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Rolls Royce 14 - Barton 21 - 5th October 2013 A winning start for Captain Gillett.
2011/12 SEASON
Burton III 47 - Barton 10 - 21st January 2012 Waiting for a match report
Market Bosworth lots - Barton not lots - 14th January 2012 Waiting for a match report
Barton 40 - Bloxwich II 26 - 10th December 2011 Wi th only 11 a side and a mix and match of players this was rugby at its best - a bunch of guys who just want a game. At one stage we had Malcolm, John O and Danny Carlin dressed in the green of Bloxwich so who won and who scored what was never really going to matter. Thanks to all the guys who came out and enjoyed the day.
Aston Old Edwardians 4ths 3 - Barton 89 - 26th November 2011 Waiting for a match report
Barton ?? - Burton Vets ?? - 22nd October 2011 Waiting for a match report
Cannock II 30 - Barton 3 - 22nd October 2011 Waiting for a match report
Barton 26 - Derby IV 26 - 8th October 2011 Waiting for a match report
Barton 19 - Burton III 20 - 1st October 2011 Waiting for a match report
The New Season commences - end of September 2011 It was indeed a game of two halves, and of two pitches on Saturday. After an excellent start, securing the ball through two phases of play before running in an awesome try (if I do say so myself) from 22 yards to go 5-0 up we were taught a bit of a lesson in running rugby which our team of forwards found difficult to deal with. Losing Ben to a dislocated shoulder forced changes within the pack and we struggled to consolidate possession in the front 9. Lessons learned in the last game had to be re-learned by an unrecognisable Barton team from the one that played Cannock, and this is an important issue for us. Training is really important - not just for players wanting that first team jersey. It is just as important in the 2nds if we want to maintain any kind of consistency from week to week. It is the nature of Barton
Ruby players though to keep fighting, and this paid off in the second
half on Saturday. After changing pitches whilst Tamworth's number 10
(I think?) waited for an ambulance; Our lineouts started working, we
were able to set up the play and create time for our inexperienced
scrum half (ves) - thanks to Ben, James, Cliffy for filling in - and
by doing so we tied in their forwards stopping them from running with
the ball like they did in the first half. The second half was a
respectable 10-7 (Cliffy's hard work and Millsy's quick feet ensuring
an easy conversion from Vally) against an experienced and talented
Tamworth Vets side.
Old Yardlians 43 - Barton 12 - 2nd April 2011 The sun was shining, our supporters were dressed for the occasions in “beach wear” (thank goodness only our young, good looking, travelling entourage were present). Spirits were high, we were in for a fun day. After being warned by someone who had played against this side earlier in the year, they had suggested that we were in for a tough match. I took a quick glance at their match results and thought, if we play well, we would give them a run for their money. This is exactly how we started, winning good ball in the forwards & feeding quality ball to our backs, we moved the ball well, showing confidence & potential to score. We had Matt Bayley moving from his usual position of loose head prop to come in at 10, Jonny Simons filled in at 13, Josh Billings “had a blinder” playing his debut game on one wing & Danny Carlin on the other, given the in-experience playing in these positions together, the lads did us proud. Yards backs were well drilled & started to make holes in our defence. Their back row support was always there & the hosts opened the scoring with a couple of well worked try’s. One of the best attributes to the Barton squad performances this year has been our refusal to lie down & give in, no matter who the opposition or what the score. This was the case today from start to finish. The commitment paid off as we scored a great well worked try which saw the ball go through too many hands to mention (Oh ok then, it was such a champagne moment): Brookes started the move in our 22, who popped to the ever present Hadfield who went to ground, Big John & Dave Grosvenor took out all opposition within 10 metres of the ruck, the ball was then taken on a few yards by Malcolm Gale who popped to Gilbert who gave a delicate pop out the back of his hand to Fradg. Deano took it on a few yards then heard the loud cry from Daz Mitchell steaming through on an arc line on his outside shoulder. This took us to the half way, Daz was tackled & went to ground setting up a nice ruck for our supporting forwards to secure quick ball. Charlie threw a clinical pass to Bayley who was by now exceeding 5mph, a little shimmy to wrong foot his opposite man then a dainty little pass onto Simons who took the ball on another 15 yards with both defending centres & a flanker hanging off him. Again the ball went to ground, Carlin & Billings cleared out, Charlie spotted Sam Murphy charging up in support, threw another clinical pass which Sam caught with one hand, rounder their winger, side stepped the full back & scored in the corner. Bird nearly converted. Wow, the Caribbean contingent grew louder! Another 10 minutes passed with them throwing the ball around & us having to tackle, & tackle, & tackle, then we got the ball & they had to tackle, & tackle & tackle for another 5 minutes. Just when the supporters were re-applying the factor 50, shades were raised when Jonny Simons picked up the ball on the half way, bulldozed through a few attempts to stop him then ran the ball in under the posts for birdie to convert. The drums from the Caribbean contingent grew even louder! Another try to the hosts brought up the half time score of 19 – 12. With plenty of changes at half time, how possibly could the second half be as entertaining as the first? Well it was not going to be our day, being honest, they were just better than us. They scored in the first few minutes when an attempted clearance out of our 22 went straight to their full back who ran it in between the posts after a few slick passing moves. Then from the kick off I didn’t put the ball deep enough & their backs ran it back at us scored again. We all spent the last 30 minutes trying our best to stop them from scoring, we didn’t get much ball, that which we did get was slow & we didn’t manage to do much with. The final score was 46-12, some might say this flattered them somewhat. We had a great day with a nice bunch of lads, it was re-assuring to find out afterwards that their first team had not had a game & that 5 of them had played. Well the same could be said for us (albeit some were playing out of their usual positions to make up the numbers). Thanks to all the players who turned up & gave their all, including Mark Mills, Ian Cox, Tom Rob & Myles Tydenham who were on the bench during our champagne moment. After the game our kind hosts challenged us to a boat race..... The line up consisted of 7 of our fastest drinkers including Hannah Dixon. Well we showed them what we are really good at and won quite convincingly, if only the game had been as easy. I would like to thank Old Yards for their hospitality. I am proud to say that I took part in the boat race, we won easily & I can safely say that I have never lost a drinking game to a girl!! Never have, never will!! On our way back to the village, we stopped off at the Cock Inn at Wishaw, a few eyebrows were raised when we entered in our beach wear, it was then I was reminded that it was only a few more hours before our fancy dress karaoke night was due to start at our village pub sponsors “The Shoulder of Mutton”. Thanks for Bob & June for organising this event, without whom each week we would probably have dirty kit & nothing to eat afterwards!! A final special thanks to John Sutton at the Blacksmith Arms in Branston for sponsoring this week’s match balls (10 of the little beauties). Has anyone tried their “Mighty Mixed Grill”?
Spartans 29 - Barton & Veseyans 50 - 26th March 2011 Iain Cox unselfishly gave up his Sunday afternoon to drink six cans of Brahma beer and write this report. Enjoy. This week Barton 2nd's travelled to Spartans rfc to play a Veseyans rfc fixture. The team was organised in the changing room by Captain Myles 'Pink Hat' Tydeman and the Veseyans Captain, utilising 6 Veseyans and 11 Barton players. Due to a low number of forwards Scott Wallis manned-up and jumped at the chance to play 2nd row (this is his old position apparently) and Ben Gilbert played in the front row. After 10 minutes of running the ball into contact, being turned over and starting again we decided to throw the ball out wide. We scored! This I believe was through a gentleman named Fraz (Veseyans). The lead lasted exactly the time it takes to kick off, gather a knock-on, and run 20 yards under the posts. From a ruck on the Spartans 22, scrum half Charlie started a flowing move that saw Jody 'Have you put me in the match report?' Carvell score. Playing both wing and outside centre Carvell showed great hands and can claim assists for at least 3 other trys. Towards the end of the 1st half Daz took a nice ball of the Veseyan flyhalf and raced right and off the pitch. Two minutes later the same happened but this time Daz raced over the correct line. May have been a Spartan try at this point?!? Half time. No oranges. With Coxy coming on at scrum half, Charlie moving to full back and Danny Carlin taking the place of a Veseyan winger the game was still finly balanced. This said, the second half started exactly the same as the first with the ball being held tight and taken in to constant contact. Again, once we started to avoid contact and look for the pass we started to find space. The Veseyan/Barton flyhalf, who normally plays full back, played well throughout and grabbed a fine try, chipping over the rush defence and scoring behind the posts. Jimmy Gardner capped a fantastic performance with a try of his own. With the clock running down and Spartans playing catch up the Hooker took a quick line out and obviously in ore of jimmy's guns through the ball to him. Jimmy crossed from five yards. This was our only lineout take of the match! He did set up 4 other trys though! Spartans probably got a try or two around here. Two great breaks from the back of the scrum saw John get two very deserved trys. Racing towards the defenders he handing off one, out paced one and carried one with him just for the fun of it, he impressed everyone. Another strong run from Jimmy saw Iain Cox take a perfect off load to beat a couple of defenders before touching down. The referee wracked his brain for a way to disallow the try but in the end had to give it. Spartans fought to the end and got a deserved try to end the game, bringing the score to about 50-29 in Veseyans/Bartons favour. Well done to Josh for his Barton debut and a solid performance at outside centre. Man of Match - Jimmy G Tackle of Match - Danny Carlin
St Leonards 3rds 15 - Barton 26 - 12th March 2011 We missed the kick off and in the early part of play became very impressed by the St Leonards tight head prop who was bearing a No 4 on his back. He was everywhere, firstly receiving a pass from a tap penalty to gain 20 metres on a crash ball, then turning over possession at the breakdown and finally intercepting a pass to set up a strong move. He had the resemblance of something familiar with knuckles scraping on the floor and a swagger not dissimilar to a Gorilla – hold on a minute – Gorilla, err Silverback….it was Gary Moule………… Silverback wasn’t the only familiar face on show today. Jon ‘Twinkle Toes’ Todd was back in a red and whit shirt for his second game after a long lay off to go shopping with Sally. Not too many years ago Toddy could be considered one of our better players and when he wasn’t winning Player of the Year he was winning Dickhead of the Year. He might not be very good at climbing through the bathroom window after a late Xmas Eve out with the boys and frightening his kids to such an extent they became scared of Santa; however, he is very good with ball in hand as he weaved his way past defender after defender until we heard the familiar cry from him of ‘where is everybody’? Toddy is back and it won’t be long until we see the best of him again. The game was disjointed with little opportunity for either side but Barton were strong at the set piece and very dominant in the scrum. After a good tackle on the wing Sean ‘Ninja’ Brennan had to leave the field with ribs he had damaged at training and was replaced by Iain Cox. Somehow, St Leonards got the ball over the line for a try on the left wing after which followed a discussion between Iain and the referee about it being held up. Now we know where Stu gets his rage from. The kick may have gone over and may have been missed so the score was either St Leonards 5 (or 7) Barton 0. Richard Grant started to show a strong kicking game at flyhalf and Barton gained the ascendancy by pinning St Leonards back in their half. Danny Carlin was looking hungry for the ball and made some strong runs. He was unlucky to knock on a couple of times as the tryline beckoned and was pulled up for a forward pass that was a dubious decision to say the least. Danny is growing in confidence every week and starting to show great vision, especially considering he has only 48% sight in his Penny Farthing eyes. This made me think about 3 questions that confuse me….
Barton won a penalty 15 metres out and in front of the posts and elected to scrummage. The ball was taken on and from the ensuing ruck 5 metres out Granty had options of Malcolm Gale at 6’1” or Jody Carvell at 1’ 6” to take on the crash ball. Jody did his best but got mullered by 3 St Leonards forwards….OUCH!!!! The half time whistle blew soon after with the score at St Leonards 5 (or 7) Barton 0 The game ended St Leonards 15 (I think) Barton 26 (I think) but I am sure one of the boys can update the second half as it was time to wander across for the league game.
Man of the Match – Danny Carlin
Trentham 20 - Barton 0 - 26th February 2011 Well, like a number 9 bus you get no match reports for ages then two come along at once ! Marvellous. First up is Malcolm Gale, closely followed by Iain Cox.Trentham Rugby Club was the place we were aiming for but we ended up with 4 cars in a cul de sac - so much for sat navs! After some Anglo Saxon vocabulary we located the rugby club and the 15 team members found themselves in a changing room for 40. What luxury we thought until we were told that it was the only changing room for the visiting teams and we then duly had the pleasure of Hanford joining us but at least we could borrow their deep heat! We had a bare 15 and what an international selection it was, Scots, Irish, English, Welsh (Shaun Leek!), Ghanaian (Iain Cox) and Birmingham! With a number of regular faces away, there were a number of new faces/new positions on display with Dave Grosvener moving to front row, Iain Cox playing at 10 and the backs of Brennan, Johnson, Carlin, Bevan and Harlow completing the line up. After initial concerns that the wind would effect Cox’s stability due to the new trim physique, he duly settled down to the task at hand and was delivered good ball from a solid Barton pack who relished their upper hand in the scrums and line outs. Daz Senior showed that he was settling into his scrum half position and was constantly looking for gaps around the fringes or supplying quick ball to the backs - things were going nicely. However, a well drilled Tentham team kept probing and after a penalty, decided to run the ball and managed to score out wide despite the best efforts of the Barton squad. This is the way things then continued, with Barton playing good solid rugby but failing to break down the defence of Trentham then unfortunately allowing two further tries to be scored, again out wide, one of which was whilst we were down to 14 men, Daz Senior being granted a breather by the referee for a high tackle (surely a feat in itself). The tries were not scored through lack of effort of the Barton squad but more to do with communication not being quite a sharp as needed, mainly due to the different positions/faces. Half time arrived with the score at 17 - 0 and we were fortunate to have 2 subs from Trentham, Josh and Richard, who joined the fray to give our Ghanaian and Birmingham players a well earned rest. However the rest period was about 8 minutes as first Charlie Johnson took a knock and had to leave the field and then Dan Harlow suffered a broken leg and went to enjoy the hospitality of the local A & E department (we wish him a speedy recovery). Playing into the wind Barton continued to battle with neither side willing to give in but also not being able to break down the other side’s defence. This lasted until the 75th minute when the Trentham 10 scored a drop goal, the only points scored in the second half leaving the final score at 20 - 0 but in no means a disgrace. No one player should be picked out for their contribution, as all put 100% into the match and showed commitment in both tackling and running with the ball as was evidenced by the groans of the Trentham players later in the showers! And here is version II. The pitch was muddy, the wind icy. The referee confessed to making a lot of mistakes before kick off and expressed a desire to only hear from the captain. Oh, and post match alcohol consumption was mentioned repeatedly during the warm up. I didn’t realise how much I missed rugby! The first half 17-0. Due mainly to it being his birthday and that I cant drop kick, Sean Leek kicked off. There then followed 215 scrums, 5 ½ completed passes, 2 kicks from the Trenteham 10 (both resulted in trys), a slightly harsh yellow card but a welcomed break for Daz Senior, a pretend fly half who failed to catch, pass or kick, an incredible Barton scrumage that either went up and over or just straight through the opposition, Malcolm not seeing their scrum half below his size 12’s, one or two knock-ons and a further 132 scrums. Trentham had attacked 3 times and scored 3 times. A strong running prop and an experienced 10 gained territory and the chances were taken. Oh and Charlie went bananas due, apparently, to the Trentham pack challenging his erroneous claims that he has similar looks to Justin Beiber (Who? Exactly!) The second half 3-0. Playing up hill and into the wind!!?!??! The rugby was better and with two stand in Trentham players making a big difference, the ball started to move around the pitch. Good running from Dan and a cracking strong break by Mills moved Barton up field. Unfortunately, turn overs meant the ball was soon smashed back down field. Despite the effort we failed to score and conceded a late drop goal. It was sad to see Dan leave the pitch with a broken ankle but he did limp off himself like a man and not a footballer. For the team to play so hard for one another it was disappointing not to get on the scoreboard. As Dave said after the final whistle, everyone who pulled on the Barton shirt did it proud. Every man in red and white ran and tackled like he may have to go shopping next Saturday. Backs that didn’t shirk tackles or the opportunity to run the ball and forwards that dominated set pieces and were evident all around the park. Despite all the aching, it is good to be back playing this sport!!!! Thank you to Trentham for an enjoyable game. A deserved win and played in good spirit* *Compulsory non-bitter sounding end to match report. Please vote for your favourite reporter by logging on to the Barton Rugby page on the Mori or Gallup poll website.
Spartans 38 - Barton 22 - 29th January 2011 It was a little brisk and chilly when I turned up at Essington to find the rest of the team has stayed in Barton, sipping cocoa and stuffing their face with buns. "Pitch. Frozen. Mate" was what greeted me. The seconds were playing at Spartans, a great club with a fantastic atmosphere so I strolled slowly down Watling street to watch the game. And what a game. The last time we visited we were punted all over the park by the booming boot of a stand off who never ran, or tackled, but kicked us to death. The Alrewas trio of Brockington, Roberts and Beardsmore bagged a brace of tries each and the game was made so enjoyable by the great mix of abilities and ages put out by both sides. I can't remember if we won or lost, but I do remember it was fun. This game was no different as a mixed bunch on both sides played a well tempered, well refereed game of Rugby. We had the grandfathers of Barton out in force - Rigby, Johnson and Jukebox were on the sidelines, while Dave Ward and Fitzy pulled on a red & white quartered jersey for the first time in decades and quickly felt at home again. They played (and paid) like they had always done - with vigour and not at all respectively. Fitzy slowed the game down for both teams; enough to make sure he had Barton support with him at all times, and enough to make sure in defence we had time to reorganised before taking his hands off the opposition ball in a ruck. Ben Gilbert enjoyed his outing at flanker and the back row was completed by a very impressive Shaun Leek. The youngster tackled ferociously reaffirming to any old codger on the sideline thinking of pulling on the boots again, that the speed and intensity of the game has moved on. The Barton lineouts were a joy to behold with Dean Palphreyman hitting Malcolm Gale or Shaun every time, and on opposition lineouts, young Malcolm soared nicely and managed to pick a few off. His second row partner Dave Grosvenor did all the hard work in the rucks, but the front row were super impressive. Huddy took on everything and everybody, relishing the contact. Brooksey did the same but showed us some incredible sidesteps, including one that had the opposition and spectators alike stop, turn to their left, and comment to their neighbour. Lovely work and always present at the breakdown - far too bloody fit. We had rolling subs of Scott Wallis and Danny Carlin for the "bleeds profusely" Sean Brennan, who had a good game despite being faced with two of Spartans best players in their outside centre and winger, and often both at the same time. Tom Robinson ran around for a bit in the second half and it was clear our front row were completely in control of any scrum that took place. Jack loved it. With a solid base, and lots of time he looked at ease in the scrum half role, making a few nice breaks much to the enjoyment of his lady on the touchline, and the assembled forwards. Granty and Dave Ward swapped kicking duties by swapping 10. 12 and 15 and both looked comfortable on a chilly afternoon in Sutton Coldfield. The backs had a good day. Charlie Johnson and his orange socks started off on the wing and did extremely well - good positioning in attack and defence, very different from his opposite number who often over-ran the impressive inside centre and wasted overlap after overlap. Charlie didn't and scored a nice try early in the game and with Granty's conversion we were 8-0 up at one point. With our backs moving about and swapping positions, the shape of the team varied wildly but still we retained composure. "Dan" Carter-White had a fantastic game at full back and tackled well, kicked well made a lot of ground in attack. One run saw him amble past some (unusual for Spartens) pretty poor tackling and score under the posts. Even I could have converted, and Granty did. Granty got himself on the scoreboard near the end by greedily keeping the ball and not putting Carlin over in the corner. Sure, no-one was near Granty as he touched down, but that's not the point, is it ? He made a very difficult conversion and that ended our scoring. Tim Forster rambled around in the centres and managed to provide some stability with all the changes going on around him. As Tim is want to do, he ran straight, tackled straight, and drank straight after spending 40 minutes in the bath. And the baths at Spartans take us all back to the days when a warm soak helped aching bones, and allowed the whole team to bond with a bit of a song after the match. This is no longer common as apparently the mixing of blood and body fluids with muddy water and open wounds is no longer recommended practice. Spartans are a great bunch of guys and talking with Leigh after the match, we wondered why two clubs, so close in approach to Rugby, and so close geographically don't have that many fixtures. We need to fix this and arrange more games with these guys, but please can we do it when it's not quite as cold ?
Barton 31 - Ripley 18 - 22nd January 2011 Well no-one in the second team wants to write a match report, so here goes. Ripley are a great club, with a similar mindset to Barton and a similar view of our wonderful sport. They turned up with 12 players and after a mix-and-match of players, a great game ensued. We saw Mitch Aspinall at Full Back score a nice try, Ben Gilbert (who we can also call Aldridge if you want) also scored. We will have trouble with him - first game for the club, he scores, wins man-of-the-match and yet he complains about playing centre instead of back row ! You'll have trouble there Granty ! Captain Granty scored a try and managed to convert three of them so he was quite chuffed, whilst Vice-Captain Brookes led the forwards in a way that only Brooksey can. Huddy, Dean Palphreyman and Moule don't need much leading at the best of times and with Malcolm Gale and Simon Archer locking down behind you, you know it's going to be a good game. Jody Carvell and Matt Knight got on the score sheet as well and a whole raft of young guys joined our ranks to remind me why this is a game for under 40s. Shaun Leek and Mark Mills scoured every inch of the pitch yet barely broke sweat, Ian Stevens and Jack Aldridge looked very comfortable with ball in hand and tackled well, while Sean Brennen and Dan Harlow tied up well with the ever vociferous Dean Fradgley in securing ball at the breakdown. Charlie Johnson played a blinder and is proving to be a solid scrum half and with the wisdom of Grant and Mikey Bennet in the backs, he's bound to pick something up. Danny Carlin sobered up long enough to swap the green & white hoops of football for the red & white quarters of rugby and enjoyed the game too, but for everyone on both sides it was a satisfactory Saturday. Everyone got a game, it was played in good humour (okay just one little niggle), and it strengthened the love of Rugby in both clubs. Look forward to our journey north up the A38 in March.
Rugeley III 5 - Barton 24 - 20th November 2010 Waiting for a match report from Richard Grant
Burton II 58 - Barton 6 - 13th November 2010 Waiting for a match report from Jody Carvell
Castle Donington 7 - Barton 19 - 6th November 2010 Waiting for a match report from Matt Bayley
Rugeley 3rds 10 - Barton 13 - 16th October 2010 We were expecting this game to be a tough struggle between the forwards as Rugeley have always played round a tight five, but as we took to the pitch and found the game was going to have uncontested scrums, plans changed. The forwards from both sides vented their frustration at this lack of competition through vigorous rucking and anyone who thought they were going to get quick ball today was sadly mistaken. Quidditch would have been shrieking and the glacial speed of recycled ball but Jody was grateful for the pause, as it gave him time to reach the breakdown. To be fair he had a good game at scrum half and linked nicely with the resurgent Grant at standoff. Paul Betts moved up to the flank, and found life hard with Rugeley's Flint always in his face, but with Gillett and Evan Bloxham alongside him, Paul knew he was safe. Andy had another great game and harried the opposition at every opportunity. Jonny played well despite his dodgy back, but for me it was the plethora of knee bandages that showed where the game of Rugby takes its toll. None of the young whippersnappers had a need (kneed ?) for neoprene bandages, but everyone the wrong side of 30 had some form of support, and a lengthy war story to accompany it - willingly recounted for anyone stupid enough to ask. Danny Carlin came along and wore a flat cap, as did many of the travelling spectators, and so did some of the bemused locals in the Vine pub, who were celebrating their 5th birthday. So was Charlie Johnson, who shared the wing patrols with John Ovendin, and Scott Wallis. The breaks came when we were able to get these guys into play. John was there in support ;recycled the ball well ;but when in space was pulled back due to earlier infringements;And when it came to infringements, the experienced Rugeley pack gave first a class lesson in the potential dangers of lying on the wrong side of the ball. I still bear Stud-inflicted-Sharon-Stone-fingernail-like scars down my back from an instance where Mr Flint decided I needed "encouragement" to roll away quicker. Ally, Myles and Betsy also got a "D" in these lessons on Saturday, but I'm sure will pass their GCSEs. Evan teaches GSCEs and taught us all how to support the ball carrier - very nearly scoring when Jonny Simons broke off down the left wing, but greed and the desire to score under the posts meant Evan had to wait a little longer. Gary Moule waits longer in offside positions than anyone I've ever known but today he, Dean Palphreyman and Myles Tydeman were roaming about in open play a lot. They were not able to demonstrate their prowess in the scrums, but with their fellow front row friend of Adam Brookes, the rucking and mauling were not for the fainthearted ! Watching Dan Harlow or Matt Bloxham go into contact was one thing but watching the look on the defender's face as they saw the Barton pack descend on them was another. Lovely work guys. Oily Melody started at full back and then after a brief interlude, appeared at scrum half, where he clearly staked his claim as Quidditch's understudy. Being under Quidditch is not a good place to be, but the peasant despising scrum half would have liked Dave Ryder's runs into the undergrowth that was the grass on the Churchside pitch. Ryder made the match enjoyable for me. His lines of running were clean and crisp and set up both of Barton's trys, and when Dave Valentine came on and crashed into anything with a black shirt, he knew Dave would be there on his shoulder. Bloxham was on the other and scored Barton's first try and as both were converted by Captain Grant, we came away winners. A good game, spoiled by the uncontested scrums, but it was very valuable game experience for a very mixed Barton side, and in the end, a victory. Now where did those Rhinos go ?
Barton 13 - Burton Vets 22 - 2nd October 2010 Granty, can you make me up a match report please ?
Barton 13 - Rugeley seconds 0 - 25th September 2010 We're waiting for the full match report but the upshot is that Simon Archer scored a try and Jamie Maxwell converted it and two penalties. Nice shut out against our local rivals.
Veseyans 50 - Barton 0 - 18th September 2010 Roving Reporter Mr Richard Grant : You may have read the match report for the first team and seen that they lost by a narrow margin, and you may have read the scoreline and seen that the second team lost by a (not so narrow) margin, you could be forgiven if you might come to the conclusion that Barton were losers on the day! But you would be wrong. You see, for the first time since Fran “limpy” Johnson, retired, and the 2nd team fell into a slumber, approx 7 years ago, Barton put out 2 teams on the same day. Also take into account the 17 or so players that were unavailable, who would on any other Saturday have been pulling on, at least, a legends jersey, and you may change your view. Certainly in my eyes Barton under Needwood, the club, was a winner. After a few late cryoffs in the 1sts and subsequent call ups from the 2nds, the 2nd team arrived at Veseyans with 12men. After a short negotiation with Veseyans captain (we’ve got loads of backs, do you want some?), we gained 2 more players. On the way Wilko made a phone call, and Ian Smithy Smith turned up in time to be ready for the kickoff. Normally you play a game with 8 forwards, we had 4, Tom Robinson, Dean Palphrayman, and Gary (captain for the day) Moule in the front row, Paul Smurthwaite in 2nd row. It then fell to the likes of Richard Grant to play 2nd row, Paul Betts No8, Scott Wallis on one flank and a borrowed Veseyans winger on the other. We opted for a 3 man lineout with Granty jumping (yes he was the lightest!), as we thought better to confuse 1 man instead of 7. After a few early niggles were erased , the lineout became quite productive and we may have even stolen one or two. Surprisingly the scrummage was also pretty solid, Jody gave a solid display at scrumhalf, even though he was continuously harassed by a quite good opposite number, he delivered good ball to an eager and ever present Smithy, playing his first game this year at flyhalf. John Ovendone came in from his usual haunts on the wing, to play at inside center, until under a challenge went over on his ankle and had to leave the field, late on in the first half. Wilko also came in from the wing to play at outside center. Chas “Terrier” Johnson and Dan (catch me if you can) a Veseyans winger, played 11 and 14, with Ollie Melidoni , showing how fullbacks should tackle, had an admirable game at 15. The first half was hard work as Barton tried to play uphill, Veseyans made the most of the slope and the first half finished 25 nil to Veseyans. At half time saw the introduction of Myles Tydeman, playing his first ever game at 2nd row, also an Essington player, who after his game was abandoned on the adjacent pitch offered his services, came on at No8, and Aldridge provided us with a center. The pack was shuffled , Grant and Betts found themselves on the flanks at 6 and 7. The second half kicked off, and for the first 20 minutes the game was a lot tighter, unfortunately this didn’t last, Veseyans ran in 3 more tries and kicked the conversions. The general concensus was that the scoreline didn’t reflect the game, and considering Barton put out a scratch team with most people playing out of position, at times we looked dangerous. It was a shame we didn’t score any points, we came very close, with Ian Smith having the best chance, He had a mostly solo effort denied by a last gasp effort from a Veseyans back row who scrambled to cover and managed to touch the ball down a split second before Smithy got his hands on it. We also opted to run or kick to touch, penalties which could easily have been kicked. It was a good game played in good spirits with a very good ref, but it was Veseyans game. They had the best set of backs i have seen play in a long time, it's a shame that most of them will be leaving to go to university in the next few weeks, they will be a massive loss to Veseyans. But like i said at the beginning, two teams, irrelevant of the scores THIS DAY WAS BARTONS DAY!
Barton 25 - Castle Donington 0 - 11th September 2010 Aaahh, what a great day. Freshly cut grass, crisp white lines, a gentle breeze and a nervous sun poking out from behind the scuttling clouds - who could find fault with such a wonderful afternoon ? The Castle Donington scrum half was the answer. He complained that the grass was too green, that the church bells from the Goodhead wedding were too loud, that the waterboy was too slow coming on the pitch and that everyone of Tolley's refereeing decisions was wrong. The whining started about 14:50 and continued until he was half way down the A50 or at least that's when we couldn't hear him anymore. Despite this it was a good game against a good team and despite our proximity we haven't played CD this decade and we really should. You could see that there was a great deal of experience, guile and cunning in their team and it was good for our very fresh group of boys to be exposed to an experienced rugby side. Of the 23 players that donned a Barton shirt on Saturday, nine were new to Barton this season, four were youngsters and we had the evergreen Evan Bloxham (63 next Tuesday) running out in the second row - awesome. Andy Gillett captained the team and showed he was still able to harry and worry like a back row half his age (a third his age) and the three photos show he can get to the standoff before the ball can, without the benefit of a four yard offside starting position. The front row of Myles Tydeman, Dean Palphreyman, and Jonny Sutton were no spring chickens and there was no way they were going to be conned by the CD pack, and apart from a few phases early in the second half the scrums went with possession. Evan and Paul Smurthwaite made up the second row, and it's not often you can see a 45 year age gap between 4 and 5, and both played well. Flanking Gillett were James Thorpe and big Dean Jackson and in the second half Dean showed us how to hand off twice as he took a pass out on the wing from his close relative Craig Jackson (playing his first full 80 minutes of top level rugby) to score a lovely try in the corner in front of an appreciative crowd. Paul Betts and Ben Murphy made up the 9-10 partnership and it was clear from the outset that Ben wanted to run at his opposite number and very soon, the back row and both centres twigged, and were in hot pursuit. Neil Forden and Tim Forster filled 12 and 13 and as both are straight line runners we expected to see much space outside for Charlie Johnson and John Ovenden, but the ball stayed reluctantly infield and despite having most of the possession all game our wingers were involved in a lot of defensive duties. The game dragged a lot of people out of position and this is when Barton scored all four tries. Following a number of phases. the defense was disrupted and you can see from these photos how Neil Forden took a tight line inside the hooker to dot down for the first try which Craig converted. A later penalty from the new kicker took us into half time 10-0 up, and we watched as Simon Goodhead and his lovely new bride were driven round the field by Dave Rowe. Some cynical onlookers said that this was the only way Dave could keep up with Simon on the field, and others noted this was the first time he'd been on a pitch and not kicked the ball badly. Harsh I thought. Big Dean Jackson felt so too and in honour of Fijian Dave, Dean decided to kick not once but twice. We pleaded with Tolley to yellow card him for such blatant attempts at crowd pleasing but the staunch ref was having none of it. What made it worse was that one of his kicks led to the last try of our game. Finding himself in possession in their 22 Dean looked outside and saw Louie Whiting on the wing. Years of bitter experience (and the odd Tuesday training session) led him to believe that the big man wouldn't catch the pass and so he put through a little grubber for a grateful Louie to flop onto in the corner. This was his first try for the second team gentlemen......... The second half saw a raft of substitutes with Dave Valentine, Pow Pow, Dale Coaster, Louie, Gary Moule and Scott Wallis all coming on to add their own flavour of rugby. Dave Val and Rob Smith relish contact and sought it at every opportunity and on the odd occasion they went straight through. Pow Pow was rewarded later at the end of a number of slick phases with a try in the left hand corner which gave a warm fuzzy glow to the team as it was a real team try. The lineouts seemed to work reasonably well for both sides although the photos seem to pick up the less slick side of the set pieces. However the pace and the heat were taking their toll and CD suffered a number of injuries to their squad. Tim Forster took to the field first, then so did Charlie Johnson but will someone please talk to Charlie about taking off his Barton shirt before putting on the opposition one ? The boys from East Midlands were too polite to say anything but their looks say it all. John Ovenden also went on at the death for a back row replacement as it was a war of attrition from the men in pink. A strong turnout of supporters saw a fresh Barton team, playing as a team, and being successful against an experienced and solid side, despite having no match practice or playing time in the key positions. Castle Donington are a good bunch of guys and I can't believe we haven't played them more before, but there are two other fixtures planned for later in the season over there and I'm sure they will be a tougher encounter then. The post match entertainment included Pow Pow's powered bar stool and the two wheeled antics as he cornered the beast. Glyn Bennett tried to emulate our young flanker but thought "two wheeled" meant "Wheelie" and he promptly fell off the back in front of an appreciative crowd. We laughed like hell and it was so funny even the Castle Donington scrum half didn't complain. The Match was sponsored by The Blacksmith Arms in Branston - thanks to Jonny Sutton
Uttoxeter 24 - Barton 7 - 20th March 2010 Rowie scored. That's all I know. Match report to follow (Granty ?).
Barton 26 - Ripley Rhinos 5 - 13th March 2010 Match report to follow (Granty ?).
Barton 14 - Burton Vets 5 - 20th February 2010 Match report by Rowie
With Old Grifs phoning hours before kick off to cancel the league fixture,
the first team pitch was turned over to the second team, as well as props Ed
"Pie" Jessel and Matt "Shrivel Head" Bayley whom had both rearrange work to
be available to first team duties. A mix up in defence saw a clearing kick from Burton rebound of his own player, Jody first to the ball decided he'd dummy a touch down and just run into the post instead, this act allowed Charlie "Son of Fran" Johnson to score his first try, and start his mind on how he'd celebrate his first try in the club house later on. This was again duly converted by the boot of Grant to give Barton a 14-0 lead.
The second third saw Ed Pie replaced by Bayley the shrivel head, and the
Barton performance started the stutter, Bayley's most telling contribution
was to react badly when a high tackle on the impressive youngster Harry saw
Bayley lash out with his foot on the grounded tackler.
Barton 15 - Hanford 14 - 23rd January 2010 This was an interesting match. It was a fantastic team effort and showed what can be done when a group of people leave whatever ego they may possess on the sidelines, and stitch themselves together as a unit. There were no outstanding individual performances but it gelled well as a team. At the back Dave Val was steady under the high ball. tackled well as last man and ran hard and straight. He balanced this with some shocking kicking but managed to persuade one conversion and one penalty to count. Dale slotted in at stand off with Grant and Jody as centres supported on the wings by Charlie and Scott Wallis. Dale has his own brand of play at 10 and it takes a little while for Paul Betts at scrum half and the three quarters to understand what his intentions are. This slight pause kept our backs from creeping up and meant they were well positioned when Dale's intentions crystallized. But for me it was the pack that had the best day. Ed Jessel found himself in lots of space which is unusual for any of our front three of Giles, Ed and Dave Ward, as they are often tied up in the tight ; not today. Evan Bloxham and Malc linked up to make a second row with a combined age of 105 but both played like they were in their 20s, and the back row of Dave Grosvenor, Will Gadsby and Daz covered the ground well. We still made a game of it allowing the orange and blacks take the lead and keep it too easily but in the end it was pink beard sub Rowie and Captain Granty who scored the tries, whilst Dave Valentine added the conversion and a penalty. Ni
Barton 15 - Uttoxeter 14 - 5th December 2009 This was an interesting match. It was a fantastic team effort and showed what can be done when a group of people leave whatever ego they may possess on the sidelines, and stitch themselves together as a unit. There were no outstanding individual performances but it gelled well as a team. At the back Dave Val was steady under the high ball. tackled well as last man and ran hard and straight. He balanced this with some shocking kicking but managed to persuade one conversion and one penalty to count. Dale slotted in at stand off with Grant and Jody as centres supported on the wings by Charlie and Scott Wallis. Dale has his own brand of play at 10 and it takes a little while for Paul Betts at scrum half and the three quarters to understand what his intentions are. This slight pause kept our backs from creeping up and meant they were well positioned when Dale's intentions crystallized. But for me it was the pack that had the best day. Ed Jessel found himself in lots of space which is unusual for any of our front three of Giles, Ed and Dave Ward, as they are often tied up in the tight ; not today. Evan Bloxham and Malc linked up to make a second row with a combined age of 105 but both played like they were in their 20s, and the back row of Dave Grosvenor, Will Gadsby and Daz covered the ground well. We still made a game of it allowing the orange and blacks take the lead and keep it too easily but in the end it was pink beard sub Rowie and Captain Granty who scored the tries, whilst Dave Valentine added the conversion and a penalty. Nice.
Atherstone - Barton - 21st November 2009 Team was led by skipper Birdy. Match commentary from Bayley (70% dog shit, 20% mud, 10% grass), Ed Jessell (who volleyed that ball ?), Hudson, Matt Evans (cheeky little flame haired tyke with a spear), Tabs Senior and Tabs Junior (good job Dan !), Simon Archer (why is that OAP threatening me with a brolly ?), Cox Senior (I'm the stroppy one you little urchin) and Cox Junior (number 8), Tim Forster, Jody, Polyester Charlie (Drip Dry), Scott and Dave Val (never been kicked by a spectator before). The game was spiced up by a variety of local "characters" of all ages on the touchline - nice. Didn't catch the score but heard it shouted across the pub to Mr. Turnbull - "it was 16-5 Niall". Loverly.
Burton Vets 39 - Barton 0 - 30th October 2009 With a major first team game being played at home, Granty did very well to pull together a side to wander down to Peel Croft for a game against the Vets. Sounded like a good game but I'm sure we'll get a full breakdown of glories later this week.
Tamworth 22 - Barton 10 - 10th October 2009 Well that was the number of players that turned up for an impromptu friendly last Saturday. Tamworth lent us three players but at 13 vs 15 plus subs there was only ever going to be one winner. Yes, that was Barton for playing the game in the spirit it deserved and thanks must go out to the glorious ten who made the effort to give Tamworth a game. The three Daves ; Valentine, Grosvenor, and Ward, Dale Hutch, Daz Mitchell and Murray Nielsen along with Scott Wallis, Simon Archer and young Charlie Johnson with a special thanks to Granty for pulling the team together. Well done boys, we salute you.
Burntwood 42 - Barton 15 - 19th September 2009Barton seconds travelled over to Burntwood for their second friendly of the season, with a number of returning faces as well as two Barton debutants the side took time to settle. And it was indeed Burntwood who opened the scoring following a powerful break from the centre. However Barton rallied themselves and a penalty kicked by flyhalf David Rowe settled the nerves and moments later Rowe release Matthew Bloxham to score under the posts. And give Barton a 10-7 lead, Burntwood used their pack to good effect to pull back a try and regain the lead 14-10 but this was short lived as a long kick from Rowe into the corner saw Bloxham's determined chase rewarded with his second try of the game and gave Barton a 15-14 lead at half time. The second half saw Burntwood changing tack and the ball was kept tight and the size advantage of the pack started to tell but a solid Barton defence and in particular from the returning figure of James Kendal ensure their pressure came to no avail, however after 20 minutes the pressure began to tell and with Barton's players lacking the match fitness of their opposition the floodgates opened, Burntwood began to find the gaps around the fringes and ran in 4 late tries to give them a rather flattering 42-15 victory. However Barton can be proud of their performance in which they held the much more experienced side for the majority of the game..
Barton 0 - Burton B 14 - 12th September 2009 The real Rugby has started. Due to the ongoing cricket season the two Barton teams had to play at the John Taylor High school on a glorious Saturday afternoon. The second team took to the pitch against Burton B team at 2PM and immediately piled on the pressure and for the first 20 minutes were camped in the Burton 22. We had a rich pool of talent both old and young to choose from – Paul Betts and Dale Hutchison made up the fly half partnership and with the exception of Dave Valentine, the remaining backs were young, fit and fast. In the pack we saw the return of Simon Archer, Jonny Sutton and Andy Gillett whilst Dick Titley and Evan Bloxham brought experience and guile to the second row. Fran Johnson watched from the sidelines wondering when he too would get the call to play and as the afternoon wore on we saw Toddy and Rigby also look longingly across the playing fields to days gone by. We had new faces in the centres and over the course of the game we saw Grant, Fradgley, Grosvenor and Bennett add their little bit to the game but we could not convert pressure into points and two runaway tries meant Burton ran out 14-0 winners. We saw Scott Wallis defend against a four man overlap and make the critical tackle and end up with the ball, and then he proceeded to mount a new attack. Jonny Sutton told us of a different mount when he said he easily went down on the opposition prop because he wasn’t hard. But overall the game was a scrappy affair with both teams trying out new players in new positions; why we even had Evan Bloxham and Craig Hudson in the centres at one point and the attempted interception by Evan would have led to an inevitable score and rapturous applause from the large crowd. Tolley ended the game early so we could all watch the second round of the Owen cup and the first team’s real competitive game of the season.
Barton 12 - Prison 39 - 4th March 2009
Barton Legends fielded a complete mix of
players in this midweek fixture v Brinsford Prison, including first time
players and returning old heads. But it was Brinsford prison who ran out
victors in only their second game. After steady play by the Barton team they
were undone by the quick thinking of the Brinsford 13 who read the play
superbly and intercepted a pass at the half way line, racing clear he had an
easy run in but opted to set up the big number 8 to create a better kicking
angle, moments later it was again the impressive 13 who pounced on a lose
ball to pick up and beat two desperate tackles to score in the corner. EDITOR'S NOTE : Free Twickenham tickets if you can guess the name of the Journalist who wrote this piece. Barton 13 - President's XV 0 - 25th November 2008 Nostalgia oozed between the blades of grass on the HPSC fields, ran down the gullys, settling stilly into low lying pools, and dripped liberally from the last remaining autumnal leaves. It was Charity match time. The sidelines thronged with the great and good of Barton Rugby. Rigby was there, Colin Thorne patrolled the touchline moaning that he had been corralled by the vivid turquoise blue rope strung up to separate the active and passive sections of the non-players. Dave Manton smiled and sighed, content he did not have to tolerate Tolley’s refereeing decisions. Stuart Cox and Niall set up their massive delicatessen outside the scorebox and we wrapped up tight against the bitter cold. The President’s XV were awash with talent both on and off the field. Alan Hiden wore a dapper donkey jacket but was definitely the warmest spectator that day, as we searched for gloves, shuffled under umbrellas and huddled together for warmth; well that’s what I told Rachael anyway. Big Carl Atkinson managed to position himself on the field much better than he positioned his Range Rover in the car park, but on-one was going to tell him, and Jukebox managed a full game alongside the lost and lonely Fitzy. Fitzy’s mate Dave Ward decided he couldn’t face the might of the Barton flankers and stayed at home which left a gaping hole in the 1999 glory team that had reassembled on Sunday. Whilst on the subject of mighty Barton flankers we saw Betsy grace the fields once more, displaying slightly more girth and slightly less hair, but he was always at the breakdown and always slowing opposition ball. Another mighty Barton flanker was on show as Will Forrester showed why he is a regular first teamer at Burton. Having been a centre unfortunate to play with Will I recall a time when I went into contact and stayed on my feet and Will decided to join the maul. He “joined” by bullocking his 18 stone frame into my sternum at approximately 28 mph, and drove me and most of the opposing side over the line. He was chivalrous enough to say that he ripped the ball off me and that I helped him over the line to score but the reality was that there was no air in either of my collapsed lungs as I tried to say “take the ball, take the ball, please don’t hurt me anymore”, and only a true gent could describe the movement of my listless, lifeless body flop over the line as any form of assistance. My body could not absorb the pain of playing with Will and I vowed never to be on the opposing side so I was happy to spectate and listen to the whimpering as he took the ball on yet another carry. My body still feels the twinges of Will induced pain on cold days, like Matt Bayley’s ribs will after his outing against the Bs. Brockington was not often seen with a number 9 on his back and the yapping, yelping terrier that is Iain Cox un-nerved the cool Flash, but it was his half back partner that caused the most grief. Tom Kearney returned and made his acquaintance with Ade Varney and the two tussled and slapped each other all match. Mummy wasn’t pleased. Kearney knew that in each foray into contact his would-be tackler would soon feel the blitz of Fitzy, Will, Carl, Betsy and a couple of minutes later by Jukebox, so Tom knew he was safe. Nostalgia runs deep in this corner of East Staffordshire and we are fortunate to have the National Memoriam Arboretum on our midst. It is humbling to visit the site and an unnerving hush cloaks the area, as you walk amongst the trees and monuments to deeds of old. The centre piece is the Monument - two pairs of semi-circular walls on the mound, listing all those who died in action. The design is impressive and a clever piece of engineering means that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month purpose built gaps in the two outer walls perfectly line up with the sun to allow a narrow shaft of light to enter the central section and illuminate the plinth where the main wreath of poppies is placed. I went down to the Arboretum one Saturday in November to experience this event for myself. The cloudy day made me think it would not come to pass but just as the precise moment approached the clouds cleared Moses like, and the sun shone brightly on the walls of the memorial, beams chinking through one gap and then finally through the other to bathe the plinth in a warm yellow glow. The sunlight had made it into the calm inner sanction and warmed the hearts of this lone visitor. It was a seminal moment as I realized the importance of celestial design, timing, luck and divine intervention. Granty agrees. At approximately 3:44 on Sunday Granty found himself running straight as sunlight onto a popped ball. Just like at the Arboretum, gaps in the opposition defence were perfectly aligned and he flashed through untouched, into the wide open spaces and into the stillness of the central zone of the opposition half; he was free. The crowd drew a hushed breath as we muttered “go-on, go on”, but Granty was lost and alone. “What do I do ?” you could hear him think. “Run” we started to shout, and he did. Everyone on the field was shocked and impressed at such a perfect line of running through a narrow gap from this old stalwart and decided to stop and watch this once-in-a-lifetime piece of history in action, but no-one told Harry Titley, who was obviously too young to know the significance of this jaunt. He saw this disorientated old wildebeest break from the herd and hence leave himself vulnerable to the master predators prowling on the wing; Harry tracked him down. Granty jinked left, then right, then left again but Harry decided to run straight and a gallant effort to fend off Joseph and his Technicolor dream haircut failed and the Wildebeest was taken to ground. Harry’s teammates were so in awe of Granty’s break that they were rooted to the spot and nowhere to be seen but the Barton clan had already made their way up the half to congratulate him on his break. When they reached him, he threw the ball up in the air in a valiant effort – a last act of defiance but it was all too late. Someone caught it and scored but the poor light and muddy conditions made the thief unidentifiable and the points were duly awarded to the exhausted Granty. Rugby, like Arboretum Centre pieces, rely on the importance of celestial design, timing, luck and divine intervention. With every try we get a chance to convert it into a goal – the original purpose of the game of Rugby Football. However after years of successful drainage, the pitch decided to revert to being the boggy field of old, and grip of the ball, the turf in scrums, and reality in general, was lost. In both of his kicks Ade Varney slipped on the muddy surface during the run up, and with legs akimbo, collided scrotally with the ball, failing to make either attempt travel more than three feet. We never found the tee. There were the usual suspects in the Barton team; Cliffie led, Giles scored a lovely try and someone kicked a penalty but I was too cold to remember who. That rounded up the scoring but much talk was of Moule’s sin binning on the Saturday where he excelled himself with a remarkable feat of rule breaking. He decided to join an old ruck from the side – well the ref kindly said it was from the side but in fact he joined it from the opposition side as he had to round the ref to do so; barging him out of the way in the process. Gary then magnificently flopped over the ball stunning the marauding players who could not believe the act, and in a final coup-de-grace, he handled the ball on the ground - Marvelous. My, how we cheered. After the match we had an auction and a raffle. The Championship Winning team strip was auctioned off except for the number 11 shirt so if you are out there, please report to reception. There is a bounty for its safe return. Thanks go to all who donated the prizes and to all who bid and bought raffle tickets. It was a great evening and I for one was delighted winning the ABBA Gold double CD. Thanks. You raised £697.23 which will go towards the Children in Need, Heart Foundation and the new changing rooms.
Burton Vets 5 - Barton 31 - 25th October 2008 With Matt Bird working
tirelessly to find an opposition a late cancellation opened the door for
Barton to travel rather fittingly to Burton Vets who they'd had to
disappoint the previous week due to cup commitments.
Barton help fight Crime 15th May 2008 The Government crime statistics are not showing any real improvement and due to the glorious victories and management techniques employed in BRFC, we were approached by the prison service to give them advice on how to be more effective in the "Corrections" sector. We dispatched our two most experienced consultants to provide top level strategic direction to their senior managers, government ministers and prison officers. This happened to coincide with the Prison Services Annual Rugby Tournament on 30th April, and thanks to the exemplary advice and guidance supplied by BRFC, Mr David Rowe and Mr Andy Gillett were made honorary members of the Stafford Prison Service for the day. They were invited to show their leadership techniques on the field and did us proud. Three games were played and BRFC showed Stafford how to limit opposition scoring through rigorous defensive techniques, tight organization and strict discipline. In the three games the opposition only managed to score 5 points, None and twelve respectively, however Stafford spent so much time listening to Rowie's defensive talks that they failed to perform any offensive moves and didn't score a single point in any of the three games. Post match analysis showed that the first game was lost 5-0 as we were unprepared and unfamiliar with our team mates. The second game was drawn 0-0 and was marred by a referee who sin binned Dave Rowe after 3 minutes for "over use of the boot" when two players dived over the top killing the ball, shortly followed by the scrum half for tackling the opposition scrum half without the ball. The third game against Parcs was lost 12-0 because they were better, and they did go on to win the tournament with a nice spare kit all ready pressed for the final!
We await our next Consultancy Assignment.
Burton B 30 - Barton Legends 20 15th March 2008 It was Skegness all over again. Fronk, Bayley and Cliffy in the front row, Rowe at 9, Hornblow at 10 and Polly all over the place. We went along to "Douch" Dave Ward who surprised us all by kicking and passing. For those of us advanced in years, Wardy always ran and never ever ever ever passed; like a less nimble version of Toddy, so to see him ship the ball out was a shock. Rigby did say after his first half cameo appearance that the Burton centres were better than Barton ever had and although true it still hurt. The Burton accent has always been strong but the outside centre had a strong Melbourne accent; and not the Derbyshire variety either.
This was a run out for the boys who neither want or need the hassle of a league title game, and fun was had by all.
Sutton Coldfield 20 - Barton 12 12th January 2008 Pieces of Eight. Eight years ago I lived in Newcastle and due to a number of footballers in our street, I became a big “Toon” fan. It is a passionate club with ferverent supporters and blind faith and not much in the way of trophies – a bit like Barton RFC really. But what a club.
Unlike Barton, it has not been a good year for NUFC ; drawing with a similarly striped Stoke and losing big Sam Allardyce. Sam doesn’t like eights. He was eight years at Bolton and took over Newcastle eight months ago. He was fired on the eighth of January after winning only eight out of the last 24 games, and was the eighth Manager since the god that was Kevin Keegan. Sam was also the eighth Premiership manager to lose his job this season. Sam doesn’t like eights.
Sutton don’t like Eights either, especially the special home-grown Barton variety. Barton had many number eights this weekend ; Evan Bloxham controlled the ball at the back of the scrum, Darren Waterfall harried stray flankers, Fradg soared high in the lineouts to win every Barton and half of Sutton’s throws, Matt Bayley ran like a train into the cowering opposition scrum half and Gillett trundled through the assembled flankers like a Bison in a hurry on the Pampas. Dick Titley got disorientated after he headed a ball in the lineout and took it out on young H who's temper was well on display. Rigby got disorientated and found himself in a scoring position, his first try since 88, and Blagrove got disorientated and,… well,…just looked at sixes and sevens (i.e. not quite eight). Sutton also tried to make an eight but only got half way there by fielding their fourth team - try harder chaps.
Reckless scored in his eighth game for the club, Other “Eight” features included the temperature in centigrade, the wind speed in miles per hour, and the mental age of the bar staff in this posh part of the West Midlands. Duncan played all eight subs, Julie ran on the field eight times, and all eight spectators were cold. We scored after eight minutes and lost the lead eight minutes from the end and lost by eight points. H kicked eight times, Sutton gave away eight penalties and Duncan drank eight pints of Stella and threw up everything he eight* for lunch. We left for Barton in eight cars and didn’t return till Sunday.
Enough of the frivolity. We have won eight league games and have eight league games left to play. We even top the table with 16 points (well that’s two lots of eight isn’t it ?).
It's not just Sam Allardyce that's seen a lot of eights; we have too, but ours are good. Next week is away at Market Drayton and the story of the number 9.
*sorry about that
Barton 13 - Eccleshall 13 : 8th December 2007 What a mixture we had out today - the exuberance of teenage centres, the wisdom of experience at 8 and 10, and the utter confusion of everyone else who listened to Jukebox. It was muddy, a little fresh, but the day took on a different feel as many of the first team regulars turned up rowdily on the sidelines, sullying the demeanour of the arena, drinking bottled European beer and basically being a damned nuisance. We will be much better off when the new Grandstand is built and the riff raff will be excluded from such areas and normal service is resumed. The Rugby was interesting as few people knew each other on the field. Dave Rowe led the team from the sidelines, offering great encouragement and bon-mots, many of which took the form "I wouldn't have done that. That's not like me".
Dean Fradgley was in every maul convincing players he
had hands on the ball even when it had been kicked to touch by Taff, the
opposition stand off. Deano's tan matched the whole body covering of mud
he acquired and this camouflage allowed him and back row partner Evan to
enter the tackle area unnoticed and disrupt rucks and Mauls a plenty.Jukebox
confounded the bookies who had 90% of placed bets suggesting he wouldn't
last 20 minutes. Half way through minute number 34, Jukebox came off to
the visible relief of the "Paddy Power" tic-tac man, The new forwards worked well together and punched big holes through the assembled defence. Like Remoras on big white sharks or oxpeckers on Rhinoceroses, scrumhalf Steve-Simon's-mate-from-Leeds followed them everywhere looking to pick up titbits of ball, that was quickly spun out to the grateful backs. Nick Rigby donned a set of boots again and lit up the backs with Duncan "Litmus" Balderstone chugging hard after some grubber kicks through the middle and Scott Wallis chasing kicks down the line. But often to no avail as the muddy conditions took the fizz out of our champagne rugby.It was very muddy and the footwear on show on the sidelines was as varied and colourful as Roger Shrapnel's shirts. Jody wore red thigh length socks with tan shoes, Gareth Morgan had super functional wellies and Ben Blagrove wore unfeasibly large training shoes. Discussions amongst the Cox family revolved around how you made flip flops work ("well both my left and right one makes a flip sound ; neither go flop". "Oh ? Mine both make a flop sound") JC meanwhile just splashed in the puddles. Back on the pitch Harry Titley showed he had little of his father's skills and gave a professional demonstration of all round Rugby. He made himself time on the ball for a measured display of kicking and you could hear the seconds pass as he readied himself for one of his many howitzer-like kicks to touch. The Hives' song played loud in my head as the ball came out to H one more time....tick tick tick tick BOOM. His conversion and penalties were straight and distance was measured by post code area covered and Dave Rowe said of his kicking "that's just like me". In open play with ball in hand H showed complete disregard for Dick's teachings and made all the right decisions. He took the ball through the centres and (this time like his Dad) decided not to pass, stepped inside his marker and scored under the posts (not like his Dad). Dave Rowe said of his lines of running "that's just like me". Malcolm Gale started the game as a pre-ICC gig warm up and was replaced by Dick Titley for the second half. Neither could jump as well as Dave Rowe apparently. Dave Ward and Giles filled the number 2 position but as usual managed to confuse everyone with their fast open field flanker / winger mentality and sped into open space or opposition ball carriers with equal zest. As we drank Gary Bentley's sloe gin and Rowie's Ouzo we watched young Polly come on and snuff out any suggestion of Eccleshall running with the ball, and even the biggest of the visiting forwards stayed tackled once Perkins had been in contact. Dave Rowe said "Polly tackles just like me". Simon Goodhead decided to put last week's knock-ons behind him but showed that he could still spill the ball with the best of them. Eccleshall fell into this cunning trap and late on Simon caught a slip pass from Steve-from-Leeds and streaked down the right wing, dodging left and right as the first line of defence expected him to cough up the ball, but the sheer numbers of Eccleshall backs eventually brought him down on the 5 yard line and someone else knocked on. The assembled spectators decided it had to be Dave Rowe. That's just like him.
2006/7 SEASON Barton 27 - Whittington 29 3rd February 2007 While everyone else watched a dull France v Italy game, our illustrious leader tells us of the Legends match at Holland Park; Unfortunately a poor turn out from Barton left the home team short Whittington kindly lent us 2 players to take to the field it wasn’t until kick off that Whittington realised Barton now had a one man advantage and took one of their players back! Barton’s early pressure saw a lot of territory but it was Whittington that opened the scoring with an unconverted try but Barton’s straight running paid dividends when a powerful run from Captain and born again Christian Matt Bloxham ran through to be held short of the line, before Dave Rowe powered over and open the, moments later another run from Saintly Bloxham saw the ball fall loose and Young Travis Perkins scooped it up dive over and ground the ball one handed (Well all most) the ref awarded it so he claimed it, however the Barton committee have now ruled it out and Polly still awaits his first club try and special bonus! Maybe he’s got a taste for scoring tries he certainly mentioned the strange taste of something later on that evening! However Whittington and their larger pack we’re in now mood to let this game get away and with Barton lacking a winger and full back Nigel decided he’d alter his usual free flowing running game and try a kicking game for a change! Clever use of the boot saw Barton lose a lot of hard earned ground and Whittington’s with intelligent use of the over lapping extra man saw two more tries. Barton’s cause was further dampened when Andy Gillet twisted his ankle and left the field of play but Barton continued on and Whittington were denied an almost certain try when Rowe intercepted two try scoring passes the first was scoped back to the passer and then the resulting pass was caught and laid back to Grant who’s kicking from hand had been magnificent all day the resulting lineout saw Whittington claim a simple ball Nigel decided Rowe deserved another interception and handed him the ball and a delightful grubber kick saw the ever eager Giles Hadfield outstrip the younger “Boz” and score a simple try , From the restart Evan Bloxham used his head and Whittington claimed another lineout in Barton’s half Polly stole, Granty cleared and when the Whittington player held on the ref had no choice but to award a penalty a quick tap and off load from Grant saw the lively Giles skin 3 players and score his second! Sensing an unlikely victory Gillet decided he was fit again and returned to play. Barton were looking good, Matt Bloxham looked exhausted playing as the only centre but a quick sip of Holy water saw him revived and a lucky fly hack and chase saw him score another try for Barton, Andy Gillett got excited but considering how well we’d played without him Matt Bloxham asked if he’d like another rest, this did the trick Andy got his mind on the game and some good powerful runs saw him have a positive impact of the game, however it was the other number 8 that had the last laugh some strong runs from the base of the scrum saw Whittington make ground an injury to Campville and a reshuffled front Rowe! Saw Barton’s smaller prop making mince meat of his larger opposition! If only Webby could have controlled his man as well Barton may have hung on but Whittington came through late on and score under the post to level the game 27-27, it was probably right that this game was settled by the boot of Nigel to give Whittington a 29-27 lead and victory at the death. Thanks to Whittington for the games and thanks to Whittington Dave and Ryan that switched back and forth on the sides.
Barton 6 - Uttoxeter 40 13th January 2007 The first legends game of the year and it was a mixed affair. We combined the players (and the skills) of Barton Whittington and Uttoxeter and saw a leisurely game at Holland Park Sports Club. The Buttoxington team fared well with Murray Nielsen stepping in at stand off, but the soggy ground was not a day for the kickers. Dave Ward at Hooker and Jukebox at Left Outside combined well at the lineouts, and we even won some ball, but most surprising was Tony's longevity as for the first time this Millennia he stayed on the pitch for a full game ! The assembled crowd were proud. Scott Wallis patrolled the wing but there was little action there as the wise old heads kept the ball tight for most of the game. The Uttoxeter centre ran far too fast and too strong and we won't be inviting him back, especially when he pulled Jukebox's hair. Tolley played advantage well and allowed mauling to flow - late in the second half the maul stopped and both teams took a breather for 2-1/2 minutes; leaning on each other for support before Steve called "use it" and the maul started rolling again. A further 3 minutes passed before anyone could find the ball and eventually Jukebox knocked on - just like old times. The game was played in good spirits as time, rivalry, and league standings were forgotten. As were offside lines, play calls and basic laws of the game; but it was fun. I've made the score up because Buttoxington lost by lots.
Barton 0 - Tamworth III 37 28th October 2006 I'd tried to deep fry my last Camembert in bread crumbs but all the bread fell off the moment it touched the bubbling fat and the cheese stuck to the basket - it was a disaster. I looked to Jamie Oliver for advice; take 225g of puff pastry and make into two circles. Place the whole Camembert cheese on one circle of pastry and put the other circle of pastry on the top. Seal the edges with beaten egg and bake at gas mark 7 for 15-20 minutes. Leave for ten minutes and eat. It was wonderful, and although a little filling it made my Saturday night tea a treat. "Why do I have to use pastry?" I asked. "Because the cheese in the middle gets hot and melts" said my wife. "You need to have something to stop the runny centre going all over the place". Just like Saturday. The game was evenly matched and was hard fought but the Tamworth centres were hard to control. There was nothing puff pastry about the Barton centres with Gaz Bentley and Murray Nielson putting up a solid defence, but the Tamworth three quarters made or scored all the points. We had exile Dave Ward at stand off and he won man of the match. The look of surprise on everyone's face was the same as mine when Dave offered to pay his subs ! Hooker Dave Ward played his heart out all day, if only to impress Jo and little Oliver on the touch line. Pete Lerigo ran around at scrum half but was buried under the Tamworth back line so often, his wife Lyn thought he wasn't playing and went home early. Jukebox took the field amid rapturous applause and left the field shortly after - there was so little time between the two events we just kept on clapping without a break. Duncan Bladerstone went on came off went on came off and saw far too much of the Tamworth centres in his peripheral vision as they sprinted for the line. Dean Fradgley came on as a replacement winger and stamped out any suggestion of a runner getting outside him. One spectator asked who the guys in the blue socks were as they were at every breakdown. There was only one player with blue socks - Darren Senior, who tried to tell us he hadn't played union for twenty years, and made up for this lapse of common sense by playing three or four games worth of rugby during the game. But it was the wingers that saw too much ball deep in their 22. There were phases of play where Webby, Evan and Dale Coaster were working with Jody, Chris and Scott and the game was scrappy and disjointed for much of the time. Gaz Bentley came close to scoring with a straight line of running but decided to gift the try to an invisible winger out to the left. It ruined his 100% record and he knew it. In the end the forwards were evenly matched and even Andy Gillett had a quiet game, but when the ball came out to the Tamworth centres, it was hard work. And even my pastry wouldn't have stopped them running.
Barton 35 – Whittington II 12 - 7 Oct 2006 Glyn Bennett scored !! He picked up the ball by ripping it from the grasp of a Whittington player, and scampered off downfield, with John Blackwell as wingman guiding him through the myriad of would-be tacklers. Glyn has appeared on this website many times for failing to tackle Dave Rowe properly (and breaking ribs), failing to catch the ball (and giving away possession) but today he is vilified for failing to score three tries. He should have scored three and the Barton RFC committee decided that this was a deliberate attempt to avoid buying everyone in the bar a drink (like a hole in one at golf). He has subsequently been fined three jugs of lager, one jug of Guinness and twelve jugs of Pedigree. John Blackwell scored, Carl Mears scored, Dave Grosvenor scored and Andy Gillett won man of the match, because he didn't. Simon Archer played for Whittington to make a full team , Matt Bloxham played for Whittington to make up ten yards on every carry and Gary Moule played for Whittington to make up new ways to be offside. Richard Grant filled in at full back and got rid of his stutter during conversions but his kicks from hand curled like Michael Portillo's lips when someone mentions Boris Johnson. Luckily our lineouts were solid and play continued with Barton in possession. But the best team performance came later in the day when the club decamped to Alrewas cricket club for Julie's bash. We drank with pride, danced with passion and sang with gusto, although Gusto had to go home early because he had a sore throat. It was like being on tour and I look forward to next Wednesday's increase in tie sales.......
Barton 55 – Ripley Rhinos 0 23 Sept 2006 It was like one of those old sepia toned photos your Granny shows you of the village High Street in Edwardian times. Familiar faces in a different time and era, with questionable fashions evident. As Rigby, Brockington, Webb, Bloxham Sr, Titley and Todd took to the field on Saturday we looked around for the Discovery Channel cameras filming a documentary of days of yore. Like the Drakelow cooling towers, the cameras weren't there and it felt strange without them. Despite having to borrow a Ripley winger to make up XV, Barton ran out convincing winners. Gillet made many a run into the vacant midfield and found a willing possy of backs and back rows behind him, hungry for the ball like a pack of salivating hyenas, ears pricked up in anticipation of a kill. Todd and Brockington waltzed around the Ripley backs at will and Flash deservedly won man of the match. Rigby's evergreen title remains intact as his decision making was superb all game although a cynical back row suggested his execution in passing was a little rusty. Just because you didn't get the ball Dick. Gary Bentley kept up his 100% scoring record this season but the crowd did see him rip the ball from Toddy on the try line and fall over for an easy score. We didn't know if the thump felt on the sidelines was a Drakelow after shock, Gary falling over the try line, or Toddy's heart sinking as he was robbed of another score. Mike Collier had a quiet game on the wing - welcome to the life playing outside Toddy & Flash. Enough of the backs; it was a day for our forwards. The scrummaging was awesome, and rarely have we seen the front row move so quickly as they did driving over a Ripley put in. Webby made his opposite number sing in pain, but I didn't recognise the tune, and Carl Mears did not know what to do with all the space he had in the second half. Worried about scoring he made it over the try line only to hand the ball to Flash to score. Matt Bird has some explaining to do here ! Dale Coaster and Chris were everywhere and worked hard at every breakdown to make sure Gary Bentley looked good behind the rucks, while Evan, Dave Grosvenor and Dick maurauded around the fringes until Dick had to leave to put the Chilli on. Ripley are a great bunch of guys and the game was played in the true spirit of rugby. The score isn't important which is just as well for Richard Grant who's habitual twitching during conversions allowed the Ripley wingers to charge down his kicks. We look forward to seeing the Rhinos again after Christmas.
2005/6 SEASON Barton 118 – Sutton Coldfield IVs 5 18 February A full side plus subs turned out and put in a dazzling display against a somewhat weakened SC side last Saturday. In the first ten minutes Bloxham Snr ran the full length of the field unopposed for a brilliant solo try and converted it himself. Chris Douglas ran straight and hard all day and managed a running commentary as he took the ball on. For the first time in recent memory, Barton did not lose a single lineout ball, and the scrummaging might as well have been unopposed. Richard Webb saw a lot of space and set up ruck after ruck, even putting out long miss passes to the grateful wingers. The score was 55-0 at half time and we brought on Steve Tolley for a cameo appearance and his jinking runs broke through the SC defence as if they weren't there. Support play was excellent and even Darryl managed a full game without injury (and contact). Everyone in the side scored and the supportive crowd (Steeny and FYT) were treated to some excellent champagne rugby. We were looking for a shut out but a fumble by Dale was touched back by Pastie, and the referee (who was unsighted) decided a try should be awarded instead of the customary 5m scrum. A strong performance nevertheless and we retired to the bar to watch the Northampton game and dream of Rachel in a swimsuit. Steeny force fed us sausage and beans and the evening sun shone brightly. Lovely day. Okay, Sutton IVs cancelled on Thursday but our fantastic communication system meant no-one told us. Barton 10 – Burntwood IIIs 26 28th JanuaryThe zimmer frames were lined up like soldiers against the changing room wall, and the St John's Ambulance team were replaced by an Age Concern gazebo. Yes there were some old boys out on the field on Saturday. It was a tight first half, played in very good spirits although the Burntwood scrum half is unlikely to hear "130 over 60" from any GP soon, as his blood pressure remained high all day. Burntwood played a cool tactical game; give it to one of two big runners, or if they were tired or out of position, kick. It was astoundingly effective and the Barton defence were perplexed as to how to stop this. Mr Gale was aggressive all afternoon in the lineout and "Monster" Malc's tackling gave cause for Ref Tolley to wag a finger at him once or twice. The rucking was ferocious and we all soon learnt to leave the ball on the ground and not to lie on the wrong side. It only took me 30 years and 23 minutes. Gary Bentley picked up MoM, despite being unable to pick the ball up from the base of a retreating scrum, but he was beaten hands down by Ade Asprey at full back who managed to not pick up the ball from the ground when running, not once, not twice but three times on the trot. This caused much amusement to the assembled crowd who didn't see much else to be entertained by, as someone forgot the hip flask. Howitzer Asprey's kicking tired the wingers, even when the kick was into the wind and his tackling as last man was excellent. The forwards had a hard afternoon with experience oozing out of the front row, with tourist Macey for Burntwood against Webb of Barton. Vince oozed too, but mostly from a poorly healed cut above the eye. Dale Hutchison scored our first three points and was instrumental in setting up Pete Weedon's try which he converted. The details can be found in Dale's application to join the second row table, in another section of this website. So Burntwood III. A good bunch of guys, playing the game in true Legends spirits, and much beer was drunk in the following hours. This was not the cause of a severe attack of Duvet Retention Syndrome that I suffered this morning, but the insistence of an old body to take more time to recover from 80 minutes on a Rugby field. Now where's that gazebo ?
Barton 0 – Staffs IVs 24 21st JanuaryBeautifully clear skies allowed a haze-free view of the Drakelow power station cooling towers from the pristine turf of John Taylor. Our intrepid Logistic manager was in charge of photography and accurately captured the feel of the match ; lots of forward work and a picture of the grass.
The Staffs forwards didn't move much. They are huge. Their front row managed to crouch in the scrums but that was the most they moved all day. Malcolm secured all our ball in the lineouts and stole three of theirs, but we gained no yards in scrums or mauls as Staffs just wouldn't budge. Sadly the game came to a premature end as the Staffs prop went down with a knee injury 15 minutes from time and, you guessed, didn't move much until the Ambulance arrived. Both sets of back looked like they'd never played together before and it was not Barbarians style rugby in any sense, but the overlaps Staffs created allowed them to keep the score ticking over. Granty was MoM and kicked long and hard all afternoon, tiring our wingers who had to chase down the ball.
Barton 5 – Uttoxeter 7 14th JanuaryAll of Uttoxeter arrived in Barton on Saturday as the Legends took on the guys from the A50. It was a solid performance by Barton, especially up front where we have suffered in the past against Tiny and his pack. This time it was different although Russ Fellows had to go off after a sterling performance in the front row. The score suggests a hard fought forwards game, and it was. Played in good humour on a heavy field it was never going to be a high scoring game and tight ball was the order of the day. The second half saw ten Uttoxeter subs but only a change of gum shield for one of the Barton backs as we ploughed on again. Andy Gillet scored from a pick up at the back of a 5 metre scrum and he sprinted all the way to the line, but Granty missed the conversion and sportingly gave the visitors the win. A satisfying game and a good start to the new year, especially given the strength of the opposition. Roll on 2006.
Barton 41 – Ripley Rhinos 7 18th DecemberWhat a lovely day. Bright clear, but bitterly cold. The ground may not have taken a stud from Captain Gary Bentley before the match but the Ripley back row certainly did when he lay on the wrong side early in the first half. Jason Stone started the scoring with Andy Gillet adding a try under the posts and Simon Ward converting one and adding a penalty later on. Dean Fradgley played as smooth as the Glenmorangie left in his hip flask and Simon Archer showed how well he can play at second row – deceptively strong in contact and always secure. The team performance was great with plenty of talking, lots of support, and marvellously secure rucks, allowing clean ball out to the backs. Gary Bentley insisted on using the full width of the pitch but on one occasion did make a bee line for the posts, thoroughly confusing everyone around him. The centres, wings and full back ran lines off GB and our second and back rows were always in support; as I said, lovely. Darryl Young started the game for Ripley but came off after 20 minutes, and no, he wasn’t injured ! Matt Cox decided to join the Ripley centres and spent most of the match seeking out brother Iain on the wing for a little family "get together". It was a powerful performance from the pack and in the second half we had to revert to uncontested scrums as the Ripley front row fell apart in Webby’s hands. Andy Gillett had a storming game again and Giles Hadfield came on in the second half to score two powerful tries, despite being out of position at flanker. Birdy ran in a textbook try following a coherent passage of play, and with Ward’s conversions we ended up with 41 points. Ripley scored an interception try in the first half but never looked like bothering the Barton try line as our pack rumbled on. The most impressive sight was the condition of the rucking. The primary focus of the first man there in every case was to make the ball secure, and much like the bright star due in 7 days time, it was great to behold.
Eccleshall 20 Barton 0 – 3rd DecemberTwo teams at John Taylor again. The legends played a fine game holding the opposition to a 0-0 score until a little scuffle started late in the second half and Eccelshall scored 20 points when we weren’t looking. Jason Stone played a blinder and got punched every time he got the ball, and our pack were awesome. Like a Bruce Forsyth game show, our front row lifted theirs at will "Higher ? higher ? lower, Lower ? Higher " bayed the crowd. When they didn’t go up, they went back and Richard Webb duly won MoM for a dazzling display of all propping techniques in a single game, and even showed us two or three legal moves too. The backs were at the back and Dave Valentine made his bi-annual appearance in a Barton shirt filling in the full back position in a much fuller way than he used to. Bentos and Weedon enforced discipline at stand-off and back row respectively and a good day was had at the office.
Stafford IV 22 - Barton II 8 – 29th October Ivy League. "The upper echelons. The best. The pinnacle of achievement". I agree. It conjures up images of red brick establishments where only the best are invited to participate. Where skills are honed and refined to be world class. Yes, that is the Barton seconds. Travelling west to the seat of the newly formed Staffordshire parliament, after a bloodless coup following self-determination rallies in Kings Bromley and Stretton High Street, we played the Stafford fourths, or as I was told Stafford IV. Now there are some people who say it should be written as Stafford XV to represent fifteen players, but to be pedantic, these were probably players 56 to 74 on their register, so if that’s the case we played Stafford LVI to LXXIV. And lost. Simon Archer scored our only try and after playing flanker, second row and full back in the last two games, finally found his position and scored. As would be expected from a scratch mixed ability side, the defence was crucial and learning from the lessons dealt out at Derby fourths, we kept the Staffs boys at bay pretty well. Songs were sung, beer was drunk and friends were made, just like Rugby should be. So it seems we only play the established veteran’s sides of all the major clubs in the region, which seem to be called the "Fourths" these days, or the IVs. I guess that means we are Ivy league in more way than one ?
Barton II V Ashbourne III – 22nd October. Score not important. Vol-au-Vents I was at the dentists last week and learnt from the hallowed pages of "Hello !" that Martine McCutcheon recommends Vol-au-Vents as the ideal pre-dinner nibble. I didn’t think I would be reminded of this on Saturday afternoon though. Ashbourne thirds played the Barton second team. It was hard to call this team the Legends as it comprised fresh faced, inexperienced newcomers with weathered war torn veterans in equal measure. The Barton pack was awesome and varied their play to keep the massed hoards of spectators amused. They would wheel left, drive straight, fringe round the rucks and maul at will; it was an impressive performance from a tight eight where over half were over 40. Scrum half Jason Stone worked well with the back row and was an effective link to Flash at fly half as Barton completely dominated the tight play. At half time we were 5-0 up after a Gary Bentley try following an energy sapping maul from a solid lineout. Leicester have complained about us infringing their trademark mauling techniques but we have called them scaredy cats and asked if they would like to have a go if they think they are hard enough. Martin Corry has suggested the last weekend in February at Holland Park – bring it on. I was disappointed with Richard Leverington’s refereeing as he got all the calls right and I had no one to argue with until I got back to the club house. With Tolley and Bloxham showing similar form I can see Barton being established as a centre of excellence not just for this football academy thing but Rugby and refereeing too. Dave Ward at hooker showed calmness under pressure, maintaining straight lineout throws and committed rucking in difficult conditions. Malcolm Gale and Dick Titley showed a combined age of 90 would not stop lofty leaps at 2 and 4 and lineouts became a Barton domain. Russ Fellows and Richard Webb propped up the scrum and the Holland Sports Club bar with equal success and Ade Asprey gave us all a lesson in tackling. Unfortunately our backs did not gel as well and Ashbourne successfully exploited the few gaps that they found. They scored more points than we did, but as you know by now, when we lose it is the effort that counts not the score. Flash scored a try in the second half and was so pleased he missed the conversion. The Barton back row were everywhere and Andy Gillet took man of the match for a fine performance at No 8, although all three tackled hard and ran everywhere. Ashbourne recognised this strength and always made sure to reply through their backs. It was sad that their trys looked so easy but when overlaps were present we were weak on the outside and showed lack of playing time, which will improve as the season progresses. Dave and Iain Cox played well in the centre / wing / full back position and Dave’s insistence in taking straight or inside lines off Flash was refreshing, always sucking in two defenders. Late in the second half the silky green shorted runner took his favourite line but found no defenders and triumphantly dotted down under the posts So in summary it was before dinner, the play was a bit fluffy pastry round the edges and we had a runny centre. Vol-au-vent rugby. Martine was right.
Derby Vets Legends – 14th October. Score not important. The Legends played Derby 4ths today and the forwards had a busy day. The backs were relatively calm apart from an outbreak of expletives from Chris "Tourette" Douglas when he found himself on the wrong side late in the second half. A large number of players pulled on the BRFC shirt for the first time and played well, but sadly due to lack of team time it was a game of individual performances rather than a team effort. We did not score any points and Derby scored some, and many combinations were tried out; Matt Bird tried out the No. 10 shirt, Jody popped up in the centre, James Gadsby dominated the lineouts but it was Gareth "Clifton" Morgan who was everywhere. Front row, hanging off the rucks, covering at full back, and making runs down the wing. No wonder he won man of the match. When preparing to send his gilded certificate of congratulations via email I became curious about his email address. It reminded me of a DoM event from my past. Would you like to hear ? Are we sitting comfortably ? Then I’ll begin. It was 1992 and I was working in Fife, playing for Alloa with the nickname Brick (more of why in a later chapter). We often travelled across the Forth to play teams in Edinburgh and on one autumnal afternoon were destined to play Herriott Watt FPs. One of our back rows was a banker with an impeccable upbringing; Fettes College, Oxford University, then on to the Royal Bank of Scotland where he was big in corporate finance. His dress sense, mannerisms and accent were all posh upper class East Coast Scottish and he was, and is, a true Gent. During his school days he spoke of much rivalry between the Edinburgh private schools and he warned us about the strength of HWFP, beguiling us with tales of powerful forward play and scorching backs, to the point where he said if we beat them he would shimmy up their flag pole naked and sing Jerusalem. We did indeed beat them, albeit by one point, but a forefit was required and after much beer was drunk we managed to persuade him to perform the task. Most of the club had retired due to a disco in the nearby Nurse’s home, but we insisted he climb the pole before we made haste to the Western General Hospital to join them. He scampered up the pole and sang a bit but as he descended he failed to take account of the little cleat that one wraps the flag cord around. This cleat came neatly into contact with his scrotum as he slid down, and duly ripped it open. He squealed and screamed like a stuck pig, and bled like one too. As a first aid instructor from my days offshore I was asked by the onlookers for medical advice, however having imbibed just over a gallon of McEwans Export and no pork pies, my judgement was somewhat clouded and all I could offer was "direct pressure and elevation" – the classic first aid for wounds. This was immediately discounted by the screaming banker and I was dispatched hastily into the next taxi. I did not see the team for the whole of the next week but come Saturday there, blazoned across the notice board, was the banker’s quotation to the Paramedics as they arrived to attend to his injuries; "Neither squeeze my scrotum, nor raise it above my head, and keep that Brick away from my bollocks". When are you ever likely to hear that again – a classic if ever there was one. So why did Gareth Morgan’s outstanding display in Derby today remind me of this incident ? Well Clifton’s email address is onebigphatDEEVA@hotmail.com and our posh banker was forever known as Diva – short for DIY Vasectomy. So, is there something Clifton needs to tell us ?
Whittington Firsts – 17th Sept Two teams out at John Taylor, yet it was felt that the first team had the easier draw as the Legends XV took on the former league winners and current first team opponents. Nick Rigby ran out for his first game as Club President and, when Gary Bentley went off after 15 minutes with a pulled calf muscle pushing Rigby up to scrum half, wished he hadn’t. Whittington are strong and subtle and it was hard work round the rucks today. Our back row had lots of work to do and did a sterling job. Jukebox decided to grace the field with his particular style of play which today meant headbutting our own front row forward within two minutes and collecting a total of seven staples in his head at Burton Royal Infirmary. So all subs were used and off we went. Matt Bird had the game of his life alongside Dave Cox and outside Dale Hutchinson, and proved he could read the game and kick, pass tackle and attack at will. He was cruelly denied his first try following a scorching run down the wing, a kick ahead and ten seconds later being bundled into touch without the ball from a late tackle. In the first half he was unfairly denied a try from a cross field kick from Dave Cox, simply because he was 23 yards in front of the kicker at the time. Disgraceful refereeing ! Matt did however have the glory of wearing a shiny yellow MoM jacket for the evening. Rusty Spinney showed good form on the wing and his magnetic properties meant he always ran full pelt into the most populated part of the field confusing the opposition and team-mates in equal measure. Whittington were not the team of old and struggled in the backs to keep the ball alive and string sensible moves together. The score flattered them but it was nothing like as dominant as it should have been. I sense this will not be repeated when they are up to full strength for their league match. The legends points came from a typical move. Tap penalty, ball out to Rigby who taunted the gain line before offloading to a thundering Gillett, who’s timing, line and speed could not have been better. Under the posts for five and Evergreen slotted the next two. Lovely
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