After the disappointment of a narrow defeat up in Yorkshire followed by a hangover league performance, the Yards faced second placed team Atherstone in a potentially tricky home encounter. Bang on cue the rain started at kick off and got heavier as the game progressed. The supporters did not have to wait long for the Yards to score with Tom Grocott crossing for a try after just 30 seconds with Jake converting from wide out. The rest of the half was a familliar story with the home team showing speed and quality handling and by half time led by 36 - 0.
To their credit, Atherstone pounded away at the yards line at the start of the second half and only last gasp defence kept them out. The rest of the game was all about superior fitness as the Y's cruised home by 57 - 0. Try scorers were Tom G x4,Steve Grainger, Carl Bucknell, Luke Clements and Mike Brennan. Jake had his kicking boots on and scored the rest of the points with precision of a high order.
The Development XV had a home game against Wyvern. It was not a classic and the only thing that brightened up the game was the bright amber shirt (St. Edmund Campion School P.E. kit?) worn by referee Dave Hanson, in the opinion of Smokin' Williams, the man of the match. Oh yes, the score was 19-10 to Wyvern.
Congratulations to the Vandals who completed the Merit Table season with a 100% success rate. The final game was at Yardley & District 2s who the Vandals defeated 33 - 10. Full match report below.
Well done to Aussie John and his under 10 team who won the Redditch Festival last weekend. I am sure that more details will follow.
Fixtures this weekend (sat/sun 20/21 April)
Saturday First XV v Birmingham Civil Service away League and NM Junior Vase double header.
Dev XV v Camp Hill 2nds Away
Vandals v Ason OE 3rds Away
Sunday Under 17 v Bridgnorth away League
Under 7 - 12 training
Yardley and District 2nds v Vandals (GB Merit League) - full match report
After a break of nearly five weeks due to snow, Easter & cry offs it was straight back into GBML action with our penultimate scheduled game against Yardley & District 2nds over at Cole Hall Lane on a damp & gloomy April afternoon.
So the worker bees this week at loosehead Shannon "Stepmeister" Killarney, Mark "Pie Chucker" Baldwin & 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 & Rupert "the Major" Young at No.8.
The girls; at scrum half Phil "the General" Evans partnering Max "Gimo" Gimson at ten, Nick "Barrel" Palmer partnering Tony "Fitz" Fitgerald in midfield with a back three of Dave "Blade" McGill, Chris "Golfball" Rowe & Dave "Ralph" Rollins at full back.
An ample bench this week in Alan "the Colt" Arkell, Ian "NASDAQ" Neville, Rick "Swing" Lowe, Captain Slow & late surprise package Gary "Bobo" Robinson.
Stunt skipper Shark wins the the toss, using that time honoured maxim "tails never fails" calls correctly and opts for playing down the slight incline in the first half and giving Yardley the kick off; which Shannon takes cleanly, we set, spin and Barrel comes in on the scissors making good inroads before going to ground and the Massive pile in. Ball is recycled, General to Max, he cuts back inside looking for the big cuddly blokes, goes to ground, we ruck over, General to Ralph who's intelligently stepped into the breach and Ralph fires one deep over the top into their twenty two.
Their young fullback lets it bounce which gives Blade time to take man & ball and stands him up, but they manage to recycle and try to spin it out of their twenty two, their guy breaks the first couple of tackles before he's collared by big Phil and it goes to ground. We initially stand off, but the ball remains trapped so Casper leads the counter ruck and Yardley are pinged for preventing release. We kick for the corner, the ball going out about ten metres from their line. Pie Chucker hits Shark at two and we drive, the General barking out imaginatively "drive, drive", but at the death I think it's Marcus who splinters off right and we spin but we spill the ball on the scissors between Max & Barrel. The ref plays on for a short while but no advantage comes to Yardley and they get the scrum about six or seven metres out from their goal line. We put on the shove and drive them off it and we head for the line the ball at the back with the Major, and with a metre or so to go he picks up from the base and crashes over for our opening score with about ninety seconds on the clock 5-0. The conversion by Ralph is missed, but still a good start and with the ease they were driven off their own ball an ominous sign for the Yardley eight.
We are unlucky not to go further ahead after three minutes when a strong break in midfield by Shark into their half is eventually spun out and Max finds an excellent touch almost on their goal line seemingly courtesy of their fullback for a lineout on the five. Fitz takes a cheeky quick throw at the lineout to Casper who bundles over the line, but it's not given and I'm assuming here that the ref hasn't seen the fullback's contact as he we come back and he gives Yardley the throw.
No matter as Rupe pinches their ball and we drive towards the line, Marcus does his carpentry thing again as he splinters off, ball comes out, goes loose, General can't get his hands on it but their "novice" big winger obligingly knocks it on for a Vandal's scrum.
Great scrummage, we take it on a few yards befor the Major lets it go, General to Max, Barrel on the scissors, breaks the first tackle, offloads to Blade in support who goes over virtually unmolested under the posts 10-0. Easy one for Ralph as he converts for a 12-0 lead.
Big Phil takes the restart and gallops into midfield, and it looks like Yardley are losing interest already as they start to drop off the tackles, Phil is finally halted and we gather round, Mark pops it to the General, to Max and his delicate sand wedge sees the ball bounce just inside the touchline before going out on their ten metre line. They shorten the line and their throw is taken again by Rupert, but there is a slight knock forward as he breaks through their line, and Yardley get the scrum midway now between their ten & twenty two. Again we turn the screw up front and the scrum begins to rotate before the ball pops free and Barrel's on it in a flash. We recycle, General to Max, he dinks one over the top for Blade to chase, the winger under pressure knocks it first backward, then forward and we get the scrum about twelve metres from their line.
Another great shove by our Eight, sees us inexorably head towards their line again, the General keeping us on the straight & narrow, and with a metre to go the Major looks to pick up, the scrum now advancing a fair rate of knots means that Rupe's shoulders are still moving with it but the ball remains static and in the end he's reaching between his ankles to pick it up and ref decides he's nudged it forward and into our boiler room. So Yardley get a free kick, we don't retreat fast enough so now in charity mode the ref gives them another ten metres, so the final clearance kick is about five or so metres inside their twenty two and the ball goes out just inside halfway.
Max continues to keep them pinned down and when one of his kicks finds their winger just outside his twenty two the winger obligingly kicks it straight into touch; so lineout on their twenty two, big Phil takes at four and we drive it on a few metres before the General calls for it and we spin, Max dummy scissors on Barrel, Fitz takes the real pair and breaks the gain line and gets to the twenty two before he 's tackled. We recycle, Phil to Max, his midfield are still otherwise engaged so pass goes straight to Blade, to Shannon out in the tramlines. He's held up and facing the wrong way but the cavalry arrives in time and we spin again just inside their twenty, but a Yardley hand gets in there to thwart the immediate danger but we do get an attacking scrum about fifteen metres out.
Again our Eight drive it on the General giving more geographical directions this time as we head for their line, they hold us up just as their feet cross their goal line and ref says we have to play it; Max to Blade off his wing but it gets knocked on in the tackle for a scrum to Yardley about seven metres out. Again their Eight go back at a rate of knots but we balls it up somehow (sometimes I get too excited and forget to actually record what's occurred...in this case I simply said "oh!") and as they come away to take a twenty two drop out, someone dumps the General on his back and like a good forward Casper's in there to remonstrate.
They try a funny at the restart by coming short but it all goes awry, and Fitz drops on the loose ball and pops it up off the deck to Barrel, who finds it too hot to hold and Yardley get the scrum just outside their twenty two. Again we steal it and Rupert picks up and takes it into contact, we set, recycle, Barrel comes in on the scissors and barrels his way through (I always thought it was to do with his shape), he gets tackled pops it up off the deck to big Phil, inside their twenty two, we set again, General to Max he dinks another over their rush defence, but it bobbles over the deadball line for another drop out to Yardley.
The kick bounces out a metre inside their half for a Yards lineout, Shark takes at two "dive pass" from Pie Chucker to the General, to Max who rifles one over the top and into their twenty two for Golfball to chase, Chris gets a foot to it but his toe poke richochets off his opposite man & back to Barrel who hears the call off Ralph thundering down the tramlines, seems like an age passes before Barrel gives the perfect pass to our fullback who in turn flips it back inside to Golfball who goes over close to the posts 17-0 Ralph converts 19-0. Top score that one and as Mark was quick to remind me at the time all from his dive pass.
We continue to dominate the forward encounters but with about six minutes remaining in the first half Yardley & District finally get onto the scoreboard when we probably get a bit too ambitious and have forwards doing scissors with backs and we dolly one up front of our twenty two, ref plays good advantage, they work the overlap and their powerful winger goes over in the corner, cue much whoopah whoopah 19-5, but the conversion is missed.
We see out the remaining five minutes and the half ends with Ralph attempting a drop goal, the only thing he hasn't got amongst his 205 points this season so we'll let him off for trying.
Halftime 19-5, Slow mutters something about keeping it simple and just improving our execution or some other such physcho babble, not that anybody was listening. Slow decides on no immediate changes.
We continue to bully them up front from the off and even Fridge looks as if he's enjoying himself as he goes on one tremendous charge bouncing defenders off left & right.
About fifteen minutes in, Marcus & Mark both come off, Bobo comes on at eight, with Rupert moving to the flank, and Rick goes to hooker.
Then Yardley do themselves no favours when following a second late hit in short succession on one of our kickers their powerful winger sees yellow, and Blade sees stars. Shortly after the yellow card comes out again this time for backchat, and crazily after they had been awarded a penalty, and so they are down to thirteen for the next seven or eight minutes. Not long after, still nursing his sternum Blade comes off and Nev comes onto the wing.
And we take full advantage of the reduced numbers when we increase our tally eighteen minutes from time when another Yardley throw goes pearshaped just in front of their twenty two and Bobo takes it at the tail, he takes it on a metre before popping it to Nick who in turn finds Rupe in support, he breaks the first up tackle, but is then forced to go to ground, he's isolated and gets turned over and one of the Yardley second rows wellies it down the park, where they promptly infringe and we get the opportunity put us back where we started. It's another great kick from Max the ball going out on their twenty two, Rick hits BMT at at four and we drive, Rick securing it at the back, once again we march towards the line and Yardley are forced to drop it about six or seven metres out and with no penalty forthcoming we're forced to spin; Phil to Max, double dummy, flat pass to Ralph who scythes through the bemused defence to score under the posts 24-5 Ralph duly converts his own work 26-5.
Not long after we put the game to bed when following good work by Tony Fitz who charges down a Yardley kick as they try to negotiate their way out of defence, it's grubbered ahead ahead but it's his partner in crime Barrel who ultimately gets the touchdown 31-5 Ralph goes four from five 33-5
Slow & Arks come on for Nick & John respectively, & Gethin takes on commentary duties and I must say he has the cadence of a real commentator his tone rising & falling with the action, was like listening to a f**king horse race.
Yardley are, however, the last to trouble the scoreboard over when they are awarded a penalty for hands in on the deck, they take it quickly spin it out wide and their second row crashes over in the corner to score 33-10 conversion missed.
Somewhat amazingly with only a few minutes to go three of us, me included, and all over 45 are pinged for being all in front of the kicker, f**k we must be quicker (or keener) than we think, so we come back for a scrum in centre field. We send them backwards again, and the General nabs it but he's pinged for something. They kick for territory but find Nev instead on the wing, who rounds the first would be tackler, dummies the second and is really unlucky to be collared by the third, but lstill manages to lay it back for the forwards who secure it; we spin General to Max who kicks ahead but this time it goes directly into touch without passing Go. The clock steadily ticks down with no further score....but really I have writer's block.
Final score 33-10 Final age 693 averaging just over 46.
Men in the Dirtiest Shirts this week: Gimo for his accurate use of the boot & the Major for his work round the park and taking most of their lineout ball...we wont mention the egg he laid.
Slow
ps sorry it's late but I've lost the will to live with these bloody things.