Pipped at the post again

At last we were outside playing rugby again after a run of indoor astroturf sessions. Cold and windy, but at least it was dry. We finally realised why the Wall's ice cream factory backed onto the Old Richians pitches. It meant they didn’t need their own refridgeration systems to be running, they would just open the windows and let the bitter Glos air keep the ice cream frozen.

We were struggling for players this week but had just enough for the games, even with the injuries that happened in the 2nd game.

Game 1

The game started with a long Old Richians (OR) run. Arthur saved the try with a good tackle. OR kept attacking and were going to score in the corner when their was a fumble and Arthur picked up the ball from Strouds own try line and ran the length of the pitch up the left wing to open the scoring.

OR came back strong and it was good determined team tackling by the forwards and the backs that stopped them from breaking away and scoring the long tries that had characterised the games at Wycliffe earlier in the season. Jedd was doing well to win the ball, and also slow down the OR attacking play. Arthur was at the heart of the tackling, often stripping the ball away. On one occasion OR forward player managed to get through though and equalled the score at 1-1.

In the 2nd half Dave kicked off and Keyan managed to recover the kick and made some good distance on a weaving run. OR were still probing the Stroud defense and good tackling by Stoner and Will T kept them at bay. Stroud had a succession of lineouts but were unable to get the ball cleanly out to he backs. OR were sometimes stealing the throw and only good tackling by Alex and Arthur saved the ball going out to the wing.

Dave was filling in admirably for William at fly half and his penalty kicks were always making touch – probably the incentive to hit his Dad gave him the range and accuracy he needed !

The game was opening up a bit now and the ball was going out into the backs with Archie C (aka Flash) playing scrum half and directing the attacks. One good passage of play got the ball out to Alex on the wing and he made good progress until tackled. OR now resorted to a kicking game to change it up. Laurie playing full back ran the ball back well. OR kept attacking though and were camped on the Stroud try line. Arthur did another amazing rip tackle and came away with the ball and somehow managed to run half the length of pitch with OR players hanging off him. Just as he was getting dragged down he managed to offload it to Keyan who then took it the rest of the way to score in the middle for a 2-1 Stroud lead. Definitely the best try of the game and the smile on coach Phil's face was a sight to behold.

Now Stroud were starting to dominate in all phases of the game. A number of lineouts were won and accurate throwing by Tom O in the wind was quite an achievement. On one occasion there was a slightly non-straight throw and I’m sure we all heard Tom’s mum shout her support of the refs decision! Remember kids - the ref is always correct.....

Stroud were deep in the OR half and a good turnover by Liam released Dave to run it in the corner. Just as we were celebrating his try in the right corner we realised that he must have stepped out as a lineout was awarded to OR. Time was due to expire so ‘last play’ was called and OR won the resulting lineout and bravely tried to run it out from their own try zone. Unfortunately the pressure of the Stroud defensive line and Liams tackling meant the ball was fumbled and Dash fell on it to make it 3-1 to Stroud as the whistle blew.

Final Score: Old Richians 1 – 3 Stroud

Game 2

Unfortunately this match report a bit shorter because my hands had frozen up and I can’t read my writing so well !

OR kicked deep and Arthur managed to pick it up and have a long run back but his long ambitious pass to Dave was just behind so attacking opportunity missed. OR pounced on this and quickly got the ball out to the left wing and somehow their winger ran half the length of the pitch to score the 1st try. 1-0 to OR

Dave’s long kickoff caused panic in the OR backs. The ball bounced into the try zone and just as we thought Stroud would recover it an OR player managed to touch it down. OR won the scrum and attacked again but Dave managed to intercept the ball and offload it to Arthur who was going over to score, but at last second was held up by good OR tackling.

It was back to a battle of the forwards with Tom O doing a great job at the breakdown by putting his head only where the boots belonged ! Liam was playing really well and had stolen the ball and started to run but was brought down by a big tackle and landed awkwardly. We all heard the cries of pain and the coaches and nurse ran onto the pitch to attend to him. After quite a few minutes he was carried to the side where a repeat of his left knee injury was feared.

An early halftime was taken. Again Stroud managed to recover Dave’s kickoff with Keyan again leading the way. Stroud were playing well in the scrum and Flash was quickly tackling the OR scrum half as soon as the ball came out. Dash did some good tackles on the wing. On the other wing Archie E was getting isolated a few times but still managed to make good progress and hold onto the ball while waiting for the support.

OR were starting to get their long runs going. A number of missed Stroud tackles were punished. Just as we thought OR were going to score again Will T did a try saving tackle, supported by Stoner. Now it was the time of the OR nurse to attend to an OR player. She was being kept busy today.

OR had a scrum close to Stroud line which they won. The ball came out quickly to their centre who ran straight up and scored to make it 2-0. Arthur was hurt in the tackle and he got carried off.

Edgar came on for Arthur and he had some mazy runs to make some yardage. OR were still attacking and had a lineout on Stroud try line. Stroud won the lineout but unfortunately the ball was fumbled and an OR forward fell on it to make it 3-0 to OR.

Stroud were now desperate to score a try and Dave and Dash had a few weaving runs down the wings and through the centre but all their efforts were denied by good OR swarm tackling. OR has a knack of winning the ball at the breakdown and then giving it to their big forward who would run strong and cause the Stroud tackles to bounce off him. Just as we thought there would be another score a good tackle by Dave stopped them.

Final Score: Old Richians 3 – 0 Stroud

Overall the teams were evenly matched as the 1-1 score in games showed and Old Richians just shaded the try score at 4-3.

The players formed tunnels for each other and clapped each other off to show the good spirit the game was played in. The refereeing was good and there was no repeating of the handoffs that had interrupted the games before Xmas.

We didn’t have time to award Man-of-the-Match trophys because we were too busy carrying Liam and Arthur back to their cars so they could then consider if hospital trips were required – hopefully not!