Sat 21 Dec 2024
On a cold and blustery winters afternoon at the home of old rivals OL’s, somehow OCs managed to squeeze out a bonus point victory out of what looked for 78 minutes like a defeat. With works’ Christmas Parties the previous evening taking their toll on half the Team, you could tell from the warmup that it was going to be a long and weary afternoon.
Old Leams – who have been surprisingly languishing at the lower end of the League Table for most of the season, started brightly and dominated the early exchanges, grabbing two quick tries and easing into a 12-0 lead. OCs struggled in those early stages to make any inroads against a well-disciplined OL’s defence, who managed a number of turnovers. A rare move down the back line though saw JJ pick the ball up with the line in sight and, as he has been doing for most of the season, he powered over the line to open the OCs scoring, although Chatty Senavirathne could not quite master the windy conditions with his boot. The tries continued to come thick and fast in a topsy turvy first half as a mis-timed pass by the OC’s backs was picked up by the OL’s right winger who cantered over to give OLs a 19-5 lead. However, it wasn’t long before OCs were back on the scoresheet themselves. Good pressure by the OC’s midfield defence, forced a hurried pass by the OL’s stand-off, which was scooped up by George Curtis who – despite suffering from a severe asthma attack earlier in the game – outstripped the chasing OLs defenders and romped home from 40 metres out to score an unconverted try. A good piece of interplay between OC’s backs and forwards created a bit of space for Alex Kelly to break the line and pop the ball inside to his skipper, Sam Miles, who, as ever, was in support and able to get over the line. The wind, once again, denied Chatty the chance for the OC’s to close the gap further as his attempted short range conversion rebounded off the post. Just before the break, OL’s extended their lead – once again capitalising on an OC’s error to run in a far too easy converted try. At the end of a very strange first half, from an OC’s perspective, OL’s looked the more likely to win this fixture but somehow OC’s were still in it, despite not performing at their very best.
Half-time score: Old Leamingtonians 26 v 15 Old Coventrians
Fortunately for the OCs, coaches Dom and Jordan, had the oxygen tents and a few stern words ready for the lads at half-time and the team started the second half a little brighter moving the ball around the field with much more purpose and efficiency. One such move down the right-hand side saw Elliot Sheepy flick a nice pass out to Joshua James who sprinted down the flank to secure his second try of the match. Only a few miles down the road from Shakespeare’s birthplace, OC’s continued to perform ‘A Comedy of Errors’ for the pleasure of the large crowd. Not too sure exactly how they managed to commit quite so many blunders in the space of 30 seconds but a dropped pass, a dribble of the ball over our own line and no volunteer to dirty their shirt by dropping on the ball later – and OL’s were gifted 7 points out of absolutely nothing. This season, OC’s have consistently been able to pull a rabbit or two out of the bag – even when they haven’t been at their best. This game turned out to be no different as OC’s started to find some space with superb breaks by Jack Aston, who had been moved up from fullback to the No. 10 role, and Alex Kelly – who was a real threat throughout, both in attack and over the ball. It was from a powerful 50 metre run from Ollie Cunningham, weaving his way through several defenders, that OCs finally made their improved work tell. Ollie drove through numerous attempted tackles and as he was caught right on the goal line, he was able to flick the ball up to his centre partner Alex Kelly who gratefully accepted the pass to score near the posts. That converted try drew OCs to within 4 points of the home side. Continuing to be the masters of their own downfall, OCs were turned over on the halfway line and a well-placed grubber kick by the OL’s left wing was somehow recovered by the winger and he scrambled over the line to extend OLs lead to 11 points. This looked to be enough to secure them the 5 points but OCs hadn’t read the script this week. Working their way upfield, the prolific Dan Anderson eagerly accepted a short pass 5 metres out to bulldoze his way over the line to add to his growing tally of tries this season. Jack Butler confidently slotted over his second conversion of the game.
Five minutes left in the game and OCs were still 4 points adrift. However, the lads had just enough left in the tank to give it one more go. A superb 60 metre break from Jake Elvidge was just thwarted by the impressive OLs fullback 10 metres from the OLs line. But not to be denied, the OCs forwards retained possession for a few crucial phases and a sharp pass by Sam Miles was swallowed up by Jack Aston who glided through a gap in the defence to give OCs a one-point lead. From the kickoff, Elliot Sheepy - for the umpteenth time in the game - took a great catch and OCs managed to run down the clock to take the spoils in what was both a very frustrating but also very entertaining game of rugby.
This season, OCs games have never been dull and this one was no exception. Five hard-earned points for the OCs bolstered their third place position in the table and they can now look forward to a huge clash with second placed Alcester after the New Year. Maybe a few less Jaeger Bombs and in bed before 5am before that match might be in order. In amongst quite a few 5 out of 10 performances, the magnificent Elliot Sheepy stood out from the crowd with a colossal individual performance from start to finish. Steadfast under the high ball, deceptively quick with ball in hand and smart with his distribution – he was definitely the cornerstone of this victory and owed a few beers by his teammates! A much deserved Man of the Match.
Full-time score: Old Leamingtonians 38 v 39 Old Coventrians
