Olney 2nds travelled the short distance to Old Northamptonians for their fourth and final encounter of the season. One thing about this league, you do get to know your opponents well!

Kicking down the slope in the first half Olney started brightly, gaining early possession and putting pressure on the ON’s defensive line which conceded an early penalty and then a 5 metre scrum. On several occasions Olney were inches from scoring the first try but when they did traverse the whitewash the ball was unfortunately held up and a goal line drop-out awarded. The home side won possession and kicked deep from the boot of their classy fullback. A hasty clearance kick gifted the ball back to a chasing ON’s back who took the ball and cantered over for the first score against the run of play. The early encounters showed that the Olney forwards had the measure of their counterparts, with unsung workhorses Huw Thomson and Matt Jolly to the fore, but that any passing or handling indiscretions would work in the favour of their opponents who looked very dangerous in broken play. From the restart ON’s worked the ball into the Olney 22 but Will Nicholas (maturing every week at fly half) cleared with a raking kick deep into the ON’s 22 for what seemed like a 50-22. The referee however had spotted an Olney infringement and awarded the home side a penalty on the Olney 22. From the ensuing lineout, despite what looked like an obvious knock on the ON’s forwards set up a good position for their backs who used quick hands for a score on the left. The conversion was on target to give ONs a 12-0 lead with 15 minutes on the clock. ONs were now beginning to play confidently. They stole a lineout on the Olney 10 metre line and some clever footwork and handling in midfield created the space once more on the left for the score, despite a valiant last ditch tackle by Ethan Brice. The kick was missed but the home side had a handy 17 point lead with only a quarter of the game played.

From the restart ONs fell foul to an offside decision at the ruck and Nicholas drilled the kick into the 22 for an attacking lineout. The forwards set up good position and a break by the returning Cam Keenan (who played the whole game as if needed to make up for time away from the game in one go) almost put Olney into the corner but a foot in touch negated the score. Buoyed by the near miss Olney countered from the clearance kick and good pressure from skipper Daniel Rawlings elicited a knock on and an Olney scrum from which the ONs backs were caught offside. From the tap penalty the forwards drove for the line and Luca Proietti got the vital touchdown. Nicholas slotted a good conversion to keep Olney in touch. In a seesaw half, however, ON’s capitalised on what has been something of an achilles heel for Olney this season – giving away a score, straight after scoring themselves! Desperate defence after a sloppy missed tackle in the middle of the park gifted the home side a penalty. They went short, using their forwards to go through the phases and eventually drove over for their fourth try and a 22-7 lead with 30 minutes on the clock. In response Olney finished the half very strongly. After repelling an initial ON’s attack through a strong scrum and clearance kick the Olney lineout forwards stole the ball. A handling error during the drive was rectified when the Olney scrum decimated their opponents, winning a scrum penalty and then a ruck penalty after their catch and drive from the lineout. Once again the kick went into the corner and once again the home defence was penalised at the breakdown This time wily old fox Gareth Cahill, seeing the line at his mercy, took a quick tap to dive over and score, Nicholas once again converting. The final minutes of the half saw Olney once again on the attack. With the restart not going 10 metres Olney took the scrum giving Nicholas the chance to clear long for a 50-22 and an attacking lineout. ON’s defence held firm and the whistle blew for a half time score of 22-14 in favour of the home side.

Olney started the second half as they finished the first. A great take at the restart from Proietti, who leapt for the ball like a pre-packed salmon, set the tone. Despite losing possession it was regained through good tackling and support play in midfield, culminating in a midfield scrum for Olney and then a penalty after good handling stretched the ON’s defence prompting some jiggery pokery in the ruck. The attacking lineout functioned well and the Olney backs took play into the 22 until the ball was stolen in the tackle. Olney then suffered a lack of discipline by questioning the legality of the steal and were penalised for the backchat. Fortunately the clearance kick didn’t find touch and Olney countered quickly and were rewarded with a penalty of their own for not releasing in the tackle. With the lineout functioning well Olney were happy to kick for touch up to the opposition 22. Another catch and drive and another penalty for pulling the maul down gave Olney the opportunity of a 5 metre lineout. The drive was held up short, but scrum half Alex Bickers spotted a gap and darted through to score. The successful conversion from the boot of Nicholas made it a one point game and maybe the luck was changing for Olney? (It was clear that the ball had not been grounded properly for the try, but the referee had missed it!) It wasn’t to last long, of course - It’s not been that sort of season!

The game restarted with the kick not going 10 metres but the Olney scrum for once was scrappy. ON’s gained a penalty in midfield and cleared into the Olney 22 for an attacking lineout. Olney contested and were rewarded with a scrum for a crooked throw. This time the scrum was back to normal but the home sides defence held firm in midfield and no real ground was made until Callum Earl and Cam Keenan combined to break through. The defence managed to regroup and tackle Keenan into touch before too much damage was done. Half way through the half Olney’s temporary good fortune deserted them. It’s a peculiar truth, but when a sports team goes through a season lucky if they have a sub or two on the bench on those days when they have a full compliment they all get quickly used up. Jack Mumberson and Ethan Brice had been first half casualties and after 60 minutes Josh Wheeler, who had formed an effective, if less than subtle, centre partnership with Gareth Cahill, had to leave the field with what looked like a nasty knee injury. By the end of the game Olney would only have 14 players on the pitch! Having to reorganise yet again Olney were caught napping when the ON’s fullback made a great break from his own half and linked up with his outside backs to set up an impressive counter attacking score. Olney fought back hard winning a penalty when Keenan made a great take from a kick through. Despite a scruffy lineout Olney were able to keep the play well inside their opponents half. They went through several phases with forwards and backs combining well. From a resulting penalty a shot at goal fell short and ON’s had ridden out the storm. From this point Olney’s good fortune really deserted them. From a 27-21 scoreline with 20 minutes to go they were hit by one of the vagaries of the modern game – the uncontested scrum. The Olney set piece had really been dominant throughout and with ON’s playing down the slope it was now easy for their flyhalf, under no pressure from a retreating scrum, to just ping the ball deep into the Olney 22. Having said that Olney didn’t do themselves any favours. A poor pass across the front of their own posts from one such kick resulted in a “scrum” deep in the Olney 22. Hard to defend with no forward momentum, a desperate high tackle close to the line gifted ON’s a penalty try. Despite a great take at the restart from Harry Dunning, Olney, without their scrum dominance and against the slope, were really up against it. As tiredness crept into the final minutes, with the inevitable handling errors, the scrums added up. ON’s, to their credit took advantage of the slope and the easy scrum ball with some pinpoint kicking to keep Olney under the cosh. They ran in 3 late tries with 2 conversions for a final score of 53-21 which really does not do justice to the way Olney played.

A really good effort from the Olney lads. Circumstances really conspired against them today especially as the game wore on. As always, they played with heart throughout and once again, despite the final score, they certainly didn’t let the shirt down.

Pics by Jeff Bowden here