Olney ventured north to the delights of Derby as the Melbourne pitch was unplayable, so the prospect of the artificial surface at the University campus would hopefully produce a spectacular match for the regular supporters who followed up to watch.

It was clear from watching the warm up (we had to watch it due to the lack of beer and facilities) that the home side, which was made up of 15 well fed individuals, would be adopting the direct approach and probably be running hard and straight. As the match kicked off this was proved to be the case and Melbourne were soon in the Olney 22 but a scrum infringement allowed Brendan Burke to kick clear from the resulting penalty. Melbourne’s sizeable runners were still making inroads and testing the tackling skills of the Olney boys which were equal to everything thrown at them. Unfortunately a few penalties at the breakdown let them down and allowed Melbourne to kick to the corner for the lineout which they duly won giving a platform for their heavier pack to drive over for the first score which was converted. 7-0 after 18 minutes. One of the Melbourne centres had to leave the field injured after this but was replaced with a similar player which didn’t alter their style of play. Olney’s pack were still under pressure and the inevitable penalty came allowing another successful attempt at goal taking the score to 10-0.

Olney were soon back up the other end though and their first foray into the Melbourne 22 saw a penalty from Burke reduce the deficit to 10-3. Things were livening up now and the home side were reduced to 14 men for a little petulance. Olney were having the better of the exchanges by this time but despite getting into the right areas of the park, a few errors and penalties against them let them down and saw no further scores in the first half.

The second half saw Olney defending again early on but, as in the first half, the tackling was effective and prevented the home side from getting too close to the try line. Olney were also playing a more expansive game and keeping the ball alive for several phases meant they were soon within striking distance of the Melbourne line. However, an attacking lineout was lost and Melbourne were soon back to the other end with a lineout 5m out on their throw. This was thwarted by Harvey Dunn who was enjoying himself with a fine performance all afternoon, and Ollie Betteridge was able to clear to halfway. Olney then had Harry Sturley sent to the bin for 10 minutes for a high tackle. This allowed the heavier pack with a man extra to force their way up field and a penalty in front of the posts extended the Melbourne lead to 13-3.

Olney were still intent on playing an attacking game though, and it seemed as if the rest of the match was being played in the Melbourne 22. Olney’s backs were gaining ground on a number of occasions but were squeezed towards the touchlines or held up short. Despite more pressure they were unable to gain the advantage and were unlucky not to capitalise due to some resolute defending by Melbourne. One or two errors including a few knock-ons at crucial times and losing out in the set piece possibly also contributed to the scoreline remaining the same until the final whistle.

Probably not the spectacular match that the conditions and the artificial pitch could have produced and a long drive home when Olney were only just second best in an evenly fought contest, but it shows Olney will certainly pick up points as the season progresses. We can only hope it’s sooner rather than later.