Olney travelled over the Northants border to Kettering for the first of the 2.15 kick offs now that it gets late earlier and the evenings are darker. A warm welcome and a fine feast prior to the game was enjoyed by the dignitaries from both clubs and all were looking forward to a good game between two sides who have not met before in league rugby.

A gloomy afternoon but a large crowd had gathered to watch the fireworks on the pitch before possibly setting off later for more. It was Olney who showed their attacking intent early on but were thwarted by stern defence from the home side. Unfortunately during one of these attacks Ben Duke was tackled high and had to leave the field with a shoulder injury. Kettering also attacked well with their strong pack securing good ball for the backs and, after several phases of play, managed to release the winger for a try wide on the right which was well converted. Olney at this stage were up against it in the close exchanges and something had to give when Kettering had spent 10 minutes attacking the Olney line, so it came as no surprise when the forwards drove over for the second score after a succession of penalties. Olney stuck with what they do best though and strong running from the backs, particularly Stu Livesey and Struan Brooks, took them up to the Kettering end of the field with veteran flanker Gareth Cahill rocketing through to finish the move. A slight fracas occurred which led to a yellow card for each team. Olney had to reshuffle their formation when winger Harvey Dench suffered a head injury and also had to leave the field. Both sides had chances late in the half but to no avail and the whistle blew for half time with the score at 14-7.

The second half promised to be a banger with the sides now adopting different strategies, Kettering relying more on their pack but Olney adopting a more mobile approach. An attack from in their own half was ambitious but when the chance arose, Brooks produced a sparkler of a try when he shrugged off the challenges to sprint in from 50 meters to reduce the deficit to 2 points. Penalties were coming thick and fast against both sides and some feisty exchanges were evident at the breakdown, a couple of which resulted in the referee reaching for his card again. Olney’s defence was tested to the full for lengthy spells but they managed to run their way back to the Kettering 22 only to be stopped by another high tackle which resulted in a second yellow for the gentleman concerned. Olney opted for the safe option and took the three points to edge them ahead 14-15. Not long after, Olney had a man in the bin to level up the numbers. The game was in the balance and on their next foray into the Kettering half, after several phases, captain Eddie Goss produced something spectacular from a ruck when he sprinted in from 40 meters, dummying 4 players as he went and carrying three on his back to score under the posts, much to the delight of his parents watching on the touchline. Kettering were always capable of a comeback and towards the latter stages scored again when their forwards barrelled over for the try wide on the right. This proved to be the final points on the board and Olney held on to win the contest at 22-19.

A good result away from home for Olney and the players should feel proud of themselves for the victory against a side who have often been one of the strongest in the region.

In a week when we heard that single man Plod Soman visited a fetish restaurant and got toed in the hole, we also discovered that another local resident, a certain Mr Nicholls, arrived at the rugby club on his bicycle. He bought a bottle of Jack Daniels to take home but was worried that it may smash if he fell off so he drank it before he set off. This proved to be a wise decision as he fell off five times on the way back.