Old Yardleians RFC: Club News
League changes
Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:20
Went to bed one night in the north but woke up next day in the south!
When the powers that be split the region into north and south we often fall into a sort of 'limbo'. We get our bearings and satnavs organised and then we get moved to another patch. Oh well it keeps life interesting.
Last season I felt that we approached our league games with a little too much confidence and that it was our right to be pushing for promotion without putting the hard work in. We knew that we had the individual talent as well as a powerful pack but we didn't always get our tactics right and as for our discipline well that cost us big style and we only narrowly escaped from the relegation zone.
So, who do we play this season? Two local games against Woodrush, who have improved a lot in recent times and Kings Norton who have tended to struggle. Over to Coventry to play the Welsh. We used to play a lot of Cov sides before the leagues split us up and it will be interesting to see if they have evolved in their style or if they have stuck to a more traditional game plan. Heading south into Warwickshire we meet Old Leams, Southam, Shipston and Newbold and we know that they will be difficult opponents as will Redditch who never make life easy for you. That leaves Upton-on Severn who I know little about other than that Rick Thorne says that its a lovely little town, and that we should travel by coach and return home with a few stops on the way.(I think we know what he means.)
Harbury become league rivals for the first time but they are of historical significance as it was the venue for our first end of season dresses and pub crawl event which has now grown considerably.
Last but not least comes Evesham who have had tremendous success and who will be a real test for us I am certain.
We must approach the coming season with a different attitude to last year. Training has started under the guidance of Gary Robinson and new players are warmly invited to join us.
Meanwhile on the weekend of 21/22 August the Vandals are going on a pre-season training camp to the New Forest culminating in a friendly against the unknown to us Lymington Mariners RFC. Details from Martyn 'Slow' Cartwright.
The annual 15 a side competition will be held at the club on Saturday 14 August with seven teams so far confirming their participation.
Don't forget that the club can be hired for functions and at a recent party it was interesting to note that the Roasted Hog defeated Luke even with help from Pricey and Shannon. Hard to believe but true!