Vets
Matches
Sat 16 Mar 2019
Old Bristolians RFC
Vets
Tries: G Bingham (2), D Evans, N Davies (2), G Hannaford, D Grzonka, T ThorneConversions: G Hannaford (4)
48
15
Magor RFC
Great win, or, according to the Ref, a great Draw.

Great win, or, according to the Ref, a great Draw.

James Trezona17 Mar 2019 - 22:24
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Fine flowing rugby, which of course all starts in the engine room.

So, with 22 players confirmed on Thursday an (early) afternoon of cheering from the sideline looked assured for me, having been explicitly told by Mrs Trez (not unreasonably given my record of self-harm) that as she was away, I was to be looking after our children, and 'playing rugby' was did not count as looking after them. 7 dropouts later, children installed in a (hopefully) storm-proof tent with a freshly charged iPad, the Legends started to assemble.
Normal faff ensued - Ettery being a hero by not only agreeing to hook, but even after seeing the size of their pack, do so contested.
Our second row were playing a who-can-be-most late game: TT (welcome return!) texting at 1145 (12:00 kickoff) to say he'd be late. He was outdone by Kirk who turned up at about 1pm but then both played magnificently, so that's OK then.
The Failand Snipper (Race night joke, you should have been there!) struck - showing itself as ever amusing by taking a second Charlie this year in the warm up. Matrix missed out on Club Day, and Charlie Apps would miss out on Magor. But stayed to take photos so again, silver linings and G(new)CM and all that.
Warm up was livened up by the Ref (over 500 matches you know!) making it very clear exactly how seriously he would be taking the game. He proved his point later on by scoring a try for the oppo. He strenuously denied any 'even-ing up' had taken place, although it's hard to see how by actually scoring for one side, a sensible person could claim this. Actually, I think I've answered my own question.
There was some grumbling about being on the 3rd team pitch, but this was only from those unaware of the masterplan of using the Audley windtunnel as our secret weapon.
We set the tone high by actually doing some plyometric stretches, but then quickly rediscovered our level - by the time I returned with flags the Sniper had struck and we'd returned to milling about commenting about how dangerous it was to be fit and fast at our age. We ran through a lineout just in case given the gale and our tactics it might come in useful. I nodded and smiled as Sam talked about numbers and sausages to me in a vain attempt to give himself a second throwing option.
And off we went. Highlights:

  • Immediate tries from Gareth through a hole (Ted and him combining with their usual, and yet still always surprisingly, silky and elusive ways ), then El Capitain Dan out wide and back in, then another for Gareth (I think from an outrageous dummy).
  • Ringer Chris scoring with perhaps his first touch, looking a little handy out wide
  • Zonks at 8, absolutely rock solid and putting in a huge number of hits. I still am convinced I've seen him at 8 before. Perhaps in a dream.
  • 2 perhaps 3 scrums won against the head. Roar. What Sam, Nick and Paul give away in size they made up for in energy - brilliant to see Ettery back and joyfully putting in hits all over the park.
  • Their first try coming from approx. 20 phases of pick and drive, which we made 30-40 tackles to keep them out, despite being 30 points up. Huge pride and hunger. ROAR.
  • Alex M continuing to be revelling in his come-back - winning several lineouts against the throw and him and Al H tacking everything that trundled their way. Hein almost manufactured another run-through-their-whole-pack try except one pesky defender had tangled himself in his shirt as he was batted aside.
  • The ref (slightly cruelly) allowing one of their players to run the length in probably their best break, making it past TT and Dan E - and then calling him back for an infraction far more minor than the 20 he'd previously let go. NB: Dan tried to tap-tackle him with his eyelid, which looked painful. TT looked equally pained as he'd quite clearly shouted 'touch' as he ran past. Unsporting.
  • Stinger, despite being probably the best man at stopping on a six-pence on the field, if not in the whole club, apparently over-running the deadball line. This might have been the ref cruelly denying him his hattrick however after some lovely pacey tries in the first half.
  • Decent attempt at a comeback by the oppo in the second half, having the wind and slope, a good try shortly after one of their chaps decided to counter my no-arms-head-first-chop tackling by putting his knee in my head's flight-path. I was less bothered about any concussion, more very very concerned about who would look after the children... Shep immediately and enthusiastically came to my aid, recommending Mrs. Shep as a very good divorce lawyer. Happily Kirk turned up at this point and that also put their comeback to bed, as he gambolled around the pitch looking like a man determined to squeeze a 80 minute MOTM performance in 20 minutes.
  • Giddings kicking a ruck clearance kick straight into Zonks's head. Zonks was epic at No.8, but no-one had told him about not standing up when box was called. They might have thought it was somewhat self evident.
  • TT chuckling as he caught yet another kick-off, devilishly unperturbed by their cries of 'Smash him!'
  • Dan E being chased around by one of their big lads for putting him on his ass early on. Needless to say, he didn't catch him.
  • Shep responding manfully to the pre-match media taunts by putting in a huge shift - doubters please see the photo evidence. And their centres actually weren't bad, but our backs were class all day.
  • Sesh - having looked very concerned in the build up, and after seeing what was a pretty physical contest, made it clear 10 minutes was plenty, had a great final quarter.
  • Play stopping for a serious injury as their prop rolled around in agony with disconcerting yelps emanating from his considerable form. Cramp can be ouchy I guess.
  • The ref scoring for them. I never thought I'd see something like that outside tour. At the end when I asked for the score the answer was: "good game, nice for them to come back for the draw though. Ref tries are 33 points."

Magor were great lads - the whole game was played in great spirit, and although the score looked very dominant, they kept grafting all 80 and made us work for it; so rather than it being a weak oppo, it was just a team that clicked brilliantly. Quote from one of them afterwards "Do you guys train together a fair bit then? You looked like you do." But we are building a pretty consistent squad and bolstered with great cameos and returns we should enjoy the rest of the season.
MOTM - Top contenders: Ettery, Kirk, Alex - but hats off to Zonks for his first 8 outing being majestic.

Match details

Match date

Sat 16 Mar 2019

Kickoff

12:00

Meet time

11:45

Instructions

We'll make sure we're done in time for the Wales-Ireland Game (2:45)

Attendance

30
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Club Sponsor - First Class Comms
Vets Sponsor - Watson & Co
Club Sponsor - Horfield Dental Care
Vets Shirt sponsor - Brond