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Sat 21 Sep 2013 · Premier West
3rd XVOld Dunstonians A
Tries: G Ennals (2), J Head (2), J Parker (2), C May (2), L Woollard (2), C Neal (2)Conversions: P Edwards (10)Sent Off: S Burke (2)
42
5
3's - 2's = Won
Gerry Egan24 Sep 2013 - 14:43
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Old? They looked quite sprightly to me...
Many years ago, a band called The Jam made a live album titled “Dig the New Breed”. At Sidcup RFC last Saturday, after multiple issues last season, Sidcup 3’s circa 2013/14 took to the field for their first home League game of the season and set about establishing a new era of high quality rugby. The game was played at a great pace, with an abundance of talent, skill and good old fashioned hard grind on display. Full credit to all who performed; it is a pleasure to be involved with you.
Playing towards the club house, Sidcup where on the scoreboard by the second minute when early pressure from the kick off allowed the home side to win good possession in the Old D’s 22”. Debutant James Head surged towards the opposition line and from the ensuing melee, fellow debutant Glenn Ennals charged over for a try. From wide out on the left, fly half and definite non-debutant Paul Edwards seemed to slip over in his run up and yet produce a miraculous conversion. SIDCUP 7 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 0. From the restart, multi-talent scrum half Stamato produced a darting run which took Sidcup back into the opposition 22” but the threat was extinguished possibly due to his support players being surprised he got that far.
On 8 minutes, Old D’s formed a poorly defended ruck on the Sidcup 10 which allowed Blindside Burke to drive through the middle and attempt to snaffle possession. Aggrieved by their poor defence allowing such an opportunity, an Old D forward promptly seized Steve by the throat and landed a number of rabbit punches to the kidney area. Please note, Mr Burke’s kidneys and liver have worked exceptional hard over the last twenty years and do not need an extra beating. Defending himself, Mr Burke used a flat-palm hand-off to the chin to discourage his assailant which drew the referee’s attention. Well, his was only two feet away and staring straight at Steve at the time. Thus, Mr Burke received his first red card of his 20 plus year’s career and the Old D’s chap received 10 minutes to read up on the laws. A penitent and contrite Mr Burke watched the rest of the game from the side-lines whilst cadging cigarettes from all-n-sundry. This caused Sidcup to reshuffle the pack slightly and also caused the removal of the “Grecian 2000” bottle from the medical kit. Upon hearing of Mr Burke’s sending off, Vets skipper Porky Britton commented; “That’s what happens when backs try to play in the forwards”.
Sidcup took a while to adjust to being a man down and the visitors began a period of sustained pressure. The siege was finally broken when a cheeky chip over-the-top was excellently fielded by fullback Stephens 5 metres from the Sidcup try line. Under pressure from a number of attackers, he neatly shipped a pass to prop Pooley (T) who delicately hoofed the ball into touch on the Sidcup 10 metre line. Having cleared the pressure, Sidcup again attacked from half way line with the backs shipping the one from one side of the pitch to the other. The back row quickly recycling ball and Stamato executing a perfect box kick, the likes of which we have not seen from a scrum half so far this season, for winger Neal to charge onto and score. Alas, the referee was fooled by a despairing look from one of the Old D’s covering defence and decided that a player had put a foot in touch when no such act had occurred and a lineout was awarded instead.
Maintaining the pressure, Sidcup again threw the ball wide with winger May darting towards to the line, only to be mysteriously penalised a millimetre out and again Old D’s escaped without conceding further points. However, their luck could not hold out: Sidcup won possession out on the right, McNally (D) cut a darting line through the defence and was stopped inches from the line, the ball recycled quickly through the hands of Stamato, onto Edwards who threw a divine miss-pass to the jinking May out left. Again the pack where in numbers, apart from Head who wandered over breathless, but then charged onto the ball from 15 metres out and took two defenders over the line with him to score the second try of the match. Edwards again converted, not that we can remember but so the score-line suggests. SIDCUP 14 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 0. Sidcup were straight back on the attack after the kick off and sustained pressure resulted in another debutant, James Parker scoring on his debut. Again, the score line seems to suggest Edwards converted. SIDCUP 21 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 0. The Visitors did manage a sustained period of pressure and finally found themselves on the scoreboard after 38 minutes with a well worked try but failed to convert.
At the half time break, Sidcup were forced to rearrange their backline as Captain Stephens had to leave the pitch claiming to have a rib injury, possibly a stitch. Charlie May was moved to fullback to give the home supporters a laugh and Joel Leighton made his senior debut on the wing. Matt Stamato, having shone at scrum half and eclipsed anything we have seen at scrum half this season without needing bizarre sideburns, made way for Lee “Weeman” Woollard to gad about behind the pack. Old Dunstoniains started the half keen to get back on the scoreboard and were soon threatening the Sidcup 22”. After a period of sustained pressure, the visitors were awarded a penalty 5 metres out from the Sidcup line and attempted to score via the route-one forward on a bullocking run method. What looked an ominous threat for the home side was suddenly turned to joy as Messrs. T McNally and S Hancox double teamed the attacker, drove him backwards at a rate of knots and allowed Woollard to snaffle the ball and send it flying back into opposition territory. A huge psychological battle had been won and Old Dunstonians rarely threatened again.
Sidcup worked their way up the pitch, the forwards driving close to the breakdown in order to prevent having to run too far across the pitch, Edwards worked the back line from one side of the pitch to the other and soon enough were rewarded with new fullback May cutting down the right flank and then arching inwards to score close to the posts. Edwards allegedly converted again. At some stage, Jamie Ping Ting joined the fray, looking vary dashing and effervescently ran around the pitch. With about 20 minutes to go, Mr Ping alleges that "Lee sent out a hospital pass to Goofer and Goofer's butter hands allowed the ball to fall behind him...I picked up (the ball), handed off their scrummy, ran through there (their) line and scored attempted to run under the post but like a idiot stopped about 3mtrs before (and fell to the floor exhausted). Editors comments in brackets and punctuation added... Moving on:
The visitors searched for inroads all over the park and having flung the ball wide to their right wing found the Sidcup defence too good for them. Leighton made the initial tackle, McNally moved in for the ball and the back row and Woollard cleared the opponents. Overwhelmed, Old D’s had no option but to kill the ball and concede a penalty on the half way line. Woollard was first to react and sped towards the heart of the visitors defence, sniping one way and the other, handing off the cover defence before finally scoring under the posts. Once again, though we are sure he missed, the referee awarded the conversion. With the game heading into its final minutes, Hancox, (who had moved to number 8 to make up for the errant Burke) broke at pace from the back of a scrum running a lateral line to suck in the visitor’s midfield before feeding the excellent Neal who took the ball at pace and cut through several defenders to score. Once again, though we are now sure beyond a reasonable doubt that he missed, the referee awarded the conversion and the game was called to an end. The referee declared the score SIDCUP 42 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 5. You can work out the permutations of that yourself.
It was impossible to award a man-of-the-match for the game. The whole back line played well with a smile on their face enjoying the day, as opposed to the forwards who spent breaks in play with their hands on their knees gasping for breath. The forwards battled manfully, Camble growing in knowledge in the front row, Head showing a good rugby brain which one day his lungs will catch up with. Pooley, having stoically switched to tight head held firm and Jack “Fozy” Foster and Glenn Ennals were dug deep in the second row. Parker made an impressive try-scoring-debut and was excellent in the lineout. Hancox was his usual self, everywhere at the breakdown and tackling his way through all-comers whilst having the melancholy look of Victor Meldrew with haemorrhoids. Stamato was a revelation at scrum half and had Edwards outside of him running the back line with aplomb. The McNally brothers ran the opposition defence ragged in the centres and May and Neal never looked in trouble on the wings (though May did have a few heart-stopping moments when moving to fullback). Stephens looked calm at fullback and marshalled his team magnificently. Ping Ting Doobrie, Leighton and Woollard made smooth transitions into the side in the second half, with Woollard stealing May's crown for "Best-Tan-In-The Team". All-in-all; it was a very pleasant afternoon’s work. Coach Jackson has informed that he can read, sorry, he has read the opposition match report and they referred to Sidcup as a very well organised side, which proves it is amazing what you can do 20 minutes before a game.
Next up: Old Dartfordians away. 3.00 kick off. With a large squad to pick from and the league limiting sides to 3 subs, Sidcup will have a tough selection on their hands!
GE 24/09/13
Playing towards the club house, Sidcup where on the scoreboard by the second minute when early pressure from the kick off allowed the home side to win good possession in the Old D’s 22”. Debutant James Head surged towards the opposition line and from the ensuing melee, fellow debutant Glenn Ennals charged over for a try. From wide out on the left, fly half and definite non-debutant Paul Edwards seemed to slip over in his run up and yet produce a miraculous conversion. SIDCUP 7 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 0. From the restart, multi-talent scrum half Stamato produced a darting run which took Sidcup back into the opposition 22” but the threat was extinguished possibly due to his support players being surprised he got that far.
On 8 minutes, Old D’s formed a poorly defended ruck on the Sidcup 10 which allowed Blindside Burke to drive through the middle and attempt to snaffle possession. Aggrieved by their poor defence allowing such an opportunity, an Old D forward promptly seized Steve by the throat and landed a number of rabbit punches to the kidney area. Please note, Mr Burke’s kidneys and liver have worked exceptional hard over the last twenty years and do not need an extra beating. Defending himself, Mr Burke used a flat-palm hand-off to the chin to discourage his assailant which drew the referee’s attention. Well, his was only two feet away and staring straight at Steve at the time. Thus, Mr Burke received his first red card of his 20 plus year’s career and the Old D’s chap received 10 minutes to read up on the laws. A penitent and contrite Mr Burke watched the rest of the game from the side-lines whilst cadging cigarettes from all-n-sundry. This caused Sidcup to reshuffle the pack slightly and also caused the removal of the “Grecian 2000” bottle from the medical kit. Upon hearing of Mr Burke’s sending off, Vets skipper Porky Britton commented; “That’s what happens when backs try to play in the forwards”.
Sidcup took a while to adjust to being a man down and the visitors began a period of sustained pressure. The siege was finally broken when a cheeky chip over-the-top was excellently fielded by fullback Stephens 5 metres from the Sidcup try line. Under pressure from a number of attackers, he neatly shipped a pass to prop Pooley (T) who delicately hoofed the ball into touch on the Sidcup 10 metre line. Having cleared the pressure, Sidcup again attacked from half way line with the backs shipping the one from one side of the pitch to the other. The back row quickly recycling ball and Stamato executing a perfect box kick, the likes of which we have not seen from a scrum half so far this season, for winger Neal to charge onto and score. Alas, the referee was fooled by a despairing look from one of the Old D’s covering defence and decided that a player had put a foot in touch when no such act had occurred and a lineout was awarded instead.
Maintaining the pressure, Sidcup again threw the ball wide with winger May darting towards to the line, only to be mysteriously penalised a millimetre out and again Old D’s escaped without conceding further points. However, their luck could not hold out: Sidcup won possession out on the right, McNally (D) cut a darting line through the defence and was stopped inches from the line, the ball recycled quickly through the hands of Stamato, onto Edwards who threw a divine miss-pass to the jinking May out left. Again the pack where in numbers, apart from Head who wandered over breathless, but then charged onto the ball from 15 metres out and took two defenders over the line with him to score the second try of the match. Edwards again converted, not that we can remember but so the score-line suggests. SIDCUP 14 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 0. Sidcup were straight back on the attack after the kick off and sustained pressure resulted in another debutant, James Parker scoring on his debut. Again, the score line seems to suggest Edwards converted. SIDCUP 21 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 0. The Visitors did manage a sustained period of pressure and finally found themselves on the scoreboard after 38 minutes with a well worked try but failed to convert.
At the half time break, Sidcup were forced to rearrange their backline as Captain Stephens had to leave the pitch claiming to have a rib injury, possibly a stitch. Charlie May was moved to fullback to give the home supporters a laugh and Joel Leighton made his senior debut on the wing. Matt Stamato, having shone at scrum half and eclipsed anything we have seen at scrum half this season without needing bizarre sideburns, made way for Lee “Weeman” Woollard to gad about behind the pack. Old Dunstoniains started the half keen to get back on the scoreboard and were soon threatening the Sidcup 22”. After a period of sustained pressure, the visitors were awarded a penalty 5 metres out from the Sidcup line and attempted to score via the route-one forward on a bullocking run method. What looked an ominous threat for the home side was suddenly turned to joy as Messrs. T McNally and S Hancox double teamed the attacker, drove him backwards at a rate of knots and allowed Woollard to snaffle the ball and send it flying back into opposition territory. A huge psychological battle had been won and Old Dunstonians rarely threatened again.
Sidcup worked their way up the pitch, the forwards driving close to the breakdown in order to prevent having to run too far across the pitch, Edwards worked the back line from one side of the pitch to the other and soon enough were rewarded with new fullback May cutting down the right flank and then arching inwards to score close to the posts. Edwards allegedly converted again. At some stage, Jamie Ping Ting joined the fray, looking vary dashing and effervescently ran around the pitch. With about 20 minutes to go, Mr Ping alleges that "Lee sent out a hospital pass to Goofer and Goofer's butter hands allowed the ball to fall behind him...I picked up (the ball), handed off their scrummy, ran through there (their) line and scored attempted to run under the post but like a idiot stopped about 3mtrs before (and fell to the floor exhausted). Editors comments in brackets and punctuation added... Moving on:
The visitors searched for inroads all over the park and having flung the ball wide to their right wing found the Sidcup defence too good for them. Leighton made the initial tackle, McNally moved in for the ball and the back row and Woollard cleared the opponents. Overwhelmed, Old D’s had no option but to kill the ball and concede a penalty on the half way line. Woollard was first to react and sped towards the heart of the visitors defence, sniping one way and the other, handing off the cover defence before finally scoring under the posts. Once again, though we are sure he missed, the referee awarded the conversion. With the game heading into its final minutes, Hancox, (who had moved to number 8 to make up for the errant Burke) broke at pace from the back of a scrum running a lateral line to suck in the visitor’s midfield before feeding the excellent Neal who took the ball at pace and cut through several defenders to score. Once again, though we are now sure beyond a reasonable doubt that he missed, the referee awarded the conversion and the game was called to an end. The referee declared the score SIDCUP 42 – OLD DUNSTONIANS 5. You can work out the permutations of that yourself.
It was impossible to award a man-of-the-match for the game. The whole back line played well with a smile on their face enjoying the day, as opposed to the forwards who spent breaks in play with their hands on their knees gasping for breath. The forwards battled manfully, Camble growing in knowledge in the front row, Head showing a good rugby brain which one day his lungs will catch up with. Pooley, having stoically switched to tight head held firm and Jack “Fozy” Foster and Glenn Ennals were dug deep in the second row. Parker made an impressive try-scoring-debut and was excellent in the lineout. Hancox was his usual self, everywhere at the breakdown and tackling his way through all-comers whilst having the melancholy look of Victor Meldrew with haemorrhoids. Stamato was a revelation at scrum half and had Edwards outside of him running the back line with aplomb. The McNally brothers ran the opposition defence ragged in the centres and May and Neal never looked in trouble on the wings (though May did have a few heart-stopping moments when moving to fullback). Stephens looked calm at fullback and marshalled his team magnificently. Ping Ting Doobrie, Leighton and Woollard made smooth transitions into the side in the second half, with Woollard stealing May's crown for "Best-Tan-In-The Team". All-in-all; it was a very pleasant afternoon’s work. Coach Jackson has informed that he can read, sorry, he has read the opposition match report and they referred to Sidcup as a very well organised side, which proves it is amazing what you can do 20 minutes before a game.
Next up: Old Dartfordians away. 3.00 kick off. With a large squad to pick from and the league limiting sides to 3 subs, Sidcup will have a tough selection on their hands!
GE 24/09/13
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