A great weekend for the club on the field with both teams winning.

Check out Mark Derbyshire’s photostream on flickr for a visual flavour of the 2nd’s great win against Verulamiums:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43987490@N06/sets/72157622536406985/show/with/4043259033/

The 1st’s had their first league win of the season (and indeed their first competitive win for some time). Whilst it was an incredibly satisfying result, there are many area’s we need to develop. We really ought to have beaten our oppo by more (their scores came from our mistakes, certainely not from their brilliance and creativity) andif we can execute a more structured attacking game planv we really can start to string some results together. Our defence was excellent and has really developed in recent games which is extremely satisfying.

Another very satisfying aspectof our game was our personal discipline - MH were a niggly and unpleasant side and we did not lower ourselves to their level (apart from a nice early cheap shot by Kempy). Additionally some outstanding individual performances - notably from Barry, Crofty, Ben K, Mouse and Angus allowed us to get the win. Rob Hime also did a fantastic job at 9, stepping up superbly after a first minute injury set-back for Gravesy.

It is also very exciting to see a very high level of competition developing for places, particularly amongst the back five forwards and really gives us cause to believe we can really achieve something special this year and build a really strong team going forwards.

Our next competitive 1st XV fixture is a cup match away against Harrow on 7th Nov.

Please let me know your availability this weekend ASAP and we will arrange a friendly (ideally at home) if there are enough interested parties.

Well done boys, lets keep it going.

Cheers,

Kieran

Despite the hardships of the season, the accomplishments have been immense; The u21s have competed in the Cronk-Cunis tournament, players from that team such as Tobi Aputa, Tom Shilling, his brother Will, Mark Montague, Charlie Vicary, Luke Williams and James Prentice have played for the first team; With the help and encouragement of Greame Taylor, the on feild leadership of Jamie Monyahan, and the slightly mental man -management of Gideon Felton the club has given birth to a successfull, inclusive and hugely enjoyable 2nd team, which has also developed and contributed players to the first team- such as Gideon himself, Mike Evans, Mark Derbyshire, Simon Evans, Max Cooper-King, his Dad Martin, Ben Wallice, Sam Taylor, Josh Fresco, and Mike Colley. Without doubt the most promising and significant development of the season has to be for the first time in many years a regular and very successful u19s team. The Relf family have done a fantastic service to the club- Georgette and John have a wealth of experience in rugby administration, and Pascal is a top bloke, a solid leader and motivator, and a pretty bloody good scrum half. Without their work, this would not have happened and the results speak for themselves; the most successful post war school 1stxv were able to continue their unbeaten season with support from their mates in the 2nds and 3rds, and go on to defeat convincingly the likes of Tabbard and Ealing. Many of those boys played a very influential role in the OMs 2nds season as well, such as Will Wright, Dimitri, and Guy Shull, and of course Pascal has played with great distinction for the 1st s.

This week a combined 1/2xv travels away to Abbotstonians, details to follow, next week we hope to play a 1stxv game and a 2ndxv game at HSL. The following week, the 25th April, is the biggest date in the club calendar; all the OMs rugby teams assemble at Headstone Lane for our giant festival of OMs rugby; the u19s, the u21s, the 2nd xv, the 1st xv and an OM legends team all gather to salute the retirement from the game of the irreplaceable David Kelly, who thumped the sh*t out of opposition backlines for three decades in a chocolate and white shirt. There will be food, beer, music and tons of rugby- don’t miss it!

Saturday was also my last game as skipper of the 1st team, I have done it for the last 3 seasons and now am very happy to hand over to Keiran Walsh, who I know will do a fantastic job, and won’t let anyone down- he never has on the pitch. All the best Keiran, our club and our first team have a big bright future ahead. Cheers all, Ben.

This first team to play west London is as follows;
Ben Nash,Chris Denholme, Kieran Walsh, Lea Headges, Mark Derbyshire, Jez Church, Duncan Beckman, Sean Goh, Ralph Murduck, Deniz Tannay, Grant Amos, Jimmy Walsh Mark Montague, Jonny Tucker, Mike Evans, Jamie Adler, James Mason, Max Cooper King, Nick Abel, Jay.

The Second team is;

Dimitri, Gideon, Joe Cousins, Martin Cooper King, Martin Burke, Simon Evans, Alex Merody, Phil Smith, Stan Noel, Jamie Monahan, Maythan Akbar, Luke Pottinger, Greg Walsh, Sam Taylor, Will Wright, Steve Ford, Dan Bedford.

The Seconds have now gone three games without a loss, and play Ashley Robinsons team for the second time the year in a rematch of “The Greatest Rugby Match Played In The World, Ever”. We wish them luck, and also the firsts in their game. The 1st team meet at 1.30 at London Marathon Playing Feilds, Birbeck Ave, Greenford UB6 8LT, The 2nds meet at 1.15 at Headstone Lane. DON’T BE LATE!!!

The key to the match was good work in the rucks. We were playing good phases and creating plenty of opportunities for the backs.

Luke, at centre, was making hard yards throughout the game and was man of the match. Every time he had ball in hand he lifted the whole team and regularly penetrated the opposition-He had a hand in most tries and linked well with Ollie Wetzig. It is really hard to believe that this is only his 3rd game of rugby. The return of Will Wright will give me a selection headache as Luke and Ollie were a bit of a dream ticket.

Ollie Wetzig, the other centre, started the ball rolling with the first try-His livewire personality typifies what this team is about-He played with a sense of adventure and never stopped smiling all match. His generosity of spirit earned him ‘Champagne moment’

The peerless Fran Morris captained the side in Simon’s absence and needs no description.

Alex Merody was potent and had his best match in the chocolate. He plays in a similar style to Mike Evans and will get on the scoresheet. Its hard to tell those two apart sometimes.

A special mention must go to Phil Smith. Forced out of his usual role at number 8, he had to play fly half. His intelligent reading of the game was rewarded when he beat two players to score a magnificent try under the posts.

Max CK at 15 was pacey and scored several tries. He will be rewarded with first team promotion soon.

As for the pack, We had a solid scrum with Dmitri at 1 and Joe Cousins at 3. Joe has only had his 2nd game of rugby and will be a major asset. Gideon built on last weeks performance at hooker and may have created another role for himself there. At no time did the scrum feel unsafe.

Our 2nd rows Martin and Guy were supportive in all phases of the game and were well rewarded with well taken tries. Our lineouts improved as well.

As for goalkicks, Gideon’s 20 year history as a goalkeeper stood him in good stead when he landed three conversions-1 off the post.

SODAM(Science and Overseas Developmental Administration) were a very sporting side and played in the right spirit. They were several players short and we loaned them Sean Goh, Stan Noel, and Maytham to even up the sides. New friendships were made with this team and will be celebrated next season.

We are shaping up well in this team-We can develop players for 1st team action but still maintain our uniquely unorthodox, eccentric and cavalier identity. You all know the team song ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE and our team chant MABULLA MABULLA MABULLA

All those mentioned above were regular first teamers, but this team contained many second and third team players who meshed seamlessly around the first team back bone. Guys like Max Cooper King, Will Wright, and Arjun, who have already proved valuable assets to the OMs second team, as well as Jack Dew made a valuable contribution all day long, as did fifth formers Tom Rosencrantz (a member of the famous OMs rugby family) and Joe Spiro. After the game both Pascal and Seb spoke of how impressed they were by the performances of these guys. The shell shocked Ealing coach commented on the team having displayed the best handling skills he had seen that season. The final score was 55-0. The boys take on Barnet on Sunday, ko 2.30 HSL. Needless to say, we are very proud to have these boy playing in OMs colours, and look forward to them being available for senior rugby, they are ready for it.

We take on Old Actonians at Headstone Lane tomorrow we meet at 12:45. We know this team well, we know we can beat them but we must play our very best rugby. The team is
Ben Nash, Jimmy Walsh, Gideon Felton, Kieran Walsh, Lea Hedges, Mark Derbyshire, Martin Cooper King, Ralph Murduck, Rob Kemp, James Mason, Fran Morris, Jamie Addler, Dan Aukland, Mike Evans, Rich Thomas, Stan Noel, Jonny Tucker, Scott Orrit.

Gideon continues to work magic with his second team, they have developed a great buzz about them and have a fantasic team spirit. It is very special to have a father/son combination playing in the same team and I hope it will come to symbolize the new family atmosphere being created at the club. We have our rugby dinner on the 17th April, I hope you will all make the effort to get there and share a big rugby night out.
Ben.

The willingness to contribute to the club was what made yesterday special; we had Lea Hedges and Dan Aukland playing with injuries, schoolboy Max Cooper-King impressed with his composure on his first team debut, as did his dad (David). Not only did the Cooper- Kings finish for the 1sts, as soon as the whistle went for the end of the game, they both ran over to the seconds, were immediately subbed on to the pitch and finished that game too. Brilliant!

A good seconds team is the heart and soul of a club, and we are lucky to have so many great blokes pulled into the one team. From the school Jamie Monahan at fly- half pulled the strings, he brought with him Will Wright, who scored a sumptuous second half try. In total we had four current MHS pupils playing; I hope they all enjoyed the experience and understand how welcome they are. Although they did not beat Hampstead 5ths, they played great rugby and both teams thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Ben Wallice put in some terrific hits, Phil Smith put himself about, and Fran Morris kept things moving forward. Although we have no seconds match next week, I hope many of these players will make themselves available for the Diehards, or in some cases the firsts.

The firsts dominated the first half against Old Abbotstonians, our forwards were stronger and technically more proficient than the opposition, and we turned around 12-0 up at half time. There were some standout performances in the backs, Tyrone MacDonald lending us some much needed stability at fly half and man of the match Jamie Adler making breaks from nowhere, catching impossible balls, and tackling with guts and determination.

Ultimately it was our fitness that let us down, with 60 minutes to go we were in with a shout at 12 all, but several tries were conceded in the final quarter and the final scoreline rather flattered the opposition. If you can’t train with the team, you must do your own fitness; we are handing the opposition a massive advantage by absenting ourselves from the final quarter. Training, as always is on at HAC 6.45 tomorrow night, and 7.30 at HSL on Thursday.

In the firsts we take on St Nicks Old Boys away, in the floodlit cup, and there will be a diehards fixture as well. Please get back to me ASAP with your availability, we want to progress in this completion, I hope I will have our best players to choose from. I know many first team players have found the circumstances of this season difficult, and it is hard to go so long without a win. But this is our club, it is special, and it is worth fighting for. We have many positive things on the horizon, and this club is about much more than just our league results. Finally congratulations to Mark and Ange on the birth of their little boy Rocco David Christopher Freer, all the best from everyone at O.M.R.F.C.

Ben.

We must maintain this momentum, and push through to the end of the season. Training sessions are fantastic both at the HAC and Headstone Lane, please continue to make the effort to come down. There are plans in place to feild a colts team ( under 19s) for several fixtures this season, this is as a result of a fantastic response from the boys currently at Mill Hill school. We hope to be able to contribute to their continued success this season. Also in place are plans to tour the west country, Scottie’s homeland for a brief end of season tour, all welcome, 1st s, 2nd s, U21s, colts. If you are interested please comment on the facebook page.

We once again feild two teams this week; the 1st s have a tough fixure against Old Streetonians, and Gideons 2nd team take on their 3rds. Both games are at home, please respond with your availability swiftly. Training will be on from 7.30 at Headstone Lane as always, pizza and the finest orange squash served afterwards.
Cheers all, Ben.

Ben Nash, Rory Higgins, Jez Church, Rob Kemp, Keiran Walsh, Joe Croft, Will Gallagher, Ralph Murdoch, Jamie Adler, Jeremy Graves, Tobi Aputa, Nagib Saraf, Nick Abel, Jonny Tucker, Barry Murphy, Grant Amos, Rich Thomas, Jimmy Walsh, Mike Evans.

Kick off is 2.15, we meet at 1.00. DON’T BE LATE.

Ben