Olney v Newbold 23rd September 2023

Newbold-on Avon was once a village but is now a suburb of Rugby which, according to Wikipedia, is famous for sod all. Nonetheless it has a good rugby club who we welcomed to Doff’s Field for our second home fixture of the season. Olney needed to start on the victory trail having endured some unfortunate results at the start of the campaign. Also this week we heard that someone we know jumped into a bucket of creosote for no particular reason….he just thought he’d treat himself.

Olney started the match with the wind at their backs and immediately made inroads into the Newbold defence. A kick to the corner and the resulting lineout was duly won to give captain Eddie Goss a run in for the first try, converted by Dave Simpson. More ambitious running from the home side proved to be entertaining and rewarding when Oscar Bennett added to the score after a fine run. While not a one-sided game by any means it was Olney who scored another following some good ball retention and prop Leonard Idiakhoa finishing the move when charging over from close range. The bonus point was secured shortly after as James Brock and Rob Morgan combined well to see Morgan score wide on the right, well converted by Simpson to take the score to 26-0. Newbold were far from out of it though and soon gained enough territory for an attack in the Olney 22 which proved successful as the full-back cut a good angle to score under the posts. A further penalty added to their points tally, as did a catch and drive from a lineout for a pushover try. This being the last action of the half and the score at the break at 26-15.

The second half started in the same manner as the first with Olney running the ball as often as possible and securing the first points early on when Tommy (the Herminator) Herman continued his fine run of form as he burst through the middle for the try. He also grabbed another after burrowing over the line following a succession of quick penalties. The sight of Bennett on the charge appeared to put the wind up the Newbold defence as he added his second of the day with a direct run from 30m. Newbold did have their moments but the Olney boys could see more tries coming and after good hands and support play, Mac Staughton scored from close range. Another quick penalty gave Bennett another chance to break and he combined with Simpson who added a try of his own. The final try of the day was from a different form of attack when Staughton showed considerable footballing skills by dribbling the ball 25m and eventually gathering to score wide on the left. Simpson had a fine afternoon with the boot, converting all but one of the second half tries to take the final score to 66-15.

A good result for Olney against a Newbold side who were missing a several players but this should give them confidence for the rest of the season. Mention should go to the Newbold supporters who arrived in numbers and were a particularly sociable bunch. Also to the referee who had a fine game and unusually drew no criticism from either set of supporters.

We have been told that single man Plod Soman was dining alone in the far corner of a restaurant a few days ago. The waitress asked if he would like anything extra with his steak so he requested some sauce. Apparently she just palmed him off with relish.