Old Leamingtonians Extra 1^st XV (68) vs. AEI Rugby 1^st XV (0)

This, by no stretch of the imagination, was one of Rugby’s big miss-matches. Old Leamingtonian Extra’s fielded a strong side, partly through necessity and partly through looking to give game time to returning players. The result was an unfortunate white wash. All credit to AEI for sticking at it.

The first try came with less than thirty seconds on the clock. A catch from the kick off was driven on in turn by Andy Davies and then James Barker. A quick pop to Nick Bingham saw the prop cum hooker crash through a weak tackle and head for the line. A covering tackler stopped Bingo from scoring himself, but he was able to pass to the grateful Aaron Dudley who touched down. Jamie Brown converted.

Now, OL’s scored another eleven tries after this, and without the benefit of video replay (or a thoughtful spectator recording the scores) I am just going to detail those tries I remember and leave it to my team mates to fill in the blanks.

Ian Maull scored two tries, one in each half. His first came from (I think) a lineout in the AEI 22 that was span out wide; each man committing his defender and offloading in a way that any coach would be proud to see happen on a pitch. Ian’s second came from a delightful chip through from Andy Mould; Ian scampering through like a spaniel chasing a tennis ball, and touching down in front of the covering defender.

Nick Bingham scored a brace himself; again one in each half. The first came from another kick off, the ball being worked deep into the AEI 22 through successive quick rucking and off loading out of tackles. Dudley was able to return the favour for Bingham by making the last pass that set the Warwickshire prop-forward up to crash over for his first. Bingham’s second came from a lineout move that worked (yes it does happen). Craig Ellis made a break for the line but was held up just short. Bingham was able to pick up and crash over from short range.

Robin “The Binman” Durrant scored a well worked try in the first half. Again, the ball was worked from the back of a set piece, each man committing his tackler before judging the moment of offloading to perfection. Durrant gassed his man and scored in the corner, making up for an earlier effort that ended up in touch.

Rob Marr, returning from the slopes of some mountain or another, scored a brace himself. His first came from a typical Marr style break through the middle; bursting through the tackler on the 22 and powering around the last man to score. The second was near enough exactly the same except that the break came from a little further back, and the score happened in the second half.

Rajvir Bahey, centre/back row maestro score a great individual effort himself. James Barker made the pass to the short side in the AEI 22. Bahey threw a dummy (demonstrating his new found “backs” skills) and stepped inside to score from short range.

Right, three more tries to go! Dudley scored his the second of his brace following a quick tap penalty moved away from the defenders. Andrew Hemming, describing himself as a “lean mean tackling machine” (to which the AEI centre with no knee caps left can attest), made a break and reluctantly passed to Dudley after he had committed his man. Dudley stepped the last man to score.

Andy Mould scored one himself, adding five points onto a day that saw him clock up around four assists. The try had the air of simplicity about it, coming in the second half when the AEI players heads were down. Andy made a simple break following a set piece out wide, and stepped the last man to score under the posts.

The final try comes from another set lineout play (we scored off both lads, well done!). Chris Clapham made another fine catch and offloaded to Luke Cobb. Cobby ambled over the try line without a defender in sight and had to be reminded that it might not be such a bad idea if he put the ball down.

Many people had a go at conversions, the emphasis being put on scoring more tries as opposed to being worried about the extra points. However, Jamie Brown managed to get only two in the first half with Rob Marr adding two of his own in the second half.

This was one of those games neither side really enjoyed playing; it was not competitive enough and frustration kicked in from both sides. OL’s could have scored more, but handling errors and a few over complications saw the score line stay as it was. OL’s scored through doing simple things well, not through a reliance on moments of individual flair. Yes, we used this game to try some stuff we wouldn’t have tried in a normal, closer encounter of the extra first kind; any team would do the same. Bahey’s loft would have received praise had it have worked; and Will Evans (specialist AEI-only back-row forward borrowed from the Dubai Harlequins for the day) reverse spin pass was hailed as the best bit of service of the day from the fly-half. Being the regular provider of that service I am disinclined to agree with such a statement.

Man of the Match goes to Chris Clapham. The specialist lineout jumper must have stolen 70%+ of the AEI ball, providing the backs with a great platform for attacking a staggered defensive line. His support play was excellent and he himself would have deserved a try. Well done boys, it’s a slightly different kettle of fish this week though. Bring on Broadstreet..........