5th October 2019 - Olney v Towcestrians

Olney welcomed local rivals Towcestrians to Doff’s Field for the first time in a league fixture which, on current form, would appear to be more of a match than some of the previous games this season. In good conditions, on a fine pitch, in front of a large crowd expectations were high for the home side.

The Olney boys soon showed their intent with some fine drives through the heart of the Tows defence committing players to the breakdown. This allowed Stu Livesey to find space in support to scamper in for a try under the posts. Sean Mulvey converting. Olney were still having the better of the exchanges and after the ball was whipped wide across the pitch a couple of times Mulvey was on the shoulder of experienced flanker John Robinson who offloaded providing the score in the corner. No conversion but Olney were now 12-0 ahead.

Tows then started to pick up their attacking game and after some sustained pressure and possession scored a good try wide on the left. Scrum half Cam Keenan, who had been having a fine game, then sustained what seemed to be a serious leg injury and had to leave the field. His replacement, the veteran Brendan Burke, proved to be extremely able to slot into the position and keep Olney on the front foot. At this time Cam Kok was pulled off to make way for Charlie Harris to bring on some fresh legs. However, Towcestrians were next to score after a bit of indiscipline gave them a shot at goal to narrow the gap. Wingers Marcus Goss and Noddy Deighton both made good runs to take Olney back into Tows territory but it was Burke who showed his silky skills when scoring in the right corner after some good interplay with Mulvey. Ollie Betteridge converting to take Olney 19-8 ahead at the half time break.

The second half was again, a fairly evenly fought contest but Olney put themselves under a bit of unnecessary pressure early on. Tows allowed an easy way out from the 22 though after a bit of chat to the referee let Burke clear the lines with an excellent penalty kick. More changes allowed Kok to stand up again to the Tows forwards and Harry Sturley to also join the pack. After a scrum 15 metres out was quickly won, Goss came in off the wing to feed Mulvey who scored Olney’s bonus point try. Betteridge converted taking the score to 26-8. Tows were not letting Olney have things all their own way and still tested the defence with some good attacks and several visits to the home side’s 22. The latter stages of the match were more controlled by the Olney boys and good follow up play by Deighton, Livesey and flanker Josh Meadows put the home side towards the Towcestrians line once more. Despite this, and Olney finishing the stronger of the two sides there were to be no more scores.
This game will certainly give Olney a boost and shows that they can compete with sides in this league and will expect to pick up more points as the season progresses.

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