Weekly Roundup 12th December

 

RESULTS

Team	Opposition	H/A		Competition
1st	Dover	H	Lost 14-39	London 1 South
2nd (Mustangs)	Westcombe Pk III	A	Lost 38-8	Invicta 1
3rd	Bexley 1st	H	Won 20-0	Friendly
4th	Vigo II	A	Lost 10-39	Mid Kent A
5th	Maidstone Vets	H	Lost 0-15	"Friendly"
Vets	Maidstone 5ths	H	Won 15-0	"Friendly"

The good omen of seeing the 1st team start on saturday with all 18 of the team that were selected on Tuesday did nott unfortunately translate into a win against 2nd placed Dover, but next week offers the opportunity to claim a win against one of the weaker sides in the division, which is essential if there is to be anything salvaged from this season. Good to see John O'Brien back in action after a number of weeks out with a rib-injury.

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The Mustangs were less fortunate with drop-outs, a number of players being unwilling/unable to play away and others "discovering" that they were unavailable as late as saturday morning, so all the more praise for the 15 guys who travelled and gave a good account of themselves, a 14-8 half-time score being a reflection of their gutsy commitment. Unfortunately, a serious injury to Jack Shiraby reduced the numbers to 14 and the 2nd half belonged to Westcombe Pk. ( Its amazing how players expect there to be a game for them on saturdays and a team to play in, but expect a skipper to produce someone out of thin air when they decide that they cant make it for some reason. Thank goodness for skippers like Nick East, who has a cheerful resilience and an admirable commitment to playing rugby week  after week, as without the likes of Nick there would be no team and no game).  Talking of Nick, I was slightly surprised at his plan to reshuffle his pack and put himself in the 2nd-row (not being of classic 2nd-row proportions) until he revealed that its the only position on the field that he hasn't yet played and so he wanted to tick off that position.

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The 3rds had a hard-core of good players available at home but only 14 of them (and that was only by virtue of enlisting 1st team manager Nigel Maddaford for his 1st game in 2 seasons) and few of them in the right positions and most disappointingly, only one prop, so the scrums had to be uncontested. (Bexley were naturally disappointed to play uncontested but I suspect that it would have been a much more emphatic defeat if Mac had not agreed to go to Westcombe Pk with The Mustangs and the Maidstone pack had been able to scrummage)  It was also disappointing in as much as that the one prop that was available was none other than the legendary Ross Laing, making the most surprising come-back since Lazarus, clearly having decided that even at the age of 62, propping up the bar in the Good Intent on a saturday afternoon is no substitute for propping up the 3rd Team pack.  However, not even Ross could prop-up both sides of the scrum on his own. 

Apparently, next week sees the return of another Legend as former 1st Team skipper Justin Cooper, who captained Maidstone in one of their National League seasons and is here for a brief visit, will be pulling on a pair of boots next week to pack-down with some of his his former team-mates for a gentle stroll down memory lane, although I gather that gentle is perhaps not the word that was most commonly associated with him in his time at Maidstone.

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The 4th team  took a number of 5th teamers with them to Vigo and enjoyed an exciting match, very well referee-ed by the Vigo Chairman. Whilst it was of course disappointing to lose, it was the kind of game in which it was a pleasure to participate, both sides maintaining discipline and respect. Andrew Brown announced his presence in his first match for Maidstone with an Exocet tackle on his opposite man, which suggests that he is going to be a very useful member of the squad.  Big thanks to Andy West, who played despite being on-call (whilst the skipper's fiancee looked after his phone) and who left a job in Paddington to come down and play before returning to Paddington to finish off.  As it happened, the only call that came in on Andy's phone during the game was from his girl-friend - which took some explaining!!

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The annual 5ths vs Vets game had been more keenly anticipated this year than in previous seasons, owing to the relative success of the team this season under skipper Steve Quinn and the coaching of Colin Frost. Unfortunately, the wiley old Vets have been enjoying success of their own and were not about to relax their hold on this most important fixture, scoring with a trademark push-over try expertly marshalled by scrum-half Ian Davis, enjoying his 1st chance to play on the Veterans side of this fixture.  Knowing that he would never be able to out-wit Paul Ehrhart at hooker by tapping, the 5th team hooker Alex Craven gave his scrum-half instructions to get the ball in quickly without waiting for a tap. Unfortunately for Alex, Paul overheard the instruction (so at least your ears still work at age 68 apparently) and continued to take balls regardless.  Doh!!

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Court and Social

Big thanks to all who registered with the Anthony Nolan Trust on behalf of Nick Buttle on thursday. The ANT were very pleased with the turn-out and it was good that Nick himself was strong enought to join us and spend the evening in the bar. Lets hope that there is a successful outcome.

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Next saturday, The vets will be playing their annual Memorial Trophy match, which commemorates former Maidstone players and comrades.  STOP PRESS: THIS FIXTURE WILL BE PLAYED AGAINST MAIDSTONE 3RDS, WHICH SHOULD BE A FASCINATING ENCOUNTER AS THE CLUBS TWO MOST AGED AND MOST SUCCESSFUL TEAMS MEET EACH OTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME.    Talking of the Vets, there is a good piece in this week's club news about their 25th anniversary shirts and photo-opportunity. (See home page)

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After the matches on saturday, the Club-house will be a throng of festive fun, as we have our usual Christmas Party with Carols and festive refreshments in what is always a great atmosphere in a packed club-house.

The Carols will be kicking off around 5pm and then, around the time that the 1st team get back from their win at Tunbridge Wells, the temperature will be cranked up as Men In Shortz play their their 1st gig since their German tour in June,.  Will the leggy legends have eaten too much Sauerkraut or will they be re-envigorated by their exposure to Bier und Bratwurst ?  With some new numbers in the set (I love to Woogie) and a new hip for the lead singer (he'll show you the scar for a mince-pie) anything could happen, so make sure you are still there around 6pm to find out.  All club members are welcome -  especially from the youth section who normally only get to attend the club on a sunday.

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And lastly.... I have had a note from Charlotte regarding Jim Walker, who is often (quite rightly) the butt of humour on these pages and elsewhere, owing in part to his propensity for public nudity and other loud behaviour but also just because he's Jim really.  Charlotte writes:

"Jim has undergone the operation to remove his right kidney, following the diagnosis of a cancerous tumour a month ago, and while he's still very sore and feeling a bit under the weather, he promises to be back up to the club as soon as he feels able! He's taking things slowly as advised and has a very impressive scar to show off (no doubt) next season! We would just like to thank everyone for the support they've given him and continue to give, and a really special thanks to Sue and Ian Davis and Anna Rooke for supplying wine in my hour of need last week while Jim was at his poorliest. The messages of support have been really touching, and very well received and we send many thanks to everyone, and all the best for a fantastic Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. -  

RE

Next Week's Fixtures

Team	Opposition	H/A		Competition
1st	Tunbridge Wells	A	Sat 2:00	London 1 South
2nd (Mustangs)	Sevenoaks II	H	Sat 2:15	Invicta Cup
3rd	Maidstone Vets	H	Sat 2:15	Friendly
4th	Weavering	A	Sat 2:15	Mid Kent A
5th	Gillingham III	H	Sat 2:15	Mid Kent C
Vets	Maidstone 3rds	H	Sat 2:15	Friendly

 

Click on a link below for previous weekly round ups

5th December

28th November

21st November

14th November

November 7th

October 31st

October 24th

October 17th

October 10th

October 3rd

September 26th

September 19th

September 12th

September 5th