Olney 2nds entertained Daventry 2nds on Doffs 1 on Saturday expecting yet another tough game against the obligatory massive opposition side. (Where do all these clubs get these man mountains from?). Despite some encouraging performances over the past few weeks Olney’s achilles heel has been that they’ve gone 20 points down before troubling the scoreboard. A good start would be essential if they were to compete against a Daventry side that had made the trip to North Bucks expecting a comfortable victory (their words post match, not ours).

Dav kicked off and were immediately penalised for being in front of the kicker. (This appeared to be the referee’s favourite law as Olney were penalised for the same offence later in the game – good job he doesn’t referee the professional game. They’d never get started!) Anyway, from the resulting scrum Olney attacked but knocked on in the Dav 22 with the line beckoning. Dav won their defensive scrum comfortably, gathered the clearance kick and set up camp in the Olney 22. Olney were penalised for offside at the ruck, giving the first scoring opportunity to the visitors and with a cleanly struck penalty they took the lead 0-3.

A good kick off and chase by the forwards led to an Olney penalty which Will Nicholls kicked into the corner for an attacking lineout. The lineout was lost but Olney were awarded a free kick which was quickly taken and Harvey Dench burst through for the first try of the game, converted by Nicholls for a 7-3 lead. Olney were attacking at every opportunity with the half back pairing of Lewis Foster and Will Nicholls keeping it simple and releasing the powerful midfield of Dench and Kavan Trzebiatowsky whenever they could. New Dad Struan Brooks at fullback was also proving hard to stop when in possession and proved an effective last line of defence. Olney had good territory but the Dav defence held firm until a kick and chase from Kavan allowed Brooks to outpace the defence for Olney’s 2nd try which Nicholls once again converted for a 14-3 scoreline. Another penalty to Olney was drilled into the visitors 22 by Nicholls, but the over complicated Olney line-out was not functioning and Dav cleared to halfway. Second row Ben Grainger was showing great skill at the ruck and won his side penalty after penalty as Daventry had to hold onto the ball on numerous occasions to prevent the turn over. This allowed Nicholls to keep the pressure on with raking kicks deep into opposition territory but with the Olney line-out just not working, the Daventry forwards were constantly able to steal the ball back and the danger was cleared. Olney continued to run the ball however, and but for a forward pass winger Sonnie Fitzgerald would have been in at the corner. Another midfield penalty for Olney, this time for a high tackle, and Nicholls once again put Olney on the front foot with his immaculate kicking. This time the line-out was secure, Dench burst through and put his centre partner Kavan over for Olney’s third try, once more converted to give O’s a well deserved 21-3 lead as half time approached. From the restart Joe German broke through with a mazy run but with the support outpaced Olney were penalised at the ruck. Daventry cleared well with the penalty, set up a maul from the lineout and powered over to get themselves back into the contest, the conversion cutting the deficit to just 11 points. It was Olney’s turn to be penalised from the restart but fortunately for the team they were awarded a penalty at the scrum and cleared their lines for a half time score of 21-10 in their favour. However worryingly Daventry had finished the half the stronger with their forwards starting to get a grip in the game.

Some inspirational words from coach Oli Francis during the break must have done the trick as Olney came out of the blocks. Harvey Dench collected the kick off to set up a series of attacks which led to Nicholls chipping through for Dench himself to go over for his 2nd try of the match. The conversion was this time missed but the early score had given the team the confidence they needed to take the game to their opponents and not try to just defend against the juggernaut Daventry pack. Kavan once again went on a powerful run and with good support from Daniel Rawlings Olney once again were on the attack. Another great run from Joe German was held up just short of the line and a final pass missed on the other side of the field as Olney put the phases together in the Daventry 22. Once again though Daventry held firm and there followed a period of midfield stalemate as Olney defended well against the opposition forwards until they managed to break from a scrum. A strong run down the left by Fitzgerald resulted in him being bundled into touch and Olney were back on the attack. Some deft interplay between Struan Brooks and Joe German resulted in the latter bursting through for a great try under the posts. Apparently Joe gets his rugby skills and his nose from his mum (so Dad says) but whatever his family DNA he was putting in a Man of the Match performance and with the conversion added Olney were looking good at 33-10 up.

The Daventry side were definitely rattled and after some midfield skirmishes they lost a forward, yellow carded for leading with the forearm. The resulting penalty was cleared into the Daventry half and with the simplified Olney line-out now functioning well Joe German made another great run and won his side a penalty in the visitors 22. A quick tap and a great line by Harvey Dench and he was over for his hattrick, another successful conversion making the score 40-10 to Olney. As it drew to a close, the game descended into chaos with the Daventry side losing its discipline and giving away penalty after penalty, receiving another yellow card for their troubles. This gave the home side the chance of the final say and after good back play taking the side up to the posts the forwards drove over for the final try of the game which Nicholls once again converted for a final score of 47-10 to Olney.

An excellent performance by Olney. The combination of youth, experience and all things in between gave the side the balance that had been missing sometimes this season. Even when influential players, such as Ben Grainger, had to leave the pitch through injury there was enough back-up to maintain momentum.