Wednesday, April 26, 2006

OLs-Shrewsbury:0-10

Old Leams Ladies wait for second place.

It was supposed to be the big decider in wMidlands2 at The Crofts on Sunday. A victory would bring Old Leamingtonians Ladies to a 2nd place finish. Playing their direct rivals, Shrewsbury, with everything to play for, the tension was high.

But at the end of the match, things were still not clear and the outcome is to be decided at the offices of the RFUW.

The first encounter earlier this season ended with a narrow victory for Old Leamingtonians so concentration was important. Old Leams started the match with all guns blazing. Within 10 minutes, they had 2 chances to open the score. Poor execution saw the opportunities wasted. Shrewsbury’s forwards dominated the rucks and mauls, seriously limiting Old Leams’ options.

After 27 minutes, a knee injury saw one of the Shrewsbury forwards unable to play contested scrums. With no replacement available, the decision was made to continue the match but with uncontested scrums. It is this decision that will now decide the outcome of the match. Normally, a team that has no replacement for front row players loses the match if they play uncontested scrums. However, with many teams losing players to England’s World Cup 2007 preparations this year, the RFUW may take a lenient view.

Mysteriously, the decision to play uncontested scrums had a profound effect on Old Leamingtonians. They seemed to immediately lose their aggression and drive. Shrewsbury’s forwards were quick at breakdowns and managed to create maul after maul. With mauling not being an Old Leams strength, they were drawn in to exhausting battles time and again.

When they did manage to spin the ball out wide, it was clear that Shrewsbury were very vulnerable in the backs. And so the strange situation developed where Old Leamingtonians were clearly in charge of the match but without making much progress. The first half was played mainly on Shrewsbury’s half but Old Leams failed to capitalise.

After the break, the situation continued, with most of the rugby being played in the visitor’s half. But it was Shrewsbury that broke through after sloppy play from the Old Leams defence. The conversion was missed. Now Old Leams needed to step up to ensure the match, and second place, did not slip away from them. Shrewsbury upped the pressure and kept Old Leamingtonians pinned to their own half.

With the referee signalling the last play of the match, Old Leamingtonians kicked the ball into midfield from the back of a scrum. It was picked up by Shrewsbury who ran straight through the Old Leams defence and secured the 0-10 victory.

In the end it was a good win for Shrewsbury whose forwards succeeded in stopping Old Leams getting the ball out to the backs.

The wait is now for the RFUW to decide if the result will stand or if the decision to go for uncontested scrums has cost Shrewsbury the match and, ultimately, 2nd place in the league.

Cup Campaign

Old Leamingtonians Ladies travelled to Lichfield for the National Challenge Cup North on Sunday. Due to a number of players being injured or on holiday they took the bare minimum of 15 players to the tournament. Old Leams drew Leos and Newark in their pool, 2 games of 20 mins each way. The first game against Leos saw OL’s make a fierce attack early on after loose ball was chipped ahead.

OL’s pinned Leos in their half and it wasn’t long before OL’s got on the score board. Captain and No 8 Christie Honor picked up from the base of the scrum 10 meters out and powered through the defence to score. Another pressure attack from the restart came from open side flanker Janine McComiskey when she made a break through the centre, a penalty awarded to OL’s was converted by fly half Vicky Stokes which saw OL’s up by 8 points to nil.

Towards the end of the first half OL’s gave a way a penalty and were slow to react to Leos quick attack, they spun the ball wide and scored in the corner, they missed the conversion though making the half time score 8-5. The second half saw an array of weather conditions – sun, rain and hail making play difficult. Both sides battled to score but unfortunately towards the end of the game Leos came back in to the game and after a long period of good defensive work from OL’s they managed to penetrate the defence and scored. The final score being 10-8 to Leos

The second game v Newark was a scrappy affair but OL’s took the upper hand and opened the scoring again from No 8 Christie Honor with an identical try from the first game, she picked up from the base of a scrum and broke through the defence to score. Fly half Vicky Stokes converted making the score 7-0. OL’s were again awarded a penalty and Vicky Stokes stepped up and kicked it to make the half time score 10-0. Newark came back well in the second half and after a series of penalties OL’s were pushed back in to their 22. Newark attacked Ol’s but some good pressure from OL’s made Newark knock on. Unfortunately OL’s gave away a penalty at the scrum and Newark’s prop reacted quickly and drove over the line from a couple of meters out. The final score was 10-5 to OL’s.

OL’s put in a much improved performance from last year’s cup campaign and despite many of the 15 picking up injuries and some playing out of position every one put in 100% and played some good rugby. Ol’s have their final league game of the season at the crofts on Sunday 23rd April where they will be battling against Shrewsbury for 2nd place in the league.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

OLs-Greyhounds: 28-14

Old Leams Ladies pick up points


After a break in competitive games for more than 2 months, Old Leamingtonians Ladies continued their league campaign in Womens Midlands 2 with a win over Hereford Greyhounds.

The end stages of the league campaign have been marred by cancellations and postponements, making Sunday's match only the second of two competitive matches in the space of 3 months. The upside of this is that the 3 players who made their debut for Old Leamingtonians in this match have had plenty of time to settle in to the team during training sessions over the past months.

Despite a few errors that seemed to stem from a certain lack of match-sharpness, the home side went up 5-0 after 10 minutes. Katy Ingram, normally a Second-Row but playing on the wing this time, scored her first ever try after some good handling down the line.

The second came soon after when Number 8 Janine McComiskey provided excellent support to the backs. She picked the ball up in midfield and powered her way across the line.

Greyhounds had something in return when they scored their only try of the first half after defensive errors fm Old Leamingtonians allowed Carry Phillips to break through and score under the posts. The conversion brought the score to 10-7.

Old Leams scored once more before half time with Centre Kelly McLeod sprinting her way through the middle. At half time, the score was 15-7 for Old Leams.

The second half saw a few changes in the team with Charlie Graham coming on as scrum half and Claire Penna moving to the wing.

With the strong wind now blowing in their face, Old Leams were looking for bonus points in their race for second place in the league. But it was Greyhounds who scored first. Lack of attention provided Greyhounds with a good opportunity to bring the score closer together when Bonny Verry was allowed to run through the defensive lines and score between the posts. With the score now 15-14, Old Leams knew hey had to up their game and keep their heads switched on.

The rest of the second half was pretty much played on Greyhounds' territory. Old Leams were given a few penalties in the Greyhounds' 22 but failed to score. Flanker Chris Graham saw her attempt held up but from the resulting scrum, Scrumhalf Charlie Graham picked up the ball and dived over the line. Vicki Stokes later added 3 points with a well-placed penalty kick.

Towards the end of the match, Old Leams were awarded a penalty on the Greyhounds 5-metre line. With the referee indicating that it was going to be the last action of the match, Old Leams decided to run it instead of kicking for goal, trying to get a bonus point for scoring 5 tries. Prop forward Mary Sugrue took the ball on and powered across the line, securing the bonus points with her first ever try.



Player of the Match was debutante Gemma Honor. She put in a star performance on the wing with great running and some excellent tackles.

There is now only 1 match left to play for Old Leams. And that match will decide the final standings of the league table as they play their direct rivals Shrewsbury. A win will secure 2nd place for Old Leams in a season that has been marked by progress and an influx of new players.

Old Leamingtonians Ladies – Shrewsbury will be played on Sunday, April 23rd at The Crofts. Kick-off is at 2.30pm. 

Friday, February 17, 2006

OLs-Witney:10-3

Old Leams beat tough Witney in scrappy encounter

After 2 weeks rest, Old Leamingtonians continued their successful league campaign with a tough match against Witney.

The first encounter this season ended in a narrow 3-7 victory for Old Leams with fly-half Vicky Stokes securing the win at the last moment with a try and conversion. In that match, Witney showed excellent strength in their forwards, especially their rolling mauls, which OLs were unable to stop.

It was obvious that Old Leams were much better prepared for the Witney mauls this time around. So successful were the Old Leams forwards in deflecting the mauls that Witney abandoned them as a weapon of attack before half-time.

The game was a stop-start affair with the referee allowing little time for the ball to come out of the rucks. This resulted in many scrums throughout the match. And here again Old Leams had the measure of Witney.

Witney never looked like scoring and it was scrum half Charlie Graham who scored her 8th try of the season for Old Leamingtonians. Captain & No. 8 Christie Honor picked up from the base of a scrum on the right hand side of the pitch and went up the blind side. She passed to Graham who off-loaded to winger Claire Penna. Graham received the ball back an pushed across the line.

Clearly Old Leams were rusty after the 2 weeks rest. They failed to ruck convincingly and let Witney players lie all over the ball. This mostly resulted in the referee awarding Old Leams with a scrum and seriously stopped the fast game Old Leamingtonians had hoped to be able to play.

Winger Claire Penna almost managed to run in a try but she got stopped just before the line and the forwards were unable to push on for the final inches.

Penna did get her try in the end. From a penalty on the far left side of the pitch, Christie Honor passed the ball out wide and great handling saw the entire back-line work the ball all the way to Penna who scored in the far right corner.

Witney tried to gain ground by kicking the ball high but Player of the Match Celina Bennet was in excellent form again and dealt with all the high balls. On top of that she made two try-saving tackles. Bennett, who is training for the Flora London Marathon, later this year, has proved a revelation after moving from the wing to the full-back position.

In the second half, Witney were awarded a penalty near the posts and they took the opportunity to put 3 points on the board.

The match saw the long-awaited return of flankers Laura Knox and Janine McComiskey. Knox broke her wrist against Oxford at the start of the season. McComiskey has been absent much longer. Pregnancy and a broken ankle kept her on the sidelines for 18 months. Both players played an excellent match upon their return.

Old Leamingtonians have 2 matches remaining this season and, although it is no longer in their own hands, it is still possible for them to be crowned Champions of Woman’s Midlands 2 at the end of the season. The best the team can do is to win their matches against Hereford Greyhounds and fellow title contenders Shrewsbury and hope Oakham and Shrewsbury drop points in other matches.

Anyone interested in playing for Old Leamingtonians WRFC can contact us via email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the website www.olrfc.co.uk.  

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

OLs-Oakham: 3-22

Old Leams put points past Oakham

In a repeat of their first meeting, earlier this season, Oakham proved a side too strong for Old Leamingtonians to beat. At half time, even the score was identical to the one in their earlier encounter: 0 - 22. But at the end of the match, there was something to celebrate for Old Leamingtonians as Fly-Half Vicki Stokes got the honour of being the first player to put any points past Oakham this season with a well placed penalty kick.

Old Leamingtonians knew this match would indicate if they are ready to seriously look at promotion at the end of the season. Oakham, only promoted into this league this season, are taking wMidlands 2 by storm having won all their matches and not giving away any points to the opposition. In the end, Old Leamingtonians came up short.

The first 20 minutes saw Old Leamingtonians work hard to hold off Oakham’s fierce attack. Old Leams proved vulnerable around the rucks and frequently it was a simply matter of strength, with Oakham putting more power in. Old Leams managed to win a few Oakham balls in the rucks but they allowed themselves to be pushed back close towards their own try line. After 20 minutes of exhausting play from both sides, Oakham got the ball out to the Inside Centre who broke through and scored the first try of the afternoon.

The try was a big blow for Old Leams and the hard work of the opening minutes seemed to have taken a huge amount of energy. Old Leamingtonians were defeated at the scrums and line-outs time and again. They had set out trying to keep the field of play small since it was to be expected that Oakham would try to break out through their strong centre. It seemed that after the first try was scored, Old Leams lost their organisation and started to panic around the rucks.

Oakham kept pressuring the Old Leams defence and ran in another try by the Inside Centre. After this score, Old Leamingtonians looked deflated and it was clear some players felt disappointed. Unable to stop Oakham’s efficient and strong mauling, they let in another two tries before half-time, bringing the score to 0-22, exactly the same as in their first encounter.

The second half saw an Old Leams with renewed vigour. Determined to at least get some points on the board, they drove their way up the park. Oakham started to show signs of tiredness and gave away penalties for high tackles and hands in the ruck. A penalty was awarded in a kickable position and Captain Christie Honor signalled for the posts. Fly half Vicky Stokes stepped up and her perfectly kicked penalty was the only score Old Leams would get in the match but at least they can say they are the only team to have scored against Oakham this season.

The rest of the second half remained score-less with Full Back & player of the match Celina Bennett competently dealing with any ball kicked her way and Katy Ingram moving from the flank to 2nd row helping to stabilise scrums. Old Leams were able to withstand the Oakham pressure until the end, making sure the Rutlanders were denied any bonus points. Old Leams put the hard work in, made hard tackles when needed and did the best they could. They were simply overpowered by the Oakham forward play. There is no shame in this loss as it is clear that Oakham is a very strong side with a good chance of winning the league this year. There are many lessons to be learned from this match and no doubt coach Tim Burden will have a few ideas of how to take his side up to the next level.

With matches against close rivals Shewsbury and Witney still to come, Old Leamingtonians still have their fate in their own hands.

Old Leamingtonians Ladies is always looking for players, no matter what level of experience. Contact them if you are interested in playing: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Monday, January 16, 2006

Oxford-OLs: 0-43

Ladies continue title challenge

There was no let-up for Old Leamingtonians Ladies this weekend as they continued their challenge for the top spot in Women’s Midlands 2.

This weekend’s match saw them traveling to Oxford, who ended above Old Leams in last year's competition but are now struggling at the bottom of the table.

The match started badly for Old Leamingtonians when prop Michelle Ramsay injured her knee in the first scrum and had to be replaced by Mary Sugrue, a new recruit this year.

Old Leams did not waste much time and after 10 minutes, Scrum-Half Charlie Graham scored her first try of the after grabbing the ball from the back of a ruck and diving across the line.

The second try came not long after when excellent team work between forwards and backs saw Old Leams drive the ball up the park. Fly-Half Vicki Stokes eventually fooled the Oxford defense with a dummy to duck underneath the posts.

Oxford did not seem to have a reply to the Old Leams attack. And before half-time, Charlie Graham put her 2nd try of the day on the board. Captain and No. 8 Christie Honor picked up from the back of a scrum and pushed her way towards the try line. She off-loaded to Lock Marieke Vink who in turn fed Graham who worked the ball over the line.

At half time, OLs were 0-15 up but their rucks proved unstable and with 3 tries ahead, Old Leams were not able to assume the victory was in the bag.

The rucking improved little in the second half but Oxford were unable to capitalize on the errors.

After some messy rucking close to Oxford’s line, Lock Marieke Vink picked the ball up and ran around the blind-side to the Oxford try-line. Only a high tackle was able to stop her. The resulting penalty saw Old Leams spread the ball wide to the other side of the pitch via a couple of rucks. It was then passed all the way down the line where fullback Celina Bennett did a switch with winger Jenny Martin. Martin crossed the line for her first ever try. The try was sweet revenge for Martin who last missed most of last season when she broke her collarbone against Oxford.

Kelly McLeod then added to the score and secured the bonus points when she scored after Inside Centre Charlotte Hewer created the space in midfield. McLeod ran all the way from the middle of the pitch to score between the posts. With her second conversion of the match, Stokes took the score to 0-27.

Oxford continued to battle their way through and they managed to break through the Old Leams defense. They came close to scoring when Old Leams failed to deal with yet another messy ruck. A good tackle pushed the Oxford attack in to touch, close to the OLs' 5 metre line with the resulting line-out clearing the ball to safety.

Lock Marieke Vink finished off her Player of the Match performance with a try after excellent support running, allowing Captain Honor to offload to Vink in a tackle.

Oxford kept their head up and continued to pressure Old Leams in the line-outs and rucks but it was Claire Penna who had the last word. In the Old Leamingtonians' 22, the ball was booted up the field by McLeod. In an attempt to clear, the Oxford full-back kicked the ball in the air. With Inside Centre Charlotte Hewer and McLeod herself putting pressure on the Oxford defense, Penna managed to get hold of the bouncing ball and at full speed ran through the defense. The 4th conversion of the match brought the final score to 0-43 for Old Leamingtonians Ladies.

This win secures Old Leamingtonians at the 2nd place in the table in Women's Midlands 2. This Sunday sees them playing Oakham, the only team in the league that is still unbeaten. In fact, Oakham have not yet conceded a single point this season. If Old Leams want to have a chance of winning the title this year, they MUST beat Oakham. OLs have a week to sort out their unstable rucking because Oakham will not waste the opportunities.

Ladies, women and other females who want to play rugby, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

OLs-Greyhounds: 46-12

Old Leamingtonians Ladies maintain unbeaten home status.

The New Year has started on a positive note for the ladies of Old Leamingtonians with a 46-12 win over Hereford Greyhounds. The ladies are still unbeaten at home this season and are currently ranked second in Women’s Midlands 2.

Greyhounds were unable to field a full side so Old Leams winger Jenny Martin joined the opposition to ensure a more equal contest. It was testimony of the friendly spirit in which matches between these two teams are usually played. Never the less, Old Leams made no secret of their intentions and after 7 minutes, Centre Kelly McLeod scored the first try of the afternoon.

Skipper Christie Honor took care of the second try which was duly converted by Fly Half Vicky Stokes.

A defensive error from Old Leams saw Greyhound score and convert their only try of the first half.

The departure of Tami Summers saw winger Celina Bennet move to the full-back position with Claire Penna posted on the wing. Bennet did a good job and scored her try with a fantastic dive for the line. Number 8 Christie Honor saw no less than 3 attempts at a try help up by Greyhounds, a feat that was celebrated with gusto by the team from Hereford.

Old Leamingtonians were combining well on the pitch and were dominant in all parts of the game. The only aspect of their game that did not seem to work was the line-out. Good lifting and jumping from Greyhounds resulted in Old Leamingtonians not winning a single line-out for the entire match.

By half time, OLs were up 29-7 thanks to further tries from Scrum-half Charlie Graham (2) and Claire Penna.

In the second half, Old Leamingtonians seemed to lose their way a little and they let Greyhounds run at them. This resulted in another try, taking the score to 29-12. The opposition found inspiration from their try and started to seriously disrupt the Old Leams scrums. The ever reliable Claire Penna scored her second try, converted by Stokes with yet another 2 attempts judged as being help-up by the opposition.

In the dying seconds, Scrum-Half Charlie Graham scored her third try of the match in the far left hand corner, taking the score to its final 46-12.

Old Leams have managed to hold on to their very positive performance at the first half of the season. However, if the team wants to have a shot at winning the league, they need to become much more dynamic and communication between forwards and backs needs to improve. Their current position of 2nd in the league table might be slightly over inflated due to the large number of teams that have not played their scheduled matches. There is however no denying that this side has a lot of talent and with time, they should be able to step up through the leagues.

Any ladies who want to play rugby at Old Leamingtonians, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Monday, November 28, 2005

OLs-Tewkesbury:10-0 (Abandoned after 33 minutes)

Confusion reined on Sunday as the match Old Leamingtonians Ladies vs. Tewkesbury Ladies was abandoned 2 minutes before half-time. Old Leams were 10-0 up by then and were well in control of the match.

After a tackle, it appears fighting broke out between players and Tewkesbury had their prop sent off for punching the Old Leams No. 8 in the head. Tewkesbury insisted the Old Leamingtonians player should be sent off as well but the referee ignored their plea and signalled for the match to continue. Tewkesbury turned their back to the referee who blew his whistle on 3 occasions, signalling for the game to re-start. Tewkesbury however showed no intention of lining up for the penalty.

What happened next is subject of an investigation by the RFUW. The referee reported Tewkesbury were unwilling to continue and he signalled for the end of the match. Tewkesbury however claim they were merely taking the time to discuss their options and were going to let Old Leamingtonians take their penalty without defending it, out of protest, but that they had no intention of abandoning the match completely.

At the time of the incident, Old Leamingtonians were leading 10-0 thanks to tries from Full-back Tami Summers and Centre Kelly McLeod. The home side was fully in control of the game despite Tewkesbury clearly having improved on their early season form when they conceded 44 points against Old Leams.

The RFUW will have to decide if the result from the match stands or that the match needs to be replayed. Even if Old Leamingtonians get awarded the win without a replay, they will be very disappointed. With the Women's Midlands 2 League being extremely tight this year, every bonus point counts. Bonus points are awarded if a team scores 5 tries or more in a match. With Tewkesbury being at the bottom of the table and their first encounter this season ending in a 44-0 win for Old Leams, there was a good possibility of Old Leams taking a bonus point from this match.

It was a sad goodbye for Special Player of the Match Tami Summers. Summers is leaving Old Leamingtonians to travel around Australia. The full-back has been outstanding for Old Leams in the past 2 years, frequently scoring important tries and never shying away from a tackle. Summers will be hard to replace but as Old Leamingtonians Ladies have shown many times this season, they are strong enough to rotate players around and keep the pressure on their opponents.

Any ladies interested in playing for Old Leamingtonians Ladies are invited to email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Starting Line-up:
1 Mary Sugrue
2 Caz lambert
3 Michelle Ramsey
4 Marieke Vink
5 Susan Dalling
6 Mikki Ferrer
7 Claire Penna
8 Lou Fry
9 Chris Lycett
10 Vicki Stokes (C)
11 Jenny Martin
12 Kelly McLeod
13 Charlotte Hewer
14 Celina Bennett
15 Tami Summers

Monday, November 21, 2005

Shrewsbury-OLs: 17-24

Monday, October 31, 2005

Worcester II-OLs: 26-8

Lack of concentration costs Old Leamingtonians the match


For the second time this season, Old Leamingtonians Ladies have let a lack of concentration cost them a match. Worcester 2nds who have only fulfilled two league fixtures so far were eager to play and were on form from the 1st minute whilst Old Leams were still sussing out their opponents. By the time OLs woke up, they were already 26 - 0 down.

After convincingly beating Stoneygate 15-0, who are a league above OLs, last week, OLs should have had plenty of confidence going into Sunday’s match against a Worcester team that could only field 14 players. However, from the start it was obvious that OLs were not focussed enough. In the opening minutes Worcester spread the ball wide and ran in an easy try, shortly followed by another.

Time and time again they let Worcester run at them and get the ball wide. When in possession, OLs played some good rugby, they totally dominated Worcester’s pack and scrum half Caz Lambert who returned from concussion put Worcester under a lot of pressure at the base of the scrum, but as soon as the ball was turned over, Worcester were quick to take advantage by using their experienced speedy backs who ran riot through OLs' defence.

In the second half, with 26 – 0 on the board, Old Leams finally got their act together. They spent the entire 2nd half in Worcester's half of the pitch. OLs kept the ball in the forwards and Worcester had very little in reply. After several scrums the hard work put in by the forwards, especially prop and player of the match Michelle Ramsey paid off when 2nd Row Marieke Vink finally put a score on the board. With 20 mins to go, OLs saw another attempt held up by the Worcester defence. OL’s were then awarded a penalty in front of the Worcester posts. Fly-half Vicki Stokes took the opportunity to bring the final score to 26 – 8. Unfortunately OLs were unable to put any further points on the board but did prevent Worcester from scoring in the second half.

Like the previous loss against Oakham, it seems that Old Leamingtonians were simply not ready for their opponents. They took too long to get in to the match and lost it in the first half. Against weaker sides, this attitude may not be a danger as OLs have enough quality to stop opponents from scoring. But against strong sides, they can not afford this attitude. Twice now they have lost a match they really could have won.

Coach Tim Burden will have to work hard at getting his players to get ready BEFORE the match and not use the first half to sort themselves out. This Sunday Old Leamingtonians welcome Hereford Greyhounds. If they want to keep their promotion campaign on track, this is a match they can not afford to lose. The match starts at 2.30pm at The Crofts in Leamington.

Starting Line-up for Old Leamingtonians vs Worcester II:

1) Lou Fry
2) Jackie Meade
3) Michelle Ramsay
4) Marieke Vink
5) Susan Dalling
6) Katy Ingram
7) Claire Penna
8) Christie Honor ©
9) Caz Lambert
10) Vicki Stokes
11) Jenny Martin
12) Kelly McLeod
13) Charlotte Hewer
14) Rohey Jallow
15) Tami Summers


Score:

Marieke Vink – 1 try
Vicki Stokes – 1 penalty