Postponed due to bad weather

Postponed due to bad weather

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

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 3^rd when the OL’s host Hinckley.

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 39^th minute that followed a period of intense OL’s pressure that saw them firmly camped in the Newbold half.

Despite the 2^nd 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.

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.
 

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.

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 OLs’ were soon well in control.

The game ceased to be a contest at half time with OL’s 50 points ahead and a shortened 2^nd 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.

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 7^th 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 30^th 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.  Next week sees a break from league action with their next league fixture at home to Malvern on November 12^th.  Next Saturday sees OL’s play host to a certain Mr. Guy Fawkes when they hold their much celebrated firework party, find out more at www.oldlaurentianrfc.co.uk.

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 10^th 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 43^rd 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 47^th minute.  In the 51^st 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.

I understand that 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.

Battle Lost But War Could
Have Been Won

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

As happens so often in games against these two sides a yellow carding proved to be the difference between them when, having lost one of their front row players through indiscipline OL's opted for a scrum, rather than the easy 3 points, the game had to resort to passive scrums.

The South African, exchange, referee consulted with his mentors and though the game continued to its full term it would seem that the defeated OL's will be through to the next round.

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.

OLs 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 OLs 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.

OLs 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)

OLs 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.

OLs 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.

Mr Bailey, where is your report'

If you were involved with the game please email me with the result, scorers and your own report

14 men OL’s foil Newbold

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 39^th minute and extended their lead even further with another penalty in the 46^th minute of the first half, 3-9.

OL’s opened the 2^nd 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.

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 1^st 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 9^th 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 1^st XV action Man of the Match was Ricky Reed for his all round controlled and energetic performance.

Once again OL’s looked sharp in the backs, the line out seems to be improving and the break from league action next week when they entertain Old Northamptonians should see a far stronger and fitter side take to the field when OL’s entertain Newbold on October 8^th.  Training sessions between then and now should concentrate on working on their weaknesses rather than their strengths, OL’s know what needs to be done and now is the time that the work needs to be put