The U17s moved to the top of the league division with a resounding eleven tries to one victory over Bletchley – more details to follow from Laurence, our regular match reporter. Link to table.

Sunday 20^th November, 

The long drive to Milton Keynes helped reflect upon the last game we had played against Milton Keynes last season, which we had narrowly lost. When we arrived we were surprised at the new institution that they were now playing at.  The ground on the pitches was ideal for rugby, soft for contact but not too soft that you have no grip.

            We were receiving the first kick up hill slightly; the ball was taken down well and into a hard tackle. The ball was recycled well a few times by both the forwards and backs until we got a free kick in near our 22 for an offside player tackling the scrum half. The ball was punted well by James, who was playing hooker today, but it didn’t quite reach touch so we had a quick player running at and around us. Some how a few minutes later their wing was able to run through everyone with great strength and was powering towards the line when Eddie, who was playing on the opposite wing, streaked across and tackled their player over the try line. He moved uncannily fast. Luckily they missed their kick so we could take the lead with a converted try.

            Kick off was taken and chased down well. After their forwards, who weren’t small in stature, tried to break through our line but were kept at bay by great tackles from Sam Pope, Jack, Ben and Will, the ball was turned over and spun out to the fly half, Stefan, by Laurence playing at scrum half. A beautifully executed scissors with Luke who ran a fantastic line breaking a tackle and making some important ground before going down and the ball being recycled by the Abingdon forwards and delivered once again to Stefan who decided to go it alone and burst through a tackle and going for the line with an opposition player hanging off him. Thankfully he had the pace and strength to carry the ball over the try line to bring the score to 5-5, unfortunately James missed his kick so the score stayed as it was.

            But when the game was started again Abingdon had the momentum behind them and quickly managed to get into the Milton Keynes 22. Then with another great run from the fly half Stefan who then off loaded the ball brilliantly to Luke who ran a great line through the defense and over the line to score. James easily got the kick and that score really shifted the balance of the game over to us. And after a few more minutes that marked the end of the first half.

            Unfortunately after a great run made by one of their players who again managed to run through an impossible number of tackles, but whom a brilliant tackle from Rob brought down, Milton Keynes scored. Again they missed the kick so Abingdon were still in the lead but by the skin of their teeth.

            After 5-10 minutes of end to end rugby with great runs from forwards like Sam Barrett, Dale and Mikey, finally a break was made again by Luke who drew the wing well and passed at the perfect time to release the replacement wing Joe who hurdled a player to score under the posts. James was easily able to make the kick so the took the score up to 19-10 Abingdon. Then when given the opportunity to take a penalty kick from near the 22, James didn’t disappoint when taking it. The ball clearly being slotted straight through the sticks was no trouble for him. This gave us even more of a cushion with the score at 22-10.

            However. With 10 or so minutes left Milton Keynes pulled a try out of the bag and took the score to a scary 22-17. And with the way that they had just started playing it looked as though they would score again. But we hadn’t come all this way to loose. So we held them off with great tackles from everyone and with the final whistle blown we could all sigh with relief.

            I think players that deserve a special mention today are; Sam Pope for great running tackling and getting stuck in everywhere, Jack for the same reasons, Luke for his running lines that helped create 3 tries, Eddie for his brilliant and unlucky chase involving their first try (if the pitch wasn’t so short he would have caught him), Stefan for making lots of ground with him runs and giving good passes all round, and lastly Laurence who gave good consistent ball to everyone who wanted it.

Abingdon under 17’s tour to Antwerpen October 21-23 2011

The tour started unlike any other, with a monkey (Rhys), and a banana (Jack). As we climbed onto the coach spirits were high and everyone was hyped up, with cheers of “Belgium here we come” echoing throughout the bus and Abingdon, we were on our way to Belgium... it would be a long journey, and a smelly one. With Rhys dressed as the monkey, but still fully dressed underneath, sweating like a pig and releasing noxious gases at any opportunity.

            As we arrived on the ferry everyone was still excited about the upcoming days in Belgium. And after a remarkably long ferry ride: France.

            France, another long drive but the excitement and ‘tour antics’ were carrying on. After a surprisingly short time we were in Belgium.

            Then we arrived at the hotel… we were expecting a normal hotel but what we got instead was a pleasant surprise. It was a great hotel, with nearby access to a number of good cheap bars and restaurants. What more could a rugby team ask for? After getting used to our surroundings and finding the best (well cheapest) bar, we went back to the hotel and got our sleep for the upcoming games.

            The games started at 2, so that gave us time to go on a small wander around Antwerp. Finding shops like “gay Ron” and other such institutes, I think its fair to say we enjoyed the tour of the area.

            Game time, up first we had the team from Antwerpen. Just before the game during our warm up we found out that many of the players whom we were playing against would go onto to play for Belgium at an international level. I know Belgium isn’t a big rugby country but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be tough. We had to borrow 2 players because we didn’t bring enough players on tour, but never mind we were still playing to win. However Ryan’s knee was strapped up a lot from and injury he gained from a previous game with Abingdon and Connor was having bad should pains.

When we first took the ball into contact I think we all knew that it would be a tough game, they tackled well, rucked well and were very well disciplined. But we wouldn’t give up that easily. As the game progressed they scored a try that was well worked through pick and go tactics then spinning the ball out wide while our players had been sucked in towards the rucks and mauls. After missing their conversion the score lay at 5-0 to Antwerp.

 But Abingdon don’t give up that easily. We drove our way forward mere meters from the line until Sam Pope knocked the ball on. After their scrum their center ran the entire length of the pitch and scored despite our futile efforts to stop him. Again they missed their conversion so that elevated the score to 10-0.

            By this time we were tired but were still trying to score and claw our selves back into the game. But they were just too good. Despite great tackling from Sam Pope, Jack, Ben, and Stefan they scored again. Thankfully they again missed their kick, which took the score to 15-0.

            However there was still 5 or so minutes left so we made a last ditch attempt to score, and we did so with Dale who simply but the ball down after we worked hard to get it up in the Antwerp 22 with a mixture of back and forward skill. Unfortunately, Jack missed the conversion narrowly but we were now on the scoreboard. And after another 3 minutes of great rugby the game ended at 15-5. A noble effort made by the away English team. After a very short break of about 10 minutes Abingdon had their next game thrust upon them, after being lent 2 new players, we were ready.

            This time we were playing the team from Flanders, also a good team, but they had an ace up their sleeve. They had a girl playing for them! Despite this we still went in with our hopes high.

            The game was heated, neither side looked as though they were going to give in, Abingdon were tackling well and using our pace men on the wings, Ryan and Seb, to great effect making lots of ground by sucking in their backs and spinning the ball through quick hands.

            Then Rob, playing at inside center, made an inspired run through the line breaking a tackle as he went. Then faced with the problem of the opposition full back, who had been playing well, he decided to be unselfish and passed inside to fly half Stefan. Stefan easily had the pace to bring the ball home scoring near to the posts and having an outlandish celebration with his team mate Rob Anderson. Again unfortunately Jack Todd Missed the conversion, by doing so this meant that we were still in danger of being beaten by a converted try.

            With many more great scrums from props Sam Barrett and Rhys we managed to play our way back into what seemed like a scoring position. After a pick and go from the back of a scrum by Ben the try line was getting ever closer. After some more pick and go’s Sam Pope, Sam Jenkins, Ben and Dale, all put the ball down over the try line. They didn’t do it all at the same time but anyway the try was disallowed because of a knock on from an Abingdon player.

            With the Flanders team clearing their line and placing a lot of pressure on the Abingdon 22 we knew we had to score again, even if it were a penalty then it would mean we were out of reach. So after well worked rugby, including Dale handing off the female player to, lets say, the chest, and tackle breaking runs from the likes of Jack and Ben we worked our way back into the opposition 22. Unfortunately Ryan injured his knee after making a fantastic run down the open side wing that meant he had to be taken off and we had to borrow another player from anywhere possible. Luckily just after this injury Jack was able to slot a penalty kick away beautifully taking the score to 8-0 Abingdon.

            As full time whistle approached Abingdon felt the victory coming but knew that if they weren’t careful then they could easily throw it all away. Thankfully we didn’t and the game ended with the final score at 8-0.

            After much jubilation there was an after tournament talk in which the captain, Sam Barrett, made a moving speech, thanking the host teams for playing us.

            Celebration time! We felt we deserved it, we had won a game, sure we’d lost one but everyone just brushed over that as the evening quickly turned merry. I shall not go into detail….

            The next morning we all went to an Irish bar to watch the heated game that was the world cup final then had a bit more wandering time before we had to be back at the hotel ready to leave.

Back on the coach, it was again, obviously, a long journey back and nearly everyone was tired or feeling sick.

            When we were nearing the French boarder the coach driver decided to take us to a factory where they made chocolate. Everyone got off and bought something for mothers or fathers or girlfriends, which they had forgotten to do the day before.  

            Finally home. It seemed ages since we saw our beloved families but really it was only 2 days.

            And that was the end of our tour to Antwerp in Belgium. I think I can speak for everyone in saying it was a great trip and that we can’t wait to go with the seniors. My players of the tour are … well, I couldn’t choose. Everyone played so exceedingly well that I don’t think anyone deserves it more than another man.

This was Abingdon’s second league game. If we played anything like the previous week, then there would have been another loss on the score sheet. Thankfully this week we had 17 players so we could put out a strong team against Bracknell, who we knew were a good side because we had played them before and they had beaten us convincingly. With Abingdon at home, though, surely the advantage would swing our way.

          The home team took the kick off and started the game encouragingly, tackling well with Pope, Dahle and Todd. However, Bracknell were relentless in their attack spinning it wide regularly to big players hoping to break the green and black line and score. The Abingdon defence stayed strong and didn’t allow Bracknell to put any points on the board. The visiting side also had good defence which stopped Abingdon from scoring.

With some handling errors from both sides and both packs of similar strength in the scrum, it looked like it would be a tough game for all. As the half time whistle blew both teams showed that they were tired and the score remained at 0-0. With subs for Abingdon hopefully some points would follow.

          And so they did. With great team work and determination Abingdon had a line out on the Bracknell 5 metre line which was taken by Cross, who, with the help of the rest of the pack, drove the ball ever closer to the try line before passing to Wood who flopped over the line to bring the score to 5-0 to Abingdon.

After a penalty near the Abingdon 22 which was quickly taken and passed out by Price to new boy Mathews who took the contact happily, popping the ball to Pope who went through a player or two before passing it to Dahle who had the pace to bring it home and score, escalating the advantage to 10-0 Abingdon.

After another 10 minutes or so Bracknell powered over the line with a well run penalty from the Abingdon 5 metre line taking the score to 10-5 Abingdon.

With Abingdon on top the game carried on until a serious injury came about for a Bracknell player after a tackle by Jenkins-Strong. Clearly the game couldn’t carry on until the player was moved but seeing as it was a neck injury they didn’t want to move him until the ambulance arrived, so the game was moved to another pitch with only 10 or so minutes left.

Bracknell knew they had to push hard to score against the home side that were defending brilliantly. And after a missed penalty kick and some good play from both sides the game came down to a scrum with 1 minute left. The Abingdon scrum weren’t about to loose it now so pushed the Bracknell scrum back over and over again until they gained possession and Anderson made a well placed kick to touch.

With the game over, this was recorded as Abingdon’s first league win which made the victory all that much better.

Both teams played brilliantly, but for me one player shone out from the rest. Sam Pope. His tackling was not only brilliantly executed but he seemed to make an inconceivable number of tackles all over the pitch. Also his running was awesome and he helped set up a try. So, that is why I think that Sam Pope is man of the match.

Hopefully Abingdon will be as successful on tour, and we will get to play Bracknell again soon because it was a brilliant game played well by all.

[NOTE] The injured Bracknell player referred to above was taken to hospital by ambulance. He was discharged the same evening with a diagnosis of hyper-extension of the neck, but thankfully no spinal damage detected, and is expected to make a full recovery.

This was Abingdon’s second league game. If we played anything like the previous week, then there would have been another loss on the score sheet. Thankfully this week we had 17 players so we could put out a strong team against Bracknell, who we knew were a good side because we had played them before and they had beaten us convincingly. With Abingdon at home, though, surely the advantage would swing our way.

          The home team took the kick off and started the game encouragingly, tackling well with Pope, Dahle and Todd. However, Bracknell were relentless in their attack spinning it wide regularly to big players hoping to break the green and black line and score. The Abingdon defence stayed strong and didn’t allow Bracknell to put any points on the board. The visiting side also had good defence which stopped Abingdon from scoring.

With some handling errors from both sides and both packs of similar strength in the scrum, it looked like it would be a tough game for all. As the half time whistle blew both teams showed that they were tired and the score remained at 0-0. With subs for Abingdon hopefully some points would follow.

          And so they did. With great team work and determination Abingdon had a line out on the Bracknell 5 metre line which was taken by Cross, who, with the help of the rest of the pack, drove the ball ever closer to the try line before passing to Wood who flopped over the line to bring the score to 5-0 to Abingdon.

After a penalty near the Abingdon 22 which was quickly taken and passed out by Price to new boy Mathews who took the contact happily, popping the ball to Pope who went through a player or two before passing it to Dahle who had the pace to bring it home and score, escalating the advantage to 10-0 Abingdon.

After another 10 minutes or so Bracknell powered over the line with a well run penalty from the Abingdon 5 metre line taking the score to 10-5 Abingdon.

With Abingdon on top the game carried on until a serious injury came about for a Bracknell player after a tackle by Jenkins-Strong. Clearly the game couldn’t carry on until the player was moved but seeing as it was a neck injury they didn’t want to move him until the ambulance arrived, so the game was moved to another pitch with only 10 or so minutes left.

Bracknell knew they had to push hard to score against the home side that were defending brilliantly. And after a missed penalty kick and some good play from both sides the game came down to a scrum with 1 minute left. The Abingdon scrum weren’t about to loose it now so pushed the Bracknell scrum back over and over again until they gained possession and Anderson made a well placed kick to touch.

With the game over, this was recorded as Abingdon’s first league win which made the victory all that much better.

Both teams played brilliantly, but for me one player shone out from the rest. Sam Pope. His tackling was not only brilliantly executed but he seemed to make an inconceivable number of tackles all over the pitch. Also his running was awesome and he helped set up a try. So, that is why I think that Sam Pope is man of the match.

Hopefully Abingdon will be as successful on tour, and we will get to play Bracknell again soon because it was a brilliant game played well by all.

[NOTE] The injured Bracknell player referred to above was taken to hospital by ambulance. He was discharged the same evening with a diagnosis of hyper-extension of the neck, but thankfully no spinal damage detected, and is expected to make a full recovery.

The long car ride to Gloucestershire was Abingdon’s first league game, a tense day for all. Maybe we could bring something good from afar and start the season well. Or maybe not. With only 12 players turning up for Abingdon, we had already morally lost the game. Because of our shortage of numbers Cheltenham had to play with only 13 players, which meant they still had an advantage but it made it a little fairer.

          With Cheltenham taking receiving the kick from Abingdon, who were playing into the wind, the game started. Cheltenham quickly took advantage of their extra player scoring quickly with good passing and support. Although it was made harder with brilliant tackling from Dahle, Anderson and Todd.

          After Cheltenham had scored several more times, Abingdon had a lineout on the home sides 5 meter line, after a throw in to the front player, Barrett, a good tackle from Cheltenham, and a pick and go from Todd a controversial call was made from the referee. No try.

          After that, there wasn’t much more action near the Cheltenham posts in the first half. With more try’s coming from Cheltenham, Abingdon were thoroughly disheartened.

          The second half was very much the same in the way Cheltenham dominated. But. With the final whistle immanent, Abingdon did one last push to try and get some points on the board. After 5 or so minutes of brilliant play from the forwards with pick and go tactics Abingdon were 10 meters from the line. Pope picks up with support from Cross and Price lunging for the line but being tackled and loosing the ball forward in the process allowing Cheltenham to easily kick the ball out and win the game comfortably.

          The biggest disappointment for me wasn’t loosing 60-0 but was the fact that only 12 people out of a squad of 16 or so could be bothered to turn up on our first league game. If the numbers carry on as such Abingdon will find it difficult to stay in the current division and also stay as a team.

The day was hot as both teams stepped on to the dusty pitch, their brows already sweating from the intense effort of pre-match training. Abingdon knew it was going to be a tough match against the home side having lost most of the previous games. But the game was even harder still because Abingdon had only turned up with 14 players. Because Chinnor were low on numbers too they couldn’t lend Abingdon a player so Abingdon were left with 14 against the strong Chinnor team with 15 and subs.

          Chinnor quickly took advantage of this scoring 3 try’s in the first half despite Abingdon’s futile attempts to stop them. Abingdon nearly scoring a few times from kicks over the good Chinnor defence and also runs from Dahle, Stacy, Anderson, Douglas and Bach all working well together.

          The Abingdon forwards had it all to do though being out numbered in the scrums at times and having to put players in positions they were uncomfortable with.

          At half time the score lay at 15-0 with Chinnor failing to convert any of their try’s.

          The second half was the same story except Chinnor had the environment; the hill and the high hot sun, with them making the Abingdon team have to work even harder to keep out the relentless attacks coming from the strong Chinnor team.

           With great tackles coming from the likes of Todd, Hartly, Pope and Cross the Chinnor team found it difficult to score only worming their way through a few times.

But as the full time whistle blew the score was 32-0 with Chinnor scoring another 3 try’s with 1 conversion. The Abingdon team were tired and disheartened after the momentous victory for Chinnor.

          Hopefully we can do better next game and will beat Chinnor next time we play against them.

Match report, 25^th September 2011: Abingdon U17 vs. Aldermaston U17 

Abingdon Won 43 -15

Both sides were tense as they stepped onto the pitch on an early Sunday morning. Abingdon were confident, for they had won all previous games against Aldermaston comfortably, until they saw the opposition. They were bigger, not only in numbers but in stature. Later we found out they had taken players from other age groups including under 16s and their colts.

          Aldermaston looked confident whilst training with their new muscle. This confidence translated to the pitch as they started strongly, scoring within five minutes with a controversial try in which the ball was chipped over the defending line and touched down by Ryan. This wasn’t seen by the referee who allowed play to carry on, letting their player score.

          This was an alarm bell to the disheartened Abingdon team. They thought they would win again but now had their doubts. However after some good and bad play from the home team, and exceptional kicking from James, a try was awarded to Dale. His try was in an awkward position for kicker Stacey, who narrowly missed his first kick.

          Aldermaston realised they would have to step it up a gear and bashed their way through the strong defence of Abingdon. Great rucking and ball control allowed them to score their second try, putting the score at 12-5 to Aldermaston. Again disheartened, the black and green team stepped up their game, quickly pushing into the Aldermaston 22. Some brilliant running from the inside centre, Anderson, allowed the full back, Douglas, to release the open side wing, Campbell via a kick which he chased well and collected the ball, sprinting over the line to score his first try for Abingdon. This left the score at 12-10 to Aldermaston as half time approached. Knowing this Abingdon pushed hard, scoring again from a line out through the captain Barrett leaving the favourites in the lead for the first time at half time.

          In the second half the game resumed as normal, apart from the winger Skelcher being taken off due to an injury. After 10 or so minutes of intense rugby the ball came back from an Abingdon scrum, which they had been dominating all game, and wall spun out to the fly half, Dahle, who sprinted through a gap between the inside and outside centre. Luckily he had the pace to take the ball all the way from within his own half to score under the posts. This time the ball was better placed for the kicker Stacey, who had missed all his previous attempts, and he converted the try easily.

          By this stage Abingdon had asserted them selves on the game with the score at 22-12 in their favour. And with the ball deep within their own territory, the scrum half, Price, passed it to Stacey who executed a brilliant kick for touch that the replacement wing, Bach chased well stopping the quick throw that was expected for a lineout on the Aldermaston 5 metre line. After the Abingdon team stole the ball from the lineout they drove for the line with Cross looking for his second but he was tackled short and popped up the ball to hooker Wood who leapt over the line scoring well. After Stacey converted the try it left the score at 29-12 to the home team.

          With more good play from the Abingdon team Price played the ball blind to Douglas with winger Campbell who worked well together allowing Campbell to score his second try. Even though the kick for Stacey was at a near impossible angle he delivered and took the score to 36-12.

          Aldermaston by now were tiring so when given the opportunity to take an easy 3 point via penalty they took it escalating the score to 36-12 to Abingdon.  With 7 or so minutes left a scrum was awarded to Abingdon on the Aldermaston 5 metre line after a try attempt was held up. The number 8, Ben, peeled off the scrum looking for his first try of the season and was aided by the whole pack who cleared the ruck letting Cross pick up and score. Cross then became top try and point scorer for Abingdon this season having scored 2 tries in an earlier game. With Stacey’s kick the score was 43-15.

          With the final whistle imminent Aldermaston made a last ditch attempt to score again to get some more points on the board. But Abingdon’s defence held strong till the game finished with Abingdon as the victors.

          Everyone enjoyed the game, on the Abingdon side at least, and happily took this game as their first win of the season, hoping for more such results.