Peterborough - Home 20th February 2010
Peterborough travelled to Olney with a strong side and quick backs. They started the game very well and after four minutes had crossed in the corner for a terrific try worked from four phases with the backs and forwards both combining well. Peterborough continued to apply the pressure, countering attacking very well. However, Olney worked their way back into the match with Jonathon Bryce scoring a good try under to claw back 5 points.
Peterborough were looking the more dangerous when they had the ball but a mistake by them let Olney in for another try under the posts, which Bryce missed with the conversion. From the restart the forwards took the ball forward into contact. Leahy at 10 kicked it over the back of the open side winger and the Olney backs gave chase. The peterborough full back chipped over the defenders and chased on. Leahy coming across the pitch went for the ball and clashed heads with the full back. Unfirtunately this resulted in a serious injury for the full back (Leahy, being a thick Irish man doesn't have a brain to concuss). The game was brought to a halt and eventually moved to another pitch while the Peterborough player was attended to and eventually air-lifted to Hospital. We are pleased to report that he was later discharged from hospital and is alright.
This clearly had an affect on the Peterborough team who never looked quite as dangerous after that. The long delay and loss of a key player resulting in them losing some of their shape. Olney now started to dominate strongly in pack, pushing back several scrums (a nice change from last week Richard!!) and stealing some line-outs courtesy of Sean Wright and Bones (who typically broke his hand in four places but continued to play outstandingly until the final whistle). Steve Fowler and Mark Watts in the back row were working hard at the break down ensuring that the Peterborough backs never got the space they needed.
Another try and penalty before half time gave Olney an 18 - 7 point lead. In the second half, the game slowed on the muddier pitch. The two sides had opportunities to score but both were tackling everything and getting back in defense that by the final whistle each team came off with battle scars of a good hard fought game.
Towcester - Away 13th February 2010
Olney travelled away for the first time in what seemed like ages. Despite two Saturday morning drop-outs, including Doddsy ringing up saying he can't play as he has 'flabby-itis' the 2's travelled with a strong team. The last time these sides met, Olney had an easy day of it due to injuries and unavailabilities in Towcester. This was certainly not repeated. Towcester got off to a strong start, dominating the scrums and most of the early forward play and they got in for two well deserved tries after 15 minutes to lead 12 - 0.
Olney kept calm, kicking well for field position and playing the game in Towcesters half. a penalty by Patrick Leahy got Olney off the mark after 20 mins. Shortly after Teej almost touch down a kick forward by Leahy but the small dead ball area denied him. Immediately from kick off, Plummer kicked another positional kick into the corner making Towcester play from deep inside their half. The line out was stolen and great support play from the front row, saw Richard Walker juggle the ball over the line to bring the visitors withon four points.
Man of the Match, Teej, got his first score, breaking off 4 tacklesd running 30 yards for a great individual try. Convert by Leahy, the score was 15-12 at half time and despite the pressure from Towcester, solid defending had held them out.
The second half started well for Olney with more kicks into the corner keeping the pressure on Towcester. Long runs from Chris Small always threatend the Towcester line. A try from Patrick Leahy was the final reward of this pressure. A scrum five yards out that Richard Walker amazingly held despite being scrummaged off the park all day long gave Leahy the chance to side step his man and score out wide. Ignoring the abuse from the side line, he accepted a £10 bet from Glyn Dodd (he of flabby-itis fame) and slotted the conversion straight through the middle. Glyn Dodd left the ground without paying his money.
Chris Small finally got his reward for his big breaks running from deep inside his own half to score another individuals try, converted, Olney looked like they were crusing at 29-12. Towcester were not going to give up easily and came back into it with sustained attacks by the big forwards and their number 10 ran the show very well for them. Good tackles, counter rucking and discipline managed to keep them out for a long time. Their 10 eventually scored from a fine dummy switch move but it proved too late with only 8 minutes remaining. Olney slowed the game down and ran the clock out to win what was a very tough but enjoyable game.
"Old Scouts" 2nds - Home 6th February 2010
We got stuffed 74-0, but a lot of spirit was shown by the home team that never gave up, and were unlucky not to cross the try line on a number of occasions.
Biggleswade - Home 30th January 2010
Despite a number of players being called up to first team duty and another few who decided shopping with their missus was preferable to a game with their mates, the 2's fielded a strong side and were looking forward to the challenge of playing a club firsts team.
Manager, cum part time player Keith Plummer had other plans. Talk of brown envelopes being past before the match led to suspicions that the ex-player and cider drinker had no intention of completing a full 80 minutes. None of us knew the extent of his deviousness however until 4 minutes into the game he questioned the referree on a particular decision rigourously. Keith, seeing the referree reach for the yellow card, upped his game and managed to make it a red. The opposition tried to persuade the official that as it was a friendly and they needed a good run-out. As he decided to change his mind, Plummer started to run towards the changing rooms with his fingers in his ears, screaming 'la-la-la I can't hear anyone'.
Down to 14 men, it was always going to be a difficult game for Olney and they did their best to stay contention. The forwards dominated the line-out and solid in the scrums, but the lack of backrow as they tried to cover backs and forwards made it hard to retain possession and virtually impossible to thwart Biggleswades attack. Whilst it never really looked like Olney could win the game, there was not much in it until a 15 minute spell early in the second half, saw them let in 4 tries without putting up any real opposition.
Kettering - Home 23rd January 2010
Normal service returned last Saturday with full games being played. Kettering arrived as joint league leaders and didn't fail to disappointed. Quick backs and strong forwards meant that this game could have gone either way. Kettering dominated the first 20 minutes retaining most of the possession and kicking into the corners well to keep the pressure on Olney. The O2s defence held well and refused to give Kettering anything.
Jonathon Bryce opened the score for Olney after a break against the run the play saw Olney attack the Kettering line for the first time in the game after 20 minutes. He converted his own try and immediately after Kettering were back on the attack. A misjudged clearance and three missed tackles let Kettering run a soft try in from the half way line.
Olney got themselves back into the game and started to have their own share of possession and territory. Great runs from Matt Jackson and Bryce on the wings threatened to increase Olney's lead, but fine cover tackling from Ketterings back three kept them out. However, from a ruck just after one of these breaks, Glyn Dodd got the ball at full pace and their is not much that can stop him once he gets going. At half time, the score was 12-5 to Olney.
The second half continued in much the same manner, with Kettering scoring a good try to level the scores. However, Olney's dominance in the scrum and line-out started to take it's toll and with two tries, from Ian Fletch and Matt Jackson sealed the win for Olney.
Daventry - Home 16th January 2010
A superb performance by the seconds saw them win their first game of the new decade with a hat-trick from Keith Plummer on the wing. The game started off slowly as people were still carrying a few Christmas turkeys and heavy snow boots. Joe Dorrill, standing in at number 10 was man of the match. He controled the outfield superbly, ensuring play stayed away from boggy wet areas, giving the likes of Plummer and Parky on the wing nice dry surface to accelerate and show off their blinding pace.
Dean Hendrickson got the game going with some fine shovel action. With the dog mess cleared up, the game got underway with Daventry kicking off staight to Oldham who side stepped three players before sending a long pass out to Manny Howkins out wide. A smart chip and chase saw the ball bounce nicely for Dave Adams who scored unopposed under the post.
Strong defending against the gale force winds from Daventry saw the score at half time 19-21 to Daventry with only one converstion splitting the teams. In the second half, Joe Dorill was inspired. The missed kick in front of post in the first half giving him the wake up call he needed. Glyn Dodd came on in the second half, along with Dean and depsite playing against the unexpected wind, they managed to transform the team.
The score remained the same until the dying moments when Lol's quick spurt from beind set John Swallow off from deep inside. Plummer, seeing the opportunity was determined to get involved and swallow, pulled his man to let Keith score.
Daventry gave it their all in the dying moments and could have scored but for the tackle from Alec Tebby.
Milton Keynes Wolves - Away 21st November 2009
Olney Second team ran in 10 tries against local rivals Milton Keynes Wolves in a 17 - 58 victory at Greenleys on Saturday.
Despite the wet and windy conditions, both sides played good open rugby, but it was Olneys forward domination that gave the visitors the opportunity for some fine tries from Mark Laurenson, Glen Beaumont, Patrick Leahy, Keith Plummer, Sott Filler and Matt Jackson, who scored five. Scott Filler capped a good all round performance with 5 conversions.
Man of match award went to Scott Filler, and reports the next day was that he made good use of the tankard, ending the evening very tanked. Matt Jackson made some serious claims for a regular first team place with some fine individual tries. His fourth was a fine a kick and chase beating to the corner his opposite man and full back to the chorus of 'will someone stop that ginger *#@! from scoring'. The ref told the Olney team not to swear on the pitch.
The two second row, who have been plying their trade in the thirds, impressed massively and all the talk in the bar afterwards was who else were the turd team management hiding. Someone mentioned a prop called The Kernal or Corn or something but alas no-one was paying attention to Bones, so we may never know who this wonderful moustached gent is.
Peterborough, BBOB's and Towcester
Apologies from this reporter but various things such as mid term, alcohol and other vices have kept me away from reporting matches. To summarise, the second back line spent two weeks propping up the firsts. As a result two games were lost.
The 2's travelled to Peterborough with 14 men expecting John Edwards to go direct which he didn't. Peterborough kindly lent the 2's a player and with 4 props in the back line Peterborough ran rings around the "backs". Thanks must go to those who travelled the distance and played out of position.
A similar fiasco the following week with captain Leahy playing (or not depending on your point of view) as scrum half and Will Edwards, back from serious injury, playing as out-half. With no serious way of attacking, it proved to be an impossible task against BBOB's.
Last week, it was the oppositions turn to suffer a long list of unavailabilities. Turning up with 12 men, we gave them 4 in total. We were back to full strength and it never looked like being a close contest. Many thanks to Towcester for at least turning up and not crying off. The best motivation for the 2's was seeing Cherry with the ball for Towcester. Everyone from the team (and some from the sidelines) picked up the pace trying to be first to cut him down.
The 2's travel to Dunstable for a pre-gentlemens evening game, a quick stop at J9 and a skin full of beer.
Daventry - Away 17th October 2009
The seconds remain the only undefeated team in the league with a solid win over Daventry 2nd's. Having lost 4 players to the first team and three others to man-flu, the 2's enlisted Foggy on the bench to show everyone the way to the ground. Having had a fantastic tour of Daventry, the team showed up 10 minutes before kick off.
The team started strongly and retained plenty of possession, running through many phases. Good defence from Daventry ensured this didn't result in a try and from a penalty, Olney chose to open the scoring with 3 points from Digger. Shortly afterwards Snake Hip Durose scored the first try of the day running through about 4 tackles. Digger converted.
The game continued with Olney retaining the majority of the possession and territory. A series of penalties for high tackles (anything above the ankles) gave Olney several line-outs on the opposation 5 yard line. Each time Olney messed up so we were given another penalty to get it right. Eventually the forwards managed to catch and drive to give Bones a try out wide. A fine converstion from Digger made it 17-0 at half time.
In the second half, captain Leahy picked up the deep within his own dead ball area, side stepped 27 Daventry players and showed an amazing turn of pace to outrun the entire Daventry back line to the sound of 'catch that fat b@$t#rd' and 'how can someone that fat run that fast'. Scoring under the post, the crowds were even more amazed that Leahy carried on and didn't keel over and die. When this reporter rang his home the next day for comment his answered stating that he is in an oxygen tank and unable to speak as he is wheezing too much.
Digger converted the try and added a further penalty to make the 30-0. Olney, confident of having secured the win started to let Daventry back into the game. Daventry were awarded a penalty try as Olney were rushing the oppostion on a tap penalty. Towards the end Daventry scored a fine try from the back of rolling maul and the game finshed up 30-14.
The Man of the Match award went to Trout for a fantastic performance around the park. Despite receiving 13 votes, no players admitted to voting for him. COM award went to Alex George for not paying match fees and his constant high tackles.
Stuart and Lloyds - Home 10th October 2009
The O2's continue to remain the only home team to win on the new pitches with a 28-0 win over Stuart and Lloyds. The scoreline perhaps not reflecting fairly the quality of S&L 2's. Olney started the game well with considerable possession and territory but it wasn't until the 35th minute when captain and COM Patrick Leahy crossed over for a try that Olney opened the scoring.
S&L were distrupting the ball well at the break down and their back line defended exceptional well as Olney attacked wave after wave. They came close to scoring a couple of times but clearance kicks from Leahy and a break down the wing by MOM Alex George kept S&L.
After the match Alex was very pleased to show his mates on the colts his dummy and sprint up the line of the screen. When asked about it again at 10pm that night he replied "Arghhh, I love you... your me besshht mate. Whaayy"
In the second half Olney continued to apply the pressure and eventually it was too much for S&L. Mike Durose scored the first of his two tries shortly into the second half off a simple switch move with 2's debutant, Smudge. When asked about his first game at 10 for the seconds he said "I really enjoyed it. Great camaraderie and excellent service from DT at scrum half, but he does go on a bit moaning about this that and the other. He should adopt a more laid back attitude like me".
The next try came from another brilliant combination between Leahy and Dodd, proving week in and week out the age and weight are not a barrier to success. Doddsy picked up the ball from a poor pass by DT to charge at the defence deep in his own half. After running 5 yards, he had run out of steam and had to pop the ball to Paddy who broke through at least 25 tackles. After the ensuing ruck smudge put Durose into space to score his second try of the day. This run was clearly too much for Leahy, who seeing that the fourths had finished their game called on Foggy to replace him so that he could get his breath back.
The last try came from a great break by Scott down the wing supported by Bryce whose additional pace left the S&L defence standing for a great try under the posts. Scott converted all 4 tries to leave the O2's undefeated in the league.
Next week we travel to Daventry for another hard game on probably equally hard ground.
.
Wellingborough - Away 3rd October 2009
Having had a week off (thanks Cherry), the 2's returned to their winning ways with a convincing 43-5 win over Wellingborough. It wasn't all plain sailing and at half time the score was only 5-0 to Olney.
"9 Toes" started the game with a drop kick that was more kick than drop. The wind was so strong that when he dropped the ball it blew away from him and he had no alternative but to kick it on the full. A sensible referee let it go, along with other line out decisions in order to keep the game flowing.
Wellingborough retained possession and had some enormous forwards carry the ball from the base of the ruck. Starved of the ball, Olney struggled to take advantage of the slope and strong wind.
Captain "Sure Hands" Leahy pulled his muscle early in the first half but valiantly continued the game, all the while pulling it a little bit more and feeling it throb every time he lifted his leg.
At half time Olney knew they hadn't done enough and a tough battle lay ahead. The forwards came out firing and fine performances from the back row of Jones (Man of Match with 13 votes) Bennett and Thierry saw them link with each other and burst through the gain lineto give scoring opportunites to Alex George, Kev SMith, Mike Durose( x2), Chappy and Paddy. 4 being converted by Filler.
After Olney had scored the second try in the second half, Wellingboroughs confidence dropped (and fitness). Olney started to dominate the scrums, winning several against the head.
A fine performance by all followed by a good session afterwards.
Next week league duties return with a home game against Stuart and Lloyds.
Kettering - Home 19th September 2009
Olney 2nds recorded a well earned 26-11 home victory over strong opponents Kettering. A strong forwards performance lead to tries from Patrick Leahy, Matilda Jackson, Ian Bennett and Mark Watts, with 3 conversions from Scott Filler.
The outstanding forward performance was highlighted with a push over try, and Alex George taking six lineouts from Kettering throws, two on the Olney five metre line.
Alex was replacing Wattsy who decided to pull himself off at half time.
Alex could not repeat the heroics on Olneys throw in, as Trigger had decided to even up the sides by throwing most of our ball direct to Kettering, via the A14.
Well done Bob Whitehead (63) for lasting the whole game, and with his partner Trout, finally forcing Kettering to revert to uncontested scrums. (Watch out James "La De Dah" Nicholas, the fourths beckon.)
After another fine performance, Simon Wilcox retired after 75 mins with a trapped saphenous nerve, and Wattsy, refreshed after pulling himself off, came on for the last few minutes to bask in the glory.
Man of the Match was awarded to Matilda Jackson, who linking with in form Fletch and Scott " 9 toes " Filler, completed a back three that the 1956 victorious New Zealand team that won the series against South Africa would have been proud of.
The only blemish on the game, was Ian Bennett (58) being sin binned for appearing in an educational video dressed in a multi coloured condom. (A music video in which detailed instructions on how condoms work,communicated through over-the-top Indian song and dance)
But.....the highlight of the game, the referee, talking to our front row, states " YOUR BORING BOB"
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW
Ampthil - Home - 12 September 2009
Olney 39 - Ampthill 10
Olney got off to good start in the league with a convincing win over Ampthill 3's. Ampthill provided their usual strong pack and contested very well in the loose, turning over ball a fair bit. However, it was out wide where Olney really had the difference and the edge over the opposition. Quick running from James Hannah at full back and Matt Jackson on the wing quickly turned any ball Olney had into a strong attacking position and often, a try. Both players scored two tries each in the game.
In the centres, Kev Smith ran some fantastic lines, completely opening up Ampthills defence almost at will. Whilst Paddy Leahy scored a fantastic try from half way, beating the Ampthill winger and full back on the outside to score under the posts and proving that age is no barrier to playing in the backs (or indeed waist size).
Whilst the forwards were having a harder time of it, the possession they did get resulted in scores and at half time Olney were 29-0 up and virtually had the game wrapped up.
In the second half Ampthill got their act together better and retained a lot more ball, keeping it tight and some good tactical kicking twice put them into scoring positions with line-outs near the Olney line. Well worked mauls resulting in two tries.
The heat of the day was starting to tell on the older legs on the pitch and some tempers flared and sloppy play started to show from both sides. Man of the Match Ben Jones, whose work rate was phenomenal throughout the game scored an individual try under the posts which Bones duly missed by a mile. One more try from Bones, making up for the awful converstion miss finished off a very good day for the seconds.
The O2's become the first Olney team to win a game on the clubs new main pitch. Next week the O2's take on Kettering at home. This should prove to be an equally bruising encounter up front. A win will mean the O2's will be the first team to win on the other new pitch.
Oundle - Home - 5th September 2009
The O2's started the season in typical fashion. Mike Durose texted manager Keith Plummer at 1.59pm to inform him that he was too busy looking at a flat and would not be turning up. This was very fortunate as we have been reliably informed that the flat is no longer there and if he didn't see it on Saturday afternoon he would never have been able to view it. Then at 5 minutes past 2pm Ross Mallen rang Ross Keenan to see where he was, to discover he was still in bed and therefore won't be playing. Glyn Dodd turned up on time but still managed to take 50 minutes to get ready and come out onto the pitch.
As always seems to be the case, when we are at our most disorganised we at most dangerous (as Milton Keynes can testify to). Oundle were a well organised and quality team who started the game lively, taking full advantage of the stiff breeze to play deep in the Olney half. Olney defended well, with strong tackling and good counter rucking, which kept Oundle out for a good twenty minutes.
Oundle opened the scoring from a scrum 5 yards out. The outhalf showed good turn of pace to get over the gain line before Johnny Munday could take him down but the Outhalf did very well to get a pass in to the oncoming centre from behind the defense to score under the posts.
Olney came back well and managed to bring the ball into the Oundle half but were then brought down to 14 men as Sean Wilcox instinctively left a foot trailing when rounded by the full back. Whilst nothing malicious, it was a straight yellow card.
Oundle continued to pile on the pressure and had two missed try scoring opportunites. Their winger had made a break around Ian Fletcher, who 15 years ago would have caught him but alas the sands of time have changed that. Young Kelsall, upon seeing the 6"2 winger pounding towards thought it better to stay wide and mark the other smaller winger in case the ball was passed to him (we'll ignore that fact the he was well covered by TG on the wing). Clear through, the winger dropped the ball over the line. Something we are sure his team mates won't let him forget for the reast of the season.
Another tryscoring opportunity was missed when Oundle kicked through and three Olney players appeared to their best to jump over the ball and avoid touching it down allowing an Ounlde player to come through and touch down. The referee deemed that the Olney players failed to avoid the ball and had in fact touched down first.
At half time, with one try in it and the wind now behind Olney's back, it was all to play for. Again, Olney made some good play and spun the ball wide. Playing with three back row in the backs against a decent back line meant that they were never going open up the opposition clearly enough to score. with legs tiring, Oundle were let in again against the run of play for a farily soft try which went unconverted.
Captain Patrick Leahy made the big charge up the centre, sucking in the defence allowing for a quick short ball back into the pack for a well worked try by Olney which was converted by Johnny. With 5 points in it and 3 minutes remaining, things got momentarily exciting but the lack of pace out wide meant the 2's were unable to exploit the space they were creating.
Full time Olney 7, Oundle 12 for what was a good game that every enjoyed. Stony picking this week on the new pitch is a must for everybody. Man of the match was Johnny who was awarded the new second team MOM Jug and had the opportunity for free beer all night. He decided to go home too early however, so the award was given to debutante, John Snow, who put in a solid performance in second row.
Next week see the 2's play their first league fixture, Ampthil and home. A tough game for sure.
Stewarts and Lloyds - Home - 28/03/09
Olney second team's incredible run of success continued with a remarkable 102 - 16 win, in front of a capacity crowd of 38 enthusiastic supporters, including poor Kev Smith (cut nose) and Ross Napper (lazy).
Stewarts started well, with two succesful penalties given away by the inexperienced Glyn Dodd. It is hoped that a further 20 seasons of rugby at the rec will enable Glyn to get the hang of some of the laws of the game.
Under considerable pressure and abuse from both the crowd and his team mates, Dodd managed to fall over the line to bring the score line to a tantalising 5 - 6. So at this stage, Dodd was responsible for all eleven points scored.
Olney piled on the pressure and ran in loads of tries, from lots of different people, the most memorable being from that man Dodd again.
Dodd said after the game " I scooped the ball up from somewhere near Junction 14 of the M1, beat everyone in Newport Pagnell High Street, by- passed Sherington and Emberton, stopped in The Bull for a quickie, side stepped through the allotments, and the next minute, I thought , blimey ! I could score here ! The crowd were encouraging me with shouts of "RUN YOU FAT BASTARD, RUN" and although I managed to score, my momentum kept me going until I crashed into the Cricket pavillion."
Mike "anybody want to buy a car stereo" Durose, turned up in time to add a further three tries to the increasing tally.
Although the players voted Alex George (18) man of the match, it was obvious that Player Manager Keith Plummer (31) had influenced the score line, the half time lead of 98 - 9, only increasing by 4 points under Plummer's replacement, Lloyd Warne.
Again, Captain Patrick Leahy's judgement is under scrutiny, in the Press conference following the game, when questioned " Is Captain Patrick Leahy's judgement under scrutiny after subsituting Player Manager Keith Plummer ?" Winger Chris Small said " mmm", nodded, and went home.
Captain Patrick Leahy's judgement is under scrutiny. Here he kicks to, in his words " Relieve the pressure" Olney were 95 points to 9 up at the time.
The only downside of the game was guest player Charlie Creamslice being sent off in the second half for being an irritant. We hope we dont see the likes of him down the club again.
With all players available for next Saturdays clash, there is no reason why this awe-inspiring team, can not replicate this victory against who ever they end up playing against next week.
The day was summed up after the game by lovable rogue Thierry, who said "oui, c'était un bon jeu, Ref "
Glyn Dodd just off Junction 14 Dodd by-passes Sherington Dodd Approaches Olney
Dodd on his way to Cricket Pavillion
Towcester - Home - 14//03/09
It was down to Olney second team to provide the huge home crowd with a display of champagne rugby, as they ran in eight tries to defeat Towcester in the sun.
Olney started well with tries from Barry Woodsford and "snake hips" Durose.
Olney were down to 14 men for 10 mins, as the referee offered player manager Keith Plummer a well earned breather.
A further try from "Man of the Match" colt Matt Jackson, lead to Olney leading at half time, and cries of "Get yer hair cut" from the East Stand.
With the wind assisting in the second half, there was no stopping Olney, despite losing centre Kev Smith with his Comic Releif tribute to Red Nose Day, and having him replaced with "do something funny for money" Matt Bodd. (Trigger)
Bodd wasted no time in taking one against the head, giving Plummer the opportunity to score a stunning try under the posts, that Craig Smith converted.
Bodd also wasted no time in staying on the pitch, leaving the field after 10 mins with an injured gastrocnemius. (Trigger's playing subs equate to £ 7.50 per minute this season.)
Lloyd Warne decided he had sobered enough to stagger on and replace Bodd in the back row, and put in an outsatnding performance that must raise question marks over Captain Patrick Leahy's future selection.
The team now took on an antediluvian image, with Jarleth McElroy (56), Ian Bennet (54) Glyn Dodd (60) and Keith Plummer (32), running the game.
Evergreen Dodd fell over the line for two tries and Ian bennet wobbled over for his first try for 29 years.
Two further conversions from Bones left Towcester trailing, 46 - 0 at full time.
Well done the seconds ! Keep it up !
Milton Keynes Away
07/03/2009
Olney 2nd team put in a near perfect display to defeat unbeaten league leaders Milton Keynes on their own patch.Their worst defeat for four seasons.
Playing with the wind behind them in the first half, Olney went quickly to a 15-0 lead with tries from Mike Durose, Mark Redman and Chris Small. Thierry Paul crashed over for two tries before half time. A shell shocked Milton Keynes were not allowed back into the game by Olneys defence despite the second half wind advantage. Two further second half tries came from Ian Fletcher, and Milton Keynes unconverted try was responded to by man of the match Chris Small diving over in the corner. Veteran second row Glyn Dodd took over kicking duties and converted three tries, including Captain Patrick Leahy's try in the last minutes to finish off this remarkable 51-5 victory.
Ampthill Away
09/02/08
Despite having captain Patrick Leahy sin binned for a punch that missed it's target, Olney 2nds recorded a dramatic league victory over a strong Ampthill side. With only seconds left at 17-17, Olney broke Ampthills stranglehold of the game, and man of the match Ross Napper dived over for his second try to clinch the result. Ampthill had the majority of possession, but struggled to make use of it against a courageous Olney defence. Olney always looked dangerous on the counter attack, and kept in the game with two trys from fly half Ian Fletcher, and a conversion by Jon Edwards. Fine back play from centres Kev Smith and Mike Durose produced Nappers first try to level the score, before the dramatic winning try in injury time. The conversion was missed, as a jubilant Olney team heard the final whistle blow at 17 -22 .
19/01/08
Olney 2nd XV vs Wellingborough(away Merit Table)
13-7 Loss
A rain-affected game made for several errors as Olney 2’s made the short trip to Wellingborough, looking to complete a double, having defeated them at home before Christmas.
After a few early exchanges, Olney found themselves on the back foot, and it was the duo of Paddy and Macca that put in the tackles and contested at the breakdown.
Olney cleared their lines well, and soon found themselves bossing the Wellingborough pack. On particular trundle saw Macca cross the line, only for the ref to deny the score.
With the scrums and line-outs a bit of a mess due to the wet conditions, neither side were able to gain a definitive advantage, but special mention must go to young Barrick at Loose-head, holding his own against the huge Wellingborough number 3.
Wellingborough were first on the score sheet, taking the lead with a penalty after Olney were penalised for being offside.
Olney attempted to reply with a penalty soon after, however as the ball struck the upright, no Olney players followed up, and the nippy Wellingborough winger ran the ball straight back up the pitch, catching Olney unawares. Bricey at full-back did well to force a pass, and Mike Durose chased back to make the tackle.
Wellingborough seemed inspired after this, and their useful 12 made a few breaks, often-needing more than one Olney player to bring him down.
Wellingborough added another penalty and converted a try before half-time, but Olney finished strongly, with Durose making a break and feeding Barrick, who gained good yards before the ball was spun wide, only for Jon Edwards on the wing to get bundled into touch near the line.
Halftime, 13-0 to Wellingborough
The second half was much the same as the first, with many handling errors from both sides as the rain began to fall.
Scrums were much more solid, and a push over try saw the hard-working Leahy awarded the score.
Another try was missed by the ref, as Olney’s forwards began to take the ball on around the fringes, but changes in the Wellingborough front row stabilised their set scrum, despite continued pressure from the front row of Barrick, Tomkins and Nicholas.
A line out nicked against the head saw Olney make good yards with a rolling maul, before it was pulled down, Olney being awarded a penalty.
From the following line out, Olney lost Ross Mallen with a nasty injury to his ribs, and Doddsy returned, this time wearing a rather skimpy shirt!
As time began to run out, Olney looked to try and run everything, and the forwards provided Lloydy with decent recycled ball. Kev Smith, Will Edwards and Mike Durose all made good half breaks, but offloads often went astray, again because of the wet weather.
Credit to Wellingborough, who dogged out the second half, and to be fair, made the most of the conditions.
Not a bad performance from the 2’s, who would have probably had a more enjoyable game with drier conditions.
Solid games from Macca and Paddy, credit also due to Bricey and Jon at the back who caught a lot of what was stuck up in the air despite the conditions, and generally did a lot of tidying up.
Very impressive perfomance from young Barrick at prop, making a lot of tackles, supporting well and carrying a lot of ball, while also having to pack down against a monster.
01/12/07
Olney 2nd XV vs Stewart & Lloyds (away Merit Table)
33-17 Win
Winning the toss 14 man Olney decided to play with the advantage of the slope and the wind in the first half. This decision paid off almost immediately as quick recycling by the forwards saw the ball passed wide for Mike Durose to burst through the home side's defence. Richard James getting the first of his four conversions that afternoon. From the restart Olney controlled the ball well and worked in to S&L's 22. After several phases of pressure S&L had to concede a penalty to stop the try, instead of taking the kick in front of the post a quick tap was taken and the ball passed to Matt Cook, who powered over from 5 meters out with James converting. Olney, now up to 15 as late arrival Alex Campbell took to the pitch, continued to dominate the first half. Further tries came from Richard James and Kev Smith, with Richard converting his own try. Just before half time Olney dropped the pace of the game to that one which the home side could live with, this was mainly due to the lack of contested scrums. This gave S&L some hope and they tried to use the speed they had on the wings. The final passage of play saw the S&L's winger running clear, but a monstrous cover tackle from Iain Fletcher prevent the score. Unfortunately this left the Olney player injured and the team back down to 14.
Half time 26 - 0
Now playing with the wind and Olney starting the 2nd half the way they left off the 1st, S&L put pressure on the away side. S&L continuously kicked over the top to try and take advantage of the wind and Olney being 1 man down. From one of these kicks the S&L number 10 ran into an Olney player and claimed that he was blocked, the referee being unsighted fell for the claim of the S&L and gave the penalty, which was converted. Olney continued to be asleep and conceded two further scores in the form of converted tries. This left the score at 26-17 and S&L’s within touching distance. This woke the away side up who took control of the game through a series of well controlled forward drives, however too much possession was kicked away and keep S&L in the game. From a scrum on the Olney 5 meter line, the decision was taken to run the ball instead of kick. Mike Durose made a break through the defence and ran to within 10 meters of the S&L line, in the tackle he managed to get the ball away Nathan Pearce who ran in under the posts. Richard James converted the try and this was effectively the end of the game.
Tries – Mike Durose, Matt Cook, Richard James, Kev Smith, Nathan Pearce
Conversions – Richard James x 4
20/10/07
Olney 2nd XV vs Wellingborough (home Merit Table)
19-18 Win
Due to a number of late changes Olney kicked off this local derby against Wellingborough with a much changed team from the one selected earlier in the week. With no substitutes available and the late inclusion / welcome return of Steve Günter at full back it was going to need a real 15 man effort from Olney.
Wellingborough arrived at the Rec with a large pack of forwards which meant that the early exchanges were keenly fought over. Although the opposition played the 1st half with the wind and slight slope it was Olney who took the ball to w’borough and after some good interplay between forwards & backs had created space deep in the opposition half. Unfortunately however a pass out wide was speculatively intercepted by the one of the opposition backs who duly sprinted ¾ length of the pitch to score under the posts. Conversion added.
The game was tight for most of the 1st half; however some inexcusable lack lustre tackling allowed the no. 12 for w’borough to run virtually untouched through the Olney defence to score. Missed conversion.
Throughout the 1st half Mike Durose at fly half was asking questions of the youthful w’borough back line and some straight running by the unorthodox centre partnership of Ian Bennett and Pat Leahy kept Olney going forward.
W’borough slotted a penalty before half time making it, 0v15 at the turn around.
The whole team felt that they had under performed in the 1st 40 and a collective half time team talk from inspirational manager Keith Plummer, and a simple game plan of playing the rugby in the opposition half and complete the basics, ensured everyone was clear of the task ahead.
It started well. Forwards caught ball and took on the opposition and when the backs had the ball they played to field position. It was then for Olney to get on the score sheet, with a fantastic individual try from No.10 who jinked through the w’borough defence and ran ½ the pitch to score under the posts. Plus conversion.
Wellingborough then kicked a penalty. The opposition backs had given up trying to run at the Olney midfield and tried to run around the defence, but instead were shepherded out towards touch.
The Olney pack was now beginning to get on top of the w’borough forwards with some strong running from Si Wilcox (who interestingly has a virtually identical running style to his father) and the 2x Olney lock forwards. The lineout was working well and beginning to take opposition ball as well.
A good counter attack from Fletcher, who linked with the forwards to take the ball on yet further, created the gaps out wide for the ball to passed to Justin Wilcox who went over for a well worked score.
From a wide angle this was duly converted by No.9 Richard James.
Smelling victory Olney fought hard against a good w’borough team and some dogged work by Macca, James Nicholas and Stuart Goodhew supplied enough ball for Paddy to go over, with 10 minutes remaining and thus secure victory.
This was a good win. 19 v 18
20/10/07
Olney 2nd XV vs Ampthill (home, friendly)
43-19 Win
The first 15 minutes of the game saw olney defending hard in their own 22.
As the ampthill forwards were edging nearer the home teams try line, the
olney pack turned over and fed the ball to fly half Mike Durose who with a
thrilling run managed to plant the ball between ampthills posts, Richard
James converted 7-0. A few rucks and scrums later the Ampthill winger
decided to take the olney back 3 by complete suprise and chipped a long
ball, with our full back beat the ampthill winger leaped on the ball scoring
in the corner, unconverted 7-5. Olney then retalliated with a tremendous
pack effort and a spot of individual flair from Patrick Leahy, scoring near
the posts, converted, 14-5. Ampthill then responded with another chip try,
converted 14-12. In quick succession Ampthill put another try over,
unconverted 17-14. With half time looming and the olney heads hanging
slightly, a penalty was awarded in the ampthill 22. Paddy opted for the
posts, and Richard James stepped to the mark. The kick missed however and
Centre Ross Keenan chased the kick and with a tap of the foot and a dive
chased the ball and landed on it. Richard James alas missed the conversion
attempt to leave the score, 19-17 at half time.
With just two points difference at the Half, Captain Paddy motivated the
Olney 15 to put forth an astonishing team effort in the 2nd half.
The half kicked off with a Brutally well executed move produced by fly half
Mike Durose, Centres Ross Keenan and Kev Smith. This saw Ross Keenan cut a
line through the Ampthill defence and score under the posts. Converted by
Richard James, 26-17. With outstanding defence from the Olney 15 the
Ampthill lads looked tired, and No.14 Ian Fletcher took the opportunity to
score an individual try out wide, unconverted 31-17. Another Backs move from
the olney side saw Kev Smith run an inside line off Ross Keenan and then
ship the ball back to Ross to make it a Hat-Trick, unconverted 36-17. The
final try of the game came from Kev Smith who ran a deep crashing line to go
over for another try, converted 43-17.
With a Tight first half the team really stuck together well in the 2nd half
and produced some champagne rugby. Man of the Match going to Cookie, No.8
for his tremendous efforts in the rucks and mauls.
13/10/07
Olney 2nd XV vs. Bletchley (away friendly)
Result 48-5 (Win)
Olney first team squad enjoyed a day off watching the Northampton Saints game and with Bletchley not being able to raise a team late on Saturday morning to play Olney 3's, it was left to Olney 2nds to play the only game and they travelled to Bletchley 2's in good form after last week's strong win.
Olney started where the left off last week, with the forwards dominating scrum and broken play. From a quickly taken free kick for a collapsed scrum, Olney forwards and backs combined to attack Bletchley's line and only some desperate defence kept them out. A series of scrums on the Bletchley 5m line eventually saw a well worked back line move with Player of the month Kev Smith cutting through and scoring.
Olney continued to dominate and a further try came through No 8 Matt Cook, with scrum half Richard James converting and adding a penalty. Bletchley rallied and finally got some pressure and territory deep in Olney's half but good work by the Olney scrum saw hooker Matt Boddy take one against the head. The ball was fed quickly to fly half Mike Durose who made a searing 40m break and with only the full back to beat and a three man overlap outside him, he chose to kick ahead and the ball hit the foot of the unfortunate full back. Luckily for Olney, the ball bounced straight into the hands of supporting runner Richard James who run in unopposed and converted his own try to give Olney a 22-0 lead.
Bletchley never gave up and managed a score before the half and threatened again when after some broken play from end to end, the ball was kicked through and chased by two Bletchley players. A great covering run by Matt Boddy saw him win the chase and was strong enough to hold on despite the attentions of several Bletchley players and so wipe out one of their only chances to get back into the game, leaving the half time scored 22-5.
The second half saw Olney ring the changes, mainly in the pack but this did not disrupt the game plan with Olney starting the 2nd half with two further tries, from both centres, Kev Smith and Ross Keenan. With the game won, Olney eased off and for 20mins Bletchley attacked the Olney line incessantly but the defence held firm. As Bletchley tired, Olney ran in two further tries, one more from Ross Keenan and a try from second row Nathan Pearce. With Richard James converting 3 of the 4 second half tries, taking his personal tally to 18pts and the final score, a comfortable 48-5 win for Olney.
06/10/07
Olney 2nd XV vs. Daventry
Result 70-8 (Win)
Tries: Jon Edwards, Kev Smith, Ross Keenan x4, Justin Wilcox x3, Mike Durose, James Nicholas, Matt
Cook
Conversions: Richard James x5
From the kick off Olney took the game to the home side who immediately conceded a penalty for not releasing the ball in the tackle. A quick tap was taken, catching Daventry unawares, with the ball eventually going to Justin Wilcox to score within the first few minutes of the match. This early score seemed to kick start the home side who came back hard at Olney. Following Olney's example Daventry used the quick tap from penalties to gain territory, which they were able to convert into points through a try out wide. With the score at 5 points a piece Olney knew that they had to concentrate on first up tackles and not giving penalties away if they were not to repeat the mistakes of last week. The next try came through good interlinking between Olney’s backs and forwards seeing Prop James Nicholas running in from 25 meters out. Again Daventry came back at Olney, but this time Olney held their line and cleared the pressure. Olney scored 3 more tries this half, converting 2 of them, to take the score to 29-5 at half time.
Olney started the second half where they had left off in the first, with good forward play seeing Matt Cook picking the ball up from the base of 5 meter scrum and powering over for an early score on the board. Daventry’s players now seemed to lose their motivation and the rest of the half was one way traffic as Olney dominated in every area of the game except for one long range penalty score by the home side. Particularly strong was Olney’s scrum, which caused two of Daventry’s front row forwards leave the field and reducing the scrum to a non-contested affair. Man of the match was Ross Keenan who’s strong running style was rewarded with four tries.
29/09/07
Olney 2nd XV Team Match Report: Towcester
Result: 32-26 (L)
