Old Yardleians RFC: Club News
Warm Weather Players
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:25
This is just a theory at present, with no scientific evidence to support it but whenever I watch our teams play in near-arctic conditions they just do not perform. On a bitterly cold saturday afternoon I decided on two coats, hat, scarf and gloves and travelled due west from home to Tilehouse Lane to watch our relatively inexperienced first XV take on high-flying Shipston. She who knows all about shopping offered me the alternative and with hindsight I think I might have taken the wrong option as we were on the end of a comprehensive stuffing.
The Development squad travelled over to Spartans, somewhere near the Belfry (a golf club?) and when asked for a match report, my athletic friend who plays on the wing or full-back told me that he takes full responsibility for losing a game that should probably have been won. If you really want to know the full story then see Chicken and listen to his summary.
The Vandals seem to be back in the winning mood and I have a Mark (Eddie Butler) Baldwin version of their trip to take on Spartans Vets.
The Vandals travelled up past the Belfry to battle against the Spartans. Two sides named after historic waring tribes with players in both teams old enough to have been around all those years ago. Short of forwards Ralph had to play on the flank where he had a great game and later on Nick "The Assassin" Levey played hooker in contested scrums while Barrel joined on the flank. The Vandals played the first half up the hill and against the wind. Spartans put plenty of pressure on the Vandals line but never really looked like they would score. Strong tackling repelled them on all fronts. Meanwhile when the Vandals ventured up the hill they scored twice with tries from Bobo and Barstool. Ralph converted one. In the second half the Vandals used the hill to ensure the result was never in doubt. The continually pummelled the Spartan line which cracked with more tries scored by Max, Phil Painter and I think Ralph. Max also added a penalty. A good win with the Vandals passing 500 points for the season so far.
The Young ones
It was training for all our young stars except for the Under 16s who travelled to the winter wonderland of Water Orton to play the Salts. There was some fascinating scenery that included electricity pylons and high voltage cables. Just as shocking, it could be said, was the sight of Tyrell and Jordan in their tights. There are rumours that Adrian is going to bring his handbag if they persist in such style. Very similar to their previous match our lads did very little for the first half apart from giving the home team a generous start. When the time starts running out we played some very good rugby but the clock beat us in the end. A special mention for Josh our hooker for his dazzling try!. I think I understand how it goes but our lack of discipline has let us down for the second week in a row and the boys will be told in no uncertain terms, if you're in the bin, then you are letting your own team mates down and retaliation should be avoided even when it's difficult to do so. However, I also believe that the man with the whistle can make a big difference. Penalising the minor offences is good as long as you don't miss the more serious ones such as head-high and swinging arm tackles because that is often when bad feelings creep in.
Fixtures
Saturday 4th Feb
First Xv v Southam away (League)
Dev XV v Veseyans away
Vandals v Harborne home
Sunday
Under 8 v Harbury v Old Laurentians at Harbury
Under 9 v " " "
Under 11 v " "
Under 16 v Bromsgrove away
Social Occasion (not to be missed)
Graham, Sharon, Pat and co. are inviting you to a cheese and wine evening at the club. Graham has gone to France (another warm weather fan) to purchase fine wines and Sharon has gone to Iceland (Stratford Road, Shirley not the North Pole) for a selection of cheeses. Pat is preparing a game of Mr and Mrs for additional entertainment. Details are £6 per person which includes 3 bottles of fine wine per table of 6. It all starts at 7.30 pm and most importantly, the date is Friday 24th Feb.
And Finally
We give you a two goal start and how long do we need to forge ahead? seven minutes.
remember Mr Wenger knows best.