It is 50 years since the mini and junior section was started at Olney and many of the original group of players are still involved with the club in some way. If one looks at the names then and now, many of them will be very familiar which shows the family connections which span the generations. Today we welcomed Lutterworth, another traditional rugby club and with fixtures between the clubs going back a number of years this is usually a tough encounter.

In front of a large crowd and with a slight breeze behind them, Olney played the first half towards the hut and looked lively from the start, wanting to get points on the board early on. The pressure told and following some close range efforts, James Bennett eventually found the gap to score in the corner. As expected, Lutterworth came back with attacks of their own but these were repelled by some good defence and Olney running back at them to set up chances of their own. An interception by Charlie Hicks in his own half started a move which, with support from Ethan Chambers and James Brock gave the latter a run in to score wide on the left. Despite Olney matching the Lutterworth side physically, it was the away team who then asserted themselves and forced a penalty which they opted to kick for goal. This was missed but they stayed in the right end of the pitch from their point of view and their forwards drove over for the try. Lutterworth then had a strong attack almost immediately from the kick off which carved the defence and resulted in another try close to the posts which gave them the lead following the conversion. Towards the end of the half, Brock had another run for the line, only to be stopped short by a high tackle. Quick thinking by Chambers from the resulting penalty caught the defence on the back foot to give him the chance to scramble over from close range. A Hicks conversion took the half-time score to 17-10.

Lutterworth started the half well and despite having to make a few changes during the game to injury, didn’t seem to be weakened as their bench contained some players with considerable age and experience. They had a good spell of pressure in the Olney 22 but the home side held them out well and after a good break out of their own half, Brandon Kerr chipped behind the backline to then gather the favourable bounce and score wide on the left for the bonus point try. Another Chambers break through the middle led to a second of the day for Kerr following some excellent support play and good handling by both backs and forwards. A Hicks penalty to take the score to 30-14 not long after was reward for a bit more pressure by Olney. Lutterworth are not the sort of side to give in so it came as no surprise when they had a good spell of possession and after working their way back to the Olney 22, manufactured enough space for the winger to cross wide on the left. With the game drawing to a close, Lutterworth again pushed hard towards the Olney line and a further score to narrow the gap to 30-24 meant Olney had to hold out for the last two minutes for the win. Fortunately they were able to do this and all were in agreement that this was a fine game to watch and a good afternoon was had by everyone.

Single man Plod informed us that he is off to Egypt for a short break and in his own words will probably be out hunting for a mummy or two. Hopefully he’ll not get caught under a camel’s toe or, as in the words of a song, parts of his anatomy won’t get clogged by the sands of the Nile. There will be more stories on his return, no doubt.