3rd Team Match Reports

Sat 1st Dec 2007

Olney 38 N'ton Casuals 17

Without the Trout captaining the side, the 3's recorded an impressive victory.

A scores from - Luke Day 2, Graham Dell 2, Chris wooding , Dougie Dell, Tony Surley kicked 4 out of 6 conversions.

Sat 3rd November 2007

Olney 22 Bedford Ath 19

The game started very well, with the Olney pack working very hard with the bigger Bedford Ath pack. Some fine miss passes with Graham Dell and Eddy Hutch in the centres seeing Olney making good inroads into the game. From a well worked maul Bedford Ath slipped through the blind side and got the first score of the game. Olney's heads never went down and it all got very heated with a Bedford Ath player getting sin bind for throwing punches. Then Olney had a scrum which Bedford collapsed, the ref gave a penalty 10 yards out and a quick tap to Marcus Carrington saw him running straight through the Bedford defence.

5-5 Half time

After the half Olney started slower of the 2 sides, which saw the Ath score and convert a try. The Ath continued to put the Olney defence under real pressure, but Olney held the attack and produced an excellent play in the backs which saw Graham Dell score. Olney followed this up with a line out then deep in the oppositions half, the ball was popped to Ollie Hooton to score under the posts and Tony Surley converted. Now behind the frustration grew in the Ath’s side seeing another player sin binned again for punching. Olney made five changes and within five minutes Si Whitehead was sin binned for inappropriate conduct to the ref! The game continued to flow with every Olney player wanting the win, playing very hard. Then the Ath scored to retake the lead 19-17. Then play restarted with the captain rallying up the pack, some excellent again work in the backs with Ross Hobbit, Eddy Hutch and Bones joining in, a long pass out and Eddy scored a well worked try to take Olney back into the lead. From the restart the game was hard work in the middle of the pitch with either team not wanting to loose a Bedford player throw a punch right in front of the ref and was sent of after he had been sin binned for it. Then in the last 5 minutes Olney's sheer grit and determination saw Olney win a maul, the backs then it got out to Gavin Fogg, who dived over the line with the Ath’s captain showing his displeasure in his sides poor tackling. Ross Hobbit missed the conversion and then finale whistles was blown. A very hard worked win in the league for the thirds. Man of the match goes to every player that played, they all put their body's on the line and played with there heart and soul.

SAT 27TH JANUARY

OLNEY III 31 BLETCHLEY III 12

Local rivals Bletchley started the game at Olney in blistering fashion with an excellent catch from the kick off and driving back at Olney's forwards with serious intent. The first few scrums were all Bletchley with the home team struggling to wake up and been driven backwards. The scrum half and fly half from Bletchley combined well and got the ball moving up field quickly while the Olney defence was slipping off tackles and not very organised. All this pressure soon told as the fly half broke through the middle and crossed to score putting the away team ahead after 10 minutes. This gave Bletchley the encouragement they needed and from receiving the kick off they began to drive hard at Olney trying to open up a gap in the score sheet. Olney began to settle the scrum and start to try and run the ball back at Bletchley, rucks were fiercely contested with both sides committed to winning the ball.

Bletchley were still slightly ahead and their next try was well deserved with the pressure they were still exerting and securing the conversion put them 12 nil up with 10 minutes to play in the first half. Tony Surley playing at full back took a great catch from a high kick under pressure but ended up giving away a penalty after he had to hold onto the ball on the floor because the support did not arrive in time. Bletchley elected to kick for goal but the kick was short and Foggy fumbled the catch claiming the sun was in his eyes.

The resulting five metre scrum was re set three times as Olney held off a big shove before no 8 Matt Cook picked up at the base and drove forward allowing Olney to recycle quickly and get the ball to fly half Chris G who made a half break and then shipped the ball on to James Paynter to head up field. Quick ball from the break down allowed Olney to keep driving the ball and recycling before spinning it wide to the outside centre Tommy Coe who put in one of his twisting runs to cross the line and score under the posts just before half time.

Olney skipper Foggy demanded a step up in the intensity at half time and everyone responded with a huge drive from the restart and some great moves in the backs to start cutting Bletchley apart. Desperate defence saw a Bletchley hand in at the ruck which the referee duly spotted and awarded a penalty. Chris G took this quickly and passed to Foggy who cut inside the defence then beat the drifting man to the line to score making it 12-11.

From the restart Olney were all action with man of the match hooker Mat Turner taking the catch and setting up a ruck, the backs began to show some great moves with miss passes and an run arounds to gain ground. Replacement Scrum half Ian Smith took the ball up well and harried his opponent causing Bletchley to rely on the huge boot of their fly half to get them out of trouble. Prop Bob Whitehead scored next using his immense strength to drive over and showing a surprising turn of pace.

Geoff Janes was next on the score board after a great miss pass from Matt Morley saw him take the ball on the run and give a show and go to the defender flying up on him. Not to be out done Bob Whithead took another ball on the run and after running sideways straightened up and decided not to be selfish and passed the ball to Tommy Coe who nipped over for his second.

Bletchley were still trying to get back in the game and running the ball wide when they had the chance getting some dangerous breaks Foggy having to chase down their flying full back half the length of the pitch before he mysteriously slowed down allowing the knackered fat lad to scrag him.

The last try was from Matt Morley who capitalized on a Bletchley mistake picking up the lose ball to score. The game was much tighter than the score suggested and played in an excellent spirit with both side playing hard but fair.

Thanks to the stand in referees from both sides..

SAT 13TH JANUARY

WINSLOW 7 OLNEY III 15

The new year finally started for Olney after they failed to get a team out for the first game last week. Away to league new boys Winslow, Olney knew they had to get a win after dropping six points by calling off two games. The O's or Onley as the ref preferred to call us (makes a change from Pink,,, we all know its cerise!!!!) played into the howling gale down the slightest of slopes after losing the flip of the coin.

Starting with a great chase from the off we quickly secured turnover possession and began driving for the line, despite the wind Loyd at fly half was getting the back line moving with Andy Sharpe and Tommy Coe finding big gaps between the Winslow 12 and 13. The forwards were winning in the rucks, Andy Harris and Chris Talbot securing the ball and even Foggy, (normally a pretty boy in the back line) pretending he knew what to do at blindside flank and charging down a kick!

The scrums were tight with which ever pack had the driest ground underfoot able to get a better shove on. The make shift engine room of Trout and Pete Greenall got things sorted out and Olney began to get on top of the scrums. Sustained pressure 5 meters out saw some great Winslow defence holding off repeated charges to cross the line, attempts by Andy Sharpe and Rambo to smash over were not enough and eventually prop George Stanton came in off the wing and taking a pop pass from the ruck crashed through dragging 3 defenders with him to score. Cherry missed the kick in a strong wind.

The restart saw Winslow's full back struggling to cope with the wind and his wayward kicking cost the opposition a lot of ball as the kicks were blown straight out. One clearance landed at the feet of Chris Small on the left wing and he showed that 2 years in Thailand has not slowed him down, as he ran an angle across the width of the pitch before a burst of pace saw him round the right winger and score in the corner, Cherry again had a very difficult touch line conversion into the wind which was just short.

As the sides swapped ends at half time excellent local knowledge from Winslow's skipper paid off as the wind died away (or it was sheer luck) but Olney pinned Winslow in their 22 for the next 10 minutes. A change at prop saw Si Bonner replace the Colonel and coincided with Winslow coming into the game. Retrieving a lose ball their forwards began to smash the ball up field in short bursts then pick and go again, they recycled well and the drives finally died away on the Olney 5 meter line. Awarded the scrum Winslow got a shove on but Si Bonner lost his feet and it went down, having reset the scrum Winslow were getting the drive on again when it collapsed again. Moving in to find drier ground for the third time the referee decided that once it collapsed again under the Winslow drive that Si Bonner was pulling it down and awarded a penalty try. Harsh decision since he was on the far side of the scrum from Bonner.

The last 10 minutes saw Winslow with renewed hope and Olney determined to score. Each side battling hard for possession in the middle of the park. Eventually Olney won ball at a ruck and Foggy popped a pass to Andy Harris flying in from deep who found a gap between the ruck and the 1st defender to burst through and have enough pace to finish the move from half way beating the Winslow centre to the corner for the score. Cherry again had a difficult kick from the touch line which he missed to finish the game.

Matt Cook at number 8 won the thong after returning from injury and putting in the big hits round the park and running hard at the opposition and special mention to Winslow's man of the match who chinned a dirty pint through a rubber horse's head mask in an amazing time with out spilling a drop!!

SAT 2ND DECEMBER

GOSFORD ALL BLACKS II 36 OLNEY III 0

A shambolic departure from Olney with players not bothering to turn up or arriving very late saw us arrive at second in the league Gosford with enough time to get changed and little else. Amazingly the first two minutes were all Olney after we forced a turnover from the kick off and quick hands down the line saw Justin Wilcox tackled short of the line. This just served as a wake up call for Gosford and the next twenty minutes were all theirs with good attacking rugby from the open side flanker and inside centre letting them rattle up 20 points in twenty minutes. Gosford proved their is no substitute for hard running and good support as they swept up the field despite the 10's limited passing. We finally remembered how to defend and started to shut down the outside options which closed out the game until the end of the half, with neither side taking a significant advantage.

The second half saw Olney slumbering at the restart and an instant Gosford attack was turned into points after the penalty they failed to convert was not cleared resulting in a 5m scrum which the Gosford broke from to score on the open side. The game then began to take on a familiar pattern with Olney taking the ball up the field only to lose it in the last quarter and from the clearance kick have to do all the hard work again to gain position. Gosford managed one final score after their winger crabbed sideways across the pitch to round the winger and then win the race to the line. The All Blacks then had the advantage as the night drew in because their black strip made it hard to spot them coming out the gloom, and finally the ref saw sense and called a halt to the game. Man of the match went to Andy Sharpe at inside centre for having to shackle a live wire opponent despite having never played their before and Andy Rambo Harris, for putting in the hits at blindside all afternoon against lads half his age.

Cheers to Gosford for the loan of a second row and back row.

SAT 11TH NOVEMBER

OLNEY III 49 STOW-ON-THE-WOLD III 0

An Olney 3^rd team hosting Stow 3rds has traditionally been a tough and difficult fixture in this league with some close results. With various drop-outs in the 1^stsand 2nds many of the usual 3^rd team players were called up to the 2nds and Basher’s “All Star Vets Team”, with a few regular 3rds, took this fixture on.

The tone was set for the game when, pre-match, Basher ordered Sherry for the entire team to warm up with! When the ref came into the Olney changing room before kick off and asked for the captain, he was told Basher was in the bar drinking Sherry – you’ll find him there!

The game started well for Olney taking the kick off with the wind behind them. Some excellent supporting play from the pack and strong running from Chris Smith and Muller in the centre saw Olney control the ball in the Stow 22 within the first 5 minutes. Good rucking and mauling by Olney saw Ben Brock crash over in the corner for the first try.

Right from the kick off Bonner caught the ball and set off up pitch at a gallop. The back row of Kemble, Rambo and Brock were all on hand to drive play again to the Stow 22 with Brock crashing over under the posts to score.

Already Stow heads were beginning to drop and they could not contain the surging runs and quality support play from the whole team. Paul “dancing bear” Winters was having a fine game at 15 with some trademark dummies to run any kicked possession straight back at Stow. A smooth backs move saw the Stow defence completely bemused as Winters scorched over the line out wide for his first score.

Some more good support play then saw Frank crash over the line after some fine bulldozing work from Rambo.

Half time came and Stow were already dejected. To give them credit however they battled away and never really gave up the fight.

The 2^nd half saw a similar pattern with Olney taking the ball straight to Stow from the kick off. A number of tries were scored in the next 20 minutes with Olney looking comfortable and running every ball they got, even from inside their own 22.

To rub salt into the Stow wounds, Chris Smith who had an outstanding game at inside centre, made way after 10 minutes for Will Edwards, returning after injury for his first game in 6 weeks. Will made an immediate impact with some quality runs through the Stow defence, just when they were tiring most.

Tries by Dave hurley, Will Edwards and Tony Surley in the last 10 minutes effectively sealed the game for some good league points for the 3rds.

Special thanks must go to Andy Sharpe, Richard Farrell and a prop (don’t know name) who turned out for Stow. Well done guys.

Olney Team: Si Bonner, Jock, Basher, George Graham, Dell Hullet (Pete Greenall), Rambo, Kemble, Brock (Dell Hullet), Dave Hurley, Tony Surley, Frank Livesey, Chris Smith (Will Edwards), Muller, Ade Chapman, Paul Winters.

SAT 4TH NOVEMBER

OLNEY III 13 AYLESBURY III 10

A sunlit afternoon at the recreation ground saw Olney 3rds take on Aylesbury in the league. From receiving the kick off Olney took the game to the opposition with vigour, some hard yards been made by the forwards. Having driven toward the try line Olney could not put the final pass together to unlock a stubborn Aylesbury defence. Absorbing this pressure for a long five minutes saw the opposition finally clear the ball and begin too attack a bit more themselves.

The scrums were well contested with Si Bonner, Ollie Hooton and Lol O'Connor putting the Aylesbury pack under pressure with excellent support from the 2nd row of Pete Greenall and Stuart Goodhew. The game began to open up with both sides looking to move the ball and competing well at the break down. Andy Harris and Ollie putting in the big hits and stealing ball at rucks superbly.

Aylesbury got the first try of the game after a scrum and ruck gave the fly half space to run at Tony Surley who put in a lame tackle which allowed him through to score, he missed the resulting conversion in front of the posts which they would rue later.

In previous games Olney heads would have gone down and Aylesbury upped the game to try and push home their advantage, Olney absorbed the pressure only to give away a penalty in front of the posts which again the fly half missed.

The Olney casualty list was growing with Tommy Coe pulling a hamstring and Justin Wilcox seeing stars after being dropped on his head in a tackle. Lol O'conner also limped off to be replaced by Trout at tight head.

Half time then saw Olney regroup and change their second row to John Swallow and Rob Warren which added some bulk in the scrums. Aylesbury attacked from the off and the pressure from the scrum allowed their fly half to run laterally across the line before passing to the inside center who walked through a pathetic attempt of a tackle from Foggy who must have been taking lessons from Surley. Again the new Aylesbury Fly half missed the easy kick which would cost dearly in the end.

Olney finally decided to join the game and charged forward from the restart with Barry at outside centre firing people up for the game and causing problems by interchanging with Foggy at inside centre. The line out was running smoothly with Ollie Hitting his target every time and Rambo catching well at 4.

The first Olney score came from a rumbling drive up field (cant remember who scored or what happened so fill in this bit your self).

Aylesbury changed tactics from them on and every time the 10 got the ball be kicked trying to set up a chase but Cherry at full back coped with this and began to run back at them despite begging to come off because he was tired from drilling holes in walls the day before (Kath go easy on him we need him fresh for next week).

Bob Whitehead came on for Si Bonner and instantly made am impact on the Aylesbury winger who thought he had broken clear to score only to be nailed by a flying prop, he then started to scuffle with Bob because he felt it was unfair to tackle him. The home team sensed the tide turning with more possession and territory gained which made the next try Olneys.

A great catch in the line saw a forward drive from the 10 meter line which Bob then took broke from the back of to power over the line handing off several challenges. Tony missed the touch line conversion but the game was heading Olney's way. The last 10 minutes saw Olney control the game with some good runs and retaining posession as they worked them selves up field, they drove the Aylesbury pack back at the scrums and stopped them from running the ball wide in the backs.

All the pressure told as Aylesbury stared to kill the ball illegally at the breakdown allowing Tony to pin them in their half. After another drive forward Aylesbury again came in from the side and the ref awarded a penalty. Surley calmly stepped up and slotted the ball through the posts with the last kick off the game. Aylesbury will be regretting the missed kicks which is all that divided the teams in a very tight game.

Man of the match thong went to Tony for the kicking display while Bones will be fined royally or his awful chip to the full back for no reason and Foggy and Surley for pathetic tackles.

SAT 28TH OCTOBER

LEIGHTON BUZZARD III 12 OLNEY III 0

A blustery Saturday afternoon matched the performance of the 3rd team in what would prove to be a very tough encounter with the Buzzard's 3rd team. Staring brightly from the kick off saw the Olney forwards chase down the ball and apply pressure in the opening rucks and mauls. Some good straight running made hard yards even if the Leighton defence held firm. The scrum pushing down the steeply sloping pitch had Leighton on the back foot but all this pressure did not get the vital score needed.

Leighton absorbed the onslaught and began to turn the game with some good breaks of their own, their backs showing a surprising turn of pace allied with some strong physical support from the forwards. Despite numerous penalties being awarded to both teams the dead lock was not broken for 30 minutes until the Buzzard forwards being awarded another penalty took it quickly to get in behind the Olney defence for the score.

From the restart the home team recycled the ball quickly and managed to move it to the inside centre in space, he found the gap in the Olney back line because George was trying to stop a spectacular nose bleed, and came through on a burst to score under the posts.

Sensing a rout the Buzzards began to increase their moaning to the ref who was having a very poor game but Olney held until the break.

The restart saw another push from Olney again pinning the Buzzards into their own half for 10 minutes but not managing to turn posession into points. Climbing the large slope saw Olney begin to tire and Buzzard begin to push more resulting in a real end to end game but no good support from either side. As the standard of rugby fell tempers began to fray as stray boots left their mark in the breakdowns.

The ref then applied an amazing decision to have uncontested scrums because the packs were to combative!! This set the tone for more arguing and less rugby which saw the ref losing control of the game.

The final 10 minutes passed with neither side having any ideas and Buzzard content to kill the ball to win. The score line was an accurate reflection of the game with Leighton having a lot less ball than Olney but managing to take their chances, while Olney lacked a real game breaker to score the points.

The ref then applied an amazing decision to have uncontested scrums because the packs were to combative!! This set the tone for more arguing and less rugby which saw

SAT 21ST OCTOBER

OLNEY III 15 WINSLOW I 3

A very well contested game saw Olney emerge with their first win of the season at home against league new boys Winslow. Starting the game into the howling gale a team which saw several changes from last week and included Matt Rawlings being dragged out of a nice warm bar to play hooker tried to attack from the off.

Some great rucking from the forwards and driving play eventually saw Olney awarded a penalty in front of the post which skipper Foggy slotted to claim three points.

The game settled down from the restart with both sides trying to play a quick open game and some fine defending from both teams. The large Olney front row of David (trout) Rainbow, Matt (Basher) Rawlings and a newly trimmed down Si Bonner begin to exert some real pressure on the opposition with the second row adding some real grunt the Winslow scrum began to be regularly pushed back, allowing Olney to start distributing the ball well with fly half Loyd Warn trying to release the backs. A great run from winger Justin Wilcox gained real territory and a scuffed clearance kick gave Olney the chance to catch and drive the line out, from the ensuing ruck on the Winslow Line Matt Rawlings came away with the ball sand dived over to score. Foggy missed the resulting touch line conversion and having not sent the ball anywhere near the posts decided to hand over kicking duties.

If Olney hoped the score just before half time would knock the stuffing out of Winslow then it had the opposite effect. The fist 15 minutes of the second half was all Winslow in the scrums and they attacked repeatedly with only some desperate defending keeping Winslow to three points from a penalty. John Swallow in the second row managed to stop his opposite number scoring from a close penalty and hold him up over the line before Craig (Bones) Smith fired off a huge clearing kick.

This effort drained Winslow and the Olney pack begin to dominate the scrums allowing Bones and Loyd to pin the opposition in their own half with some excellent kicking to the open side to chase and also for touch.

After a shocking knock on Foggy managed to take a clearing kick cleanly and set off on a run from the half way line which saw him turn several defenders inside out before drawing the last man and passing to Justin Wilcox running an excellent supporting line to finish the move and score his first try for the club. Craig Smith stepped up and slotted the conversion from far out on the right to finish off his superb kicking performance.

More pressure from the restart saw Olney drive a scrum over the line only for Rob Warren playing in an unfamiliar no8 role to forget to ground the ball as it crossed the line.

Winslow had one last break which saw a desperate chase and cover tackle from Loyd Warn taking man and ball deny them a try his first tackle for 8 years. Olney won the game 15-3 but it was much tighter than the score suggested with a fine performance from all 15 player.

Man of the match was jointly awarded to Basher for his aggression and driving play and Bones for stepping up at inside centre and his great kicking display.

SAT 14TH OCTOBER

BLETCHLEY III 0 OLNEY III 28

Olney receive from the kick on another fine afternoon of autumn sunshine. Bletchley set out to dominate the scrum – but their quick bunt tactics were met with stubborn resistance by the Olney pack. At the lineout, excellent performance from Ross Mallon spoiled much of their ball.

After about 10 minutes, a move in the three quarters put the full back Cherry away. Tony Surley at centre, juggling the ball passes inside to full back Cherry moving at speed. Bletchley appear rooted to the spot as he slices through to score under the posts. Try converted by Tony. 0 - 7

Bletchley kicked off, taken by Jason Webster from the back row. Clean handling took Olney back into the Bletchley half. Paul "the dancing bear" Winter is able to step through the line. Second try came from a quick penalty take some 10 minutes later. Once again cutting through the static defense, Olney score on the left wide of the posts. A more challenging kick, but again slotted by Tony Surley. 0 -14
Leading up to half time the large and heavy pack from Bletchley took control of the ball. Carrying the ball up and rucking hard, they were also difficult to handle in the set scrum, with the ref allowing them to control the engage on their ball. Their weight and push was a challenge for the front row, who left the ground on more than one occasion. The two props, James Nickless and David "Trout" Rainbow put in an excellent series of scrums, binding tight and making sure the ball came back on Olney's side. Craig "Bones" Smith, at hooker, was effective on Olney ball and won several against the head. The Olney defense was strong, refusing to be intimidated by the huge Bletchley prop who crashed the ball up several times. An outstanding performance from the back row, of Mark Redmond, Jason Webster, and captain Gavin "foggy" Fogg made sure that the Bletchley were unable to mount an effective attack round the side of the scrum or ruck, and intimidated the young and classy looking Bletchley fly-half.
Within the last few minutes of the half, Bletchley were driving forward -- and over the line; held up by a superb tackle. Scrum on the 5m, attacking put in. The key moment for Bletchley - everything was in their favour. Olney packed down tight, and met the opposition straight on as the packs engaged. A huge push and Bones takes the ball against the head, leading to a fine clearance. Olney, leaders at half time 14:0.
The ref was beginning to come into his own - feeling the need to frequently stop play at the contact area, and assert himself. Paul Winter went off after 15min with a hamstring injury. Jason was yellow carded for speaking to the ref! Olney reduced to fourteen men, and pushed back up field – but everyone worked hard and tackled well. Back to fifteen men just in time for a scrum on the Olney 5m line.
Substitutes came on and had immediate impact, with youth and speed on their side. Ross and Justin Wilcox showed great potential but need to learn to link up with the forward support so that they do not have to take the ball in against large and experienced players. Some 10 minutes into the half, a deep kick was picked up by Cherry inside the Olney 22m. Running right, wide of the on coming Bletchley players, then left back towards the packs, and wide down the left wing. Facing the Bletchley defense, he opts for the up and under and almost manages to get regain the ball himself. Olney pick up the ball, pass left and score. Once again converted by Tony Surley.
Olney’s fourth try came from a fantastic break by the scrum half Ian Borner . Round the back of the scrum and away down the blind side from the half way, great foot work, cut through the defense. Chipped a player and Olney cleaned the ball up to score in the corner. The extra conversion points were picked up by Tony. 28:0

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