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Colts B IX
Whilst the coaches pondered
the new rules, the boys took
things in their stride and picked
things up quickly.
The job of refereeing was rather agreeable
as looks of consternation on parents’ faces
could be pacified by conveniently blaming the
bizarre decision on the new rules – no-one
the wiser, including the ref.The boys just got
on with it.The new code resembled sevens
more than any 15-a-side I had ever played
in, demanding that players should develop
their handling skills in addition to their
strength. The Bs possessed more of the latter
than the former, so it was in our interests
to train everyone to be comfortable at any
point in the line and to be familiar with basic
uncontested scrummaging.
Positions soon fell into place as training
pitted theAs against Bs.
Oliver Edwards
settled in as scrum-half, chivvying the three-
man scrum, a combination chosen from
Bobby Cai, Magnus Taylor, Henry Kendall,
Gus Howland
and
Albert Moores
, with the
last two sharing the duties of hooker.The
wings weren’t immediately apparent as the
backs were all reasonably quick, but
Oscar
Ngong’s
natural defensive play meant he was
just right for the job.
Tom Eadie
held the left
side, outrun on occasions, but unflinching in
opposition.The fly-half position was shared
by
Yan Kolpakov
and
Finley Smith
, both
of whom had reliable hands and a suitable
urgency in their game.
Oscar Gleason
and
Harry Lowndes Lumb
covered the centres,
both with a characteristic rangy style of
running which proved very effective indeed.
As our first match began, the boys careered
into the Cheam pack with great venom.We
were trounced. In hindsight, we would have
given them a hard time by March, but defeat
was a good thing. It crushed any illusions and
made our boys realise the hard work that
would be required for success. Little by little
they responded.We worked on the tackling,
and then lost to a good Lockers ParkA team
in horizontal rain.We worked on positioning
and drew at Moulsford.We worked on our
off-loads and got our first win over Lambrook.
Finally, the team began to gel and the boys
began to understand fully their positions.
Something happened at the Elstree match.
Lowndes Lumb decided suddenly that he
was good at rugby. Like an advert for Red
Bull, he launched himself at the opposition
in a way that he’d never done before.The
confidence was passed from one player to
another.The pack retained the ball, Moores
won every scrum, Kolpakov made 20m spin
passes from the base of the scrum, Ngong
tackled for England, Smith punched the holes
and off-loaded, and Gleason ran his heart out.
Freddie Dooley
, fresh from the Cs, scored a
hat trick on his debut … at Cothill! The final
match against Ludgrove, although a loss, was
a near run thing, with the captain, Howland,
scoring a pair of well-deserved tries and
demonstrating the pluck and determination
with which the team had played all season.
EJO
Colts B IX
Opposition
Result
Score
Scorers
Us Them
Cheam
Lost
0 35
Lockers ParkA
Lost
10 35
HowlandA, Ngong
Moulsford
Drew 5
5
Tinubu
Lambrook
Won 50 25 Cai x2, Gleason O x2, Lowndes Lumb x4, Moores x2
Elstree
Won 40 35
Cai, Gleason O, HowlandA, Lartey x3, Lowndes Lumb,
Smith
Cothill
Won 60 10
Dooley x3, Gleason O, HowlandA x3, Lowndes Lumb
x4, Smith
Ludgrove
Lost
30 45 Cai, Dooley, Edwards, HowlandA x2, Lowndes Lumb
S u m m e r F i e l d s
2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6