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Now we’ve all stocked up on essentials and developed a taste for gherkins we had a day out to the flatlands of Peterborough for the first team today for what promised to be the usual difficult fixture against a side who are traditionally strong up front and have an aggressive set of backs. A stern test for the young Olney lads. In the news recently we heard that the local eczema society is starting a new fundraising campaign by introducing a range of scratch cards.

On an ideal day for a game of rugby it was clear from the kick off that Peterborough were intent on stamping their authority over the young Olney side and it wasn’t long before they had the first score on the board courtesy of a drive from a lineout 5m from the Olney line. For the next 20 minutes or so ‘Borough were offering a few lessons in ball retention and keeping the ball alive so consequently it was difficult for Olney to get their hands on the ball for any length of time to mount any serious attacks. During this spell ‘Borough scored two more tries. Both down the left side and well worked through both forwards and backs to give them a 15 point lead on the half hour. Olney did have some good passages of play with Josh Fadden, Harry Bennett and Will Eccleston all making good yards with ball in hand but up to half time the ‘Borough defence held firm to win back possession and clear back up field.

Early in the second half ‘Borough were the recipients of two yellow cards, one for a cynical slap down and one for a head shot. With the numerical advantage Olney spent a while pressurising the ‘Borough line but unfortunately failed to capitalise and some crafty game management wound up the 10 minute sin bin times with no scores to Olney. Now the home side were back up to full strength, a poor clearance kick from the Olney 22 allowed ‘Borough to run back, chip over the defence and the referee judging that they won the race to the touch down. Olney were still in it though and when Henry Warren made good yards from his own half, some patience in the 22 eventually gave Harry Bennett the chance to barge over. With ‘Borough attacking on the Olney 22, some thumping tackles spilled the ball and Will Brock seized the opportunity, sprinting off like a wild hare, eventually reaching the safety of the try line ahead of the chasing greyhounds for a fine individual try. Another Olney clearance kick reached the ‘Borough backs and an accurate cross kick allowed the winger and full back to combine well for the final try of the day taking the final score to 27-12.

Not the result Olney were hoping for but one can say that the best team won on the day and experience told at the final whistle. The home side and supporters were understandably jubilant in beating the side who were top of the league. Olney will learn from this and come back stronger in future games this season, the coaches will make sure of it in training. You may notice the brevity of the reports lately. Step up if you think you can waffle on to fill two pages!

With it being October 31st a story came out from the Halloween social where two close friends from the playing squad attended dressed as identical ghosts. They were so scary that later on someone reported they put the willies up each other! Finally, Mr Harris phoned the doctor to tell him the haemorrhoid cream he prescribed caused a really bad reaction. When the doctor asked him where he applied, it Mr Harris replied “On the bus coming back from Milton Keynes.”

This week’s guest reporter: Drew Peacock