Page 87 - Phonebox Magazine October 2016

Olney Rugby Club
OTaking the Venom out of the Vipers
lney’s second league fixture was at home to Leicester Vipers and changes in their line up allied with better conditions resulted in a better all-round performance from the hosts. After some play back and forth, both sides were
defending well and though there were some promising breaks by James Padfield and Phil Bowden they were smothered by the visitors back row cover. The opening score came in the 9th minute, an attempted clearance kick from Vipers was gathered by Bowden who fed inside to Charlie Belcher starting a move involving the forwards and backs, to put Ollie Simmons in for a try. Jordan Letts added the conversion and Olney were first on the scoreboard; Olney 7, Vipers 0.
From the kick off, Olney counter attacked and at the breakdown on the halfway line Vipers were awarded a scrum. Olneys forwards defended well but conceded a penalty on the halfway line, they were able to prevent the ball going into touch from the kick and Cam Kok made a break through. Euan Walker carried the move on and the forwards joined in to feed the ball to Simmons for his second touchdown. Letts kicked the conversion and the home sides lead was extended; Olney 14, Vipers 0, after 14 mins.
From a penalty in their half, to Vipers, the home side counter attacked putting the ball through the hands and taking the visitors defence first one way then the other. The move finally broke down near the Vipers goal line and resulted in a scrum to the home sides advantage. The ball was won and the pack drove for the line. It was finally released and Will Edwards on the right wing ran in the try. Again Letts added the extras and the ref blew for half time. Strangely, no time was added for the interruptions.
Half Time Score: Olney 21, Vipers 0.
Vipers retaliated from the kick off, finding room for Joel Wilson to score a try converted ,well, by Robbie Carr. This reduced the deficiency to Olney 21, Vipers 7. (4 mins)
Olney RFC Scoop National Award
Dave Smith and Gareth Cahill combine to stop this Vipers player in his tracks. credit - Jeff Bowden
From the restart Vipers were awarded a penalty, and opted to kick for touch 5mins into Olney territory. The visitors won the ball and kicked to gain territory but it was charged down. It was retrieved by Vipers who kicked directly to touch and were awarded a lineout, The home forwards won the ball and set up an attack combining with the backs and culminating in a try for Letts, not converted, Olney 26, Vipers 7. As the match moved into the last quarter, the home side raised the tempo, the ball was won from a lineout throw by Vipers and passed through the threes to Mungo Ryan backing up. He carved through the defence and scored, Letts converted, OLNEY 33, Vipers 7. (30 mins). Not taking things lying down Vipers followed up their kick off and won a scrum on Olneys 10m line. They fed to their short side and put Jake Hudson in for a try, not converted, Olney 33, Vipers 12. (33 mins). Vipers attacked from the kick off. Running the ball well, they conjured a try for Kit Sullivan , converted by Carr to achieve a respectable, final score. Full Time Score: Olney 33, Vipers 19.
Olney RFC scooped Youth and Mini section of the year recently at the National Rugby Awards, beating off strong competition
from 300 entries.
Junior co-ordinator at Olney, Fraser Bull, said: “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved at Olney. We’ve doubled in size over the last five years with over 100 active volunteers, thriving in every age group and particularly in our girls section. The overriding aim for our section is to develop a love for the game and the club, and to be recognised at these awards is fantastic.”
450 players participate in Olney’s Mini and Junior Section and last season saw huge success across the age groups.
The Under 17s team were crowned Midlands Champions, and reached the semi-finals of the National Colts Cup. The Girls U18 team
hit a similar high, being the Midlands and Eastern Counties Champions and reaching the semi-final stage of their National Cup competition. In the younger groups, both the U14s and U16s finished second in their leagues, and in the Mobbs Memorial Tournament the club won one age group, were runner up in another and semi-finalist
and quarter-finalist in the other two age groups – showing great depth of strength across the age groups.
There were also international successes for junior players Fraser Strachan – called into the Scotland Under 18 squad – and Lucy Attwood – who played for England Under 18 Girls team.
Most groups in the Mini and Junior section at Olney have around 40 players and the club has never turned away anyone who wants to join - players of all abilities are welcomed. The club ran tours for every age group, with many teams playing clubs from higher tiers and doing well; showing that cohesive squads breed success. A development festival was organised at Olney giving players who don’t always get the chance to play in festivals for their clubs their own chance to shine, this has been incredibly popular with local clubs.
October 2016 | Phonebox Magazine 87