Olney back to winning ways

OLNEY vs. STAMFORD Sat. 17th. Oct. 2018.
Olney welcomed the team sitting bottom of the table, Stamford, to the Rec. on Saturday in conditions ideally suited to playing rugby. The visitors kicked off and Olney kicked back into Stamford's '22' , but failed to find touch. The ball was returned and Hamish Bull made a penetrating run halted by him being shunted into touch, near the opposition's 5 m. line. Play was very tentative, mostly in the visitor's '22' while the home side sorted themselves out. They were rewarded after 8 mins. when the Olney backline ran the ball close to the visitor's goal line. At the breakdown the forwards drove into a ruck and No. 8, Gareth Cahill forced over the line to open the scoring. Jordan Letts added the conversion. Olney 7, Stamford 0. The lead was extended when Letts was successful with a penalty for ' off side'. Olney 10, Stamford 0.
Olney were denied the services of scrum half, Jake Deighton, who turned an ankle and was replaced by Elliott Simpson. Olney continued to dominate play, Stamford only getting possession mainly from Olney errors. The visitor's were under siege but managed to keep the score down by some resolute defending. Olney started to use their backs to spread the play giving plenty of opportunity to the wings.The home backline made good use of the dry ball and a sweeping move off the back of a scrum fed the ball to Marcus Goss who evaded the defence to touch down in the corner. No conversion, extending the lead, Olney 15, Stamford 0. (15 mins.)
Stamford kicked off for the restart and the home side kicked for territory. They followed up and the forwards won possession inside the opposition '22'. The ball was fed to the three's who set up Sean Mulvey to score, unconverted, Olney 20, Stamford 0. (32 mins.) Olney's forwards were taking advantage of some good control at the scrums and effective work in the loose, punctuated by big charges by Cam Kok, denying Stamford possession. The Stamford forwards showed they were still in the game when Olney knocked on, they won the ball at the scrum, but lost it, for a knock on themselves. This gave Olney a set scrum near the Stamford posts, they won the ball and pushed over, Cahill touching down and Letts adding the conversion. Olney 27, Stamford 0. The referee called half time.
HALF TIME: OLNEY 27, STAMFORD 0.
Olney made substitutions for the second half, the Shields brothers both coming off replaced by Sam Spruce and Adrian Teckoe. Stamford were awarded a penalty, Olney offside. They kicked to touch for a lineout on the Olney 5m. line but their possession was short lived. Olney's three's attacked and worked the ball deep into the visitor's half. Olney won a scrum for a knock on and with a move off the back of the scrum the ball reached Lloyd Sweeney who ran in a try converted by Letts to extend the home side's lead to Olney 34, Stamford 0. (3 mins).
From the kick off another big charge by Kok took play back into the Stamford half and for the next 15 mins. were consumed by the visitors keeping the home attack at bay. Goss put in a probing run down the right wing and when stopped the ball was threaded through the backs to Bull, who carved through the defence for another Olney try, not converted, Olney 39, Stamford 0. (20 mins.). Another penalty to the visitors in their own half was well won, but in the next phase Olney stole the ball and set up another attack. The ball was passed through the forwards then fed to the backs, Goss doing the honours with another try, converted by Letts. Olney 46, Stamford 0. (25 mins.). The detail tends now to be repetitious. Another Kok charge, a very skilful kick by Simpson, Goss beating the full back with another chip and sprint, to score his third try (using his 'upperish' body to provide downward pressure). Letts added the conversion, Olney 53, Stamford 0.(33 mins.).
The final score was set up by, ever aware, Dave 'Smudge' Smith who fielded a long kick to the home '22' he called for a 'mark ' and delivered the ball deep into the oppositions half. Sweeney won the chase down the left wing to add his second try, converted by Sean Mulvey.
FINAL SCORE: Olney 60, Stamford 0.
TEAM: Jeremiah Shields, Jim Osborn (capt.) Graham Smith, Christian Caswell, Cam Kok, Mungo Ryan, Isaac Shields, Gareth Cahill, Jake Deighton, Sean Mulvey, Marcus Goss, David Smith, Hamish Bull, Lloyd Sweeney, Jordan Letts. SUBS. Elliott Simpson, Adrian Teckoe, Sam Spruce.
TEAM SPONSOR: DESMOND J.SMAIL LTD.