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1st XV Match Reports
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With the new season commencing at the beginning of September, Bletchley have been training hard at Manor Fields both Tuesday and Thursday nights averaging 30 to 35 players in spite of the holiday period.
Bletchley will be continuing in the South West 1 East league for the coming season, which is level 6, and will be a tough league in which to compete. As part of the preparations, Bletchley played a friendly against Stuart and Lloyds last Saturday at Manor Fields and produced some sparkling rugby to the delight of Pat Jerram, the Club coach. Pat is encouraging more expansive rugby for next season and this approach was particularly evident to supporters who came down to watch in lovely sunshine and enjoy a club bar-b- que.
Stuart and Lloyds were also in a level 6 league last year and brought along a squad of 26 players but Bletchley did not allow the opposition to get going.
Some excellent running from the whole Bletchley team with excellent support play saw 12 tries scored by both backs and forwards, with 9 conversions by the Harman brothers – Phil and George. Bletchley’s defence was also very tight and did not allow the opposition any opportunity to score for the whole game, although they came close on a couple of occasions towards the end of the game.
After 25 minutes, Bletchley were already ahead by 31pts to nil following 5 tries through new player Ashley Young playing inside centre, prop Tom Hannell, lock Simon Pitman also playing for the first time, centre George Harman and full back Ben Robinson with 3 conversions. Three further tries came in quick succession from Ryan Kane (a Colt having his first senior game on the wing), scrum half Kevin Turnbull and No 8 Ty Stockil, all of which were converted.
Both Bletchley and Stuart and Lloyds made some changes but this did not halt Bletchley’s enthusiasm to score points. Although in the last 20 minutes, S and L came back and pressured Bletchley, there was a determination in the home side not to concede points. Turnbull, whose turn of pace and quick thinking were determining factors, scored another try with Pitman taking a lovely pass from winger Rob Brown to score his second. Colt Will Garrett then came on and showed his speed to score two excellent tries in his first game for the seniors. With two conversions, Bletchley ended the match with a scoreline of 78 pts to nil.
This was en excellent way to get in the mood for the new season and with the inter club trial game on Thursday 26th August KO 7.30pm , it will produce difficulties for the coach in making his selection for the first game, bearing mind a number of players were also not available. A nice problem but in spite of this Bletchley will still welcome new players to the club so as to strengthen all teams. If interested, please contact Don Griffiths on 07919 176766.
Report by Don Griffiths |
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It was the last match of the 2009/2010 season last Saturday when Bletchley had to travel away to High Wycombe, who are second in the league. This was going to be a hard fixture as Bletchley have not beaten High Wycombe for some seasons. In contrast High Wycombe were starting the match knowing they had to play a cup final and also a play off against Newton Abbott for possible promotion from the league.
On what was a hot day, Bletchley kicked off into glorious sunshine but with Wycombe immediately gaining possession. A penalty subsequently to Wycombe was taken quickly but a knock on resulted in a lineout from which a scrummage was awarded to Bletchley. Bletchley won the ball and moved it to their backs, who all afternoon looked threatening whenever they kept the ball in hand. In breaking forward, the ball was whipped back to No 8 Dagan Probert who made good ground before offloading to prop Tom Hannell who ran 20 metres untouched to score the try. George Harman converted and Bletchley were 7pts ahead after only 4 minutes. Was this a good omen?
From the restart Bletchley regained possession and then were awarded a penalty which Phil Harman kicked to touch. The visitors regained possession but again kicked away and for a while this was the situation with both teams kicking their possession away. After a while, Wycombe had a period of good possession and eventually got their try which was converted to equal the scores at 7pts each.
From the restart, Bletchley conceded the penalty and Wycombe kicked to touch. A free kick was awarded following a lineout and Wycombe took the ball on with Bletchley conceding a penalty on their try line. Wycombe went for the scrummage option and showed their real strength when they drove the Bletchley pack backwards,with good control by their No 8, who picked up to score an unconverted try. Wycombe were now ahead by 12pts to 7pts.
From the restart by Bletchley, second row Adam Dempsey, ran and jumped well to gain possession and good mauling by the Bletchley forwards saw the scrummage awarded to the visitors. However, again Wycombe proved their strength in the scrum by marching Bletchley back but a penalty to Bletchley saw flyhalf Phil Harman kick the ball to clear. For a while turnover of ball by Wycombe and some quick lineout throws by Bletchley saw the ball change hands a number of times. Finally a penalty was awarded to Bletchley resulting in some backchat from Wycombe and causing the referee to march Wycombe back a further 10 metres. A quick tap penalty by Bletchley saw them move into the Wycombe 22metres area and given another penalty which George Harman, as usual, coolly converted for the three points to make the Wycombe’s lead only a two points margin.
From the restart Wycombe regained possession and came close to scoring but knocked on in the tackle. Bletchley’s tackling was extremely good in this match bearing in mind Wycombe had a bigger pack and back row. Bletchley cleared well and an excellent run up the wing by full back Ben Robinson, gained good yardage for Bletchley. Some good mauling by Bletchley ensued but the visitors conceded ball too easily for scrummages to Wycombe which was their strong point and almost resulted in them scoring again but for great defensive play from Bletchley. Just before half time the ball was run out of their 22 metres by the Bletchley backs with winger John Kirwan being unlucky not to score but being pushed into touch. At half time the score remained at 12pts to 10 pts to Wycombe.
From the Wycombe restart, Bletchley regained possession and immediately lost the ball but the forwards worked hard to retrieve the ball and secured a penalty when Wycombe were judged to be holding onto the ball on the ground. Bletchley took a quick tap through scrum half Kevin Turnbull and good hands by both the Bletchley backs and forwards saw them advance into the Wycombe 22 metres area. On this occasion a good scrummage by Bletchley put pressure on Wycombe. Following this, twice in quick succession, Wycombe had a 22 metres drop out but then conceded a penalty which George Harman converted to give Bletchley the lead by 13pts to 12pts.
Bletchley found that keeping the ball in hands and avoiding where possible scrummages put pressure on Wycombe and from the restart Bletchley showed good initiative and with winger Matt Nobes making a great weaving run, Bletchley gained huge territorial advantage. However, a subsequent penalty against Bletchley allowed Wycombe to get back into the visitor’s half ultimately resulting in a scrummage to the home side who walked the ball over the line for the unconverted try and a 17points to 13points lead.
Wycombe’s scrummaging was proving too powerful for Bletchley, even when the home side knocked on they were confident of winning the ball back. A subsequent 22 metres drop out by Bletchley saw the visitors race into the Wycombe half pressuring Wycombe to kick to touch for a Bletchley lineout. However a crooked throw saw Wycombe awarded the scrummage which resulted in an injury to a Bletchley prop who had to leave the field. A rearrangement of the front row was necessary but Wycombe still maintained their superiority in the scrummage and Bletchley were starting to make some silly handling errors with unnecessary forward passes giving the initiative to Wycombe. Both teams took it in turn to make yardage but then the inevitable scrummage to Wycombe saw them make ground before their No 8 broke away to score an unconverted try to extend Wycombe’s lead to 22pts to 13pts. Bletchley made some substitutions with Adam Johnston coming on as winger and making some good powerful runs and Andy Cushley coming on in the second row for his last game for the club before moving to Wales.
Bletchley were not put off and in open play, keeping possession showed they could play good and attractive rugby. They even secured ball from a scrummage after Wycombe pressure and flanker Jason Buckley, who has had a great season, made a good run to give Bletchley territorial advantage but then Bletchley conceded a penalty which allowed Wycombe to clear. Bletchley were making some silly basic errors which were really their undoing coupled with the powerful scrummaging from Wycombe. No further score took place and with the final whistle Wycombe took the honours by 22pts to 13pts.
Bletchley came away with their heads held high. They could have won this match and came close to doing so when they kept the ball in their possession but allowing Wycombe to secure scrummages denied the visitors this opportunity.
Coach Pat Jerram made observations about how the team had played but congratulated the players on some very good rugby which he felt could be built on for next season. He reminded them that pre-season training at Manor Fields would begin on Tuesday 6th July and urged everyone to keep themselves fit during the closed season in preparation. He also wished second row Adam Dempsey good luck as he is now travelling to New Zealand to play his rugby but could be back in November when their season ends.
Bletchley are already looking for more players to add to their various squads and welcome all who wish to try out the club to make contact with Don Griffiths on 07919176766 or look at the club’s website on www.bletchleyrugby.com
Report by Don Griffiths
Other Results
- High Wycombe 22-13 Bletchley
- Reading Abbey 46-15 Marlow
- Trowbridge 27-37 Olney
- Wootton Bassett 52-76 Oakmeadians
South West 1 East
| Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Diff |
Pts |
Adjust |
| Cheltenham |
26 |
24 |
0 |
2 |
1045 |
299 |
746 |
46 |
-2 |
| High Wycombe |
26 |
19 |
1 |
6 |
603 |
333 |
270 |
39 |
0 |
| Swanage & Wareham |
26 |
14 |
2 |
10 |
524 |
464 |
60 |
30 |
0 |
| Marlow |
26 |
14 |
1 |
11 |
461 |
460 |
1 |
29 |
0 |
| Walcot |
26 |
15 |
0 |
11 |
559 |
420 |
139 |
28 |
-2 |
| Wallingford |
26 |
15 |
0 |
11 |
527 |
537 |
-10 |
28 |
-2 |
| Olney |
26 |
11 |
3 |
12 |
604 |
536 |
68 |
25 |
0 |
| Buckingham |
26 |
12 |
0 |
14 |
597 |
531 |
66 |
24 |
0 |
| Reading Abbey |
26 |
11 |
2 |
13 |
495 |
604 |
-109 |
24 |
0 |
| Bletchley |
26 |
12 |
-1 |
15 |
420 |
549 |
-129 |
24 |
0 |
| Oakmeadians |
26 |
11 |
1 |
14 |
701 |
716 |
-15 |
23 |
0 |
| Salisbury |
26 |
11 |
0 |
15 |
540 |
582 |
-42 |
21 |
0 |
| Trowbridge |
26 |
8 |
1 |
17 |
522 |
698 |
-176 |
17 |
0 |
| Wootton Bassett |
26 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
255 |
1124 |
-869 |
0 |
0 |
|
Last Saturday, Bletchley had hoped to do the double over old rivals Olney, as the Manor Fields side had beaten them at the start of the season at their ground. Although fielding a strong side, this was not to be the case, not because Olney were better although they played well but because Bletchley took the wrong options on many occasions, again gave away too many penalties and then a severe lapse in their tackling allowed an Olney try which should have been stifled earlier on.
From the kick off by Olney, Bletchley took the ball and immediately drove into the Olney half forcing a penalty from the visitors. Centre George Harman stepped up and sweetly put the ball between the uprights to give Bletchley a 3pts lead.
From the restart Olney came straight back at Bletchley, who tackled well, particularly captain Carl Miller who was returning from a rib injury. Olney won a penalty and kicked for touch and the lineout but Bletchley retrieved the ball well but were then penalised for holding the ball and Olney kicked the 3 points to level the score.
From the kick off, Bletchley immediately struck back through some good ball handling resulting in flanker Miller scoring an unconverted try to make it 8pts to 3pts to the home side.
Following a subsequent scrummage infringement by Bletchley Olney attempted a penalty kick but missed. A good clearance kick down field by George Harman took the pressure off and for a while the game remained in the middle of the park without either side gaining advantage. Although Olney were awarded another penalty nothing developed from it and at half time the score remained at 8pts to 3pts to Bletchley.
Bletchley kicked off the second half and lock Adam Dempsey who at 6ft 9ins has real speed accelerated forward to catch the kick and set up the ruck but Olney were throwing themselves over the top of the ruck, off their feet, without being penalised by the referee. The visitors secured the ball and made a good clearance kick. Bletchley advanced back into the Olney half and were awarded a penalty which Harman narrowly missed from far out. From the resultant 22 metres kick off, Olney made a good kick intoBletchley territory and Olney pressured Bletchley into conceding a penalty which they converted for 3pts and an 8pts to 6pts scoreline.
Bletchley kicked off and again Dempsey was there to take the ball and set up the ruck which the Bletchley forwards took on before moving the ball out to the backs where centre Tim Stobbs was making some storming runs. However, Bletchley lost possession in the Olney half and the ball was picked up by the Olney right wing in the middle of the park who accelerated down the right wing through a number of tackles, one of which brought him to the ground but was not held. He therefore carried on to score and with the conversion Olney were ahead by 13pts to 8pts. Bletchley then gave away a series of penalties, one of which Olney converted for another three points but then George Harman had another chance for goal which brought the score to 16pts to 11pts to Olney. Bletchley then piled on the pressure in the forwards close to the Olney line with Olney conceding two consecutive penalties for the same offence virtually on the visitors’ line. Bletchley kept hammering away but then lost the ball which Olney cleared before the whistle blew for the end of the game with the score unchanged.
The opposition may disagree but whilst Olney covered very well, Bletchley lost this game through their own errors and poor decisions rather than Olney winning it by being the better team. Olney’s try was due to poor Bletchley tackling and changed the whole game.
This Saturday Bletchley play their last game of the season away to High Wycombe.
Report by Don Griffiths
Other Results
- Bletchley 11-16 Olney
- High Wycombe 27-24 Walcot
- Oakmeadians 32-45 Salisbury
- Swanage & Wareham 32-12 Marlow
- Trowbridge 29-62 Cheltenham
- Wallingford 7-10 Reading Abbey
Wootton Bassett 15-23 Buckingham
South West 1 East
| Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Diff |
Pts |
Adjust |
| Cheltenham |
26 |
24 |
0 |
2 |
1045 |
299 |
746 |
46 |
-2 |
| High Wycombe |
25 |
18 |
1 |
6 |
581 |
320 |
261 |
37 |
0 |
| Swanage & Wareham |
26 |
14 |
2 |
10 |
524 |
464 |
60 |
30 |
0 |
| Marlow |
25 |
14 |
1 |
10 |
446 |
414 |
32 |
29 |
0 |
| Walcot |
26 |
15 |
0 |
11 |
559 |
420 |
139 |
28 |
-2 |
| Wallingford |
26 |
15 |
0 |
11 |
527 |
537 |
-10 |
28 |
-2 |
| Buckingham |
26 |
12 |
0 |
14 |
597 |
531 |
66 |
24 |
0 |
| Bletchley |
25 |
12 |
-1 |
14 |
407 |
527 |
-120 |
24 |
0 |
| Olney |
25 |
10 |
3 |
12 |
567 |
509 |
58 |
23 |
0 |
| Reading Abbey |
25 |
10 |
|
13 |
449 |
589 |
-140 |
22 |
0 |
| Oakmeadians |
25 |
10 |
1 |
14 |
625 |
664 |
-39 |
21 |
0 |
| Salisbury |
26 |
11 |
0 |
15 |
540 |
582 |
-42 |
21 |
0 |
| Trowbridge |
25 |
8 |
1 |
16 |
495 |
661 |
-166 |
17 |
0 |
| Wootton Bassett |
25 |
0 |
0 |
25 |
203 |
1048 |
-845 |
0 |
0 |
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Bletchley had won the first game against Old Oakmedians in the first half of the season at Manor Fields and therefore travelled down to Bournemouth last Saturday for the return match with some confidence from the previous week after their win against Marlow. However, with captain Carl Miller still sidelined with injury and seven other changes from the previous week due to a mixture of injury and work commitments, it was a rearranged but capable side that took the long journey down to Dorset. There was also the welcome return at second row of Al Nisbet following a back injury.
Oakmedians started off strongly against the visitors, although flyhalf George Harman made some good early clearance kicks to relieve pressure. There was some scrappy play from Bletchley which allowed Oakmedians to run at them but the Bletchley players generally tackled well. After a short while Oakmedians were awarded a penalty which they converted for the first points of the game and a three nil lead. Bletchley were immediately caught on the back foot from the restart which gave the home side an overlap to score an unconverted try. It did seem that Bletchley had not got the journey out of their legs as they seemed lethargic particularly in the forwards who were not showing the aggression of the previous week. The scrummages were going well with prop Andy Priddle again showing strength and stability and when the Bletchley backs received the ball, they looked as if something could happen but for the first half of the game the cover and links were not consistent. The Bletchley flyhalf did attempt a drop goal which went very close and had this succeeded, this may have pulled the team together but as it was Oakmedians went back down the pitch and forced a push over try which they converted to go 15pts to nil up. Bletchley were making some silly mistakes and allowed a charge down of the ball and although recovering possession, Bletchley conceded a penalty at the ruck which the home side were grateful to convert for a further three points. From the restart Bletchley somehow managed to concede three consecutive penalties, one of which was converted to give Oakmedians a 21 pts lead. With a few minutes to go of the first half, the referee awarded Bletchley their first penalty against the home side and Harman strode up to convert for Bletchley’s first three points. Just before half time, Bletchley were awarded a penalty in their own half and Harman attempted the long kick which only just fell short. At half time, Oakmedians were 21pts to 3pts ahead.
The beginning of the first half saw Bletchley take the game to Oakmedians and receive a penalty which was converted to give the visitors six points but Oakmedians immediately broke back with another successful penalty kick and then charged down a slow clearance kick by Bletchley to race through for the touch down and conversion to give them a 31pts to 6 lead.
Bletchley’s heads did not go down and they immediately advanced down the pitch with the ball moving from one side of the pitch to the other, showing great support before prop Tom Hannell dived over for the try. The referee saw some major infringement from an Oakmedians’ player which prompted him to give the try between the posts and allow Harman a simple conversion for 13points to Bletchley.
Shortly after this, one of the Oakmedians’ players suffered a very bad ankle injury which forced the game to be halted for some 25 minutes or more whilst an ambulance was called. The player could not be moved from the pitch and after careful consideration of the player by representatives from both sides and the arrival of the ambulance, the referee decided the game should continue on another pitch.
From the restart, a penalty was awarded to Bletchley but the kick was missed. Continued pressure from Bletchley finally produced another penalty which George Harman again converted. This seem to spur Bletchley on and from a great interception by flanker Matt Nobes in his own half, he accelerated way before offloading to No 8 Dagan Probert who made a 25 metres run before passing to George Harman who scored in the left hand corner, the conversion was missed but now the score was only 31pts to 21pts with plenty of time to pull back the deficit. However, Oakmedians were not going to easily relinquish such a lead and pressured the visitors in their own 22metres area but good covering by Bletchley particularly prop Andy Priddle held Oakmedians out and the ball was cleared but not to touch. The home side collected the ball and ran back at Bletchley with a crucial pass being blatantly forward but which the referee did not apparently see. Bletchley defended well but in the process conceded another penalty in their 22metres area. The home side then won a maul and a missed Bletchley tackle saw Oakmedians score with a conversion to reach 38pts. Oakmedians’ tails were up now with only a few minutes to go and from an Oakmedians scrum their scrum half picked up and accelerated round to score near the posts. The easy conversion gave them a final score of 45pts to 21pts.
Bletchley were very disappointed with this result which over inflated how the game had gone. Bletchley had played poorly and they knew this through a mixture of poor decisions and too many penalties conceded. Yet in parts they had also played some good rugby but it needed to be from the start and for 80 minutes. After Easter , Bletchley will welcome old rivals Olney to Manor Fields and with the break in between it is hoped through training sessions and the return of players from injury, the result will be far better.
Report by Don Griffiths
Other Results
- Buckingham 52-24 Trowbridge
- Cheltenham 19-11 High Wycombe
- Marlow 15-29 Salisbury
- Oakmeadians 45-21 Bletchley
- Reading Abbey 81-20 Wootton Bassett
- Walcot 25-5 Swanage & Wareham
- Wallingford 19-14 Olney
South West 1 East
| Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Diff |
Pts |
Adjust |
| Cheltenham |
25 |
23 |
0 |
2 |
983 |
270 |
713 |
44 |
-2 |
| High Wycombe |
23 |
16 |
1 |
6 |
527 |
274 |
253 |
33 |
0 |
| Swanage & Wareham |
25 |
13 |
2 |
10 |
492 |
452 |
40 |
28 |
0 |
| Wallingford |
25 |
15 |
0 |
10 |
520 |
527 |
-7 |
28 |
-2 |
| Marlow |
23 |
13 |
1 |
9 |
414 |
379 |
35 |
27 |
0 |
| Walcot |
24 |
14 |
0 |
10 |
509 |
385 |
124 |
26 |
-2 |
| Bletchley |
24 |
12 |
-1 |
13 |
396 |
511 |
-115 |
24 |
0 |
| Buckingham |
24 |
11 |
0 |
13 |
566 |
490 |
76 |
22 |
0 |
| Olney |
23 |
9 |
3 |
11 |
529 |
471 |
58 |
21 |
0 |
| Oakmeadians |
24 |
10 |
1 |
13 |
593 |
619 |
-26 |
21 |
0 |
| Reading Abbey |
24 |
9 |
2 |
13 |
439 |
582 |
-143 |
20 |
0 |
| Salisbury |
25 |
10 |
0 |
15 |
495 |
550 |
-55 |
19 |
0 |
| Trowbridge |
24 |
8 |
1 |
15 |
466 |
599 |
-133 |
17 |
0 |
| Wootton Bassett |
23 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
185 |
1005 |
-820 |
0 |
0 |
|
After two consecutive losses, Bletchley were determined to pull a win out of the bag last Saturday when they played host to fellow Buckinghamshire side Marlow who were also above them in the league.
Bletchley were without captain Carl Miller due to a rib injury which may sideline him for the remaining games but flyhalf Phil Harman stepped up to be captain for the day and did an excellent job. Cuan Mackenzie was standing in at scrumhalf and No 8 Dougie Webster was also out due to a neck injury which may also rule him out for the remainder of the season. Bletchley started well but then conceded a penalty, the first of many, to Marlow who from the lineout drove down the pitch. Bletchley defended well but it is difficult against a driving maul and conceded the inevitable penalty to the visitors. Marlow went for the kick at goal but narrowly missed and Bletchley were off the hook.
Bletchley went back hard at Marlow with some good running, particularly Tim Stobbs on the wing and caused some problems for the visitors but they could not convert this to points. Stobbs’ offload to No 8 Dagan Probert was a peach but unfortunately the No 8 could not hold onto the ball, which allowed a scrum to Marlow. The two sides kept hammering away at each other and Bletchley managed to keep the pressure on Marlow for a period within the visitors’ 22 metres area. Shortly before half time, scrum half Cuan Mackenzie suffered a clash of heads with a Marlow player which seemed to affect his jaw but he stayed on the park. Centre Adam Griffiths did a crunching tackle on a Marlow centre with the ball when the visitors had a three man overlap and this seemed to stun the Bletchley man. Bletchley kept the pressure on and finally won clean ball to allow Phil Harman to drop a goal which put Bletchley 3 pts in the lead. Bletchley kept pressing but Marlow defended well and finally Bletchley got their reward when they were awarded a penalty in front of the Marlow posts. Phil Harman stepped up and converted for 3 points and Bletchley were 6pts to nil in the lead.
In the second half Marlow came back into the game as Bletchley had to rearrange their back line with Mackenzie (who was having a great game at scrumhalf) and centre Griffiths coming off with injuries. Phil Harman moved to scrumhalf with George Harman taking over at flyhalf and Tim Stobbs moving into the centre. The new scrumhalf did a great job with some high chip kicks which were chased by the Bletchley wingers and put pressure on the Marlow back line. But Marlow were not prepared to let Bletchley have their own way and moved into the Bletchley 22 metres area to force a penalty for their first points.
Shortly afterwards a Bletchley player was penalised for a technical offence and also yellow carded, 10 minutes off the park, and Bletchley were down to 14 men. However, Marlow could not take advantage of this and Bletchley kept pressuring and keeping possession by some good forward play involving hooker Brett Staniford and prop Tom Hannell. The scrummaging was tight for Bletchley with prop Andy Priddle in his first start for the 1st XV making a solid base for the pack. Lineouts were working well with flanker Ty Stockill taking the ball cleanly on a number of occasions.
With only a short while to go, the Bletchley pressure proved too much and forced another penalty which Phil Harman converted for the homeside to give a 9pts to 3pts lead. No further score occurred, although a Marlow player was also yellow carded, and Bletchley finally ran out winners for their sixth win out of eight for the second half of the season.
This Saturday, Bletchley are away to Old Oakmedians in Bournemouth and looking for another win with only three games left of the season.
Report by Don Griffiths |
After a lengthy journey down to Bath, Bletchley failed to do themselves proud by losing to Walcot, a match which should have been winnable but which the visitors failed to capitalise on due to a lethargic performance.
The kick off was 3.00pm and with no disrespect to Walcot, Bletchley felt this was a game where they could take the two points and get back onto a winning streak. Although losing to Cheltenham last week, Bletchley had played reasonably well and had they taken that level of performance into the Walcot game, the result may have been different but perhaps they were too confident.
Bletchley kicked off and chased after the ball forcing the Walcot player to drop the ball and allow Bletchley to recover possession and drive on down the pitch. However, Bletchley infringed in the process and Walcot kicked to touch to relieve the pressure. From the lineout, Bletchley gave away another penalty and Walcot kicked the three points to take the lead which at that point was against the run of play.
This stirred Walcot and they pressured the Bletchley side, with Bletchley again showing some poor tackling. A good kick by Walcot was chased through and the home side scored a try which was converted. Walcot were now ahead by 10pts to nil. This had obviously shaken Bletchley as shortly afterwards from a scrummage the Walcot No 8 broke through the tackles to score and again the conversion was good, giving the home side a 17pts lead.
Bletchley came back and pushed into the Walcot 22 metres area. The Bletchley forwards were starting to get some decent possession which forced Walcot to concede the penalty. George Harman stepped up to convert for 3 points and shortly afterwards the whistle blew for half time with Walcot 17pts to 3pts ahead.
The second half saw Bletchley come back more into the game and although Walcot ran well the pressure caused them to make some errors such as throwing into touch. The Bletchley forwards were gaining more possession, although one or two players received injuries with No 8 Dougie Webster receiving a neck injury and having to be replaced by Dagan Probert. Lock Adam Dempsey had a knock around the eye which required him to leave the field temporarily to receive treatment and prop Dean Woods receiving a leg injury.
With some good ball at last coming out to the Bletchley backs, more was being achieved and centre Tim Stobbs collected the ball and made an excellent 30 metre run through the Walcot defence before being brought down just short of the try line. Bletchley pressured on the Walcot line but then a mistake saw Walcot gather for a runaway unconverted try to take their points tally to 22pts.
Bletchley kept up the pressure however but the game was very scrappy and the visitors were making some silly decisions and mistakes which were letting Walcot off the hook. However, the pressure finally told when prop Tom Hannell dived over the line for the try but unfortunately the conversion failed. It was following this Bletchley try that the Bletchley player was yellow carded and Walcot took full advantage by scoring another two unconverted tries to lift their score to 32 points. Bletchley did not give up and with a full complement of players took the game back to Walcot, probably a little late to do so but they hammered away at them and following a good ruck the ball came out to inside centre, Adam Griffiths, who on the burst managed to weave through three Walcott defenders to score not far from the posts. George Harman stroked the ball between the posts to give Bletchley 15 points. No further score by either side was threatened after this and shortly afterwards, the whistle blew for full time with Walcot winning by 32pts to 15pts. Walcot had played well but from watchers’ comments Bletchley had been the authors of their own undoing and coach Pat Jerram will no doubt have plenty to say at training this week before the side meets Marlow at Manor Fields on Saturday.
Report by Don Griffiths |
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