10th april

Weekly Roundup 10th/11th april 2010

RESULTS for 10th April

Team	Opposition	H/A		Competition
1st	Old Elthamians	A	Lost 34-10	London 1 South
2nd (Mustangs)	Old Colfeians		Forfeited	Invicta Division I
3rd	Old Alleynian II	A	Lost 50-12	Invicta II
4th	Sevenoaks Acorns	H	Lost 5-63	Mid Kent A
5th	Sevenoaks V	A	Won 17-26	Mid Kent C
Evergreen Side	Haywards Heath	H	Lost 5-65	Evergreen Semi-Final

All hopes of any silver-ware for the senior club were dashed this week-end as the 3rd team's ambitions crashed and burned in an ignominious if somewhat predictable fashion and whilst the 1sts and 4ths also posted sizeable losses, the plaudits this week must go to the 5ths who pulled off a decent win against 7Oaks 5ths.

The 1sts put ina good performance against fellow relegation side Old Elthamians, (who must be gutted to go down having won 10 matches) but whilst matching them for large parts of the game, allowed lapses of concentration and the Elthamians 19 stone Tongan winger to get the better of them.

The Mustangs failed to raise a side for the match vs Colfeians, which was perhaps just as well, as Colfes dont much seem to like travelling outside the M25.

The 3rds were caught in the unenviable position of having 2 make or break games in the same week-end and half of their regular team missing, including their illustrious skipper and Line-out maestro, Paul Massey. Ross did a pretty good job of skippering the sides on saturday and sunday but it was a pretty formidable task. Some might argue that we shouldnt have agreed to play the Evergreen fixture on this week-end but it was going to clash with either this match or Canterbury III, which was also a must-win fixture. Had it been known that half the team would be missing on the 11th, we would clearly have gone for the 28th march but by the time it was realised, it was all too late and the fixture had been agreed. Leaving aside the strength of the team we put out, I think that most people would agree that even our 1st choice vets XV would have been hard-pressed to contain the excellence of Haywards Heath, who we congratulate on their performance and to whom we wish every success in the final (unless it should be against our friend Tom Chantler andhis Cranbrook Vets in the unlikely event that they upset Blackheath on Friday night).

Looking at the positives, it's been no mean acheivement to play 2 finals and a semi-final in 3 years of Evergreen action and as far as the Invicta League goes, many people - including some of their own players - gave the side no hope of winning any matches at the start of the season, let alone beating all of the teams bar one. It now just remains to be seen what will happen next year, bearing in mind that the Mustangs must come down into Invicta II, which means that the 3rds must be relegated after nearly winning their League. Bizzare !!

Couldnt finish this section without re-living the moment when Yatesy crashed over the Haywards Heath line after a great break from Dominic, to score the 1st try of the match. In retrospect, it might have been better not to provoke them !!

A pretty decent 4th team were treated to a master-class by Sevenoaks Acorns,who play as their 4th team and are runaway winners of Mid Kent A division, the only Maidstone reply coming from a superb solo try from a heavily bleeding and bandaged Aaron Bishop. Interestingly, Sevenoaks have decided that their Acorns (Vets) side must move up next season and take over the 3rd team's fixtures, as they are far too good for the level at which they are currently playing and would run Sevenoaks 2nds close if they were to play a match.

Commiserations to Scott Andrews, who damaged his sternum whilst making a try-saving tackle, which resulted in a trip to hospital.

The 5ths had a good win at Sevenoaks to do the double over their 5th team, with tries from Mike Gillies, Steve Oakley and Ben Foskett sealing the victory in an exciting match.

Next week

It appears as though there are insufficient players to get a 2nd team out against Elthamians, especially in the front-row where we have been struggling on with injured players for some weeks now, to get the 1st team fixtures fulfilled.

The 3rds have Old Dunstonians at home in their last league game, although 5 of the regular players will be playing for a Kent Veterans XV against an Essex Veterans XV at Tunbridge Wells.

The 4ths have no fixture but are invited to a family fun day/Memorial Tournament at Lordswood RFC, which we are keen to support. Anyone who fancies playing and who hasnt got a game elsewhere, should let Craig Bowden know on 07584253430.

The 5ths are due to play New Ash Green III but may need to find other opposition if NAG cant raise a team.

The vets are on their annual tour - to the Isle of Wight this year. (One or two spare places if any last minute tourists want to join up)

Court and Social

After the weekend, its time to hand the club back to the Mote for the summer, so it would be helpful if people could make an effort to drink the bar dry on saturday night. To aid you in this endeavour, there will be a band playing from 7pm. Anyone who attended this event last year will have enjoyed the fabulous "Beats Workin" , courtesy of Gary Griffiths from the 5th team. This year, as part of the club's youth policy, Gary's son Chris will be entertaining us, with his band G-Riff. This band has a decent following so the Mosh Pit should be heaving. Try to keep your clothes on this year though chaps.

Club Dinner and Awards Night

Make sure that you have booked your ticket and paid for it over the bar - by this week-end preferably. I gather that there is to be a bumper turn-out from the 5ths this year. Fair play to them, after a very good season.

Fixtures for 17th April

Team	Opposition	H/A		Competition
1st	No Fixture			London 1 South
2nd (Mustangs)	Elthamians II	A	Cancelled	Invicta I
3rd	Old Dunstonians II	H		Invicta II
4th	Lordswood Memorial Tournament	A	12:30 start	Tournamentt
5th	New Ash Green III	H		Mid Kent C
Vets	Isle of Wight	A		Tour