Games on Sat 12th April 08
The 1st XV continued their winning run with a hard fought 22-21 victory away at Staffordshire team Newcastle. From the start Old Yards pressured the Newcastle line and were rewarded when a clever cross kick by Ben "The Belly" Honey was touched down by Billy "The Motivator" Bucknall. Shortly afterwards Old Yards were asleep at a quick penalty and the Newcastle winger raced away to score a converted try. Further pressure on the Newcastle line saw the try of the match. Gary "Smoking" Williams rolled back the years when from twenty yards out he danced round three defenders to score near the posts. Ian "New Car" Walker added the conversion. As half time approached, Newcastle scored a converted try with a slick back row move off the scrum. Half time Newcastle 14 Old Yardleians 12. The early part of the second half was spent in the Newcastle twenty-two with the Old Yards forwards having many drives towards the line. Eventually Newcastle cracked and second row Dave "Shwmpa" Langley drove over to score. The home side hit back with another converted try when they intercepted a Ben Honey attempted reverse pass. Back came the Old Yards pack and looked odds on to score from a scrum with a push over try when Newcastle stopped the drive illegally. From the ensuing penalty Old Yards took the scrum option. Props Rich "The Wig" Withey and Peter "Fridge" Butler took up the challenge and drove Newcastle over their own line enabling Old Yards Captain and number eight Steve Owen to score. Leading 22-21 with the end in sight Old Yards brought on Mark "Hon. Sec." Baldwin to take the pace out of the game by using two of the final three minutes to jog to the lineout where play was starting from. The final whistle brought another win to the Tilehouse Lane team who must build on this to look for promotion next season.
The 2nds had no game when Bloxwich failed to show despite their Fixture Secretary reconfirming the fixture at 11am on the morning of the game.
The 3rds won 26-18 against Birmingham Exiles. No report I'm afraid
The Under 17s had a great day at Twickenham at the EDF Cup Final - Leicester vs. Ospreys. Thank you to Shannon who drove the mini bus and organised the day. Also thanks to Tom Power for providing the mini bus.
Other league results:
Midlands 4 West (North) : Bishops Castle & O.V. 18, Veseyans 11; Bournville 28, Willenhall 5; Harborne 8, Tamworth 27; Newcastle (Staffs) 21, Old Yardleians 22; Selly Oak P, Old Halesonians P; Telford 13, Burntwood 18.
League table:
Midlands 4 West (North) P W D L PF PA Pts
Old Halesonians 20 20 0 0 765 96 40
Bournville 21 19 0 2 840 187 38
Willenhall 21 14 0 7 575 295 28
Tamworth 21 14 0 7 445 329 28
Burntwood 21 11 1 9 276 386 23
Old Yardleians 21 11 0 10 437 394 22
Veseyans 21 10 0 11 317 391 20
Selly Oak 20 8 0 12 279 607 14*
Newcastle (Staffs) 21 6 1 14 344 407 13
Bishops Castle & O.V. 21 6 0 15 182 553 12
Harborne 21 4 0 17 315 653 8
Telford 21 1 0 20 125 602 2
Dates:
Saturday 19th April
- 1st XV are home to Harborne in their final league game of the season
3rds are home to Old Edwardians
- VETs are away to Cleobury Mortimer on a boozy bus
Saturday 26th April
- "A" Team Game to be arranged at home
- Old Yards Vets play in the Edwardians Vets Tournament
Sunday 27th April
- Old Yardleians have entered a team in the Alcester 7's from 12 noon
Saturday 3rd May - Presidents Day, a fun day for all
Saturday 17th May
- Old Yardleians have entered a team in the Aaron Boyce Memorial Greater Birmingham 7's - an all day event
Other Events
- Saturday Night 26th April - Club night out to Moseley - The dresses will be out!
- Friday 2nd May 8pm at the club - Club Annual General Meeting - attend and have your say. We are looking for more Committee members and a 3rd XV Captain.
- Friday 9th May - Annual Dinner at the club - tickets £30 so please pay Gail. Tickets are selling fast so buy yours NOW!
- Friday 4th July - Summer Ball at St John's Hotel, Solihull to celebrate 80 years of Old Yardleians. Snake & Bethan will be there! More details to follow, watch out for your letter from Steve Painter.
The end of an era - Brian Hope retires
Brian Hope has retired as Groundsman for Old Yardleians after over ten years of loyal service and hard work. He is moving to Crete to enjoy the Greek sunshine. He has not gone yet and should be at the Dinner and the Ball in the coming weeks. Make sure you take your opportunity to thank Brian for all those lovely pitches you've played on over the years.
Guinness Keg Caps
The club is collecting the Guinness Keg Caps from the many barrels we sell. They can be used to obtain addition bar equipment like free glasses or training equipment like rugby balls. When you are out in pubs and clubs ask the landlord if he will give you any Guinness Keg Caps he has. Then pass them on to Mark Baldwin.
80th Anniversary Tie
To celebrate 80 years of Old Yardleians rugby an 80th Anniversary tie is being produced. Watch this space for details soon
Got anything to say ?
Please email me details of any Old Yards information, trivia or jokes so I can add them to the next update.
Mark
Hon. Secretary
mark.xc@blueyonder.co.uk