This week’s guest reporter: Ivan Astyitch

Following a slight wobble from last week it seems that something drastic has happened and there may be more reports to come this season, due to overwhelming support, particularly from the players themselves. Well done Ted. Thank goodness for democracy and free speech!

In this rearranged fixture we extended a warm welcome to travelling hordes from Market Harborough to whom we narrowly lost earlier in the season. Over recent years the two teams have been fairly evenly matched so the expectation was for a close encounter but hopefully a victory for the home side. In a new study this week it has been discovered that infertility is hereditary. If your parents didn’t have any children, the chances are you won’t either.

On a bright and chilly afternoon and the pitch in excellent condition both sides attacked with purpose in the early stages of the game with Harborough spending considerable amounts of time in the Olney 22. The defence held out well until a clearance kick didn’t quite go according to plan and gave the Harborough backs room to run, which they duly did and a couple of passes later they were over for the first try of the match. A penalty not long after extended their lead. Olney were showing plenty of ambition with the ball in hand but occasionally the execution let them down and perhaps they were guilty of kicking away possession. However, they continued to put pressure on the Harborough defence, forcing several penalties, one of which led to the backs being able to feed Struan Brooks wide out for a fine try. With Ewan Fuller converting and the score now at 7-8 we could see this was to be as close a game as expected.

The second half continued in similar fashion with Harborough putting pressure on the Olney line. Eventually the opportunity came which they took well to score wide on the right and a fine conversion made the score 8-15. It wasn’t long before Olney were back on the charge and after some forceful drives by the forwards the ball was quickly whipped out to winger Henry Warren who sprinted over for the score. Unsurprisingly, Harborough were soon back at the other end with their forwards exerting their authority at times, particularly at the set piece. This led to a bit of space for the backs to ship the ball along the line for a try, again wide on the right. Olney, as they have done all season, were not taking things lying down and put pressure on the Harborough line once more and when the ball arrived with Eliot Simpson his dancing feet confused the defenders in front of him and he ran over for another try. Fuller converting and the score at 19-20. The final 15 minutes saw the sides still evenly matched but with Harborough spending much of this time in the Olney half there were few opportunities for Olney to add to their tally. A late break gave hope but Harborough covered this to then kick the ball off the pitch and seal the victory. Steve said it was a good game and we were just unfortunate on the day, so we will have to agree with him. (It’s about time Steve came with this reporter to an away game.)

Notable performances today from Ewan Fuller both in attack and defence, hooker Joe Baker and giant flanker Hector Stanbridge who seems to be getting a mention every week now. He hasn’t had this much exposure since he lost his trunks in a Benidorm water park! Still, if he keeps paying, this reporter will keep giving him a mention. It may also be worth asking him about his pre-match routine with his girlfriend and a hot tub but we’ll leave that up to you.

Rumour has it that Mr and Mrs Harris were at a posh party a couple of weekends ago so she asked him to just be yourself and say something nice. To which he replied “Well make up your mind, it’s got to be one or the other because I can’t do both!”