On the road again with renewed confidence after a win from the previous week with a trip to Rugby and Old Laurentians. We narrowly lost to them in the cup last season but in previous encounters this was generally a fairly evenly fought contest. Once again the intrepid band of travelling supporters went there with hope rather than expectation and looked forward to a good game.

Olney kicked off against the wind and were immediately looking upwards at a clever box kick. Unfortunately an error under this high ball was collected by OL’s and they were ahead by a converted try after 30 seconds of play. Shortly after, Olney were in the home 22 but conceded a penalty when attacking. Gloating and abusive language led to a reversal then from the resulting scrum, Ethan Chambers scampered over from close range. OL’s used the kicking game well in the next few plays and extended their lead following a kickable penalty. Their next penalty attempt hit the post but the ball bounced and bobbled its way along the goal line to somehow reach the winger who promptly took the chance to touch down for the try. The kick off failed to go the required 10 metres but after the scrum in the middle Olney found themselves in possession when some deft handling, strong running and support play between Will Ecclestone and Ben Duke saw the latter finish under the posts taking the score to 15-12 at half time.

Olney attacked well in the early part of the second half with Duke and hooker Tommy Herman both going close. A 5m scrum picked up at the base by captain Eddie Goss led to Chambers being on hand to again dart over from close range taking the score 15-19 after the conversion. On their next venture into the Olney 22, OL’s capitalised on a turnover to score under the posts and snatch back the lead. After a bit of a kicking fest OL’s went through a spell of possession but Olney limited them to just the one penalty and they were ahead at 25-19. Duke then produced something inspirational when he sprinted from his own 22 with several chasers on his heels but held them all off, much to his ultimate relief, to score under the posts at the other end. Bonus point for Olney and one point ahead. A fine turnover by Chris Caswell allowed Elliot Simpson to use the space behind the defence for territory and the chase was won by Ecclestone. Possession retained and good movement found James Bennett wide on the left for a try which was well converted by kicker on the day Charlie Hicks. Good hands again allowed Hicks enough space for a try of his own, duly converted taking the core to 25-40. The final action of the match was when OL’s drove over from close range to earn themselves a bonus point. Final score of 30-40 sounds a bit like a tennis score but the match was not quite as genteel as Wimbledon with a few grumblings from individuals and some interesting tackling techniques and timings.

A good day out and an entertaining afternoon from a spectator’s point of view. The coaches will possibly want to have their say during the week but a bonus point away from home is something the players should be proud of.

With recent events fresh in their mind, and realising they are not in the first flushes of youth, Mr and Mrs Harris were enjoying romantic evening in and discussing what may happen when it came to life’s end. Mr Harris being the smooth talker he is, said “When I go, I want to be making love to you” to which Mrs Harris replied “Well at least it will be quick!”