Olney were hosts to top of the table Syston who, so far this season, have won every game whilst also securing a bonus point in each. Realistically the Olney boys knew this would be a tough afternoon but as ever they would go onto the pitch confident of providing an entertaining game for the home crowd. The sponsorship by club stalwart Stanners should also be mentioned with a decidedly agricultural leaning providing proper winter food and pints of foaming ale.

On a blustery day Olney kicked off with the wind at their backs and were first on the attack. This resulted in a penalty awarded to them but the shot at goal just drifted wide. A quickly tapped penalty shortly after with good handling and support saw Mike Chapman first on the score sheet converting his own try for a 7-0 lead. This was cancelled out after good work from a set piece created an overlap for the Syston left winger (he seemed to have the ability to not be tackled all of the match) who evaded three defenders and scored under the posts.

Olney had spells of play in the Syston 22 but couldn’t find the finishing touches to add further to their points tally and it was Syston who scored next when a solid drive allowed the prop to dot down from short range. Olney were guilty of several infringements at the breakdown and eventually the referee decided a yellow card for Stu Livesey was the only option. Despite this the Olney boys were still having some good runs into Syston territory. However the extra man was evident when the left winger scored again with a carbon copy of his earlier try. A further try in the 8th minute of added on time meant Syston had their customary bonus point and the sides turned round at 7-26.

Syston started the second half well and too much pressure resulted in infringements by Olney and hooker Taylor French now taking a turn in the bin. With the scrum rearranged, the pushover try for the away side seemed almost inevitable. Now Syston were having the bulk of possession and with good use of the favourable wind it came as no surprise after a fine kick to the corner, Syston won the resulting lineout and duly drove over for another try taking the score to 7-40. Harry Sturley hadn’t been on the field too long when a bit of petulance resulted in him too taking a spell off it after being shown the yellow card. Olney were still making a game of it though and lesser sides may well have let their heads drop and just give up. This is not the case with Olney as they have shown every week of what has been a difficult season and they continued to attack at every opportunity.

However, Syston were definitely showing why they are at the top of the table and pressure once more led to a try on the right. Livesey again upset the referee and saw red for a second offence so he sat out the latter stages of the game on the sidelines. The left winger finished off where he started by slipping through a few more tackles to grab his third of the day and capped a fine individual performance. This was the last score of the match leaving the final score at 7-50.

The side played well today but obviously being up against a top side was always going to be challenging. This probably wasn’t helped when playing nearly half the game with 14 men. Having said this, one only has to be in the club after the game to see the spirit amongst the players and supporters has not been diminished. The league hasn’t been decided yet and there is still time to move up a few places but a little luck and wins against sides in the lower half of the table will have to be achieved.