30/11 U17’s March on in OBB Div1
November 30, 2008
Chinnor 3 v 29 Newbury - OBB U17’s League Div 1 (30-11-08)
Newbury Under 17s, flying high at the top of the Oxford, Berks & Bucks league after two matches, came face-to-face with a Chinnor outfit known to be tough opposition, having only lost to Maidenhead by 3 points and drawing with Oxford and Redingensians. Newbury came out of the blocks quickly, and a scintillating run by Darren Smith within the first minute nearly led to an opening score. Instead it gave Rhys Jenkins an early penalty kicking chance, which sailed just pass the posts.
However the Newbury pressure continued, and a Jenkins kick into the corner from a penalty given for a late tackle led to a Newbury 5-metre lineout. A crooked put-in gave Chinnor a scrum and the chance to clear, but Newbury’s initial drive gave Josh Love the chance to win one against the head, and Hobbs peeled off the back of the scrum to score wide out, 5-0 to Newbury.
The game entered a period of stalemate both sides giving away penalties and one such penalty in front of the posts gave Chinnor an easy kick, which brought the score back to 5-3. However on 25 minutes the Newbury pressure forced the Chinnor defence to give away a penalty, Jenkins found his kicking boots, and slotted a long penalty to restore the 5-point advantage. Chinnor changed tact and kicked with the wind winning the line out and forcing Newbury to concede a penalty, which the Chinnor fly half dragged just past the posts.
Right on the stroke of half time, there was some argy-bargy, out of keeping with the game as a whole, and the Chinnor hooker had to leave the field with a cut face. Chinnor lacking a front-row replacement meant the game went to uncontested scrums, which was bad news for Newbury as their set-scrum had been totally dominant.
Chinnor kicked off the second half and immediately knocked on from the resulting scrum Newbury made good ground and put the Chinnor defence under a sustained period of pressure. Chinnor knocked on 5 metres out from the try line, which gave Hobbs a chance to repeat his pick-and-go, he couldn’t quite do so, but a second knock-on gave Newbury a reprieve. Chinnor were penalized for not binding in the scrum, Bartlett took the penalty quickly and dived through the still retreating Chinnor players to score. Jenkins, now kicking like we have come to expect, converted for 15-3.
Newbury introduced Toby Thorne and Tom Clarke, and Thorne immediately made his presence felt with a series of fly-hacks up the wing, which took Newbury from their goal line back into the Chinnor half and winning the line out as the retreating Chinnor defence had to kick into touch to halt Newbury’s progress. Newbury were now dominant and forcing Chinnor to concede penalties, 20 minutes into the second half, Jenkins kicked a penalty into the corner. The 5-metre lineout was won cleanly, and the drive was textbook, with Rob Drysdale claiming the final touchdown. Jenkins duly converted for 22-3. Within a few minutes the Newbury pressure yielded another penalty and the move was repeated, this time Josh Love peeled off the back of the maul to score, the ever-reliable Jenkins converted yet again 29-3.
Newbury, with a try bonus-point win in the bag, introduced their remaining replacements. As noted every time this season, the replacements did not weaken the performance, such is the strength of this squad now and had a couple of passes gone to hand Newbury could have added a couple more scores to their points total.
Not a feast of running rugby – the rain and bitter wind put paid to that – but 4 “route one” tries, and a bonus point win that strengthens their table-topping position represented a job well done for Newbury.
Newbury: - Drysdale, Love (Sanders), Caunt (Moore); Dyer (Tarquini), Craigen; West, Hobbs, Spanswick (T.Clark); Bartlett (Thorne), Jenkins; Monger (D.Clarke), Digby, Brassey, Smith (Burns); Mcintyre
Thanks to Alistair Widdop for looking after the squad today and Paul Sanders for his match reporting skills
For all who need a rugby fix next weekend Newbury U17’s entertain Maidenhead in a Top of the Table Berkshire Derby on Sunday 7th Dec, KO 2pm.
Both sides are unbeaten in the league, Newbury head the league by 2 points virtue of the try bonus points gained
30/11 U12’s v Wootton Bassett
November 30, 2008
Newbury U12 A’s Vs Wootton Bassett (0-0)
On a second consecutive Sunday of atrocious weather the U12 squad took on a well organised Bassett side at a neutral ground in Hungerford.
Playing down the slope but against the freezing rain, it was never going to be a free flowing running game and it was the forwards who took the battle to the opposition. Newbury won some great lineout and loose ball and spent the first quarter of the game pressurising the Bassett line. However, Bassett put up some solid defence and Newbury failed to score on a number of occasions due to a loose pass or lack of support for the player with the ball. Newbury’s scrum was solid but lost the ball on a number of occasions when the ball failed to channel back to the scrum half as quickly as it should have done.
With the rain unrelenting, Bassett found another gear and started to attack the Newbury line with some great forward running and fine support play. Newbury’s defence wasn’t pretty and a number of first time tackles were missed but they didn’t panic and managed to keep the now marauding Bassett team at bay.
The last few minutes saw some great running and tackling from both sides spoilt by the occasional poor selection of attacking option and the odd cold hand unable to hang on to a wet and slippery ball.
When the early final whistle went (a very good decision considering the conditions) the honours were even at 0-0. Credit must go to both teams for an entertaining game in difficult conditions. Newbury forwards will have to work on their scrummaging and be a bit more aggressive in the ruck, while the backs should note that they really only made advances when they ran at the opposition with plenty of players in support!
A final word of thanks to the supporters who maintained their touchline position despite the attractions of a warm and dry clubhouse!
Newbury U12B’s Vs Wootton Bassett (0-20)
Another ‘fine’ cold rainy day at Hungerford as the Wootton Bassett pitches were water logged saw the team start well with some good forward play that almost led to a try for the forwards but they were held up over the line.
Bassett started quickly winning a scrum on the right side of the pitch and with some quick passing down the line they scored on the far left for the try. Newbury applied good pressure after a good restart with George Bicknell and Conor Segre making excellent runs down the line breaking a few tackles on the way. Newbury kept pressing in Wootton’s half of the pitch but Wootton eventually cleared their lines with a long kick. Newbury won the lineout and again made progress up the pitch with some good rucking from the forwards. Wootton again cleared the line with a good kick which lead to them again scoring a try in the corner despite some desperate tackling by Newbury.
The second half was always going to be more difficult than the first with the cold and wet really starting kick in. Despite this the boys from both sides showed great spirit and enthusiasm! Newbury dominated much of the possession and field position with some tough battling in the forwards. Wootton defended well and twice Wootton put together excellent breaks through the line to score. Newbury had a couple of chances but were unable to break the well organized Wootton defence down. George Bicknell had an excellent game making one fantastic run through the middle breaking 4 or 5 tackles. Wootton pressed strongly at the end but some last ditch tackling prevented Wootton scoring again before the end. A well deserved win went to Wootton for some good defending and quick breaks.
28/11 Team to Face Leeds
November 28, 2008
Team for Saturday to play Leeds 12:00 k/o.
1 Nathan Catt
2 Joe Clarke
3 Tom Fidler
4 Dave Attwood
5 Brad Mockford
6 Ross Noonan
7 Chevy Pennycook
8 Adrian Griffiths
9 Jack Avery
10 Gareth Griffiths
11 Jonny Hylton
12 Matt Humphies
13 Marc Sweeney
14 Andrew Henderson
15 Mathew Williams
16 Rob Green
17 Kallum McGregor
18 James Phillips
19 Jack Bentall
20 Ben Stevenson
21 Charlie Perry
22 Nick Scott
27/11 U16 Trojans Triumph v Brave ‘Bucks
November 27, 2008
Newbury U16 Roebucks 0 – 32 Trojans
Newbury apparently in history was a Clothiers town in the middle ages….we could have done with some more “clothes” on Sunday as the Winter arrived at Monks Lane and the faithful braved the November elements to watch the Roebucks take on Trojans from Hampshire
Should rugby be a summer sport?
After the performance at Cleve expectation was high and with a few changes the Bucks started off reasonably comfortable……Unfortunately the Trojan pack were having non of the inform Bucks pack and began to dominate. Newbury defending stoically were on the back foot and after 5 minutes Trojans opened their account to lead 5 - 0.
The Trojan horse came back again and Newbury were unable to unlock the Trojan defences and gain any good possession or ball in which to set the backs running.
James Moran looked good again considering the atrocious conditions but Trojans powered on the pressure and Newbury succumbed again afer the 20 and 22 nd minutes to 2 more tries and one conversion 0 - 17 at the interval.
Still cold, still raining,…woteva!!!
Newbury started the second period looking to avenge the first half but the Trojan horse kept coming in wave after wave. Newbury defended as well as ever but were just unable to control the Hants outfit. Trojans scored 3 times in the second half and managed to seal a 32 - 0 victory against the Hosts.
Lovely pass Mikey
OK so the Trojans were an A side but again the Bucks showed great character (just for putting up with the conditions!!) and had this been last season they would have folded and conceded many more points so credit again for sticking to the task and working hard to stay with a very strong Trojans side. So toward Christmas, a season of good will to all men…..
‘Scoop’ Coombs
26/11 Three ways to support The Blues!
November 26, 2008
Do you want to know the best 3 ways to support the Blues?
Then follow this link
25/11 U17’s Dev Squad v Maidenhead Dev
November 25, 2008
Newbury U17’s (Development) vs. Maidenhead U17’s (Development) - (23/11/2008)
On a day of torrential rain producing a total mud bath, we did not expect a feast of running rugby. However after a fairly dour 20 minutes the rain eased and as the weather improved so did the rugby and by the end a feast is what we were getting.
Newbury seemed to adapt to the conditions quicker and were clearly the better side in the opening 15 minutes. Their dominance started from the tight scrum, where Martin Kennedy did an exceptional job at tight head, and Tom Sanders hooked virtually every Maidenhead ball against last year’s Berks county hooker! Lineouts were difficult in these conditions, but on 18 minutes it was precisely a good lineout take by Duncan Craigen, which led to, a 30 metres drive by the Newbury pack and set up David Clarke to score in the corner. Jenkins looked as if he had never been away as he kicked the conversion from the touchline.
5 minutes later Newbury conceded a soft try – too many missed tackles - but the conversion attempt was poor. With 5 minutes to half time, Newbury tried to extend their lead but a missed penalty and missed drop-goal attempt left it 7-5. Then on 33 minutes, another copybook lineout take and drive saw the ball fed to George Rossiter. Rhys Jenkins made the dummy run, and the defence followed him, allowing Rossiter to step through a yawning gap for an easy touchdown.
Maidenhead regrouped at half time, made some changes and came out stronger. 13 minutes into the second-half, their pressure paid off and a try was the result (14-10). At that point had they had a kicker like Jenkins or Rossiter they would have been leading. But Newbury’s fresh legs looked good (Toby Thorne was a constant worry to their scrum-half) and as we entered the final quarter George Rossiter kicked an opportunist drop-goal.
Rossiter and Rob Drysdale offered little cameos, Rossiter with a massive breakout from his own 22, and Drysdale with a tackle, which carried his opponent backwards, fully 15 metres. But Newbury saved the best till last, and with 2 minutes remaining, Rossiter made a slick break and fed Chris Lawrence, who in turn fed Matt Maher. As Maher was stopped he released the ball to Craigen who completed the score. Jenkins converted to make the final score 24-10.
A really good performance from all 20 players on show, and well worth venturing out in the foul weather!
Newbury: Drysdale(Moore), Sanders, Kennedy; Craigen, Watson(Gibson); Jones, Tarquini, Clarke(Maher); Wilson(Thorne), Rossiter; Burns, Jenkins, Brassey, Smith(Lawrence); Futcher
Thanks to our young coaches Alistair Widdop and Andrew Cannock and the old Welsh boy Colin Jenkins for guiding the squad to another win
24/11 Club announce Chairmans Draw
November 24, 2008
For all the details please click here
http://www.newburyrfc.co.uk/wp/the-club/chairmans-draw
22/11 U8’s v Wallingford
November 22, 2008
Newbury v Wallingford 16.11.08
Stags
Oliver Barnes
Freddie Fleck
Henry Javes
Gregor Lindsay
Ben McCarthy
Bertie Nock
Ross Ramos
Finlay Rossiter
Fergus Walker
Overall this was the best performance yet from the Stags. 15 tries in 2 games, against only 8 conceded! Newbury scored from almost every set of 7 tags, and made hardly any mistakes. Passing was controlled and accurate and the tagging was excellent! The best I’ve seen.
Contragulations to ALL the players and the coach (Simon) of course! It was a real team performance with everybody contributing!
Man of the match goes to Ross Ramos for his 6 tries and overall performances! A costly day for his parents due to a certain try bonus scheme!
Newbury 7 Wallingford 3
1st game tries:
Fin 1
Ross 2
Ben 2
Freddie 1
Bertie 1
Newbury 8 Wallingford 5
2nd game tries:
Freddie 2
Fin 2
Ross 4
Harts
Charlie Cardno
Victoria Osborn
Mikey Bhatt
Kieron Cartledge
Andrew Charteris
Isaac Fernandes
Nathan Moore-Mason
Gus O’Connor
Harry Seymour
Newbury Harts vs Wallingford A 5-5
Newbury got off to a good start with a try from Kieron Cartledge. Wallingford fought back with two quick tries to make it 2-1. Nathan Moore-Mason hit back for Newbury with two tries backed up with good defence from Newbury. Wallingford hit back again with a try before Isaac Fernandes extended Newbury’s lead. Wallingford replied instantly with a try despite good tagging from Newbury. Nathan Moore-Mason made it a hatrick of tries to make it 5-4 Newbury. Newbury tried to hold on with some good running from Victoria Osborn but with the last move of the game Wallingford scored to make it 5-5.
Man of the Match Nathan Moore-Mason Three Tries.
Newbury Harts vs Wallingford B 3-3
Nathan Moore-Mason kept up his good try scoring with an early try. Newbury kept trying to break through the resolute Wallingford defence but were stopped with some great tagging. Wallingford hit back against Newbury with two quick tries. Newbury showed some great offensive play backed by great tagging from Isaac Fernandes before Mikey Bhatt made it 2-2. Newbury took the lead through Gus O’Connor finishing off a superb team try, before Wallingford equalised with the last move of the match.
Man of The Match - Isaac Fernades - Great defensive tagging and support play
Roebucks (Green)
Henry Maguire-Brown
Oliver Barker
Joe Anidjah
Kieran Peppiatt
Harry Murphy
Xavier Crossman
William Stephens
Henry Stratton
The first match was a very well fought game with both sides defending well and passing the ball nicely resulting in some lovely play to watch ending fairly in a 25 all draw. Try scorers were Kieran 2, one apiece to Joe, Oliver and Xavier with Oliver taking man of the match for his excellent tagging.
The second match started closely again with both sides playing well until the second half when Newbury pulled ahead winning 35-20, Kieran Peppiatt was man of the match for his 4 tries, other try scorers with one apiece were Joe, Xavier and William
Roebucks (Orange)
Harry Dean-Evans
Oliver Davey
Charlie Emmons
Tommy Harley
Jacob Palmer
Jacob Smith
Harry Stevens
Charlie Williams
Game 1
A very close game with impressive passing by visiting team, Wallingford. Newbury had one try disallowed following an excellent effort from Jacob Palmer. Final score 6-4 to Wallingford. Newbury tries from Oliver Davey - 1, Jacob Smith - 2, Harry Stevens - 1.
Game 2
A nail biting game against a very strong team. The first half saw an excellent try from Oliver Davey after breaking through the Wallingford defence. Harry Stevens and Charlie Emmons continued to apply pressure scoring a hat trick of tries each, aided by outstanding support from their team mates. Victory was decided after Oliver Davey, Jacob Smith and Charlie Williams also scored. Final score was a very close 10 - 9 to Newbury. Newbury tries from Harry Stevens-3, Charlie Emmons - 3, Oliver Davey - 2, Jacob Smith - 1, Charlie Williams - 1.
Players of the Day: Ross Ramos and Harry Stevens.
21/11 Team for Rotherham
November 21, 2008
Team for Sunday.
1 Catt
2 Fincken
3 Fidler
4 Griffiths A
5 Mockford
6 Lee
7 Fox
8 Witcomb
9 Gasson
10 Stevenson
11 Williams
12 Burns
13 Henderson
14 Nutt
15 Hylton
16 Green
17 Clark
18 Noonan
19 Bentall
20 Griffiths G
21 Humphries
22 Ridgers
18/11 U15s go down to Bristol
November 18, 2008
Newbury U15s go down to Bristol
Bristol St Mary’s 21 – Newbury 5
Newbury U15s travelled to Bristol on Sunday to play St Mary’s for the first time. As one of the strongest teams in the area and as last season’s Newbury 10s age group champions they carried a strong reputation. Newbury was also missing a few key players to injury, so this promised to be a tough team challenge.
Newbury started well with the forwards controlling possession in the loose and typically managing two or three phases before releasing to the backs. Distribution was reliable and good handling in the wet muddy conditions allowed the backs to run at Bristol early on and build their confidence. Bristol disrupted the first two Newbury scrums, prompting a warning from the referee and, when repeated at the third, a free kick. From then on, although they were pushed back, Newbury’s scrum was able to keep stable and give decent ball to the backs.
Newbury scored first after 15 minutes following a good build up. On the third phase after a scrum, Jak Rossiter took the ball in fly half position, breached the defence and broke to the right before moving the ball to Richard West, who fed quickly to Alex Cima with space on the outside. Cima charged to the line and narrowly avoided being bundled out as he touched down in the corner.
The remainder of the first half was evenly balanced with Newbury winning the territorial battle and stifling the Bristol attacks. However, when Bristol broke from a scrum on half way and Newbury missed a tackle in midfield, Bristol advanced and were halted only temporarily 5 metres out. They recycled to the left before Newbury could react and scored in the corner. The kick was successful, leaving Newbury down by two points as the half time whistle went.
The home side refreshed with several replacements at half time and began to cause Newbury problems as the second half developed. Newbury was so close to scoring again 10 minutes into the second half after Jak Rossiter took a crash ball 30 metres out and dashed for the line, only to have the ball knocked from his hands in the tackle as he lunged over.
Bristol steadily gained the upper hand and the game was increasingly played in Newbury’s half. With 15 minutes to go St Mary’s chipped over the defence and as the ball tumbled towards the try line, Newbury had little option other than to gather, carry over and ground for a 5 metre scrum, 15 metres infield. Newbury readied to defend the almost inevitable back row move but Bristol executed well. Their 8 picked up and fed to 7, who drifted infield and ran through fly half to score under the posts: 14 – 5. 
As Newbury began to tire and pick up a few knocks, the two available forward replacements were brought on. The visitors continued to fight and, encouragingly, ran several penalties from inside their own half. Unfortunately on one of these, as the forward charge was halted, Jonno Stancombe turned his ankle, ending his game, forcing a re-shuffle in the scrum and a scrum half acting as scratch substitute flanker
In the final 10 minutes Newbury was less able to win scrums or give good ball and attacking options by the backs seemed to be limited to counter attacks returning Bristol’s kicks. Bristol was in control and scored the final try in the last minute, from a breakdown on Newbury’s 10 metre line. St Mary’s moved the ball right with an overlap and, as Newbury drifted out to cover, the fly half dummied, stepped inside and ran in under the posts. Again the kick was good. Final score 21 – 5.
This was certainly Newbury’s best team game of the season so far, with a strong showing from both forwards and backs. Perhaps with more depth available on the day and some slightly better finishing, Newbury might well have notched further points and made it a very close match. Despite the result, a very competitive and encouraging performance.
Newbury Try: Alex Cima.
Newbury squad: T MaCaulay (J Newton), T Soanes (G Read-Smith), G Williams, B Hicks, T Blake, T Simm, E Kershaw, J Stancombe (Capt), T Lauder (C Mercer), J Leadley, A Huntsman, R West, G Thomas, A Cima, J Rossiter, J Courtney (injured did not play).