The fates once again conspired to give the 2nd XV another difficult afternoon as they took the trip to West Northants to play against Daventry.

On a Somme like field against a massive side and with a second half downpour making conditions even more tricky the odds were against Olney. Added to the inevitable fact that less than half of last weeks team took the field and Matt Jolly had an appointment with a bottle of port on the minibus trip over to the game and the omens weren’t great. At least the side took to the field for the pre match work out sporting their brand new warm up tops, generously provided by team sponsor Will Edwards and his company Marcus Jordan and Company. Many thanks Will!

The home side kicked off with the weather holding but the boggy pitch immediately making handling and elusive running difficult. Several early midfield scrums were the result until Olney were penalised but the ensuing penalty was kicked dead for yet another scrum! This time the juggernaut Daventry pack, shoving early, as they seemed to do all game without getting penalised, pushed their counterparts off the put in and went through several close quarter phases to register the first score. Olney knew that they had to move the ball wide at any given opportunity to try and tire the Daventry forwards. The conditions were not conducive though and after putting the ball through the hands a poor pass allowed the Daventry midfield to pick up the loose ball and run through to score. With a successful conversion following Olney found themselves 12-0 down and were soon penalised at the breakdown from the restart by a referee who seemed to have decided early doors that the Daventry pack was superior and Olney always the transgressors. The home side found touch from the penalty, won the lineout and tried to run wide but dropped the ball. Olney cleared to the Daventry fullback who returned the compliment and a period of kick tennis resulted, both sides undoubtedly hoping for a handling error. Olney fullback Ash White eventually called the mark and cleared to touch on halfway. Daventry secured the line out and drove into the Olney half where they were awarded yet another ruck penalty. Kicking for a lineout in the Olney 22 the Daventry forwards then maintained pressure and (you’ve guessed it) were yet again awarded a ruck penalty 10 metres out. Electing for the scrum and a number 8 pick up the ball was lost in the tackle and the scrum went Olney’s way but a crooked feed gave the advantage back. Daventry a quick tap and drove over for their 3rd try and a 19-0 lead with a quarter of the match played. Olney were penalised from the restart for a high tackle but worked their way back upfield and after a scrum ran the ball wide on the left where unfortunately the ball trickled into touch and the opportunity evaporated. The game was much more even now as Olney secured some more ball and were able to release the backline and give the Daventry defence some problems. They were even awarded the odd penalty to ironic cheers to those few Olney-ites assembled on the touchline. Handling was difficult in the conditions however and although Olney succeeded in moving the gargantuan Daventry forwards around the pitch they struggled to create any real scoring opportunities. When the ball was inevitably spilled Daventry always seemed to have someone on hand to regain possession and take route one up the field. Olney were having their best phase of the match in defence as well as attack and some great tackling in midfield by Alex Eason and Ben Pearson amongst others kept Daventry at bay. Even when they looked like scoring after a lineout catch and drive Ash White was on hand to tackle into touch. What should have been a 5 metre lineout to Olney became a penalty when a Daventry forward came into the ruck particularly late and the referee had no option but to brandish the yellow card. Olney won the following lineout and moved the ball into midfield where Promise Oti burst through to almost outrun the Daventry defence. When the move broke down Olney were awarded another penalty with another Daventry player inexplicably yellow carded. Olney had the chance to finish the half on the attack but the home side managed to wrestle back possession and clear to halfway for the final action of the half and a 19-0 scoreline.

The 2nd half started with the Olney restart not going 10 metres giving Daventry a scrum on halfway. Olney defended well through several phases but eventually a missed tackle allowed Daventry to create an overlap on the right wing and score in the corner. The Daventry forwards were beginning to exert their physical dominance as the pitch cut and the rain and hail started to fall. They ran back straight from the kick off but Ethan Chambers, who was having an inspired game for Olney, made a brilliant tackle. This was followed up by a double tackle by Pearson as Olney manfully defended their line, even forcing a scrum from a knock on. Olney tried to run the ball at every opportunity through both forwards and backs but conditions were really against them, but they were defending well. It took another early shove at the scrum on Olney’s ball to break the Olney defiance. Unable to stop the momentum they were shunted back, Daventry got possession and drove over. Another successful conversion gave Daventry a 33 point lead approaching the last quarter. With the match descending into farce, Daventry capitalised on another handling error. Joe German made a good break upfield from a quickly taken penalty but the ball squirted loose in Daventry hands and despite a fantastic chase back and tackle from Daniel Rawlings, which epitomises the spirit in this team, support was hand for another converted try to be scored. Daventry scored 2 mores tries in the remaining time, one of which was converted to give a scoreline of 52-0 but Olney had their moments including a terrific break from Chambers as they kept going, as always, until the end.

In fairness to Daventry they played the conditions and referee very well. It’s a pity that they felt the need to whoop like 14 year old girls at a Harry Styles concert when they scored their final tries! A massive effort put in by the Olney boys despite the result. Let’s hope for better weather and respect next time out.

Thanks:
Report - Miggsy
Pics - Snapshots.by.harvey - here