Matt Mogg, 10-12.
The
second half began at the same break neck speed as the first had
ended with OL's making the better start. Full back Anthony
Jones received the ball in his own half and set off down the left,
his clever chip over the Spartans' defence look set for him to score
a try however he appeared to be deliberately blocked from chasing
his kick and OL's were awarded a penalty. The ball went through the
centre of the pitch for Chris le Poidevan to break through from 22
metres to score a well deserved, though unconverted try, 15-12. The
next 30 minutes was all Spartans as they laid siege to the OL's
line, OL's defended well with Mark Brassey and bayliss combining to
prevent a certain score. Despite Spartans' flair and
determination their next score was due to some atrocious OL's
defence as they stood and watched as Spartans crossed the line for a
converted try, 15-19.
OL's
were finding it hard to make any inroads into Spartans' half as the
home side sought to increase their lead and prevent OL's from
scoring. OL's next foray into Spartan territory was down to a
great break from Andy Orbison who fed the ball to Jabba to pass it
on to Bayliss to touch down, a conversion would see OL's take the
lead and James Murray duly obliged, 22-19. The last minutes of
the game saw some resolute OL's defence and when they bundled an
attacking Spartans back into touch the game was over, and won.
If
OL's are able to keep the younger players who played today for the
forthcoming season OL's stay in Mids 3 should not be a long one.
Hopefully the establishment of an OL's Development side under the
leadership of Colin Willes will see these younger players be given
the opportunity of playing regular, and competitive rugby for the
OL's and allow them to integrate themselves into the senior sides. |
|
OL's 24 - Leamington 23 |
Leamington 2nd's 26 - OL's 70 |
|
But
for a missed final minute penalty from Leamington this could well
have been a game that OL's threw away through a series of
unforced errors, bad decision making and missed opportunities,
instead it was a game that OL's won and one that saw them move off
the foot of the table.
One
of the largest gates of the season, including a number of former
club captains, were given a nail biting performance from an OL's
side that swapped moments of exciting play with numerous errors and
indiscipline that allowed Leamington to make more of a match of a
game that could have been OL's for the taking. OL's started
the game well and in a positive way with brothers Iain & Dave Wallis
combining well to penetrate the visitors defence. Though their
move break down the 2nd phase saw Carl Adams cross the line for a
try only for it to be disallowed for alleged crossing.
Leamington responded with a beautiful phase of play that saw a
cheeky kick from their play-making fly-half that brought a try
saving tackle from Charlie Turney, Leamington maintained their
pressure and were rewarded wit a converted try.
The
re-start saw OL's Turney make a 40 metre side stepping sprint to
touch down to reduce the deficit to 5-7. Leamington extended
their lead with a series of penalties to a half time score of
5-20 through OL's making too many unnecessary and unforced errors.
Leamington began the second half as they so often do, physical and
aggressive, with the objective of unsettling their opponents and
though OL's had the opportunity to reduce their lead with a penalty
the kick went wide. The sin-binning of a player from either
side was little advantage to OL's as Leamington's Bristow calmly
slotted the resulting penalty over to make the score 5-23 and game
that had began with OL's looking able to win seemed to be slipping
away from them.
OL's
stepped up a gear and were justifiably rewarded with a try from
David Longrigg, in space and wide on the right wing, 10-23.
Almost immediately, and back in their visitors territory, a well
worked line out move saw Iain Wallis wriggle through to touch down
under the posts from Brown to convert, 17-23. With 2 minutes
of the game to play OL's maintained their pressure and, following a
scrum in Leamington's 22, Matt Brown calved his way through the
defence to score, Dave Wallis converted and OL's led 24-23.
Leamington restarted with a clever kick from Bristow that, in the
resulting scrap for the ball, saw them awarded a penalty, if it went
over OL's would have lost, if it missed they had won - it was wide,
the final whistle blew and OL's had won a well deserved victory.
The
final home game of the season and of Midlands 2 rugby saw OL's
victorious however this was another game in which OL's demonstrated
that they were capable of doing their best superbly, but rarely and
their worst badly and often though had it not been for Leamington's
fly-half the victory would have been far easier.
Leamington 2nd's 26 - OL's 70
Some you win, and some
you lose, and some are emphatic victories, this was the latter.
OL's 2nd XV took to the field with a very young side including an
encouraging number of new faces, several of which were pupils from
Lawrence Sherrif school.
OL’s started the
game with the wind in their favour, but instead of using the wind by
kicking into Leamington’s half, they ran the ball at every
opportunity through their young team and supported well by the young
at heart John Edwards, Ray Smith, Mark Brassey, Tony Jones and Simon
Cooper. However, it was Leamington that started brightly and had a
number of phases; however, they could not cross the OL’s line,
mainly through determined defence. It was from one of the Leamington
attacks that James Morgan broke clear from his own line and after
breaking through a number of tackles fed the ball to Simon Bayliss
who ran from the half way line, outpacing the Leamington defence to
touch down.. The next try was very similar, Leamington securing good
lineout ball, but the Leamington backs were so well marshalled by
the OL’s back line that they could not force their way over the
line. Again, an excellent tackle by Morgan led to turnover ball, the
ball was fed to Mark Creswell, playing at full back, who burst
through a number of tackles, before slowing down and then using an
awesome change of pace he rounded the Leamington full back to score
under the posts.
These early
tries led to pressure for OL’s and they seemed to score at will,
tries from Scot Wiles, Le Poidevan and 2 more from Bayliss and
debutant George Rapsomanikis enabled OL’s to score 39 points in the
first half. Half time score was 39-5.
The 2nd
half started in much the same way as the 1st, with
Leamington looking in complete control. They scored again, from a
lineout. This seemed to spur OL’s into action and from a planned
lineout move OL’s scored a try from Mark Brassey after once again a
good run from Mark Creswell. Further tries in the 2nd
half followed from Le Poidevan and Wiles. Wiles try epitomised all
that was good for OL’s, the backs ran at every opportunity, the
forwards ably supported and rucked over the ball to give quick
attacking options for the backs and after the ball passed through a
number of sets of hands Wiles touched down.
Leamington did
score another try through forward power, but James Murray added
another try for OL’s to increase the lead. The final try of the game
came from Andrew Orbinson again another excellent move involving
most of the team. John Edwards added 5 conversions to make the final
score 70-26. The game was played in excellent spirit and a fine
performance from a very young 2nd team, where there were
many outstanding performances, but man of the match was James Morgan
who was everywhere in the loose and linked well between the forward
and interplayed with the backs. It was also good to see so many
Sheriff boys, either past or present, playing for the team. If the
players remain at the club after university then many of them will
be pushing for 1st team places and will see the club move
forward once again. |
|
OL's A 15 - Broadstreet
2nd's 18 |
Northampton Casuals 10 - OL's B 18 |
|
The
rain held off, the sun shone and OL's took the ball cleanly at the
kick off, things were looking positive for an OL's side that blended
experience, maturity and youth that gave the opportunity for a
number of new faces to represent the senior side out that day.
OL's
took the lead in the 7th minute with a try from Dave Wallis that
followed to offensive scrums in Broadstreet's 22. Dave
Middleton, standing in for the injured Reed released the ball to
Matt Brown who passed to Wallis for him to find the space to thread
through the determined Broadstreet defensive line, Brown's
conversion was successful and a 7-0 lead was established. As
is so often the case a side reduced to 14 men are capable of
stepping up a gear and that is what the visitors did just 3 minutes
after their prop was yellow carded. A well worked backs move
saw the ball released to their full back who touched down between
the posts for a converted try, 7-7. OL's could have gone
further ahead when Brown broke through the defensive line, however
instead of going for the try himself he released the ball to Mark
Cresswell who was bundled into touch. Brown restored OL's lead
with a penalty in the 35th minute and the lead was maintained to the
half time whistle which also saw OL's Pete Nealon sin binned,
strangely in the 47th minute.
Though the score at half time showed only a 3 point difference the
half had been OL's and had they taken their chances the game could
have been won in the first 47 minutes. Broadstreet had one
scoring opportunity, they took it, OL's had many, They did not.
Playing into the wind OL's again started well and should have gone
into the lead with a try from Iain Wallis, however celebrations were
curtailed when the referee determined that the try had not been
scored. Justice was done when Carl Adams, again leading by
example, broke through all before him to score, 15-7.
Ash
McEwan came on for Russ Kennedy and made his impression within
minutes with his sin binning. Following the penalty for the offence
Broadstreet won their line out ball and drove over the line for an
unconverted try, 15-12. OL's made a number of replacements,
Skinners being replaced by Richie Rees, Charlie Turney replaced by
Jamie Brightwell and Crezza by Ben Wiles, unfortunately they were
not given much of an opportunity to shine and Broadstreet, playing
to their strengths - their pack, and OL's weaknesses - their
insistence in giving away unnecessary penalties won the game with a
penalty and unconverted try, 15-18.
There
were some impressive performances from Adams, Marcus Bailey and
evergreen Dave Middleton, however Dave Wallis' mercurial runs were
the stuff of legend, it would seem that centre is his position.
Northampton Casuals 10 -
OL's 18
With a mixture of
youth and experience OL's took to the field with the wind in their
favour. From the kick off, Ols seemed to be in full control and
through a number of strong runs from Antony Jones, it looked as
though the game would be free flowing and full of points. This
wasn't to be the case.
OL's started well and
scored a try though one of the experienced players, Tim
Dougherty, passed to him by one of the youngsters, Simon Bayliss.
Kev White converting. White also added 2 penalties in the first
half before the best move of the match, resulted in Bayliss adding
a try of his own after breaking clear from the 10m line. Casuals
added a try of their own shortly before half time, to make the
score at the break 18-5.
It
was a different story in the 2nd half with both teams cancelling
each other out. The only score was from Casuals. But the defensive
work from all OL's players, young and old, was great to see. With
the wind in the OL's face, the players tried to run at every
opportunity and from some of these moves, Matt Miller seemed
destined to score only for a number of high tackles against him.
All in all, a good team effort, free flowing runs in the 1st half
and a great defensive display in the 2nd half allowed OL's to win
18-10. Good performances from youngsters Bayliss, Jones and an
excellent all round display from Andrew Orbison coupled
with the experienced players, Dougherty and Spriggs allowed OL's
to win a very competitive contest.
|
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Camp Hill 20 - OL's 3 |
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|
Next
season will see OL's play their rugby in Midlands 3 following their
disappointing performance against Camp Hill. This was a game
that OL's had to win to ensure any chance of Mids 2 survival but the
game was lost in the first 20 minutes with a determined Camp Hill
making the better start. The home side took the lead in the
5th minute with a penalty and increased their lead with a converted
try in the 8th following a 5 metre line out and drive, 10-0.
Camp Hill were reduced to 14 men in the 11th and were awarded a
penalty, however though the distance was made the ball went wide.
Numerical equality was restored a few minutes later with Ash McEwan
yellow carded and during his absence from the pitch Camp Hill
increased their lead wit anther converted try, 17-0. In the
30th minute Camp Hill scored another penalty to give them a 20-0
lead. OL's scoring opportunities had been few an far between
however Brown was successful with a penalty in the last minutes of
the 1st half to make the score 20-3 at half time.
The second
half saw the OL's step up a gear and as the rain began to fall even
heavier the game became a pretty dismal affair with both sides
showing their frustrations. Had OL's been able to make more
use of the ball and released it to the wings no doubt the end result
would have been somewhat different as the Camp Hill backs were no
match for OL's, as it was they played to their strengths and in
doing so prevented OL's from playing the rugby we know they are
capable of. |
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Leicestershire Brabarians - Warwickshie Presidents XV |
|
Arranged as a friendly, fund raising fixture, players from most of
the county's junior sides were invited to play in the county colours
against a well organised Leicestershire County Development side.
Unfortunately Paul Willis was denied the privilege due to an injury
sustained against Newport and was unable to join Iain Wallis, Ricky
Reed and Matt Brown. Oddly enough a number of Newbold players
were also asked to play but decided against taking up the
invitation so it was down to the OL's contingency to represent
Rugby. I am awaiting a full report of the game but as far as
the OL's are concerned here are the salient facts;
 |
The game started brightly for Warks with Iain Wallis, playing at
centre, scoring a converted try to which Leics responded with a
try of their own Matt Brown, playing at 11 scored a first
half try and 2 second half tries, one at 11 and the other at
centre. Ricky Reed came on in the 2nd half to complete the OL's
dominance of the game and though the game ended with
Leicestershire winning OL's can be proud of the fact that it was
Wallis and Brown who scored all of Warwickshire's tries. |
Wal
had a superb game, probably the best I have seen him play all
season, finding gaps in a well organised defence to exploit, whilst
Browny relished the fact that he had the opportunity to run with the
ball and subsequently score a hat trick. Reedo was, well Reedo
and did what he does each game, reliable, committed and
inspirational. Who knows what fate awaits this trio, full
County colours, who knows?
 |
|
Newport 29 - OL's 17 |
|
|
With
the strong icy wind to their backs Newport set their stall out with
10 minutes of intense pressure that saw OL's defend two 5 metre
scrums before the OL's were able to venture into their opponents
half. OL's were rewarded with a penalty which Matt Brown
slotted over followed. The next 10 minutes saw OL's the more
dominant of the two sides and their pressure was justifiably
rewarded with a lovely try from Dave Wallis, converted by Brown.
Unfortunately this seemed to spur the home side on who responded
with 2 unconverted tries and a penalty to go into the break
13-10 ahead.
The
home side began the second half as they had ended the first and
increased their lead with another unconverted try and penalty,
21-10. OL's dug in deep to find the strength of character and
determination to reduce the deficit with a superb individual
try from Dave Wallis, who evade 3 or 4 tackles before touching down
for Brown to convert, 21-17. Though a victory was in their
sites OL's were beginning to tire and with the home side, sensing
this, stepped up the pressure and scored an unconverted try and
penalty to bring about a 29-17 victory.
At
the time of writing I do not know who was made man of the match,
however for me it was a choice between Carl Adams and Dave Wallis,
with Wallis getting the nod for his 2 wonderful tries.
Unable to compete in the pack against a strong and physical side
OL's were always going to be on the back foot however their
performance was again commented on by their opponent's supporters
who questioned the fact that a side of OL's character and abilities
should be at the foot of the table. |
|
OL's 7 - Kenilworth 12 |
Kenilworth 2nd's 38 -
OL's 15 |
Old Warwickians 0 - OL's
3rd's 31 |
|
Expecting to leave with
a 50 point victory Kenilworth left Fenley Field counting
themselves lucky to have scraped a win against an determined OL's
side that belied their position at the foot of the league. The
result could have been much different, Kenilworth had 2
opportunities to score and took them, whilst OL's failed to exploit
all of their chances. A number of refereeing decisions also
saw OL's disadvantaged, much to the dismay of the home supporters
and coaching team, and the end result saw a disappointed OL's and
relieved Kenilworth side leave the pitch.
OL's set their stall out
from the whistle and rocked their visitors with with their
determined play that, within 5 minutes, saw Kenilworth's play making
fly-half forced to leave the pitch nursing a rather nasty headache
due in part to the tackling by Dave and Ed Wallis. Kenilworth
bounced back with a converted try in the eighth minute, a result of
2 penalties within 5 metres of the OL's line.
Despite Kenilworth's
league standing there was little about them that seemed to justify
their 2nd place position other than their physical approach to the
game that saw OL's awarded a penalty, following the eventual
penalising of questionable tactics in the line out unfortunately the
attempt went wide and OL's chance to reduce the deficit was lost,
and four minutes later another OL's penalty went wide and the
opportunity to take the lead had been lost. At half time OL's
could feel justifiably proud of their performance and a little
disappointed that they were not deservedly, in the lead.
Kenilworth were
marginally the better side for the first quarter of the 2nd half
despite their continues aggressive approach to the game that even
saw a couple of their own players having a minor fracas after which,
confusingly, the referee rewarded them with a penalty which went
wide. Five minutes later Kenilworth, despite some valiant OL's
defence, extended their lead with an unconverted try.
Behind, but not
downhearted, OL's retrenched and reduced the deficit with a try from
Garry Hammond that justifiably rewarded the forwards for their
commitment and efforts, Brown's conversion made the score 7-12.
With 15 minutes to go Kenilworth were reduced to 14 men with the red
carding of one of their props for an illegal, and highly dangerous,
tackle on Pete Satchwell. OL's were unable to take advantage
of their numerical superiority as Kenilworth were forced to defend
their lead for the final phase of the game. Some poor decision
making and silly mistakes from the OL's meant that the home side
were denied the victory they deserved and their visitors left with a
narrow victory.
The OL's forwards had
been a major factor throughout the game with Carl Adams and Chris
Wade to the fore, however all of the pack performed superbly.
The backs, with the ball being fed to them well by Ricky Reed had a
number of opportunities to show their capabilities however they were
unable to convert their possession into points. With 4 games
left to their season OL's could still avoid the drop, and, if they
play as they did today against the weaker opposition that they are
faced with, Midlands 2 rugby could still be within their reach,
their future is in their own hands.
Kenilworth 38 Old
Laurentians 15
OL's 2nd's gave
debuts to a number of players against an experienced Kenilworth team
and started very brightly running the ball at every opportunity led
by the experienced John Edwards, Ray Smith and Pete Rigg. OL's had
pressure from the forwards and through the lively Gary Adkins, who
was prominent in the loose throughout the whole game, he stole the
ball and fed to Dan Tilley who jinked through the Kenilworth
back line to score.
From the kick off
Mark Wilson, back from University, was taken out in the air, this
led to a turn over ball for Kenilworth, however a fine tackle by
centre Rich Reece led to a knock on, debutant Simon Bayliss
picked up deep in his own 22 and ran the length of the pitch to a
score a fine individual try.
With OL's 10-0 up
it seemed to fire the Kenilworth team into life and they went on to
score a number of unanswered tries. OL's appeared to go to sleep and
missed a number of tackles, the defence around the ruck also seemed
to disappear. It was these reasons that OL's could not get their
hands on the ball and could not play the expansive game of the 1st
15 mins.
After the interval
OL's came out with increased vigour and put right their errors of
the 1st half, the defence around the fringes was much better and
players were putting in big hits, namely Danny Davies and Simon
Bayliss, Martin Storey Anthony Jones and Marcus Gregory when he came
on. This improved defence led to OL's final score of the game, and
probably the most impressive from both teams. Forward and backs
interlinking, Marcus Bailey prominent with his new found ball
carrying skills, Simon Orbison with some very deft passing and Simon
Cooper passing the ball from the base of the ruck at every
opportunity to allow quick phases of possession. This allowed the
ball to be passed down the back line to Matt Miller, another
debutant, to score his 1st try for the club. The game was a lot
closer than the score line reflects and there were some very good
displays by Ben Wiles and Wilson, but it was debutant Simon Bayliss
who was deemed OL's man of the match.
Old Warwickians 0
- OL's 31
Terrible pitch,
terrible conditions, terrible handling, good result.
Tries from Kenny
Robinson, Bob Barba, Daz Price and a brace from Dom Marsella, 3 of
which were converted by Daz Price ensured a comfortable victory for
the OL's 3rd's.
The pitch was like a ploughed field but slightly worse because it
was also very boggy. Our handling was awful but a lot of that
can be put down to the conditions. If we had played them at
home we would have doubled the score line. One plus point was
that we didn’t concede any points. |
|
Newport v OL's |
|
The 1st and 2nd XV
fixtures were cancelled, however the 3rd's did play and won 48-5
against AEI
In perfect conditions
the dream team
looked forward to playing some of the fast flowing rugby for which
they have become renowned. In the unusual position of being
able to field the
team
selected,
OL’s took an
early lead through new recruit Richie Reece which was converted by
Kev White.
White then followed up
his conversion with a touch down of his own only to make a
complete
hash of the kick.
It seemed to be one way traffic and when Daz Price darted through
the narrowest of gaps to dot down it looked as if the visitors were
in for a torrid time. White slotted the kick and was quickly
back in action after Reece scored another but not with the same end
result. A determined AEI
put up some stiff
defence but
when power house Fisher
broke from the maul on the half way there was no stopping him.
White duly missed the conversion under the posts and that was the
end of his kicking career. A scrum on the half way,
a missed tackle
and some good back play saw the AEI score a good unconverted try.
The second half saw
numerous changes which seemed to hamper the home side more than help
as they lost some cohesion but they did start
the half
with an
unconverted try from Dougherty. Tries from Thompson and
Robinson
were converted by
Price who took over the kicking duties from White after he was
transferred to the AEI for his efforts. The game finished 48-5
to OL’s but was played throughout in great spirit and credit goes to
both teams for entertaining the large crowd. |
|
Nuneaton Old Ed's 22 - OL's
A 31 |
With only 1 game this weekend for
the Old Laurentians, it was a chance to blood some new young faces
into the A squad, namely, Rob Harris and Ben Wiles, who both look
as though they have an impressive future with the club. The game
started brightly with the wind in the OL's favour allowed some
good territorial possession. However, through a lineout OL's
passed the ball down the line, only for Old Eds to grasp an
interception and race the length of the pitch to score the first
points of the game.
OL's came back strongly after
this using the wind with some good positional kicking from Jamie
Brightwell. It was through his kick and a lineout and some simple
passing between the backs that allowed Brightwell to score in the
corner.
This was the nature of the 1st
half, very even between the sides, and at the interval the score
was 12-12. The extra points coming from Chris Wade and a
Brightwell conversion.
The 2nd half also went along the
same lines until the last 20 minutes when the OL's fitness told
and the game opened up. 2nd half scores from Rhys Wade with 2 and
replacement Charlie Wragg and 2 conversions from Brightwell helped
to increase the lead and give OL's some breathing space.
Good performances from Harris,
Wiles and Wragg when he came on, who was full of running and non
stop tackling. The game was good to give the team some confidence
ahead of the 1st and 2nd team away trip to Newport and also to
allow some of the young guys the chance to play with the more
experienced 1st team players.
|
|
|
|
Despite a number of
enforced changes to the starting 15 the game started well with OL's
pegging the visitor back in their own half however Broadstreet were
soon of the offensive forcing OL's to defend a succession of
line-outs one of which saw the ball released through their backs for
a converted try, 0-7. Things got worse for OL's with stand-in
scrum half Ed Wallis confined to the sin bin and during this period
of numerical superiority the visitors scored a second try, 0-12.
OL's seemed to be on the losing side of every refereeing decision
allowing Broadstreet to extend their lead with a penalty, 0-15 that
they took into the half time break.
The second half saw a
more aggressive OL's and there were periods when OL's looked
threatening not least when Charlie Turney or Mark Cresswell had the
ball in hand. An injury to the impressive Carl Adams saw
evergreen Eddie Edwards make his return to 1st XV rugby and 5
minutes later OL's were again disadvantaged when Garry Hammond was
forced to leave the field following an unpenalised Broadstreet
offence which saw him replaced by Garrie Reeve. Up to this
period OL's had been a match for Broadstreet and though unable to
reduce the deficit were looking more threatening.
Unfortunately Reeve's time on the pitch was short lived when he, and
a Broadstreet forward, were sin binned. Broadstreet were to
put the gloss on a mediocre performance with 2 late converted tries,
one of which was a result of a blatant, unnoticed, or unpenalised,
knock on, that saw a final result of 0-29, a score that flattered the
visitors but has done nothing to reduce the likelihood of Mids 3
rugby at Fenley Field next season.
Broadstreet 2nd's 53 -
OL's 2nd's 15
With a mixture of
youth and experience OL’s travelled the short distance to
Broadstreet to find a very strong 2nd team outfit that seemed to
have played plenty of rugby together. However, this did not seem to
bother the OL’s as they took a lead very early from a try through
Grant Inch. This was the end of the scoring for the OL’s in the 1st
half except for a penalty from Kev White. The remained of the half
was all Broadstreet, but it did give plenty of tackling practice for
the experienced back row of Spriggs, Storey and Rigg. When OL’s
started to play quick running rugby the side looked much better and
gave space for the backs to exploit, a few good runs from full back
Rob Harris almost led to several scores. It was his defence that
Harris excelled himself saving four or five opportunities when it
seemed easier for Broadstreet to score.
The 2nd half saw
the same threat from Broadstreet, OL’s only managed to get one
further score, another try from Inch. But with the mix of the team,
the lads can be proud of themselves in that they never gave up. An
impressive debut from Orbie in the back row and some good
performances from Wiles in the centre and Harris at full back mean
that OL’s can look to the future with this blend of youth and
experience starting with this weeks game against Nuneaton Old Eds. |
|
|
|
In front of a large crowd, that
would have been the envy of a number of clubs playing at a higher
level, OL's travelled to Parkfield Road for a game that they
needed to win to assist in their fight against relegation however
as is so often the case in games between these staunch local
rivals the game failed to produced the free flowing rugby that
both sides are capable of and, no doubt, the spectators were
hoping for.
The first 20 minutes of the game
saw OL's firmly camped in Newbold's half but they were unable to
convert their pressure into points. Five minutes into the game
OL's were awarded a penalty for a blatant punch by one of
Newbold's pack for which he was lucky not to be sent off, however
the kick, though having the distance went wide. Had OL's Charlie
Turney been able to complete one of the best moves of the game
things might also have been different, but Newbold defended well
to prevent OL's opening the scoring. OL's through making too many
elementary mistakes and their failure to penetrate Newbold's
defence allowed the home side back into a tense and physical game
that at half time saw the scores level at 0-0.
It took another 20 minutes for the game to
open up with Newbold scoring an unconverted try and they extended
their lead with another unconverted try when OL's lost possession
on the half way line and the home side released the ball, through
their backs, 10-0.
OL's were conceding too many penalties and
Newbold eventually converted one of them to extended their lead
13-0. OL's reduced the deficit with one of their trade mark
interceptions which allowed Iain Wallis to sprint the 50 metres to
touch down, unfortunately Matt Brown, having missed 2 penalties in
the first half and to the delight of the home supporters missed
the conversion. Newbold took advantage of another penalty to go
16-5 clear in the 40th minute.The
final throw of the dice was that of the OL's when, awarded a
penalty some 5 metres from Newbold's line, a quick tap saw Gary
Hammond go over the line for a try that allowed Brown to prove his
critics wrong with his successful conversion resulting in a final
score of 16-12.
OL's needed to win this game but poor
discipline and inconsistent periods of play saw a result that the
home side deserved and that OL's may well find a factor in their
final league standing.
And this is what Newbold
had to say
Newbold retained
the bragging rights for this local derby after easing to a hard
fought win in front of a large crowd at Parkfield Road on Saturday
Victory restores Newbold to fifth spot in the league, equalling
their highest position so far this season, while defeat leaves
OL’s anchored at the foot of the table and with games slipping
away they clearly face an uphill struggle to avoid relegation. The
final margin of 4 points somewhat flattered the visitors and
stemmed from two late scores in the dying minutes. Skipper Wallis
grabbed the first with a 60 metre dash following an interception
and hooker Hammond added a second after diving over from close
range following a brief spell of pressure in Newbold’s 22. Before
that, Newbold were pretty much in command at 13-0 up having scored
two good tries following a scoreless first half. The opening
exchanges were typically robust with a liberal sprinkling of
penalties and both sides endured some anxious moments before the
game settled to a dour midfield stalemate. OL’s were the first to
be off target with a couple of penalties before Newbold followed
likewise shortly before the mid way break.
Newbold looked far more comfortable after the restart, their
scrummage was going well, the line out was secure, the backs were
beginning to show their paces and territorially Newbold were now
on top. The deadlock was finally broken just past the hour mark
with a lovely try from fly half Joss Andrews who ghosted through a
couple of defensive gaps to glide over left of the clubhouse
posts. Andrews also played a part in Newbold’s second try, his
initial half break coming at the end of a sustained bout of
interplay and creating the space which led to full back Danny Pope
diving over in the left hand corner. Andrews missed both
conversions but slotted two crucial penalties, punishing OL’s for
some petulant frustration as the game slipped beyond their reach.
This correspondents ‘man of the match’ was Newbold’s Damian
Taylor. The flanker had a fine all round game and he was given
good support by No.8 Jason Hare, who supplemented a solid
performance with a display of secure catching at the line out.
Stewart Eru was also well to the fore in the heat of battle.
Newbold’s remaining league program will be challenging, two games
at Parkfield Road against front runners Broad Street and
Kenilworth, with trips away to Stafford (next week) Barkers Butts,
Newport and Camp Hill. Still enough points on offer therefore, to
cement a top half league position and provide new coach Bob
Harcourt with a satisfying end to his first season at Parkfield
Road.
OL's 2nd's 10 - Newbold
2nd's 6
A try from Simon
Cooper and a conversion and penalty from Pete Satchwell were
enough to hold off stubborn Newbold resistance in this
fore-shortened game.
Newbold 3rd's 12 - OL's
3rd's 14
3 well struck
penalties from Kev White and a try from Ade Cleaver secured
victory for OL's
|
1st XV
OL's 15 - Stafford 8 |
2nd XV
South Leicester 25 - OL's 12 |
3rd XV
OL's v Old Leams |
|
|
OL's made their win hard
work and had the spectators on the edges of their seats right up
until the final play of the game when Iain Wallis' converted try
gave them the margin that would secure victory in a game that they
had dominated for most of the match.
The victory was entirely
down to the forwards who played with pride and passion and refused
to be intimidated by the cynical play of their opposition. Man of
the match Carl Adams, returning to the side at No 8, led by example
and was duly rewarded for his efforts with a try however it would be
wrong to single out any one of the pack as they all performed
superbly. No matter which side fed the ball into the scrum or
line out OL's won it, giving Ricky Reed a platform from which to
feed the ball to the backs. Unfortunately today was a day when
they failed to gel and a number of opportunities were missed, not
least when, with an overlap on their left they decided to go right
leading to Dave Perkins' classic comment of "not that left, the
other ****ing left".
Despite being in total
control of much of the first half it was to be Stafford who were to
be presented with the first scoring opportunity of the game however,
as predicted, their penalty went wide. OL's responded with 2
dropped goal attempts, at least we think they were, from Matt Brown
and then, following a injury to Gary Smith which necessitated his
replacement by Chris Thomas, Brown slotted over the penalty to give
OL's a well deserved 3-0 lead. Smith's injury appears not to
be as bad as once feared and hopefully next season he will be able
to complete a full game against Stafford. The first half game
to an end with OL's again dominant but unable to turn their pressure
into points.
The second half saw OL's
extend their lead through a try from a scrum 5 metres from
Stafford's line which, when offered a penalty or scrum and opting
for the latter, saw the OL's pack drive the visitors back and for
Adams to score a classic Number 8's try.
As so often is the case
when a side has a player sin binned is reduced to 14 men Stafford
played as though there were 16 of them and, against the run of play,
scored a converted try that owed much to uncharacteristic poor
defence from the OL's and with the score now 8-7 it looked as though
a game was on. Stafford had the opportunity to take the lead
with another penalty which again went wide and the next 25 minutes
were, to say the least, tense.
OL's failed to be
intimidated by Stafford's physical approach to the game as OL's pack
continued to dominate the game even t the extent of Hammond having
time and space to attempt his trade mark drop goal attempt.
Stafford, despite a number of threatening breaks, were continually
thwarted by some excellent defence from OL's who were justifiably
rewarded for the efforts with a try from Iain Wallis, converted by
Brown, in the final minute of the game to bring about a final 15-7
victory.
The forwards were superb
and had this combination of players been available all season OL's
would not have been in the position they are. The backs were,
in the main, below par, however with the number of line up changes
forced upon them it must be hard for them to gel because, when on
song they are an impressive force to be reckoned with.
Next Saturday sees a
break from league action when OL's play host to old friend Aston Old
Eds a game to prepare for the following week's visit to Newbold who
have just lost to Malvern. It is time to ask the question to
the non playing readers of this report "which would you rather be
doing on February 11th, watch OL's play Newbold or England play
Italy?" Because on this performance we will most definitely
see a game of rugby at Parkfield Road. |
South Leicester 2nd's 25
- OL's 2nd''s 12
OL's travelled the relatively
short distance to South Leicester with a much changed team from
that originally selected with a host of new players making their
debut for the 2nd's this season. OL's also welcomed back Charlie
Turney who had been injured since early in the season who went on
to have a fine game.
OL's started brightly from the
kick off and after sustained pressure up front and a scrum against
the head Shane Betts powered over to score a fine try
bursting through a number of tackles, Pete Satchwell
converting. From the restart, OL's forwards secured good ball for
Simon Cooper to feed Satchwell who cleared the danger and put more
pressure on South Leicester. From a planned move at a lineout the
forwards exchanged passes with the backs for Satchwell to
score in the corner. This was what the OL's deserved as the 1st 20
minutes was all about OL's.
The try seemed to spur South
Leicester into action and from a period of sustained pressure,
there were to be a number of try saving tackles, firstly from Jody
Roderick and then by Mike Coburn in the opposite corner. This
great defence kept South Leicester at bay for a number of minutes
however the pressure became too much and South Leicester scored.
Further try saving tackles from Turney, playing out of position at
open side forward, prevented the home team of further scores.
However, South Leicester did manage to get another score before
half time to make it 12-10 to OL's.
With OL's tiring the 2nd half
proved to be a one sided affair. The defence was great but OL's
just couldn't get out of their own half, this led to further
scores from South Leicester for the game to finish 25-12 to South
Leicester. Old Laurentians can take many positives from this game.
A number of new faces to the 2nd team was good to see and a few
outstanding performances from Turney, at open side flanker, and
the centre partnership of Betts and stand in skipper Simon Collyer
was also good to see. Also just a note to say thanks to the
players who stepped in at the last moment and who were fully
committed to the cause.
|
|
OL's v
Old Leams
match cancelled |
|
January 21st |
1st XV
Barkers' Butts 5 - OL's 8 |
2nd XV
OL's 0 - Barkers' Butts 10 |
3rd XV
Barkers' Butts 14 - OL's 7 |
|
|
It was always going to
take something special to decide this game and against the run of
play and after Barkers' had been camped in OL's 22 for some 25
minutes an amazing break and turn of speed saw flanker Pete Nealon
intercept a wayward Barkers' pass and sprint some 70 metres to score
a match decisive try. It was no more than OL's deserved, not
least their forwards, who had played with passion, commitment and
pride in this closely fought encounter.
Once again the starting
XV saw a number of changes to the side published with a back row
comprising Andy Coleman, Chris Wade and Pete Nealon and with Coleman
moving to the pack Ed Wallis started on the wing, Matt Brown
remained at fly-half with Dave Wallis combining with Jamie
Brightwell in the centres however none these changes nor the
forgotten kit were to distract OL's from their game.
OL's set out the
stall at the onset with Ed Wallis running on to claim the ball at
the kick off, 2 subsequent phases of play saw the OL's win the line
out, an area of the game they were to dominate until the enforced
replacement of the excellent Paul Wills late in the second half.
Barkers were to make a rare incursion into OL's territory and were
awarded a scrum some 10 metres from OL's line however excellent
defence from Dave Wallis and Jason King prevented the home side from
scoring the try they expected and the ball was cleared with a huge
kick from Ricky Reed. Once again the line out was won by OL's
and with Willis and the inspirational Chris Wade leading by example
the forwards continued to create a platform for the backs, however
it was to be Willis who came closest to scoring with a great break,
Garrie Reeve followed up and, with a three man overlap just 5 metres
from Barkers' line, a try looked a certainty however Brown decided
to go for glory himself and it seemed that the initiative has been
lost. The referee obviously saw something that the supporting
OL's VP's had not and awarded a penalty for Brown to calmly slot
over, 3-0 and a well deserved lead that they were to hold on to till
the break.
It was to be Barkers'
who were to play the better rugby in the second half and the OL's
were fortunate that the home side's backs were not able to exploit
the space and ball that they had available. Like OL's, the
Barkers' side had a number of enforced changes to their line up,
however Medcraft, their Number 8 and Ham, their centre were to pose
a threat throughout the game. The second half was not all
Barkers' with OL's Creswell making a number of incisive runs
but, to be honest, most of the last 30 minutes was all about
defence.
Barkers' missed the
opportunity to level the score with a penalty after 20 minutes and
another 3 minutes later and the game was to now become a nail
biter with Barkers' firmly ensconced in OL's half. The loss of
Willis in the line out was to create problems for OL's but Barker's
were still unable to penetrate their defence, scrum followed scrum,
ruck followed ruck but OL's defence held firm. Barkers' opted
to use their backs and the ball was fed through them until Pete
Nealon intercepted a pass and set off the 70 metres to Barkers'
line, to him it was a sprint, to the spectators a marathon, and
against all odds he outpaced the pursuing players to touch down.
Though the conversion was missed Barkers' would need to score twice
to deny OL's victory after Nipper's heroic efforts.
Ironically Barkers'
were spurred on by the increase deficit and in the 38th minute
deservedly scored the try that they had threatened to all afternoon
following another scrum, the conversion went wide and OL's lead was
now down to 3 points. It was at this point that the referee
informed us that there was to be another 8 minutes of play.
This final period saw OL's again defend as though their very lives
depended upon it, and defend they did with the game ending after 2
scrums and with Reed kicking the ball into touch. The game was
over and the OL's supporters were delighted and as OL's Garry
Hammond was to say "Brian would have approved of that". At the
time of writing I do not know who was voted the man of the match but
for me it would have been a close thing between Willis and Chris
Wade who shouldered the responsibility of captaincy and Number 8
with honour.
The game was won
through a combination of grit and determination and of not wanting
to give in, a fitting tribute to Brian Beckett indeed. |
|
OL's 2nd's 0 -
Barkers' Butts 2nd's 10 |
|
As expected
Barkers brought a strong and well organised squad to OL's but the
renewed confidence of late was more than a match for them and the
result could quite easily have been reversed with chances being
missed and the referee being unsighted when Simon Storey grounded
the ball
In the end it was
Barkers who took the spoils by using their much larger forwards to
create space but OL’s defensive organisation and tackling was
excellent and continually repelled them, but pressure eventually
told and two tries were conceded
Simon Collyer and
new centre partner Shane Betts proved a handful all afternoon and
Tom Gleghorn and James Morgan in the back row were also involved in
the thick of the action.
With a number of
changes forced upon the team including the loss through injury of
both props the final minutes were played with uncontested scrums
which proved to be of advantage to the OL’s as their fitter forwards
and quality backs opened up the game but unfortunately they couldn’t
find the final pass to reward all of the good work
There was a
minutes silence before the game in memory of our past chairman,
Brian Beckett, who recently passed away and this was honoured by
both sides and the 2nds feel a little saddened that they couldn’t
quite provide the win for him |
|
Barkers' Butts 3rd's 14 - OL's 3rd's 7 |
|
A converted try from Daz
Price was not enough to see the Dream Team maintain the run of
victories. With a disrupted side due to player shortages the
more experience home side were always going to be favourites to win
this fixture. |
|
January 14th |
1st XV
Stoke 36 - L's 19 |
2nd XV
Towcester - OL's |
3rd XV
OL's - Towcester |
|
|
It was an unfamiliar
line up that took to the field at Stoke with Matt Brown making his
debt at fly-half and Andy Coleman on the wing. last minute
call offs also saw Garrie Reeve move from the bench to 3 and Russ
(I'm nearly a vet) Parkinson, Dan Harris and Simon (I've still got a
bad back) Collyer on the Bench. In all honesty the final score
flattered the home side and this was a game that OL's could have won
Stoke
opened their account in the first minute when, after being awarded a
scrum straight after Brown's kick-off, they ran in for a converted
try. OL's were under pressure again straight after the restart
however resolute defence prevented the home side from scoring.
The respite was short lived and Stoke increased their lead through a
5 metre line out and drive that saw a try from their blindside
flanker, 12-0.
OL's
dug in deep and were unlucky not to reduce the deficit when Hammond
took a quick penalty and made a some 20 metres before off loading to
Iain Wallis. The 17th minute saw just reward for OL's efforts
when, from a scrum in Stoke's 10 metres, they fed the ball through
Reed and Brown for Coleman to score under the posts, the conversion
was, alas not to be, the score 12-5.
It
looked as the history was to repeat itself when Willis fell
awkwardly at a line out and had to be taken off with what was first
though to be a repeat of his knee injury, sustained last year at
Stoke in exactly the same position of the pitch and Dan Harris came
on as his replacement.
Stoke
increased their lead with a penalty, 15-5, before OL's, in the 30th
minute had the opportunity were awarded a penalty, however the
attempt was missed. A good move down the right wing saw OL's
denied a try scoring opportunity due to an alleged forward pas with
the attacking players having no one to beat. An injury to
Smith, sustained through some cynical play from the opposition, saw
Coleman move into the back row and Ed Wallis onto the wing with
Collyer coming off the bench into the centres. The second came
to an end with Stoke increasing their lead through a drop goal,
18-5.
The
half time pep talk seemed to spur OL's onto greater efforts, duly
rewarded with a try from Reed that owed everything to the forwards
pride and commitment. On the evidence of his first half
kicking the odds were firmly stacked against Brown making the
conversion from a metre inside the touch line, how wrong we were,
the deficit now just 6 points, the score 18-12.
Stokes influential No 8, Ramalangadindong, formerly with Coventry
increased their lead with a converted try, 25-12 and their lead was
increased with OL's being penalised of the park with 2 more
penalties, 31-12. Some of the referee's decisions were,
interesting, not least his decision to yellow card an OL's
player and unsure as to which one asked Captain Iain Wallis to pick
a player to be sin binned, bizarre or what? Reduced to 14 men
OL's were unable to prevent Stoke scoring another try from their No
8 which came about after a won line out and Stoke rolling maul,
36-12.
Simon
Collyer was to show a surprising turn of speed with a great break
down the right wing and it was to be in the same area of the pitch
that Iain Wallis, chasing an inspired grubber kick from Brown, ran
on to score a well deserved try and wit Brown having found his
confidence the subsequent conversion reduced the difference to a
more respectable 17 points, 36-19.
The
game came to an end with OL's again defeated but with more positives
to take from their experience than negatives and with a dubious
decision denying them a try and Brown's 2 missed kicks the score
could have been much closer. With Brown at fly half the OL's
game seems to have taken on a new dimension and with Dave Wallis
available next week the selectors could be faced with a difficult
decision. |
|
Towcester 10 - OL's 15
OL's travelled down
the A5 to Towcester to face two problems; a pitch that resembled a
paddy field and only having 13 players. The latter problem was
resolved after Towcester Kindly loaned a couple of there bench
players.
The game began at
the same intensity that had proved the winning formula the previous
week but this time after 20 mins the only chances fell to two missed
penalty attempts. Just before half time Towcester broke the
deadlock with a drive from a lineout to make it 5-0 at the break and
soon after the break Towcester extended the lean when some
uncharacteristic weak tackling allowed the centre to score.
From this moment on
there was only one team to watch as OL’s forwards and backs combined
to play some terrific Rugby and notch up 3 tries with Mark Brassey,
Mike Coburn and Pete Satchwell all crossing the line after fine
build up work.
Resolute defence
for the last 10 minutes and fine discipline with bone crunching
tackles from Pete Nealon, Scott Whyment and Rhys Wade showed that
the 2nds now have a lot of spirit and pride in the way they play.
This will be tested
this weekend with a tough game against a very good Barkers’ Butts’
2nd team. |
|
|
|
January 7th
|
|
Had OL's not defended as
well as they did this could well have been a rout as Malvern,
fielding a side containing a number of changes to that who visited
Fenley Field in November, were the more motivated of the two sides
and thoroughly deserved their win.
Malvern opened their
account with a converted forward's try in the 13th min, due, in part
to a missed tackle and extended their lead 10 minutes later with a
well struck penalty. OL's responded with a try from Iain
Wallis coming after the OL's forwards had competed well in 2
successive scrums in the Malvern 22, Dave Wallis converted to reduce
the deficit to 3 points. The half ended with the home side
leading 10-7 and, at that time, it looked as though OL's were
capable of making a game of it. The forwards had been
competitive and OL's defence had been effective, particularly from
Iain and Dave Wallis.
The second half saw
Malvern the more competitive of the 2 sides and they used their
backs to good effect releasing the ball to their wings who made a
number of threatening runs into OL's territory. However it was
to be 2 more forward's tries that were to be the end of OL's , both
converted by the accurate kicking of their full back. The
difference could have been greater had it not been for Iain Wallis'
try saving tackle after Malvern cheekily intercepted a wayward OL's
pass. The defeat was no less than OL's deserved having failed
to maintain the quality of play and commitment they demonstrated at
Webb Ellis Road.
OL's seem to short of a
number of players in key positions and this, compounded by their
persistence in failing to release the ball to the wings and
insistence in trying to be clever in the middle of the park
could well see them play their rugby in Mids 3 next season.
OL's need to return to the basics and the good work that their the
forwards put into to winning the ball needs to be rewarded by the
backs doing something with it. OL's current game plan, if
there is one, is not working and some serious work needs to be done
to bring about a change. |
|
Old Laurentian 2nds 15
Malvern 5
After making the long trip to Malvern, the OL's kicked off and
immediately turned over possession to allow the backs and forward to
link and cause many problems for the Malvern defence. It was through
the strong link play, good quick rucking and quick tap penalties
that led to the 1st try for Rhys Wade, playing in a new
position of fly half.
After this score OL’s defence was tested but some strong tackling
led to another turnover, through good work by the back row of Pete
Drewett, Martin Storey and Pete Nealon. The ball was fed to John
Edwards who kicked the ball deep into the Malvern half. A good chase
by Ben Wiles and Andy Coleman, allowed Coleman to kick through and
dive on the ball to make it 10-0.
For
the remained of the 1st half OL's often kicked away good
possession and it was this that almost led to a Malvern score, but
Steve Pike and Mark Brassey prevented the Malvern winger from
scoring. A few moments later, Malvern did score to make it 10-5 at
half time.
The
2nd half was a pretty scrappy affair when the snow began
to fall again. The front five were immense and got the scrum going
forward to allow the backs to exploit any holes in the Malvern
defence. A new combination of Wade, Pike and Coleman in the three
quarters often created targets for the forwards and it was this that
led to Coleman to race through the centre, but with the line at his
mercy dropped the ball, when it was probably easier to score.
Towards the end of the 2nd half OL’s had a quick tap
penalty, the forwards rucked over and tied many of the tiring
Malvern defence into the ruck, this allowed the ball to be fed
quickly to the left wing for Wiles to score his debut try for the
Old Laurentian to make the final score 15-5.
A
good performance from the 2nds, with some strong displays from
fullback Pete Satchwell, Simon Cooper at scrum half, but the man of
the match goes to Pete Nealon at Number 8 for the first time. |
|
December 31st
Rugby Lions 34 - OL's 6
OL's report
Lions official web
site match report
Lions supporters'
web site report |
|
The OL's View
Much
had been written prior to this game and as a result Webb Ellis Road
saw one of its largest gates of the season as OL's looked to upset
the formbook and bring some success to their otherwise disappointing
season. For the first 20 minutes it looked as though they might
indeed provide the result that many of the spectators were looking
for. and it was not until the 2nd half that the Lions were able to
stamp their authority on the game and the final result, in all
honesty, flattered the home side and did not reflect the commitment
and passion demonstrated by an excellent OL's side.
With
nothing to lose and everything to prove OL's played a standard of
rugby that made mockery of their position in Mids 2 with impressive
performances in all areas of the game. Rugby is all about competing
for and winning the ball and the OL's pack demonstrated that they
were capable of doing just that and in doing so prevented the Lions
forwards from exerting their expected dominance. The scrums probably
came as a bit of a shock to the Lions with the front row of McEwan,
Hammond and Reeve competitive in all areas. The line-outs are now
no longer an area of fear and with Hammonds' throwing Willis and
Longrigg were able to win the majority of their own ball and were
also able to spoil much of the Lions'. The back-row of Wade, Smith
and Adams did much to upset the home side and to make ball available
for Reed to feed to the backs or to kick cleverly to penetrate the
Lions line. Dave Wallis, successful with 2 of his 4 penalty
attempts, tackled superbly and his passing allowed the backs more
ball than they were used to, centres Iain and Ed Wallis were
effective in both attack and defence with Iain Wallis unlucky not to
cap a superb performance with a try in the last 5 minutes of the
game. Leigh Fraser was effective and reliable at full-back and
wingers Cresswell and Betts resolute in defence and threatening in
attack.
OL's
commitment was rewarded in the 13th minute with a well struck
penalty from Dave Wallis that, though thoroughly deserved stunned
the home supporters. It took the Lions some 20 minutes to break
through the OL's defence when they went over the line for an
unconverted try in the 34th minute and again, 2 minutes later to
take a 10-3 lead. OL's were awarded a penalty at the restart and
Wallis was unlucky to see his kick rebound off the upright. OL's
followed up the rebound determinedly and the resulting ruck saw
Lions' Wadey stretchered off with a leg injury sustained whilst
defending Betts' aggressive attacking play.
The
2nd half saw the impressive Betts replaced by versatile Andy Coleman
and in the 6th minute Wallis was again successful with a penalty to
reduce the deficit to 10-6, however he was unsuccessful a few
minutes later when next given the opportunity to kick.
The
next 15 minutes were all Lions' when their fitness and game plan
came to the fore with a succession of tries, 2 converted, to give
them an unassailable 28 point lead that resulted in a 34-6 defeat
for the OL's.
The
game might have been lost however the OL's left the field with their
heads held high - they had played a game of rugby against a
professional side that, tough short of a couple of 1st choice
players, had struggled to dominate a game that many had predicted as
being a runaway victory. If OL's play as well as they did on New
Years' eve for the rest of the season Midlands 3 will not be an
option and with the return of key players over the next few weeks
the games against Malvern and Stoke could well see them lift
themselves out of the relegation zone.
The
neutral spectators saw an excellent game of rugby played by two
sides that demonstrated the quality of home grown talent, with some
20 of the 35 players used by both sides being Rugby born and bred -
the OL's supporters saw a game of rugby played by their side with a
level of determination and commitment that should see them safe in
Mids 2 next season.
Well
done, nuff said.
www.therugbylions.com (official
site)
The
Rugby Lions eventually overcame a plucky OL's side by running out 34
points to 6 winners in the 2nd round of the Warwickshire Cup.
In
front of over 600 people, the OL's put up a magnificent performance
in denying Rugby Lions too much space or ball, and thus restricting
them to scraps until late on in the game.
The
1st half belonged to the Laurentians as they spoiled relentlessly,
and fought hard to deny the home side possession. However, class
came through in the end and the Lions had too much quality and
strength to give in to their near neighbours.
In a
classic encounter, the OL's proved what focus and commitment to the
cause can achieve. Conversely, Rugby showed the watching audience
(most looking to see the home side stumble) what can happen if you
underestimate your opponents and fail to prepare mentally for the
occasion.
Eventually Rugby scored 6 tries through Jackson, Douglas,
Hawkens(2), Goode and Clements, with Hawkens converting 2 to the
OL's 2 penalties. The biggest winner on the day was rugby in the
town, and hopefully OL's can survive in their league and continue to
be a good breeding ground for Rugby in the area.
www.rugbylions.net (supporters'
site)
A lacklustre Rugby Lions
eventually overcame a determined OL’s side to progress to the next
round of the Warwickshire Cup. OL’s were always going to be up for
this game, and aided by some inept play from the home side, they
spoiled and fought hard to deny Lions possession. This inevitably
led to a very scrappy period of play with countless errors which
helped ‘run-in’ the referee’s new whistle (obviously a Christmas
present).
A
strong drive by the OL’s pack ended when they went to ground and
lost the ball forward but Lions were penalised for ‘pulling down’.
From the resultant throw-in OL’s attempted to run the ball wide, but
a long pass drifted into touch. Lion’s backs were however deemed to
have been offside and the OL’s fly half converted the penalty from
in front of the posts to give the away side the lead at 0-3 after 13
minutes.
An
improved passage of play from the Lions following a typical storming
run from Wilf Barclay led to a penalty for killing the ball. The
ball was kicked to touch for a Lion’s line-out 5 metres from the
OL’s line. Surely a simple catch and drive would suffice, but the
over-complicated routine of swapping positions resulted in an easy
steal for the OL’s to clear. A similar chance from in front of the
clubhouse was lost because of a crooked throw. In fact there were
very few straight throw-ins from either side, though most went
unpunished.
The
Lions were now beginning to apply some pressure and were rewarded
with a penalty almost in front of the posts for again killing the
ball which resulted in the OL’s No8 being despatched to the sin-bin.
Instead of going for goal, Lions opted for a scrum but were
penalised presumably for engaging too early.
The
pressure was beginning to tell now, and from a ruck, Jacko picked up
to score unopposed. Hawks conversion attempt hit the post.
From
a loose clearance kick, Dave Clements collected and spun a great
pass to Hawks who fed Tim Douglas to score a good try in the corner.
The conversion from the touch-line failed again. James Wadey then
suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury and was
stretchered from the field to be replaced by Kelvin Todd.
The
second half began with a string of at least ten penalties in OL’s
favour, one of which was converted to make the score 10-6. Lions
responded strongly and Tommy Turner fed Hawks who touched down under
the posts. Hawks also converted. The sterling effort put in by OL’s
in the first half to deny the Lions was beginning to tell and it
seemed that the home team’s superior fitness was beginning to tell.
A
great run from Dave Clements was just held, but he managed to off
load the ball in the tackle to put Matt Goode in for a try. Hawks
converted for a 24-6 lead. Dave Jackson was replaced at scrum half
by Alex Stajka but not before being called back onto the pitch for a
warning for stamping, apparently spotted by the touch judge. Richard
Parker also replaced Ben Roberts on the wing. Lions were finding
more time and space to work in now and following concerted pressure
Hawks popped up on the right to cross the line for his second try of
the afternoon. His conversion attempt again hitting the post.
More
pressure led to a ruck on OL’s line and Alex Stajka found Tim
Douglas on the blind side to scamper over for his second try. Hawks
again missed the conversion. With minutes remaining Wilf was yellow
carded for offside but Lions defence was sound throughout the game
and they held out comfortably for the win.
Although the Lions were well below par today, credit must go to the
OL’s for their commitment and passion. If they could produce this
performance every week they would not be in the position they are
now. Let’s hope that this is the turning point of their season and
that they can build on this to avoid relegation. |
|
December 17th
OL's 7 - Stoke 19 |
|
OL's once again allowed
their opposition to look better then they were and with Stoke
content to play the game in their forwards this was a game in which
OL's managed to snatch defeat from victory in what was, in all
honesty, a game that they needed to win.
Stoke came to Fenley
Filed on a high after their 32-11 victory against Barkers' and
despite a number of last minute changes to their side were able to
play to their game plan and their strengths, all 8 of them.
The visitors opened their account with a penalty and OL's were 3
points down and one man short with the sin binning of hooker Garry
Hammond and their 2nd penalty attempt, a few minutes later, went
wide and though Stoke's backs rarely looked threatening OL's Jamie
Brightwell was forced to make a try saving tackle when they did
break through.
Stoke had obviously
determined their game plan and sticking to it religiously the game
was dominated by their forwards and their rolling mauls which saw
them cross the line after a sustained period of pressure only for
the try to be disallowed due to a forward pass. Credit must be
given to the OL's who defended their line defiantly and for Dave
Wallis who, opting to run out of trouble rather then kick for
safety, evaded all of the Stoke pack to break their line and fed the
ball to brother Iain who made some 30 yards. The 50 minute 1st
half eventually came to an end with OL's trailing by 3 points but
looking more than capable of winning the 2nd half.
Despite missing a
penalty attempt Dave Wallis's kicking was, for the first time this
season, effective and his kicks for touch allowed OL's to gain some
advantage through the jumping of Paul Willis and Tom Curtis and
Hammond's effective throwing. OL's efforts were well rewarded when,
following a scrum, the ball was fed through the backs before
dropping into the hands of Mark Cresswell whose weaving run
mesmerised the Stoke defence and saw him go over the line for his
debut 1st XV try, without doubt, one of the best seen at Fenley
Field this season, Wallis calmly slotted over the conversion to give
OL's a deserved 7-3 lead.
Stoke came back with a
penalty strangely awarded to them after a fracas to reduce the OL's
lead, 7-6. Unfortunately OL's allowed their discipline to slip
and were guilty of allowing Stoke back into the game through too
many penalties being given away. The 1st went wide, the 2nd,
to give the visitors the lead successful, 7-9.
Stoke maintained their
forwards pressure and despite some resolute defence OL's were unable
to prevent them scoring a long overdue, but unconverted, try
in the final minutes of the game, 7-14.
Despite the result their
were a number of positives to be taken from the game, Tom Curtis and
Paul Willis were effective in the line out, Dave Wallis far more
effective at fly-half having discovered that he can kick and kick
well, brother Iain Wallis far more influential at outside centre and
Simon Collyer likewise at inside. Another positive was the
discovery of another potential scrum-half in Ed Wallis who, despite
being new to the role, utilised his experience at centre, made an
impressive debut in this key position.
2005 has not been a good
year for the OL's and with their next league fixture, away at
Malvern, in the new year let us hope that 2006 sees a reversal in
fortunes for a side that have too many quality players to be even
considering Midlands 3 rugby.
The OL's next fixture is
their Warwickshire Cup tie, away at Rugby Lions, on December 31st
and it is ironic to think that just 2 seasons ago OL's were playing
their rugby in the league that now sees the Lions leading.
Whether new year's eve sees OL's end on a high by defeating the
favourites or on a low, 2006 must be the year that sees OL's play
the free-flowing rugby they are capable of. The return of a
number of key players, absent through injuries, will help their
cause, and an improvement in their discipline coupled with an
adherence to an effective game plan can only help their ambitions of
Mids 2 rugby next season. |
|
Pinley 1st's - OL's
2nd's |
|
No
news is ....
|
|
Long Buckby 2nd's (ish)
OL's 3rd's |
|
For this
week's fixture, OL's were more than happy to show a little
inter-club co-operation, by agreeing to switch this game to Long
Buckby's ground, and were intrigued to see some familiar faces in
the Buckby starting line up.
For the opening minutes
of the first half, Long Buckby attacked gamely and some abysmal
tackling from the OL's side saw their hosts race into a 10-0 lead,
with only some poor goal-kicking sparing the visitors further
embarrassment.
Spurned on by these
early scores however; OL's came back with awesome determination.
With the forwards
dominating both the scrum and lineout, the Laurentians were able to
control both territory and possession, and were justly rewarded with
a haul of points. First, Fly-Half Daz Price converted two quick
penalties to close the gap. Soon after, Flanker Dom Marsella scored
the opening OL's try, which was shortly followed by further scores
from Scrum-Half Steve Thompson and Centre Rich Hughes. Two
conversions and another penalty from Price saw OL's reach an
impressive tally of 31 points, and despite a late third try from
Buckby were delighted to finish the half leading by 31 points to 15.
Seemingly however,
Rugby, like football, is a game of two halves, and unfortunately,
Long Buckby, obviously fearing an embarrassing afternoon, devalued
the game by bringing on a large number of first team players at the
interval. Despite some often valiant defending, OL's were eventually
undone by a mixture of fatigue and some refereeing decisions which
bordered on the surreal, with Long Buckby's massive squad scoring a
number of tries to record what must have been a hollow victory.
Despite the result OL's can take a great amount of pride in their
performance with every player in the side giving their all.
|
|
|
December 10th
Leamington 22 - OL's 0 |
|
OL's contrived, again, to allow their
opposition to dominate a game that, had they played to their
strengths, they could and should have won. The first 15
minutes saw OL's on top but unable to convert their pressure into
points and it was to be Leamington who were to put the first points
on the board. Having kicked for touch Leamington won the line
out and camped out on the OL's line and despite some resolute
defence from OL's scored a well worked and converted try, 7-0.
Leamington increased their lead with a
converted try that owed more to OL's poor tackling to their own
endeavours, 14-0. The final 15 minutes of the half saw OL's
pick up their game but were unable to score the points they
deserved.
Leamington extended their lead with
another unconverted try that saw their forwards drive over the line.
The loss of Reed and Brown through injuries had an effect on the
side however OL's regrouped and dug deep to prevent the home side
score further tries. Cresswell and Betts both looked
threatening when they were given the ball however this happened too
rarely and OL's failed to play to their strengths once again.
Leamington had the final say with a well
struck penalty to bring about a final score of 22-0, not what the
OL's were hoping for.
Rugby is a simple game and winning teams
play to their strengths and not those of their opponents,
unfortunately OL's seem to be unable to do just that and, as a
result make their opponents job far easier than it should be.
With the line out now working better than earlier in the season OL's
now need to understand that the ball needs to be fed to their most
potent attacking players and to realise that a game can not be won
through playing it the way they seem determined to play it. It
is time for the players to be honest with themselves, recognise
their failings and inadequacies and turn the season around.
Their next game, a home fixture against
Stoke on Saturday, needs to be won and won well by the OL's, failure
to do so will see them firmly rooted at the foot of the table and,
unless they are able to do "an Albion" next season will see Midlands
3 rugby at Fenley Field.
|
|
OL's
2nd's v Leamington |
|
Match
cancelled by Leamington |
|
Notts
Moderns 15 - OL's 3rd's 17 |
|
This week
saw a particularly well attired Old Laurentians side make the
Journey to Nottingham for the much anticipated Christmas away day.
With the complex
carbohydrates from the pre game beers providing some much needed
energy after the long coach trip, OL's were rewarded with two early
tries, both from winger Adam Foster and a conversion from
fly-half Daz Price, to race into a 0-12 lead. However, the
OL's players quickly began to question the wisdom of their pre-game
pub lunch, as they began to tire, and despite some often frantic
defending allowed the Moderns side to score three first half tries,
one of which was converted to give the home side a deserved 15-12
lead at the interval.
With the half-time
plate of oranges proving far more conducive for a game of rugby than
anything containing hops and barley, OL's began the second half with
far more conviction. With the forwards being marshalled by the
evergreen and ever cheerful Dom Marsella the Laurentians were able
to enjoy both the majority of possession and territory, and were
rewarded with a try from full back Nick Capewell to move into
a 15-17 lead.
Unfortunately, a serious injury to one of the home
side brought the afternoon to a slightly premature conclusion, but
both sides were delighted to meet later in the bar for the matter of
the much more important socialising. For the OL's; No 8 Marsella,
Hooker Stuart Burnett and Back Row Paul Lewis all enjoyed
magnificent games as did Scrum-Half Rich Hughes who made a welcome
return following injury.
|
|
December 3rd
OL's 6 - Hinckley 19 |
|
The late arriving OL's
supporters were unlucky to have missed the home side's best period
of the game when, for the opening 15 minutes it looked as though the
OL's were to repeat their recent performance against Malvern through
some committed play from forwards and backs alike and it was to be
the OL's who had the first scoring opportunity, however Matt Brown's
penalty went wide.
The return of Paul
Willis to the 2nd row made an obvious improvement to both the line
out and the overall performance of the pack and with Ricky Reed
fully committed to the cause things looked bright. Hinckley
were put under some intense pressure within their 5 meter line and
it was only their committed defence that was to prevent L's from
opening their account. Hinckley absorbed the pressure and responded
wit a clearance kick that was to produce a scrum in OL's territory
and the subsequent penalty saw them take a 3-0 lead.
The visitors increased
their lead through a break from the half way line that OL's failed
to stop through some ineffective defence, the try was converted to
increase their lead to 10-0.
OL's were reduced to 14
men when Reed was yellow carded which saw Longrigg move from 8 to 9.
OL's reduced the deficit with a penalty from Brown just before the
break, 10-3.
Seven minutes into the
restart saw Hinckley increase their lead with another penalty, 13-3.
A missed penalty from Brown was rectified with another scoring
opportunity when, after an excellent drive from the OL's pack Brown
was successful in reducing the deficit to 13-6. With only a
converted try preventing them levelling the score OL's had every
opportunity to snatch victory from the hands of defeat however a
combination of poor handling and the yellow carding of McEwan
allowed Hinckley to regain control of the game with 2 further
penalties, 19-6.
Some great defence saw
OL's prevent Hinckley from scoring what would have been an excellent
try in the final period of the game to bring about another defeat
for OL's.
There were some
positives in the game including Iain Wallis' tackling, a promise of
things to come from Mark Cresswell who made a number of incisive
runs and the overall performance at the line out. Going into
the Christmas break in the position that they are is not the present
that their loyal supporters want or that the team deserve. The
next 2 weeks see OL's up against opposition that they should be able
beat and a strategy in how to do so needs to be agreed and stuck to. |
|
Lutterworth 15 - OL's 10 |
|
Starting the game
as defending champions OL's went into this cup game with plenty of
confidence even with a much changed team than was originally
selected. The game started well with Ant Jones having some strong
runs and looking confident at his new role at full back. He was
supported well by Mike Coburn and Paul Lewis in the back 3. Through
strong forward play and confident line out work, OL's began to
control the game, however with all the pressure OL's only managed 1
penalty through Mike Coburn. To leave the game at 3-3 at half time
with Lutterworth defending strongly and their fly half using the
boot to move the OL's around the field.
In the 2nd half
OL's developed a ploy of kicking for territory and playing in
Lutterworth's half. However this did not seem to happen and
Lutterworth ran back and kicked for the corners cleverly to put
pressure against the OL's pack. They eventually scored in the corner
to make it 8-3. A few changes to the OL's team saw the introduction
of Russ Parkinson for Paul Cutts, (who managed to tackle a winger in
open play before he was taken off) and Gary Adkins. OL's gained a
penalty 20 metres out, Adkins took it quickly and fed Ed Wallis to
score under the posts. Mike Coburn converting to make the score 10-8
with 10 minutes to play.
Lutterworth again
kicked for position and from the resulting lineout they worked it to
the centre and scored under the posts, which was converted to make
the final score line 15-10.
OL's defended well
and the forwards, in particular Dan Volkman and Ray Smith, did well
throughout the whole game.
|
|
OL's
3rd's 26 - Leicester Lions Vets 15 |
|
Tries from Stuart
Burnett and Pete Rigg along a penalty from Kev White and 2
conversions, 2 penalties and a drop goal from Daz Price were
sufficient to overcome the visitors. |
|
November 26th
Broadstreet 32 - OL's 0 |
|
The better team
convincingly won a game in which OL's allowed Broadstreet to
dominate in all areas. OL's rarely looked like scoring and it
was only through some effective defence that they were able to keep
the score to a respectable level. Once again the line out was
ineffective and the decisions made to kick to touch rather than
points was, to say the least, strange. |
|
Southam 1st's 27 - OL's 2nd's 3 |
|
Playing the first 30 minutes with
only 14 men and players filling in and out of position, especially
out wide, caused a few problems and allowed Southam to exploit
some slack defence to score 3 tries before the half time break.
When OL's finally got to full
strength it was a much more even contest with Pete Nealon, Gary
Smith and Paul Willis working hard to create chances through the
forwards and Pete Satchwell relentless in his efforts in the
centre.
OL's only reward for a spirited
2nd half was a Lee Fraser penalty with Southam just adding a try
and penalty to their tally.
A very physical encounter with
some uncompromising tackling bodes well when OL's can put all the
injury and unavailability worries behind them and field a more
competitive 15 in key positions. Big respect for the Rigg brothers
who did not look out of place in the front row and to the 2
wingers, Marcus Bailey and Paul Lewis who are more normally in the
pack. |
|
3rd XV |
|
No
game |
|
November 19th
Stoke - OL's |
|
Postponed |
|
OL's
2nd's - Rugby Tailenders |
|
Postponed |
|
St
Andrews 0 - OL's 3rd's 47 |
|
For this fixture
Old Laurentians made the short journey to Ashlawn Road for a fixture
against local rivals St Andrews. With the bitter cold and heavy mist
hampering both sides, the opening period of the game was a scrappy
affair with neither side able to string many phases together.
However it was the
OL’s who eventually broke the deadlock; full back Ade Cleaver
crossing the line following a fine break from skipper Marcus Bailey.
For the remainder of the half, OL’s were able to dominate both
territory and possession and were rewarded with two further scores
from winger Mike Coburn and fly half Daz Price. Price,
taking over kicking duties for the day, also converted all three
tries to give the visitors a deserved 21-0 lead at half time.
The second half
continued in much the same vein as the first, with the home side
unable to come to terms with OL’s superior fitness and
determination. OL’s started brightly with scrum half Steve
Thompson scoring under the posts and were also rewarded with a
second try for Cleaver. A pair of tries from flanker Dom
Marsella and a fine late score from second row Andy Spriggs
earned some glory for the hard working forwards and three
further conversions from Price gave OL’s a thoroughly
deserved 47-0 victory. All in all, this was another fine performance
from the OL’s side. No 8 Stuart Birch and prop Matty Munn both
enjoyed tremendous afternoons as did hooker Stuart Burnett playing
in his first game this season. In the backs centre Pete Rigg enjoyed
a great game |
|
November 12th
OL's 28 - Malvern 17 |
|
For the first time this
season OL’s began a match without any changes to the team published
in the programme and the continuity of a settled side immediately
made its mark with a penalty, unfortunately missed, in the second
minute. Carl Adams was to stamp his influence on the game that
rubbed off on Man of the Match Andy Coleman who was to have an match
winning game in the back row.
Reed, having seemed to
have rediscovered his appetite for the game had a major part to play
in this well deserved victory and it was through him and some superb
tackling from Iain Wallis that OL’s were again to be awarded a
penalty slotted over by Steve Pike, 3-0.
OL’s were reduced
to 14 men with the yellow carding of Simon Collyer who was adjudged
to have interfered with play giving Malvern a penalty, 3-3. Parity
was returned a minute later with the yellow carding of Malvern’s No
7, unfortunately Pike was to miss the resulting penalty however he
redeemed himself a few minutes later with a try saving tackle as
Malvern threatened down the wing.
There followed a
period of intense OL’s pressure which saw at least six phases of
play in the visitor’s half which unfortunately to come to an end
with an unnecessary penalty due to a mistake by the home side.
Malvern cleared their lines with a well struck kick deep into
OL’s
half that saw the ball drift into touch 5 metres short of OL’s line,
the resulting line-out saw a Malvern drive before their scrum half
dived over for the converted try, 3-10.
OL’s responded
through some inspired play from Reed whose clever box kick allowed
Shane Betts to show the crowd his sprinting and soccer skills before
touching down, 8-10 and bring the first half to an end.
A high kick into
Malvern’s half saw two of their backs compete for the catch and the
ball was knocked on, the subsequent scrum saw the ball won and fed
through the backs to release Kyle Knott for his first try of the
game, 13-10.
Reed and Adams
were pivotal to the OL’s and were competitive in all areas of the
game that saw OL’s again threaten to score before the ball went into
touch some 5 metres from Malvern’s line. The resulting line out was
won by Malvern who cleared the ball some 80 metres to win a penalty
10 metres from OL’s line, the ball was kicked into touch, won by
Malvern who again tried to drive over the line, the ball was fed to
their fly half who scored between the posts for a try that was
easily converted, 13-17.
Jason King,
despite carrying an obvious injury, took a quick penalty and made
good ground before Reed picked up the ball, passed it to Brown who
deceived all before him with his pace and body swerve to score
between the posts, converted by Pike, 20-17.
The game was
starting to be reminiscent of the OL’s of a few seasons ago with the
backs, threatening in attack throughout the season turning the
threat into points as demonstrated by a move that saw all of them
involved before Knott went over for his second try, 25-17.
Malvern responded
with a penalty attempt that, from the half way line, dropped short
before OL’s were to be awarded two penalties in successive minutes
the first of went wide, the second comfortably slotted over by
Brown, 28-17.
Another superb
passage of play almost saw OL’s put the game beyond reach however it
was to be the visitors who were to enjoy the last bit of pressure
that saw OL’s defend their line superbly and hold the ball up to
prevent the try.
It was a game well
won and, sadly for the OL’s supporters who chose to watch England,
one of the most enjoyable of the season. Has the corner been
turned, is this the beginning of an OL’s recovery' In all honesty
it is probably to soon to say, however a little more work on the
line out, the return of several first team regulars and the
confidence of this win could all contribute to an improvement in
fortunes for the OL’s. A run of 2 away games at Stoke and
Broadstreet precedes the next home fixture on December 3rd
when the OL’s host Hinckley. |
|
Warwickshire 2nd XV Cup
Newbold 9 - OL's 7 |
|
Rugby is not a
difficult game; it is all about winning and using the ball and
taking advantage of every scoring opportunity. Newbold won the game
through doing all of the above and OL’s allowed them to by not.
The first half saw
Newbold successful with 3 of their 4 penalty attempts through the
boot of Anthony Miller with OL’s responding with a missed penalty in
the 39th minute that followed a period of intense OL’s
pressure that saw them firmly camped in the Newbold half.
Despite the 2nd
half seeing OL’s dominant they were unable to convert their pressure
into points with a further 2 missed penalties. The final whistle
came after OL’s managed to eventually get some reward for their
endeavours with a well deserved try from Mark Cresswell and
conversion from Eddie Edwards, 7-9.
|
|
Old
Leams 2nd's 19 - OL's 3rd's 15 |
|
For this fixture, OL's
made the short journey to Old Leamingtonians, but were somewhat
surprised, on arrival, to discover that they would be playing their
second team rather than their thirds.
Despite this however, it
was the Laurentians who started the game in the
most positive fashion; great driving play in the loose from the
forwards and some flowing passing in the backs leading to an early
try in the corner from winger Mike Coburn. Leamingtonians came back
strongly however and deservedly scored almost immediately; their
Second Row powering in from close range. The remainder of the half
was a close affair, but Leamingtonians scored a second try to go in
12-5 up at the interval.
Obviously stirred by the
half time team talk, Old Laurentians came out firing
in the second half and were justly rewarded with Full Back Ade
Cleaver scoring in the corner following another excellent passage of
play in the backs.
With the Laurentians side pressing eagerly for another score they
were unfortunately undone by a swift Leamingtonians counter-attack;
the referee somehow missing a blatant knock on and allowing the home
side to score under the posts. Laurentians came back again almost
immediately; Coburn again scoring in the corner to give the
Laurentians hope for a memorable comeback. However despite their
best efforts in the final minutes, the Leamingtonian defence held
firm and the game finished 19-15 to the Home side.
Despite the
disappointment of this rare defeat, the Laurentians side will
have taken a lot of heart from the character shown in this match and
will
look to take this into next weeks game against St Andrews. Special
mentions
go to the Evergreen Stuart Birch who enjoyed a tremendous game at No
8 and
also to second Row Paul Willis who marked his first full game back
following
long term injury with a fine performance. Centre Leigh Fraser also
enjoyed
a fine afternoon in the backs. |
|
November 5th
Old Cov's 5 - OL's 15 |
|
Yet again the starting 15
showed a number of changes to that published however this was to have
little impact on the game as OL's managed to bring an end to their run of
defeats.
Steve Pike opened the scoring
with a well struck penalty which followed a wonderful kick and chase from
Kyle Knott, 3-0. Old Coventrians, fielding a vastly different side
to that when the sides last met were competitive in the scrum however OL's
were equal to the task and the debutants in the side demonstrated their
ability and commitment to thwart any threat presented. Both Iain
Wallis, at full-back and Mark Cresswell proved to be influential in both
defence and attack and the OL's were to be rewarded for their efforts with
an unconverted try from Wallis that involved all of the backs, 8-0.
OL's continued to soak up the
home sides pressure with Andy Coleman again demonstrating his growing
importance to the side with some excellent defensive work. A missed
penalty from the home side saw the first half end with OL's deservedly
leading 8-0.
Rob Kerrigan came on for the
injured Ed Wallis and was to be involved straight from the restart in
another move seeing all of the backs however an intercepted pass from
fly-half Palmer saw Old Covs' full-back run the length of the pitch,
valiantly pursued by Ricky Reed to touch down for an unconverted try, 8-5.
Reed was combining superbly
with Palmer, whose decisive kicking proved to be a major factor in the
OL's game, and was enjoying his tussles with his opposite number as well
as a number of their pack.
In what was, to me, one of the
most pleasurable moments of the game, OC's launched a deep kick into OL's
half, superbly caught by Kyle Knott who made an enormous amount of ground
before off lading to Kerrigan who sprinted down the wing before passing to
Palmer who fed the ball to Simon Collyer for a try that demonstrated the
effectiveness of the OL's backs and the importance of good support play
and prompt passing.
In the final minutes of the
game Reed was to again show his commitment to the OL's cause proving to
one and all the passion he has for the game and the OL's.
Having restored their
confidence in the effectiveness of playing the free flowing rugby that is
the OL's and the ability of the pack to provide a platform on which to do
so the OL's can look forward to entertaining Malvern next Saturday in a
crucial Midlands 2 fixture. |
|
OL's
2nd's 73 - Old Cov's 10 |
|
Old Coventrians just managed to raise a team and with the
loan of a few of the OL’s subs to even up the numbers the game started at
a frantic pace.
OL’s intention of keeping the ball in hand at all times
proved the best option in dry and sunny conditions as tries were created
from all areas of the pitch and OL's were soon well in control.
The game ceased to be a contest at half time with OL’s 50
points ahead and a shortened 2nd half saw OC’s only points
coming from a dubious penalty try under the posts.
The return from his Middle East duties by
Carl Adams and Paul Willis return from his 10 month injury lay off meant
OL’s just had too much experience and pace in every department with
forwards and backs combining for most of the build ups to the tries.
Jamie Brightwell claimed his well deserved hat-trick with an
80 metre solo effort with Inch, Satchwell, Price, Hammond, Lewis, Edwards
and White all crossing the line, White adding 8 conversions and Edwards
converting his own try to bring the game to an end.
Special mention to Mike Coburn and Brian Rigg for
volunteering to help Old Coventrians in a game played in great spirit.
With so many players proving
their worth along with the many players now coming available for selection
the OL's 2nd XV has never looked more able to overturn the previous result
when they meet Newbold in a replay of their Warwickshire 2nd XV Cup game
on Sunday. |
|
October 29th
OL's 14 - Barkers' Butts 16 |
|
The final score
might show a victory for the visitors however this was a game that
the OL’s did not deserve to lose and had they opted for a penalty
kick in the last 10 minutes rather than kicking for touch they could
have won a highly entertaining spectacle.
The first 20
minutes was all OL’s with a try in the 7th minute
following a line out and drive from the OL’s pack which saw Ash
McEwan claim the try which was converted by Matt Brown, 7-0.
Barkers responded with a good break from the restart leading to a
scrum them a penalty, 7-3. OL’s were disrupted when McEwan had to
leave the field with a neck injury and their impetus was lost.
The last 20 saw
OL’s allow Barkers’ into the game as they failed to challenge for
the 50/50 balls which up until then they had been winning easily.
Following a missed penalty in the 30th minute their
influential No 6, Scanlon went over for a try to give Barkers’ a 8-7
lead.
The OL’s backs
were rampant with Ricky Reed leading by example, however despite
Iain Wallis tackling like his old self and Shane Betts again
dominant in both attack and defence they were unable to prevent
Barkers extending their lead with a try from full back Lester to go
into the break 13-7 ahead.
Despite the
half-time pep talk it took some time for OL’s to get themselves back
into the game and poor ball control & poor passing allowed Barkers’
to dominate the game for the opening 20 minutes of the half and to
extend their lead with another penalty.
Brown, playing
at what seems to be his natural position at full back, almost
reduced the deficit with an audacious kick and chase, supported by
Ed Wallis, however the ball bounced the wrong way and was knocked
on. Barkers’ immediately broke down their left wing threatening to
score only for Brown to pop up again to make the try saving tackle
but this was to be the final contribution in the game from the OL’s
man of the match as he was replaced by Knott.
OL’s continued
to defend their line as Barkers’ used a succession of 3 scrums to
put pressure on the home side but the OL’s pack dug deep to snuff
out the threat.
The final 15
minutes saw OL’s enter a purple patch with Longrigg, and Ed Wallis
both making decisive incursions into the visitor’s territory before
Iain Wallis was finally rewarded for his endeavours with a try,
converted by brother Dave to reduce the difference to just 2 points.
The restart saw some great play
including a mesmerising run from Ed Wallis and a great move
involving Dave Wallis and Kyle Knott that saw Shane Betts power
down the line bulldozing all opposition before him. OL’s were
awarded a penalty and, with their kicker off the field, kicked for
touch rather than points. Though they won the resulting lineout a
charged down kick saw Barkers’ break through into the OL’s half and
would have rounded off the game with another try had it not been for
Tom Curtis making a decisive tackle. Barkers’ won the ball and
attempted a drop goal which went wide making the final score 14-16.
This game saw a huge improvement
from all of the players, the lineout moves worked, the pack was
effective and the backs again sharp in attack and stubborn in
defence. With a number of key players coming back into fitness and
availability the next few weeks will give the OL’s the opportunity
to build on this platform. The OL’s supporters, though
disappointed with the result were, in the main, satisfied with a
much better performance. |
|
Barkers' Butts 45 - OL's 7 |
|
A disappointing performance even
allowing for the large number of late changes and inclusion of of
much of the 3rd team regulars OL's just couldn't contain an
experienced Barkers' Butts team who looked to attack at every
opportunity with good support play they scored try after try at
regular intervals. OL's defence was pretty sound in the first
tackle but non-existent support defence from the forwards in
particular allowed Barkers to keep the ball alive and punish OL's.
Chances for OL's were very few and the
only points came from a Ray Hopkin try and Kev White conversion.
Jamie Brightwell and Pete Satchwell
made solid debut appearances for this season but unluckily for
Satchwell he suffered a nasty wound to his head and had to depart
the game prematurely.
|
|
OL's -
Barkers' Butts |
|
Game
cancelled |
|
October 22nd
Stafford 19 - OL's 3 |
|
Having
negotiated the road to hell that is the M6 and sat patiently in the
traffic through Stafford town centre the prospects for our first win
of the season were reduced through last minute changes in the line
up that was to see 2 front row replacements and all change on the
bench.
Stratford,
looking for their first points of the season almost scored in the
first minute when awarded a penalty some 25 yards out, fortunately
for the OL’s the kick went wide, however things were to get worse
for 3 minutes later when Gary Smith was to be floored by an
unwarranted punch from Stafford’s ruthless prop which was to see
Smudger withdrawn from the game and taken to hospital – strangely
enough the referee decided to reprimand the player with a yellow
card rather than the statutory red whilst also confining OL’s
Coleman to the sin bin for interceding and protecting his team mate.
A 10th
minute OL’s line-out saw the ball won by Stafford who fed the ball
across the field for their winger to touch down for a converted try.
OL’s again
demonstrated their resources in defence with Charlie Turney, once
again, to the fore making a decisive and try saving tackle. This
seemed to remind the pack what the game was all about and it saw
OL’s camped in their opponents half with some very effective
scrummaging. Despite this OL’s were finding it difficult to match
the more physical approach to the game of Stafford who again broke
with a certain try on the cards through their No 7, however Matt Brown, obviously felt differently and sprinted 40 metres to
catch a man who had ran 25 to save the try with an excellent tackle.
It was to be the
43rd minute of the half before OL’s were able to reduce
the deficit with a 40metre penalty from Steve Pike. Stafford
responded with increased pressure and 3 scrums on OL’s 5metre line
before eventually crashing over for another converted try, 14-3 in
the 47th minute. In the 51st minute of
the half Stafford again took advantage of OL’s line out weaknesses
to again cross the line resulting in a half-time score of 19-3
The OL’s half
time pep talk from coach Stuart Birch seemed to have an impact on
the game as though there was to be no change to the final score line
the OL’s seemed to be more cohesive in defence and had a number of
scoring opportunities been better dealt with the final result would,
and should, have been closer. The decision to kick for touch,
rather than the certain penalty, was, in hind sight the wrong choice
and once again, had the ball been shipped out to the wings that
little more sharply, rather than trying to make the extra metre,
both wingers would have been given the opportunity to utilise their
speed and strength to score. OL’s were weakened by a nasty injury
to prop Pete Harris and his need for a visit to the hospital does
not bode well for next week’s game against Barkers’ Butts.
Though
fly-half Dave Wallis received the man of the match award however
Charlie Turney, resolute and defiant in defence and sharp and
incisive in attack must have been in the reckoning also. |
Warwickshire 2nd XV Cup
Newbold 10 - OL's 0 |
|
For this
Warwickshire 2nd XV Cup Newbold fielded a side made up of a lot of
familiar faces with over 1/2 of their side comprising players last
seen in the 1st XV fixture a few weeks earlier and their experience
proved to be the deciding factor in a rather scrappy game.
The first
period of the game saw OL's dominant with Grant Inch having a number
of opportunities to score, first with an ambitious kick and run
attempt and then with a penalty in the 15th minute. However it
was to be Newbold who converted pressure into points with a penalty
from Gary Fletcher in the 25th minute and he had the opportunity to
extend their lead a few minutes later but his penalty went wide.
Despite
being the less experienced side OL's continued to threaten with
Scott Whyment and James Morgan particularly impressive. A well
placed kick from Bold's Fletcher saw them with a line out on OL's 10
metre line which they used well to score with Fletcher converting to
bring about a half time score of 10-0.
The second
half saw OL's again with a number of try scoring opportunities
however poor handling meant that they were unable to take advantage
of some good ball from Whyment and his replacement Dom Deery leaving
the game won by Newbold at 10-0.
|
|
OL's
33 - St Andrews 12 |
|
Tries from Mark Llewellyn (2), Kev
White, Dom Marsella and Marcus bailey along with 4 conversions from
White saw another victory for the Dream Team |
|
October 15th
Old Coventrians 25 - OL's 7 |
|
2 penalties from Old
Cov's influential fly-half separated the 2 sides at half time with
OL's once again showing how effective their backs can be both in defence and
on the attack with Charlie Turney at the fore in both areas.
The second half began,
with the wind in their faces and OC's turning up the pressure to score
3 tries in almost as many minutes all from moves started within
their own half to extend their lead to a daunting 25 points, and it
looked as though this was going to be a rout.
OC's were able to make
good use of their replacements unlike OL's who, with only Coach Mark
Palmer on the bench, had to dig deep into the fitness reserves to
restore their pride with some resolute defending and exciting
attacking play culminating with a well deserved try from Matt Brown
converted by Grant Inch to bring about a final result of 25-7.
A number of players
shone in the warm sunshine, not least David Longrigg and Peter
Drewett in the back row. Charlie Turney was again influential
in defence and attack and the centre pairing of Brown and Simon
Collyer will, no doubt, give the selectors additional options for
next Saturday's league game against Stafford.
It might not have been
the result - or performance - that had been hoped for but after last
week's game against Newbold gave the players and few travelling
supporters a pleasant afternoon's rugby. |
|
OL's
15 - Stratford 43 |
|
OL's started the game at a frenetic
pace with quick rucking and driving play through the forwards but
there was no tangible reward as the penalty it produced was missed.
Stratford’s game plan was to use
their speedy three-quarters and with the OL's missing some key
players and others in unaccustomed roles, Stratford were able to
take advantage of an unusually disorganised defence to punish errors
with two tries in quick succession.
OL's fought back and
using their forwards to great effect scored a try when Chris Thomas
crashed over for an unconverted try.
Unfortunately,
Stratford were gifted two more soft tries from some sloppy play with
the only reply before half time coming from a Rhys Wade drop goal
(you can retire happy now Rhys)
OL's started the
second half badly and again the Stratford backs moved the ball wide
to outstrip the defence and this continued through the second half
as the ball was gifted to Stratford on a number of occasions to give
them a lead of 43-8.
OL's tried to fight
back and the forwards started to reproduce the kind of play they had
needed to employ for the whole game and this resulted in a try for
captain Eddie Edwards converted by Steve Pike.
Man of the match
went to Rory McLean who played in the centre where his no nonsense
running and tackling prevented the score line from being even
higher.
|
|
OL's
34 - Stratford 0 |
|
Mr
Bailey, where is your report?
If you were
involved with the game please
email me with the result, scorers and your own report
|
|
October 8th
OL's 9 - Newbold 9 |
|
Games
between these two archrivals are never pretty affairs and this was
no exception and was made even more difficult due to the damp
conditions.
With
the OL’s having to withstand Newbold’s tactic of keeping the ball
with their forwards and using their much-vaunted rolling maul for
most of the game the opportunities to feed the ball to their backs
were few and far between, however when the opportunity arose The
OL’s again looked threatening.
The
opening period saw the two sides evenly matched and looking for
weaknesses in their opponents. OL’s were the first side to look
like scoring following a well won line out ball however it would be
Newbold who got their names on the score board first with a penalty
by Gary Fletcher. OL’s James Murray was having a great game at full
back and was to make a number of well timed and critical tackles
before OL’s Pike picked himself up from a fracas and evened the
score with a well struck penalty 3-3.
Newbold took the offensive from the restart and would have scored a
try, following a lost ball from an OL’s scrum, had it not been for
some great defensive work from Matt Brown who looked keen and fit
following his long absence. In spite of both sides looking to play
to their strengths, Newbold keeping it tight and OL’s the opposite,
the game continued to be stifled and was being ground out in
midfield. An injury to the impressive James Murray saw him being
replaced by Charlie Turney at full back who was to show an aptitude
for a position new to him.
Newbold regained the advantage through another Fletcher penalty 3-6
in the 39th minute and extended their lead even further
with another penalty in the 46th minute of the first
half, 3-9.
OL’s opened the 2nd half as they had the
first and were unlucky not to score with Shane Betts again looking
impressive before Newbold fed the ball to their backs for an assault
on the OL’s line who again showed their mettle with some resolute
defensive work before Newbold’s Harrison attempted, and missed. a drop goal.
Five
minutes later Pike reduced the deficit with a well struck,
trademark, penalty, 6-9. OL’s were fortunate not to go further
behind when a Newbold try was disallowed, much to the dismay of the
visiting supporters in the stand even though they were some 80
metres away from the line.
OL’s
front row replacement of Kennedy for McEwan seemed, at the time, the
right thing to do as the OL’s pack continued to match Newbold,
however, following a set-to OL’s were reduced to 14 men when Kennedy
was red carded. Despite this disadvantage OL’s continued to match
Newbold in the pack and trailing by just 3 points decided to utilise
the second part of their game plan, putting the ball in the
opponents half – not rocket science really – and were rewarded with
a penalty in the dying minutes of the game, up stepped Pike who
calmly slotted the ball over to tie the game.
The
OL’s pack gave an encouraging performance in all areas of the game
and with their line out now working things look better for future
games, The old stagers of Jason King, Ash McEwan , Lawrence
Sheriffs, David Longrigg and Gary Smith all came to the fore, with
Sheriffs the pick, and the experience will have been of great
benefit to Simon Storey, Steve Pike, Andy Coleman and his
replacement Peter Drewett. The backs as always looked threatening
with ball in hand and strong in defence with Dave Wallis growing in
stature at fly half and Ricky Reed a stabilising influence at scrum
half. If the ball had been fed to the wings sooner both Betts and
Brown would have been able to cap great all round performances with
tries.
It was miserable weather, a miserable game but a fair
result, honours even. Perhaps the irony of it all is that within a
few hours of the game finishing players from both teams would be
enjoying a drink or two together in one of Rugby’s watering holes. |
|
Newbold 10 - OL's 29 |
|
OL's took a mix
of youth and experience to local rivals Newbold and came away with
a well deserved win.
The conditions
were very wet and it was OL's who adapted to them the better and
their direct running and ball retention led to a penalty converted
by Grant Inch and a try scored by James Morgan after some
sustained pressure for an 8-0 lead.
The second half
saw OL's continue to retain the ball through the phases despite the
conditions and eventually Newbold ran out of defenders as Martin
Storey found a huge hole to run 30 metres and score under the
posts, the try was converted by Inch for a 15-0 lead.
OL's made the
mistake of sitting back on the lead and allowed Newbold to score
from a rolling maul in the corner but they soon got back to
playing the ball through the hands and a slick backs move saw Inch
scythe through to score and convert.
OL's again took
their eye off the ball and conceded another try from a second
rolling maul but they had the final say when they re-gathered the
ball from a speculative kick and Dan Harris scored his debut try
for the club converted from out wide by Inch.
Mention in
despatches must be made of Chris Thomas who snaffled everything
that came into his path and the midfield trio of Tilley, Morgan
and Cresswell who won the battle over their opposite numbers.
|
|
OL's
12 - Newbold 5 |
|
Mr
Bailey, where is your report?
If you were
involved with the game please
email me with the result, scorers and your own report |
|
October 1st
Broadstreet - OL's |
|
Match
postponed due to Broadstreet's cup involvement |
|
OL's 8
- Broadstreet 15 |
|
A try and penalty from
Grant Inch were not enough to prevent a well drilled Broadstreet
side from leaving Fenley Field the victors. |
|
Broadstreet 14 - OL's 41 |
|
For this fixture,
OL's travelled to nearby Broadstreet, for what promised to be a
thrilling encounter against historically dogged opponents. With
inspirational 3rd team Captain Marcus Bailey unavailable, OL's were
delighted when former Club Captain Darren Price accepted the
armband, and led the side from fly-half. Price was joined in the
half-backs by fellow 'Dream Team' stalwart Rich Hughes, whose
outstanding service throughout from scrum-half was matched only by
the quantity and quality of his match-commentary.
With this level
of service to build on, the Old Laurentians forwards were able to
control the game throughout. With the front row of Kennedy, Fisher
and the evergreen Gary Hammond dominant in the scrum, and the
youthful pairing of Mark Adnitt and Charlie Wragg rampant in the
lineout, OL’s were rewarded with numerous tries. Hammond marked his
third team debut with a magnificent brace, including a fine score
from a rolling maul. Another vastly experienced player continuing a
fine scoring run was Kev White, who added to his impressive points
tally for the season with a try, four conversions and a penalty.
With such a
wealth of experience on display, it was however very encouraging to
see that the OL's youth system is as formidable as ever, with
further tries coming from Charlie Turney, James Morgan, and a first
club try for flanker Paul Lewis, who capped a fine display with a
fine score. A special mention is also deserved by winger Stuart Page
who was unlucky not to score in what proved to be a glittering 'Man
of the Match' performance. All in all, this was a fantastic display
against a formidable opposition, and will serve as a massive
confidence booster for this week's crunch game against local rival's
Newbold. |
|
September 24th
OL's 17 - Newport 29 |
|
For the first 20 minutes
of the match OL’s were undisputedly in control of a game that
finished with them fighting back to reduce a points deficit that
should never have been so wide.
Shane Betts,
making a welcome return to 1st XV rugby, almost scored
within the first 5 minutes following some great work from the sharp
looking backs and for the first 10 minutes Newport were not to
venture into the OL’s half. OL’s opened their account with a
penalty from Steve Pike in the 9th minute and deservedly
increased their lead with a well worked try from Betts that owed a
lot to the combined work of the forwards and backs, pike converted
to bring about a 10-0 lead.
This seemed to
spur Newport on and had it not been for some great defensive work
from Charlie Turney Newport would have scored due, in the main, to
some sloppy midfield play from the OL’s. Minutes later Newport were
to exploit their forwards advantage with a well worked line out move
that produced a forwards drive that OL’s was unable to halt before
the Newport hooker went over for an unconverted try. Five minutes
later Newport were to produce a carbon copy to level the scores
10-10 going into the break. The first half had begun well with OL’s
in control of the game but poor ball retention meant that the
visitors were able to exploit their strengths in the forwards.
On the back foot
from the start of the second half OL’s lost a 22 metre scrum and
Newport fed the ball through the backs for their full-back to go
over for a converted try 10-17. They increased their lead a few
minutes later through once again using the dominance in the scrum to
produce another drive before the ball was released for their centre
to score an unconverted try, 10-22.
Newport
increased their dominance in the pack with back row replacements
whose names owed much to the random selection of letters from a
Scrabble set, hardly surprising when one considers their
international experience with Serbia and Poland, and once again
Newport exploited their forwards’ dominance scoring another drive
over try, converted to bring about a 17 advantage. OL’s responded
with a try from Captain Iain Wallis, converted by Pike, to bring
about a final result of 17-29.
Though Shane
Betts made an impressive return to 1st XV action Man of
the Match was Ricky Reed for his
all round controlled and energetic performance.
|
|
OL's
19 - Newport 26 |
|
OL's made a poor
start and allowed a well drilled Newport side the freedom and space
to totally outclass the previously confident OL's in the first
quarter when they scored two tries and OL's lost Garrie Reeve and
Rich Hayes to injury.
The replacements
Paul Cutts and Tom Gleghorn stabilised the scrum and OL's started to
show some spirit but another try before the break left OL's with a
19-0 deficit at half time
A much improved
second half saw OL's keeping the ball alive and away from the bigger
Newport pack which paid dividends when Mark Brassey finished a well
worked move.
The momentum
continued with the OL's as Paul Cutts crashed over and Grant Inch
converted to bring the score back to 19-12.
The loss of Buck
to injury was a major blow and Newport scored again to put the game
beyond the reorganised OL's, but to their credit, a series of breaks
saw the veteran Ade Cleaver score and Grant Inch convert to make it
26-19.
If OL's had played
with the passion and belief of the last 30 minutes for the whole
match the score could have been different.
Positives can be
taken from the play of the experienced Dave Middleton and Paul Cutts
and another robust game form James Morgan but the collective failure
to do the basics well ultimately cost the match.
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3rd XV |
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No fixture |
September 17th
Intermediate Cup
Lutterworth 20 - OL's 16 |
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Hopes were high
when OL’s travelled to Lutterworth for their first round
Intermediate Cup fixture despite the last minute changes to the
backs with James Murray coming in at centre for Ed Wallis with Kyle
Knott replacing Murray at full back, Charlie Turney replaced the
injured Matt Brown on the wing. The forwards also had a few last
minute changes with David Longrigg replacing Tom Curtis in the 2nd
row.
Steve Pike
opened the scoring for the OL’s with a well struck 4th
minute penalty. The home side responded with aggression and
commitment and were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty
opportunity, awarded, so it seemed, by Gary Smith having his head in
the way of the Lutterworth number 6’s boot that was busy stamping on
him. Justice was served when the kick went wide and Pete Drewett
replaced the injured Smith whilst he received attention to his
reshaped forehead.
Lutterworth
opened, deservedly, their account following a 5-metre scrum that the
OL’s pack was able to hold back, the conversion went wide, 3-5.
The OL’s backs
were working well, both in defence and on the attack with Ricky Reed
showing why he deserved the nickname of Ratty however it was due to
a charged down clearance kick from Reed that Lutterworth were able
score their second try 3-10. Mark Cresswell was then to make a
terrific break that, unfortunately for us, was to bring about a
great try saving tackle from the home side.
Following a
missed penalty from Lutterworth Pike was to reduce the deficit with
a well-struck penalty that saw us go into the break 6-10 down.
The second half
saw Lutterworth increase their lead with a penalty, 6-13 before the
replacement of Pete Nealon by Lawrence Sherriffs saw Longrigg move
into the back row. OL’s were to make a great break through that
almost saw Turney go over for an OL’s try, the ball went lose, the
OL’s backs fed the ball across with men to spare and it seemed as
though we would finally cross the line, Lutterworth thought
otherwise and intercepted a pass from Dave Wallis and their winger
ran the length of the pitch to outpace the chasing Turney and
Cresswell to score a converted try, 6-20.
Down but not
disheartened OL’s responded with a well worked backs move involving
Creswell, Turney and Dave Wallis that culminated with Iain Wallis
scoring a deserved try, 11-20.
OL’s were again
to take advantage of their superiority in their backs that reduced
the deficit to 4 points with the ball moving from the left wing to
the right for Turney to seemingly take on the entire Lutterworth
team before going over, 16-20. Four minutes to go and four points
down all OL’s needed to was another try and despite doing all they
could they were, alas, unable.
Though more
competitive in the line out than in previous games the OL’s forwards
were unable to gain the dominance needed to compete on a level
playing field and provide the support that the backs could have
exploited to their advantage. Had they done so OL’s would be
through to the next round, as it is, Pete Staines will have a few
dates to fill in the fixture diary.
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Banbury 25 - OL's 22 |
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OL's arrived at
Banbury in confident mood but quickly found themselves two tries
down, the first of which was a 50 metre interception. A quick reply was
needed and Shane Betts, making a welcome return, showed all
of his pace and power to charge through the Banbury defence to score
from 40 metres.
OL's continued to
retain the ball through the phases and shortly after another well
constructed attack saw Mark Wilson put Betts in the corner
for his second try. OL's were now
dominating the match and the superb lineout ball all afternoon
allowed them to retain the majority of the possession and Rhys
Wade and Martin Storey both touched down for a 20-12 lead
at the break.
At the start of
the second half OL's were reduced to 14 men for the 3rd
week running after a sin binning offence and the shortfall on
numbers was exploited by Banbury who scored two tries to take the
lead. However, once the
OL's were restored to 15 men they finished much the stronger and
Mark Wilson capped another fine performance with a try to win
the game.
Special mention
this week goes to debutant Ed Jones and the more experienced Ray
Smith who shared the man of the match award for their all round
contributions.
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OL's 32 - Northampton
Casuals 26 |
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OL's welcomed back Gary
Reeve and Charlie Wragg for their first games following long term
injuries and started more
brightly against a massively bigger side and Adam Foster scored an
excellent opening try following good work from Kev White who then
converted.
Northants then came back to score through their dangerous centre but
missed the conversion. The forwards were playing outstandingly well
against a much bigger pack and Dom Marsella scored a try again
converted by White. The Northants centre then scored a try which was
converted, but following great play again in the forwards Daz Price
at fly-half scored a drop goal to give us a 17-12 half time lead.
The second half was much of the same with OL's giving 100%. Kev
White scored a penalty, before Northants scored a converted try.
OL's replied straight away with Price showing a surprising turn of
pace to score under the posts again converted by White. More was to
come as sub Mark Owen spotted a gap at a breakdown and scampered
through for a try. The Northants skipper then scored a converted try
to set up a thrilling climax but OL's held firm to win 32-26. All in
all this was a massive win and all the OL's players deserve equal
credit. Ade Cleaver deserves special mention for his outstanding
defensive display at full back. |
September 10th
Kenilworth 25 - OL's 6 |
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Once again the OL’s
line-up differed from that published in the programme with Denzil
Evans being replaced at full back by Scott Wiles, James Murray
replaced by Mark Cresswell on the wing and Ed Wallis switching from
centre to wing to replace Matt Brown with Simon Collyer making his
first team debut at inside centre.
Whatever the line up may
have been OL’s once again fielded a side made up of Rugby born and
bred, or resident, players against a side that contained a number of
new faces recruited from both local sides and New Zealand.
The first period of the
game saw OL’s firmly ensconced in the home side’s half and though
they were unable to threaten their line they did have two penalty
opportunities before Steve Pike was to open the scoring with his
third attempt. OL’s took possession at the restart but were unable
to take advantage of this and Kenilworth, in their first significant
period in the OL’s half, after winning the ball from a line out
broke through the OL’s uncharacteristic sloppy defence crossed the
line for an unconverted try, 3-5. OL’s were fortunate that
Kenilworth were unable to take advantage of a great break from their
influential scrum half but were to go further behind a few minutes
later through another penalty, 3-8. The first half was to
finish with Kenilworth 3-15 ahead following a converted try that
followed a line out lost by OL’s.
The second half began in
a similar fashion to the first with OL’s dominant and Andy Coleman
excelling in his defensive play matched by Pete Drewett who was
responsible for a wonderful try saving tackle. Kyle Knott after
replacing the injured Ed Wallis was to make an impact on the game
and he looked effective in all areas of his game. Following the
replacement of Pete Harris by Ash McEwan in the front row Pike was
again successful with another penalty, 6-15.
OL’s had been
competitive in all areas of a game that was far more evenly matched
than last season’s corresponding fixture but the physical aspect of
it was beginning to tell and despite a period of their most
impressive play it was to be the home side that was to register the
next points with an unconverted try in the corner, 6-20 followed a
few minutes later with a carbon copy try, 6-25.
Once again the young
OL’s side played with commitment and passion and were unfortunate to
lose by the margin that they did. The next few weeks will
see the return of a number of regular 1st XV players and
the combination of their experience with the enthusiasm of those
that played today should bring about a turnaround in their fortunes.
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OL's 0 - Kenilworth 19 |
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OL's found this week's task a more challenging one against a strong
Kenilworth side featuring a number of ex first team players.
The OL's defence was as strong as the previous week but the line did
not function as well which gave Kenilworth the advantage and led to
them scoring the only points of the first half for a 7-0 lead
The second half saw OL's down to 14-0 with a man in the sin bin for
a technical offence but this saw a determined spell of attacking
play which should have given the OL's the lead but a penalty hit the
post and minutes later a good scoring chance was squandered as a
soft penalty was conceded as the line beckoned and this was
compounded by Kenilworth breaking away for a length of the field
try, 14-0
The last quarter saw OL's lose a player to injury and this led to
holes in their defence as they tried to chase the game and
ultimately this led to a final try for Kenilworth, 19-0
This was another solid game for the OL's and particular mention must
be made of James Morgan and Mark Wilson for their tackling and ball
carrying but it was the lack of possession which was OL's downfall on
the day
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AEI 5 - OL's 7 |
| A try
from Grant Inch converted by Kev White was enough to see off the
local opposition |
September 3rd
OL's 16 - Camp Hill 20 |
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OL’s began their
league campaign against newly promoted Camp Hill, the side that they
last played at the end of the season before last when victory saw
OL’s promoted to Midlands 1 and Camp Hill relegated to Midlands 3,
how things have changed.
Absences through
injuries and personal commitments necessitated a change in the OL’s
line up that saw them field a side that must have been one of the
youngest for many a year, a side that competed in all, but one,
areas of the game and it was this weakness that Camp Hill exploited
to eventually win the game.
The visitors came
close to taking an early lead with a penalty attempt from the
visitor’s influential fly-half but it was to be OL’s, through
stand-in kicker Steve Pike, who were first to get their names on the
score-board with a well taken penalty, 3-0.
It was to be
another evenly matched 15 minutes before Camp Hill were able to turn
their pressure into points through a converted try from their No 8,
3-7 which was quickly followed by another Camp Hill penalty, 3-10.
The restart saw OL’s respond with some great play from the back-row
that allowed captain Iain Wallis to cross the line for a try which
was easily converted by Pike, 10-10. The half ended with Camp Hill
answering back with another penalty 10-13.
The break gave
Camp Hill the opportunity to discuss how they would break down a
stubborn OL’s defence that was prepared to put its body on the line
to stem the visitors attempts to break through. The OL’s young pack
were able to deal with all aspects of the visitor’s game apart from
their dominance in the line out, an area in which OL’s must work
hard to improve.
It took 20
minutes before either side threatened to score and, against the run
of play, it was to be OL’s Pike who calmly slotted another penalty
from over the halfway line, 13-13, followed by another, soon after,
to take a fortunate, though well deserved 16-13 lead. The pressure
of the game was showing on the visitors and this resulted in the
sending off of their inside centre for throwing an unwarranted
punch. Ironically this seemed to spur the visitors on to round off
their game with a converted try to see OL’s begin their season with
a 16-20 home defeat.
Despite this
defeat the OL’s should not feel too dispirited as their young side
can only get better and, when bolstered by some of their missing,
more experienced players, will be able to compete on a level playing
field with the best that the league can offer. Harris and Le
Poidevan were, again, competitive in both the scrum and open play
and the backs were threatening with ball in hand and resolute in
defence.
The comment;
“a draw would have been a fair result” was heard from one of the
OL’s stalwarts, “true” the response from one of the more vocal
visiting supporters … you may, or may not agree.
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Camp Hill 8 - OL's 18 |
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A promising start
to the new season led to a comfortable win at Camp Hill with a
mainly untested team.
Last season's
regulars in the front row helped to gain the upper hand in the
scrums and line-outs and led to an abundance of possession but the
game was tight and the score at half time was 3-3 with OL's score
coming from a Buck Van de Vesthaven penalty.
The influential
fly half was forced to leave the game shortly after the restart and
replaced by Dan Tilley who carried on the good work. From a scrum close
to the Camp Hill line the pack forced a turnover and bundled Rich
Hayes over for a score.
Shortly afterwards
more pressure on the Camp Hill line saw a cross field kick collected
by Kyle Knott to touch down. This brought
pressure from Camp Hill and the superb defence was only breached
once when the Camp Hill forwards forced themselves over from a
quickly taken penalty.
The remainder of
the game was pretty one sided as the superior fitness and positional
play kept Camp Hill away from the danger area until a Mark Cresswell
break saw Martin Storey win the race to touch down a loose ball for
the final score.
Finally OL's would
like to thank Camp Hill for the loan of a player and for looking
after our injured player while waiting for the emergency services to
arrive.
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OL's 16 - Camp Hill 24 |
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Try
from Rich Hughes and 3 penalties and a conversion from Daz Price
were not enough to start the season in the same vein as last. |
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August 26th |
Fenley Field witnessed a number of firsts when
Old Coventrians were our opponents for our second pre-season warm up game:
- The new floodlights were used for the
first time
- The new pitch was christened
- More OL's players were in attendance
than any other Thursday evening
With almost 40 OL's players, including
several new faces, it was possible to field 2 totally different sides
against and Old Coventrians side that was, to say the least, competitive.
The first session saw OL's take the lead
through a break from Charlie Turney following some great individual play
from Chris le Poidevan and Rory McLean and, with the pack looking strong
it seemed as though there could well be a repeat of the game against
Silhillians. The visitors, however, did not agree and were
competitive in all areas of the game.
The 2nd session, with almost an entirely
different line up for OL's, saw tries from David Longrigg and Rich Hayes,
15-0
The 3rd session saw an immediate response
from Old Coventrians who scored 3 tries to level the score 15-15.
The final session was edged by OL's through
a try from James Murray 20-15 and it could have been more but for Matt
Brown's excellent kick and 50 metre run being foiled by an unfortunate
bounce.
Once again, though there were some fine
individual performances, a few players were, again, guilty of not using
their support players soon enough resulting in missed opportunities and
the ball being won by the opposition through their excellent play in the
rucks.
Despite the newly erected floodlights being
only deemed suitable for training neither the referee or players seemed to
agree and it is obvious that this new facility at Fenley Field will be of
great benefit. The new pitch seemed to be in great condition with
the width of it, the maximum allowed, enjoyed by the wingers from both
sides.
With the opening game against Camp Hill on
Saturday September 3rd decisions need to be made as to how the starting 15
will look as, unfortunately, too many of the OL's players will be
selfishly going away to university and as a result be unavailable for
selection - I blame the establishment for encouraging people to further
the education and Rugby for not having a university of its own !!!
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August
20th |
Trial games are always tricky
matches on which to report as the players involved seem to change every few
minutes and the game is subject to many influences and I knew that
things would be tricky when I saw the number of OL's players warming up
for the game.
- The first 1/4 saw the OL's take a 7-0
lead through a try from Scot Wiles and conversion from Denzil Evans
- The 2nd 1/4 saw the OL's extend their
lead with tries from Jabba (converted by Steve Pike) Dave Wallis and
Mark Allen (converted by Pike) 26-0
- The 3rd 1/4 saw Silhillians begin to gel
into a more competitive side and having almost scored straight from the
restart they scored their 1st try a few minutes later, due, in the main,
to uncharacteristic poor defence from the OL's, however we responded
quickly with a try from Jack Denton following a great break from back
row, - no second row - no, loose head Dave Longrigg. Silhillians
responded with another try to see the 3rd period finish with OL's 33-10
ahead.
- The final 1/4 began with Silhillians
scoring another try before Iain Wallis went over followed by Denzil
Evans and Wallis again to make the final score 48-15
The backs looked threatening whenever they
had the ball in hand and though some were, at times, guilty of being a
little ball greedy they look as though they will be a potent force this
season. The forwards were competitive despite being both a little
ring rusty and inexperienced however with a number of regular 1st XV
players absent due to holidays and injuries they too will be effective in
the forthcoming league and cup campaigns. There were some excellent
cameo performances including those from Dave Wallis, Mark Allen, Rory
McLean, Chris Le Poidevan and
Martin Storey amongst others.
One of the truly bright things to observe
were the number of young former Lawrence Sherrif pupils eager to wear the
Old Laurentian colours all of which bodes well for the future.
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