The good thing about local 'derby' games is that if you happen to watch one game and it is not all that exciting, then you can jump into your car and within a few minutes you are at another game. Let me explain. On a sunny afternoon I thought a look at our Development/Seconds would be good viewing as they took on the young Engineers from Birmingham University. My first impression was that they hadn't started shaving yet and really should be playing our under 17s.. Tactically, our plan appeared to be to bully them into submission. However, that can only be done if we can catch them. Enough said. So, into the car and down the road to the Eds.
On arrival, I saw the former Yards stalwart, younger Jacks with his line-out specialist mate. I was expecting to see Greg Allen but he was playing back at the Old Ys for the 'yet to shave ' team. Any way, in terms of tactics the Vandals are a little bit smarter than our Dev boys and play the game to suit our own requirements. As the game moved on the Eds began to struggle and the final score of around 67-20 tells its own story. See the full match report below.
I nearly forgot our First Team who travelled to Warwick for the return league fixture after beating them at home when we scored 117 points. Not a great game so I was informed but to win 69 - 3 still seems reasonable to me..
Then on to sunday morning. A much colder day and as I drove into the club at 10.00, an hour before kick off, I was surrprised to see our opponents, The Exiles giving their lads a vigorous work out. Chicken would have been impressed. Anyway, the game followed the pattern of many others. We were up against a strong pack of forwards and we had to defend well. This we did and when we got possession you can imagine what happened. The final score was a win for Ys by 33 - 3. A big thank you to Alan and his boys and also to the referee Phil Carman of the N. Mids Society.
Fixtures for the weekend of March 9th and 10th
Saturday First XV v Alcester home League 3.00 kick off
Dev XV v Woodrush away Friendly 3:00 kick off
Vandals v Wyvern at Five ways RFC Merit Table k.o at 3.00
Sunday Under 7 and Under 8 v Claverdon Both games at home
Under 9 and Under 10 v Claverdon Both games at Claverdon
Under 17 v Walsall Cup at Home 11.00 kick off
Cup Final News
Travel in luxury to Harbury next saturday and cheer on the First Team. A victory would put us one more win away from a Twickers (HQ) Final. To secure a place on the supporters coach approach Mark Baldwin with a £5 note and your seat will be reserved. It sounds like a bargain and includes the return trip. A generous offer indeed.
Edwardians 2nds vs Vandals - full match report
With Five Ways 2nds as expected crying off our GBML game, now that feels like déjà vu, we were back in the Pool again and with no takers wanting to travel Mark took the next best thing a short trip up to Streetsbrook Road for the season's third encounter with Old Eds 2nds and to be honest fair play to them for taking the fixture, having been on the end of sixty points only last month; pity more & more sides these days simply cry off or worse masquerade in the Pool as a lower team rather than give it ago.
So the Eight this week at loosehead Shannon "Stepmeister" Killarney, Rick "Swing" Lowe & Pete "Fudge" Butler at tight, John "Casper" Lonie alongside Phil "BMT" Gouldbourn in the boiler room, with a back row of Marcus "Shark" Hope, Nick "the Assassin" Levey & Ali "G" Gouldbourn at No.8.
The glory boys this week at scrum half Barry-John "Baz" Cole partnering Max "Gimo" Gimson at ten, Tony "Fitz" Fitgerald & Dave "Blade" McGill in midfield with a back three of Lee "Coatesy" Coates, Steve "Person of Interest" Roberts & Dave "Ralph" Rollins at full back.
A full bench this week in Alan "the Colt" Arkell, Bill "Bilbo" Burrows, Nick "Barrel" Palmer, Jase "the Ace" Goodwin & with the weather improving Captain Slow.
As we arrived in our customary fashion in twos & threes, Eds wasted no time in taking to the field in numbers to do what younger players feel it is necessary to do, warm up, run drills & practice moves, whilst we sit in the changing room consuming jelly babies. The man in the middle this week former Eds' prop Ian Armitage & at the toss Stunt skipper Shark guesses wrong (for a change) and Eds opt to let us play into the low Spring sunshine and have the kick off.
Eds open the scoring after about two minutes with a crisply struck penalty from just inside our half after we are pinged for holding on in the tackle
0-3 given the distance a cracking kick in fairness, though probably not from their "usual" second team fly half. Their lead doesn't last too long as they knock on at the deep restart, the ref plays good advantage as the Massive recover the fumble, Baz zips it out misses Max straight to Fitz to Blade who kicks for position, the ball going out about five metres inside their twenty two. Lineout Eds, Shark gets a glove to it and big Phil takes the deflection cleanly, we set, drive it on a yard before Baz sends it out to Max, Fitz comes through on the scissors, breaks the line, gets tackled & lays it back, Baz picks up spins to Max, back to Baz, to Coatesy off his wing, to Steve, he's tackled about five metres out, we recycle, Baz to Coatesy & he literally jogs in and under the posts 5-3. Simple first kick of the day for Ralph 7-3.
Not long after the game's first scrum, on our five metre line, with put in to Eds, but we drive them off their own ball, ball comes safely back to Al, Baz plucks it out, finds Max and he clears to touch, but a good marker put down by our Eight. The next scrum whilst to us and in a similar position is equally as secure. But the early pressure continues to come from Eds and they are next to score wide out with about ten minutes gone, though much to the annoyance of Ralph who continues to argue the toss with the ref and Slow has to calm him down a bit. Another well struck kick by their fly half sees the conversion sail between the uprights 7-10.
The uneven penalty count begins to mount up against us, and we are the architects of Eds' next try as a result. Eds are awarded a penalty in their half which their ten hoofs it down field where it's taken cleanly by big Phil inside our twenty two, he sells some double glazing before offloading to Marcus, but the ball goes behind him, no panic Nick's on it in a flash and we set over. We spin Baz to Max but his pass to Fitz cannons off his shoulder and the loose ball obligingly sits up for their scrum half who goes over under the posts and with the simple conversion Eds take a ten point lead 7-17. Slow casually remarks to their winger that we haven't been ten points behind since....oh last week.
Our restart goes direct into touch, so we come back for the scrum, and we drive them off their ball again, Al picks up makes a couple before offloading to his brother in support, who finds Baz, great flat pass to Max, to Ralph, to Steve he crosses their twenty two, goes to ground, we recycle, Baz to Alistair, he goes route one, bish bosh, ten metres out he sets up the ruck, cue long blast on the whistle and that well known axe murderer Levey gets a long talking to, I think for use of the boot...what tosh! They clear to touch the ball going out on their ten metre line, immediate danger only temporarily over as Shark pinches their ball at two and Baz fizzes out a real corker of a pass to Max, (looked like a classic reverse from where I stood) Max to Fitz, he makes ten or twelve yards, and we're back in their twenty two, Fitz goes to ground and the Massive pile in, looks like penalty coming our way before Casper gets an even longer blast of the whistle and is also spoken to at length.
The resulting clearance kick goes out just inside their half, the throw's not straight but we come away with it and drive, but ref decides we needed the scrum instead. Steady drive at the scrum & Baz brings Steve in off his wing, he offloads to Max, to Marcus, he goes to ground, Baz to Fitz, to Ralph, to Blade, brushes off the first tackle, stays on his feet, still moving forward, finally goes to ground, ruck called. Baz pops it to Rick, he's brought down, we recycle, Baz picks up finds Coatesy, who sees the gap, lights em' up, manages to hand off a couple and goes over & dots it down between the posts 12-17. Ralph duly obliges with the conversion 14-17 with about twenty two minutes gone.
We start to warm to the task and from a lineout we get our maul going well inside our own half before travelling twenty odd metres, before Shannon gets bored & makes a break and we spin wide only for the final pass to be adjudged forward, scrum Eds. They hold their own in this one...just and the scrum half manages to get it away to his ten but he's spectacularly tap tackled by Baz and as he gets up he's mugged by Max & Marcus and we keep him upright & in possession long enough to be awarded the turnover scrum on their ten metre line. Baz picks up and spots the gap and their fly half returns the favour with a tap tackle of his own, but Baz gets up & goes again, he runs into traffic so the massive pile in, and Baz extricates himself in time to give Shannon the pop, mandatory sidestep before fending off the fly half, he offloads to big Phil but it's too hot to handle, knock on, scrum Eds just in front of their twenty two. we drive them off it again & Al picks up, gets held up so goes to ground, we recycle, Baz to Rick on the crash, he gains another five, goes to ground, Baz to Max, flat miss pass to Magoo, who picks a great line to go over under the posts 19-17. Ralph slots his third of the day with about half an hour gone 21-17.
Within a couple of minutes of the restart Ed's are awarded a penalty for clearing a ruck out from the side, so they kick for position the ball going out on our twenty two, the throw's not straight but we get pinged for pulling the jumper down, and they opt for a pot at goal and it's another good kick from their ten as they draw to within a point 21-20.
From the restart their fly half takes it on their twenty two, does a step, offloads to one of their youngsters in midfield, he's clattered by Tony Fitz and we all pile in, cue loudest blast so far from Mr Armitage, as he reaches into his pocket for a yellow card which he shows to Al for use of the feet....Slow merely shakes his head.
The fly half doesn't find touch but Coatesy instead who brings it back at speed down the tramlines, he's tackled close to touch but not on it, but Sir decides he was in touch, which he wasn't as I was there standing next to Lee running touch, ref apologises when I tell him but lineout stands. Throw's not straight from Eds, ref puts whistle to mouth, then decides against it as Ed's spin and their fly half hoofs it downfield and it's nudged forward by Ralph four or five metres in front of our twenty two, and you can sense the frustration rising. So seven against eight gives them a chance to win their own ball and their fly half chips one over the top, bounce evades Ralph but it's swept up by Lee, he goes to ground, Fitzy in at nine, pass to Max who clears to touch four or five metres outside our twenty two. Again it's nowhere near straight and their live wire nine launches it out into midfield where Blade makes the tackle, then Nick as we make a series of tackles in midfield before we turn it over and Max does well to hang onto a fairly wild pass and thump it downfield where it's taken by one of their back row who ships it to one of their youngsters in midfield. He's tackled, the ref decides it's high, penalty Eds.
Shark's had enough and decides to speak to the ref, he isn't the only one as we are effectively being pinged out of the game so Slow comes on to join the discussion and threatens to take us home. The ref speaks of high tackles, feet on players, some incidents being "at best poor technique", Marcus contests the continued crooked throws, that tackles under the armpits are being penalised as "high". Anyway we get it all off our chests and calm down a bit, but think our point as been made, as at the next lineout Ed's are pinged for not straight.
Scrum Yards just inside our twenty two, our seven provide steady ball for Baz, to Max and he launches it down field, doesn't find touch, but ball bounces up straight into the arms of chaser Steve who takes it on, looks inside, passes to Max, he cuts inside, we're almost on their twenty two, back inside to Steve, but ball goes loose so Fitz dives on it, and over we go, as does the whistle and Marcus has to have another lecture on our "poor rucking technique" but despite this we retain the feed at the subsequent scrum ;o) Our seven with Shark at No.8 secure good ball for Baz, spins to Max, long pass to Fitz, looks like a pre-planned move in midfield but it all goes awry confusing everybody including the defence but Ralph finally takes the pass and exploits the massive hole created, sees Coatesy outside him and Lee goes over under the posts to complete a first half hat trick 26-20. Ralph converts to make it 28-20 and Alistair comes back onto the park.
The restart lands on the top of big Phil's finger, looked painful by his expression and the ball goes loose, Eds secure it and Fitz makes the first tackle, they recycle & kick ahead, but it takes a ricochet & bounces around in our twenty two before Coatesy scoops it up, referee signals some sort of advantage to us, as Lee crosses the twenty two before being stopped, ball comes back, Baz to Max he kicks ahead into space, where the bounce is kind again as it sits up this time for Marcus, he offloads to Ali G, in turn to Nick, the back row working in concert, Nick pins his ears back and makes for the corner, decides against personal glory, takes one for the team and flips it back inside to Marcus, but ball goes behind him, so Blade picks it up and looks for the gap, and he's stopped about eight metres from their line, Fitz at scrum half pops it to Alistair & he gets to within a metre of the line, we recycle, Baz gives a little pop to Wicky and he dives over to score 33-20. Ralph converts his fifth 35-20.
So a minute to go, and the ten makes his first real mistake of the half as his long restart goes the full distance and Max rather theatrically dots it down in goal, and we come back for a scrum. Both sets of forwards pack down before the crowd on the touchline alert all concerned that they're actually on the ten metre line, so they break up, trudge to halfway and have another go. I blame the low sun, anyway last play of the half, steady possession we come blind, a bit of a run-around, Blade finds Coatesy, he palms off the ten's poor attempt at a tackle (his second mistake & he knows it) and Lee sprints in for his fourth wide out 40-20. Ralph fails to make it an even half dozen.
Halftime 40-20 and with the Eds hooker (a former Birmingham Colt with yours truly) having to leave at halftime Shannon offers to plug their gap, and Bilbo comes into the front row. Long halftime break and Slow drones on ad nauseum about how we need to be whiter than white second half.
Bit of a messy start to the second half with loose passes & knock ons from both sides, but we finally get back on track about five minutes in when we are awarded a penalty rather out of the blue if I'm honest ;o) and we kick for position. Lineout just inside our half, Phil takes at four, Baz to Max, long miss pass to Dave who wellies down the park, but unlike in recent weeks the ball keeps going and is touched down in goal for a twenty two drop out to Eds. It's a half decent kick which is cleanly fielded by Ralph whose nice flat pass finds Coatesy at full tilt and he simply runs right through the middle of them to score under the posts 45-20 Simple conversion for Ralph as he gets his sixth of the day 47-20.
Casper comes off, Arks comes on and Ali "persuades" him to pack down alongside his brother in the second row (not quite what I had in mind) and Slow also decides he can't inflict Coatesy on them any longer so he swaps with Jase who's turned up on the touchline. Not long after Steve comes off, Fitz switches to wing and Barrel comes in at inside centre. The three quarters orchestrated by Baz start to look as if they're enjoying themselves, with loops & scissors coming from all over the place, the pack now providing them with copious amounts of good ball at both set pieces. We pass the fifty mark when Al crosses the whitewash 52-0 possibly the pass was forward, but you make your own luck, but none of it rubs off on Ralph as the conversion misses.
Last change of the afternoon as Slow pulls rank (I need to get my ten games in) & hard working Nick Levey comes off and a pen & paper is passed to Mark for the remaining ten or so minutes as I've run out of data storage. Our ninth try of the day followed a close range scrum six or seven metres out, nice & steady ball enabling Ali G a clean pick up from the base, he shows the ball to all concerned before crashing over to score his second of the afternoon 57-20 Ralph's kick is unsuccessful.
Shortly after our Eight take another against the head around halfway, we spin left to the trees, Baz to Max, through the hands to Fitz on the wing, he gets held up but manages to whip it back inside to....oh yes me (in fairness I was on the left side of the scrum), think I bounced the winger maybe another, anyway managed to waste enough time for Fitz to rejoin the move, I throw a "Hail Mary" over my head which Fitzy takes above his but hangs onto it and he goes over with three (probably six by 9pm) hanging onto him 62-20 Ralph's kick is just wide.
Right at the death Arkell goes on the charge, Mark then describes it as he "fell over" so Barrel steps in, retrieves the ball & delivers a dive pass (that's what was written) to Ralph, who in turn finds Ace who offloads to big Phil who gallops towards the line, has time to stop, look & listen, in fairness I thought everybody seemed to have stopped too, anyway Phil carries on and flops over wide out for our final score of the afternoon 67-20. Ralph's conversion is unsuccessful (our cub reporter unsympathetically writes "Ralph missed again") and with that Mr Armitage blows for the end of the game.
Final Score 67-20 and our biggest win of the season, final age 672 averaging a shade under 45.
Men in Dirty Shirts this week, Coatesy for another one man wrecking job & Baz in his final appearance this season who was outstanding throughout.
Big game this week the return merit league fixture against the league's defending champions Wyvern 1sts over at Five Ways ground at Hopwood, which we think is first versus v second in the table, and could go a long way in deciding where the title will be going this year.
Slow
ps: Has anybody lost a pair of large navy Umbro tracksuit bottoms, possibly from the week before?