After what seems an age since the last match (5 weeks to be precise) it was a welcome return to competitive rugby in the second half of the season, and hopefully pick up a few more points to elevate the league position towards the upper end of the table. This would be no easy task at ON’s who have been at the top of the rankings for the majority of the season so far. On a wet and muddy afternoon, the travelling band of faithful Olney supporters were hopeful rather than expectant of a favourable result.

The match proved to be the proverbial “game of two halves”. Unfortunately ON’s won them both. This week’s reporter got talking to an old friend for most of the game so the details may be a bit sketchy, but as most of it is made up anyway, does it really matter? ON’s had the better of the early exchanges and on their first foray into the Olney 22 managed to secure enough front foot ball to manufacture a try under the posts. Olney were holding out well and ON’s had to kick for goal to secure their next points following a penalty (of which there were several) to gain a 10 point lead. ON’s went further ahead when recognised speedster Jim Osborn and the ON’s winger were involved in a footrace to the ball beyond the try line. Jim fell over, resulting in the winger falling over the prostrate figure in front of him. This was deemed to be an act of foul play by the referee who awarded a penalty try to ON’s and a yellow card to unlucky Jim. Olney did get points shortly after when a fine pickup on half way by Elliot Simpson was offloaded to James Bennett on the charge who then sprinted under the posts for the score. Towards the end of the half, ON’s spent several minutes pressing the Olney line which eventually led to a yellow card to Sven Meiland who was singled out for the infringement. A simple catch and drive lineout move put more points on the board and made the half time score 24-7 to the home side.

The second half carried on in a similar fashion to the first with Olney continuing to try and play their expansive game but just not able to execute the moves on the day when some of the final passes didn’t quite find their intended destination. Credit must go to ON’s who defended well to nullify the attacks and pressurise Olney into conceding what seemed like countless penalties. These were used to good effect to produce further tries for the winger and the forwards to extend the home advantage. Olney did have a number of excursions into the ON’s 22 but failed to come away with points. An interception try for ON’s was the final score of the encounter making the result 43-7. The score was probably a reflection of the quality of the ON’s side but by no means a detraction of the effort and determination of the young Olney side who showed their potential throughout the match. One doesn’t like to single out individual players but replacement hooker Tommy Herman performed particularly well, showing some fine footwork, sharp handling and extreme pace when he came on.

We heard that before Christmas John Nicholls was getting the decorations down from the loft when he found a present meant for his neighbour which had been there from the year before. It’s a shame as she would have really loved and looked after that puppy!