|
|
Welcome to the Newsletter – March 2009 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
NEWSLETTERS ARCHIVE |
|
|
|
|
The Clubhouse |
|
|
Dec 08 Newsletter |
|
|
BIGGY SLAY THE
STAGGERERS !! Biggleswade Veterans
40 Huntingdon Staggerers 5 |
||
|
|
You can
tell you can have walked into the changing room containing the
Biggleswade Veterans, there are some players talking of (early)retirement (not
from rugby), reminiscing of Biggleswade 'past' when you could buy your boots
at Taylor and Co (and try on everything upstairs
!!) and dinky toys at Larkinsons Dept Store ! Some even talked
of the credit crunch !! Allegedly
Captain Shovello had earlier on in the week a whole host of aging
individuals, but when it came to the crunch, the match was devoid of a ref,
so Roy Caulfield stepped in and Biggy went down to 14 men as Richard Kendall
had trouble on the farm.... Huntingdon
on the other hand, had a full compliment and warmed up in the very chilly,
windy conditions like it was a League match ! Biggy on the other hand, smoked
and talked of great times past in an effort to keep warm. The portents
didn't look good, however appearances are once again deceptive....... With
the wind behind them, Biggy played the Staggerers completely off the park in
the first half. The first quarter was a complete howitzer from the Biggy
boys, a lovely move after only five minutes saw the play switch from side to
side, with Twinkle and Phil The Greek One dominating the play. After a
series of sweet passes, young Pete Shea, clearly enjoying his time in the
Vets, crashed over from close range, with Evergreen missing on this one and
only occasion for the whole match. This was quickly followed up with a
well won ball in the line by spritely Rich Cooper and recycled to
Twinkle Toes, who did the rest and those Staggerers couldn't put a finger on
him, converted by the Evergreen one. With Biggy completely in the ascendancy,
Biggy let big Dave Alvis (good to see him back) from the Staggerers
come crashing in, but some awesome defence from Spanish Rooky, Jimmy
Caulfield and Al Hilditch, repelled the big un. Once again Biggy
increased their lead, after another sweetly constructed move, with Pete Shea
combining well with Shovello, the WitchDoctor stepped up the gas and charged
over the line, once again converted by Evergreen. This was added to,
when another well won line out, led Twinkle Toes to dart his way
through and unselfishly popped to Ex Captaino Rutty, as he crashed over
taking man and ball with him, once again Greer was good for the points.
With the wind beginning to howl and the hail crashing down, there was still
time for the WitchDoctor to show his pace and crash over for his brace and
converted again !! Half time, Biggy leading 33 - 0. As so
often happens with a big lead, great teams take their pedal off the gas and
have a well earned rest and this was definitely the case here !! With
the Staggerers having the wind and the extra man, Biggy faced a back lash,
but in all honesty it never really arrived until the last quarter. Biggy
wasted several scoring chances, Bish and Shovello were both unlucky not to
get in, in the corner, but the Stags repelled Biggy with some great tackling
of their own, especially their wily old full back. The WitchDoctor did
some amazing jug avoidance, but Simon Rutt grabbed Biggy's only try of the
half and his second after a lofted Garry Owen, was fumbled by the Staggerers
2nd row and Rutty pounced on it and ran it in. Evergreen popped
over his fifth conversion. There was still time for an amazing kick
from Sergeant Flacky (shame the whistle had been blown) and for the
impressive Rooky and young Pete Shea to increase their tackle
count. Andy in particular looks like he has never been away.
The Staggerers laid siege to the Biggy line in the last 15 minutes and were
rewarded with an excellent try in the corner and were unlucky not to add to
that in the dying minutes. All in
all, not a bad result for those 14 aging Veterans thinking of early
retirement and dinky toys from Larkinsons, next stop is St Neots Vets at home
next Saturday, who knows what we will do when we have a full team
!! Finally a big thank you to Roy Caulfield for stepping in and taking
control of the game, much appreciated. Scorers
: The WitchDoctor (2), Ex Captaino Rutty (2), Young Shea (1), Twinkle Toes
(1), Evergreen Greer (5 Convs). Biggy
Vets : Fireman Stubby, Jimmy Caulfield, Sergeant Flacky, Estate Agent
Hilditch, Ex Captaino Rutty, Young Pete Shea, Spanish Rooky, Jumping Cooper,
Phil The Greek, Twinkle Toes, Evergreen Greer, Shovello, Bish, The
WitchDoctor. |
||
|
|
Bedfordshire
U19s 5 East Northants
U19s 17 The Michael
Morris Memorial Trophy |
||
|
|
Biggleswade
club did more than just host this match, they provided seven players in the
Bedfordshire squad drawn from Luton and Dunstablians as well as the hosts.
East Northants started the stronger and scored the first of two tries from
Oundle scrum half Craig Tandy on ten minutes . The Bedfordshire side featured
Dom Nott, Micheal Haddow, Owen Thomas (the crowd favourite) William Franklin,
Willian Priston and team captain Adam Dommett, with Stuart 'Tuck Shop' West
playing for East Northants, as their prop forwards had failed to show. The
visitors dominated possession and numerous mistakes on both sides showed that
the players had not yet got to know each other. The East Northants fly half
had kicked well all afternoon and had effectively kept Beds pinned in their
half all of the game. Bedfordshire
struck back at the end of the first half with a try from Owen Thomas,
called in at the last minute and playing in the unfamiliar position of
winger which was probably the first time since his U8s days! The attempted conversion
was drop kicked and failed to get more than half a yard off the ground!
Haddow has an excellent storming game as did West who attracted the attention
of the County U20s manager. Leading
5 -12 at half time, East Northants unleashed the powerhouse that is 'Tuck
Shop' West and as regular readers will know, a pivotal player for
Biggleswade Colts. West's a deceptively fast runner and carved throught the
Beds defense to score under the posts. Bedfordshire's
decision to loan West to the opposition was in the true spirit of the game
but probably cost them the match! The
whole game failed to ignite and with the final score at 5-17 to the
Northamptonshire side, it demonstrated that the lure of a County tie was perhaps
not as it once was, with so many clubs in either county failing
to release players for the County U19s squads.
|
||
|
|
Wellingborough OGs 7
Biggleswade 19 Midlands 5 East
(South) |
||
|
|
Biggleswade left it to the penultimate game of the season
to record their first away league victory. The result over second from bottom
Wellingborough O.G.s ensures their place in Midlands 5 next September. Tom Griffiths came in to the second row to replace
the suspended Tom Hill with Ian “Robbo” Robinson moving from number eight to
partner him. The three-quarters were much the same as last week with Damian
White replacing the unavailable Curtis Wilson in the centre. This allowed Nic
Edenborough to return on the wing for a match he may long remember. The game was played on a chilly afternoon with a
biting wind blowing diagonally across the pitch. The hail storms were brief
and the warm sunny spells very welcome to the loyal band of traveling
supporters. Playing with the slight wind advantage in the first half
Biggleswade took an early lead through a Jay Sinclair try after a good build
up by Matt “Blondy” Smith. Matt also added the two point conversion with a
well judged kick in the swirling wind. But the lead did not last long when a Wellingborough
player ran virtually the length of the pitch to equalize the scores. But this
proved a flash in the pan and there after Biggleswade’s line was rarely to be
seriously troubled. Instead they added to their tally with a couple more
tries. The first came after a good three-quarter move that saw giant winger
Nic Edenborough safely over the line for his debut try for the first team
after eleven matches. He almost had a second later in the game when a Matt
Smith cross-kick just evaded his dive for the ball over the line. Biggleswade’s third try under the posts came from
the ever alert Jay Sinclair who was in close support to receive the scoring
pass from Russell German. Matt Smith added the conversion. That was the final
score of the match. The rest of the game was scoreless as Biggleswade showed
once again how dogged they can be in defense when they have to be so.
Wellingborough threatened but never breached Biggleswade’s rock solid
defensive wall. After an hour Steve “Stan” Matthews retired from the
fray. This caused a reshuffle with Karl Marshall moving to hooker, full-back
Mark Rastrick to the second row, Ian Robinson to number eight and Gareth Drew
to full-back. This reorganization seemed to work very well especially in the
lineouts as Jay Sinclair was put up at number two in the line to win some
useful ball. Next Saturday though it will get an altogether
tougher test when league champions Stockwood Park are the visitors to
Langford Road. Stockwood made certain of victory with a thirty points to nil
drubbing of second placed Queens. So Biggleswade in seventh place will have
to fight very hard to avoid a heavy defeat in their last league match of the
season. Team: C Maxwell, S Matthews, A Fage, T Griffiths, I
Robinson, K Marshall, J Sinclair, D Knott, R Taylor, M Smith, G Drew, R
German, D White, N Edenborough, M Rastrick. |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biggleswade Rugby
April E-News. First XV play league leaders Stockwood Park at home on Saturday 4th April, this will be preceded by the Ladies Lunch. KO
will be 3pm as it is now BST. Biggy departed the
county cup with a less than sparkling game against Sharnbrook & Colworth
at home on Saturday. Diary Dates Club AGM is on Wednesday 22nd April. There will
be some very important decisions made at the AGM, please have your say!
A nominations list for club officers will be posted in the clubhouse very
soon. Friday 8th May. Club Dinner with guest speaker Steve Battersby. East Mids chalk up huge
score! Biggy hosted the
National U20s Championship game on March 18th when East Midlands beat
Staffordshire 52 points to 10. Biggleswade Colts player Dom Nott propped for
the second hald while fellow Colts player Dean Bartlett was on the bench. In his programme notes,
East Midlands chairman Derek Watkins said "As one of the genuine junior
clubs in the CB it is a pleasure to welcome them to the county hosting
circuit. I would like to thank John Thoday and his team for the effort they
have put in to make today's game possible" This is the highest
level game that the club has hosted for a long time. A huge thanks go to
those who help on the day. Minis are away to Ely on March 29th and finish the
season with the St Neots Mini Rugby Festival on Sunday April 26th, good luck to all teams
and players! New Fixture Michael Morris
Memorial Trophy match. This game is between Bedfordshire U19s and East Northants U19s
and is on Sunday 29th March at Biggleswade starting at 2pm. The game is one
of a series of U19 games within the East Midlands group of counties and
Bedfordshire are the current trophy holders. The Bedfordshire side has
been using Biggy as their training base for the last month Year
5 & 6 County Tag Finals Tuesday 31st March. This is a huge event,organised by the
RFU with 25 schools invited (that's 250 hyped up children) The
day will start at 10am and continue until the finals at 4pm. Support for this
day will come from Bedfordshire Police, whose cadets will be involved in the
organisation. This will be the final
schools festival this season, the fifth that we have hosted. Bedfordshire rugby
development officer Sam Rouse has organised the day, thanks go to Sam and the
RDO teams for their continued support of our club. If any parents or
coaches could help on the day, or just be around to represent the club, please
contact Martin Harwood. 01462 811242. Sainsbury's Thanks. Sainsbury's Biggleswade store have donated
£300 to the club in recognition of the clubs community work and the help the
club gave bag packing during last year's Sport Relief fund raising event at
the store. The money has been earmarked to improve the floodlights New Fixture More County Rugby at
Biggy. On Wednesday 1st April, Bedfordshire U15s take on Cambridgeshire
U15s at the club, with kick off at 7.30pm. U17s / Colts
Development. Biggy are one of very
few clubs who have run both U17s and Colts this season. Next season the two
sides come together, and on Sunday 5th April the combined squad will play thier first Colts Development game vs Cheshunt at home with a 12 noon start. New Outside Bar! Thanks to Mike and Dave, the new outside bar is
nearly ready for use. It will be fully useable by the Greene King Finals Day.
The bar will be in the first cabin, next to the Physio / Changing room cabin. The Mobbs Memorial Game
2009 This year Mobbs game
will be held at Goldington Road on Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm when Bedford Blues
take on The Barbarians, probably the most
famous rugby club in the world! The BaaBaa's team has not been
anounced as yet, but will be posted on www.barbarianfc.co.uk soon, it will almost certainly include some
past and present internationals. The match will be
preceded by the Mobbs U10/U11 and U12s finals. Tickets £10, under 16s FREE. Greene King Finals Day.Saturday 25th April. Biggy will be hosting some twelve teams from across East Anglia
and the London area, with possibly the Spanish side Poblenou Enginyers
flying over for the finals. This will be a big day for the club and all
help is needed. This is the first time Biggy have been awarded the Finals
Day,and we want to make it a day to remember for all concerned. We will be providing both bar and catering facilities for the
players and large number of spectators involved. The games will take place on
the three pitches on the "Club" side. The games will start at noon. for more details seehttp www.greenekingrugby.co.uk If you can help out on the day please contact Pete Biernis via
the club website. We will need, cooks, carpark attendants, pitch marshalls,
stewards, etc. etc. The Website! Graham does a great job with the website, here
are some statistics from a monitoring service. Since its launch, the
site has had 55469 visits, with an average of 156 visits per day.During the
first week of March we had 1091 hits with the average time spent on the site
at 1minute 38 seconds. The most popular time
of day to visit the site is 5pm, with 8pm next and two regular visits at 2am!
(you are a sad man, whoever you are!) 2009 Tours The Colts are touring in Holland this year following their succesful trip
to Arras in France last season. Two Dutch sides are lined up to play during
the first weekend of May. This is the End of an Era Tour, the majority of
these boys have been together since they were U7s and are the first Biggy
side for many seasons to go right through every age group to Colts as a
virtually unchanged unit! The U15s are playing in the East Coast International
Festival hosted by Norwich RFC on the 3rd to 6th of April. RFU Grand Draw....the winners will be posted on www.rfu.com
during the first week of April Please keep the TESCO
vouchers coming! There is a collection box on the Squash Bar |
|
|
||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Congratulations
to Charlie and Christin who got married recently and enjoyed a honeymoon in
Antigua. Charlie
was one of the "Go Play Rugby" recruits and Cristin's son Robin
plays in the U10s......
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
` |
Biggleswade 13
Colworth 18 Bedfordshire County
Cup Semi-Final |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Biggleswade came second in a game they really should
have won. Unfortunately once again they conceded a couple of early tries and
spent the rest of the match trying to catch up. Biggleswade were without Jay
Sinclair in the back-row and Taig Norman on the wing. Both players have an
enormous tackle count whenever they play which was badly missed especially
early on. Colworth are top of the East Midlands Merit Table
that they play in having scored over 900 points. They added to that tally
early on with a couple of tries one converted in the first quarter of the
match. Matt Smith cut the deficit with a penalty. An injury to flanker Alex Small (stars in his eyes)
SAW COACH Stan Matthews on as a replacement much earlier than he would have
wished. Karl Marshall moved to the backrow where he has spent most of the
season anyway. The match was a bad-tempered affair with two players
being red-carded after an ugly brawl developed around your correspondent on
the touchline. It was rather like being a referee in a tag-boxing match!.
Second row Tom Hill was the Biggleswade player having been singled out for
rushing from a distance to join the melee who had to go. Up till then he had
dominated the lineout at the front winning both his own and some of the
opposition’s ball. Later Colworth had a player dispatched to the bin
but still managed to add a penalty to their tally. Biggleswade had threatened
to score on several occasions earlier and finally crossed the line. After a
break down the blind-side by Ross Taylor Biggleswade were awarded a five
metre scrum. The pack responded and drove Colworth back allowing number eight
Dominic Knott to score the try. Colworth added another penalty before Biggleswade
scored their second try. Winger Gareth Drew joined a maul forcing a turnover.
He made good yards up the pitch and at the breakdown Colworth were penalized
for not rolling away. Hooker Stan Matthews sod an outrageous dummy and
crossed the line from ten metres out. He almost had another shortly
afterwards but this time passed but it was intercepted and Colworth cleared
the danger. Team: C Maxwell (D Howell), J Caulfield, T Hill, T
Farron, K Marshall, A Small, (S Matthews), I Robinson, W Knott, R Taylor, M Smith, G Drew, R German, C
Wilson, D White, M Rastrick. This week it is a return to league action with an
away trip to second from bottom Wellingborough OGs. The following week (4th
April) is the final match of the campaign against league leaders Stockwood
Park. At Luton in the away tie Biggleswade did well so an upset is possible
if a full team is available. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Upcoming Social Events :- ·
Saturday 11th
April 2009 - “Skool Disco”. ·
Saturday 25th
April 2009 - Greene King Finals to be held at the club. ·
Friday 8th May
2009. Club Dinner. ·
Saturday 9th May 2009.
Chairman’s Match. ·
Ladies Night is to be Friday
the 5th of June 2009, tickets to be £28 each. ·
Saturday 4th July
2009 - Beach Party. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
Woodford Colts
39 Biggleswade
Colts 12 (Friendly) |
|||||
|
|
The trip
into Essex was arranged to give the Biggy players a game prior to their
upcoming free weekend , but with so many players injured or unavailable
the wisdom of such a game might be questioned. Biggy travelled
with thirteen players, and lost Stevie Jones early in the first half and
Dean Bartlett in the second half to minor injuries. Woodford were also playing a mixed side and
were willing to loan players to the visitors to allow the game to continue. Ten
minutes of early Biggy pressure came to nothing and Woodford took the lead
with their first visit into the Biggy half. A second try followed when
a kind bounce fell easily to the Woodford wing to sprint to the corner
and bring the score to 12 points to nil. Biggleswade
hoped to use the game to improve a few areas, and the set pieces worked
very well with Gavin Taylor stealing the lineout on every occasion. Michael
Haddow, as ever, was magnificent in defence and Stuart "Tuck Shop"
West bludgeoned his way through the Woodford defence on many occasions. Will
Priston, playing at fullback in place of the injured Charlie
Darlow claimed the first Biggleswade try with a typical
ferreting run from the half way line. Woodford
have had a good run in the National Colts cup and began to score
tries for fun, as Biggy were lacking most of their first choice backs.
Woodford are a well organised, friendly outfit with a great clubhouse and
good pitches and the game was played in an almost carnival atmosphere.
However committed the loaned players are, they were never going to put
bodies on the line and some soft tries followed, it must also be said that
the second Biggleswade try came from a Woodford player. With a
Tour to Holland coming up in May, Biggleswade must be slightly concerned as
the injury list builds up and with one of the smallest squads in the League,
an important League game against Finchley will have to be played
shortly. A
glance at the team sheet will show that this was a depleted Biggy side but
the score line should not detract from the huge effort and commitment from
the players. Manager Richard Phipps thanked Woodford for the game and
commented that the game was played in a good spirit and looks forward to
welcoming the Essex side back to Biggy next season. Biggleswade
Colts Bartlett,
Haddow, Hamilton, Harwood, Jones, Joyce (C), Priston,
Roake, Sale, Taylor, Thomas, Welsford, West |
|||||
|
||||||
|
|
Biggleswade 31
Vauxhall 14 Bedfordshire County
Cup |
|||||
|
|
A penalty goal on the stroke of full time put the cherry
on the top of a great win. The match played under floodlights had been
postponed several times because of the weather and a back log of league
fixtures. After a shaky start Biggleswade came good scoring four cracking
tries. The game played in front of the largest crowd for a
senior match for some time at Langford Road was a pulsating affair. After an
early period of pressure with a penalty attempt hitting an upright
Biggleswade were rocked by a breakaway try. The replay would have showed
several missed tackles especially early on. But Biggleswade quickly came back. The ball was
recycled several times before winger Gareth Drew crossed for the try. The
Matt Smith conversion made it all square. The process was repeated as
Vauxhall regained the lead with another try from deep where early tackles
were missed. Again Biggleswade came back with a try from the back
of the lineout. Flanker Alex Small charged on before feeding scrum half Ross
Taylor. He skipped round the defence for a try. With a Matt Smith successful
conversion it was again level pegging. There was speculation about what would
happen if the scores remained level and when a replay could be fitted in!
Luckily soon after the break that looked unnecessary. At the start of the second half a pinpoint throw
from Karl Marshall to the back of the line saw a repeat try with Ross Taylor
again the scorer. The symmetry of the evening was completed when Gareth Drew
again used his scorching pace to add his second try and Biggleswade’s fourth. Urged on by the large partisan crowd with a good
turnout of fans from Luton the match was spirited affair. Young Dominic Knott
made some strong runs weaving and ducking deep into the heart of the
opposition’s defence. The forwards worked tirelessly with replacement Tom
Hill taking the ball on with enthusiasm. Late on coach Stan Matthews played his trump card
sending on young fresh legs to pep up Biggleswade’s work-rate. This resulted
in Biggleswade harrying Vauxhall into one mistake after another to the fury
of the visiting supporters. The win was doubly satisfying as Vauxhall from a
league above have handed out some crushing defeats in recent years to
Biggleswade Post match there was much confusion as to the next cup tie with
first Stockwood Park (who beat Swifts) being the likely opponents. It now
seems that they too have another match to play like Biggleswade who must meet
Colworth House. Next round: Biggleswade
RUFC vs Sharnbrook & Colworth RUFC Saturday 21st March Biggleswade 3pm KO. Come and show the same fantastic
support that you gave the team in the Vauxhall game. check out the opposition www.sharnbrookandcolworthrufc.com |
|||||
|
|
|
|
ITS
A WIN Biggleswade
31 Vauxhall Motors 14 (County Cup) Tuesday Played under
floodlights with a large crowd cheering them on! ______________________________________________________________________ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cup game against Vauxhall confirmed
for Tuesday |
|
|
Biggleswade Colts 0 Stevenage Colts 5 (League) |
|
|
A seasoned spectator said before the game that
this was a potential banana skin for Biggleswade, and so it proved to be. An
aggressive Stevenage team did not allow Biggy to settle and kept possession
throughout the first half. Neither team was helped by the squall that
swept across the ground during the first half, which finished with Stevenage
scoring the only points of the period. Biggleswade never found the momentum that
has served them well this season and despite some spirited play, the expected
comeback never happened. This leaves Biggleswade with a lot to do in the
remaining game in the Herts & Middlesex League to maintain their top half
league position, while Stevenage celebrate their second win of the
season. Next week Biggy Colts are travelling into
deepest Essex to meet Woodford Colts rather than their scheduled game against
Barnet, who are cup tied. Biggleswade Colts Bartlett, Darlow, Dommett, Franklin,
Gordon, Haddow, Hamilton, Harwood, Joyce, Maxwell, Phipps
(C), Priston, Roake, Sale, Shepherd, Taylor, Thomas, Welsford, West |
|
|
Biggleswade 3 Bedford
Queens 14 Midlands 5 East
(South) |
|
|
As the form book suggested Biggleswade (7th
place) lost to Bedford Queens (2nd) but Biggleswade ran them
closer than the score suggests. Queens scored only one try and three penalty
goals to Biggleswade’s one penalty. Biggleswade were without two key players in Club
Captain Iain Jones out with strained finger ligaments and Tom O’Connor
(suspected broken ankle). The absence of the skipper allowed Tom Griffiths in
for his first game at the top level this season in the second row. He, Tom
Farron and Matt Richards dominated the lineout and the absence of the
normally prevailing Jones the Captain was hardly noticed. Queens playing with wind advantage pressed early but
the Biggleswade defence was awesome. Jay Sinclair, Tom Farron and Alex Small
put their bodies on the line to repel the invaders. Winger Taig Norman also
put in a try saving tackle. He suddenly appeared from the opposite side like
an Exocet missile to cut the player down in the corner. The Biggleswade pack disrupted Queens possession at
the tight scrums. Steve Jones at scrum half was like a terrier snapping at
the hills of the Queens number nine. At a Queens five metre scrum he forced
the opposition scrum half to fumble and immediately launched a counter attack
that swept seventy metres down the pitch and almost resulted in a Biggleswade
try. The only try of the match came when Queens after yet
another move up the blind stretched the ball both ways and finally managed to
get over in the corner. Although defending hard Biggleswade did concede three
penalties that were slotted home. The first came after Queen’s prop bored in
at right angles and twisted the scrum. Unsurprisingly this was missed by the
match official who banished your correspondent to behind the barrier when he
offered the referee advice on the matter! Just before half-time Adam “Tink” Fage was binned
for not going through the “gate” when joining a ruck. Another strange
decision as the ball was already out. Shades of South African referees and
England players came to mind. The second half was constant pressure from
Biggleswade to try and get over Queens line. Taig Norman went closest when a
kick through from Matt Smith just eluded him. At times Biggleswade looked
certain to score with attacks right on the try line just being thwarted.
Biggleswade’s only reward was a solitary penalty from Matt Smith the
fly-half. On Saturday Biggleswade are again at home with
another league match against Rushden & Higham. Rushden have had some up
and down results recently with big wins and heavy losses. 2009
Senior Tour: Poland Click here for further info Team: A Fage, K Marshall, J Caulfield, T Griffiths,
T Farron, J Sinclair, A Small, M Richards, S Jones (R Taylor), M Smith, T
Norman, R German, D White, G Drew (N Edenborough), M Rastrick, D Howell. |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Biggleswade Colts 10 Old Albanians Colts 7 (League) |
|
|
The
nature of this hugely entertaining game was changed in the tenth minute when
the Old Albanians hooker was concussed and the Hertfordshire team did not
have a replacement, giving referee Gary Malpas no option but to instruct that
the scrums were uncontested. This played against Biggy whose pack had
dominated the opening minutes of the game. Throughout
the game, the home defending was immense, with Micheal Haddow and 'Tuck Shop'
West putting in some huge hits, but none to match that of No8 Dom Nott who
made a number of crucial tackles. Neither side managed a score in the first
half, but both were disrupted by injuries, including to Biggleswade
centre Ashley Dunn who suffered a knee injury. Biggleswade
started the second half very strongly and a try from East Midlands winger
Dean Bartlett gave the home side a five point advantage , but also signalling
a spell in the sin-bin for both Bartlett and the O.As fly half. Referee
Malpas has stated in his pre-match talk, that he would be hard on any ill discipline. The
hard charging Nott extended the Biggleswade lead following a break from James
Hamilton, which gained 40 metres or so before the forwards took over and
drove over for the try. This match
continued to entertain the large crowd as O.As fought back with a converted
try to bring the score to 10-7. Old
Albanians responded with some incredible pressure, which saw the St
Albans aristocrats camped on the Biggy line and claim three tries, all
held up by ferocious Biggleswade defending. O.As lead coach Sam Townsend said
afterwards " having the three tries disallowed was very
frustrating, but there was no doubt having uncontested scrums helped
us". As the
minutes ticked by, yet more heroics from Biggy and especially 'man of
the match' Charlie Darlow prevented an O.As fightback and the
game ended with a victory against one of the strongest teams in
the South. Biggy
captain Stuart Phipps said " This was a must win game for both sides and
it took some big performances from our big players to win, we also wish Old
Albanians all the best for their National Colts Cup game in a fortnights
time". Biggleswade
must assess injuries before next weekend's League visit by Stevenage
Colts, none more specatcular than that suffered by Colts manager and touch
judge Richard Phipps, who collected a boot on the nose whilst trying to hard
to get close to the action! Biggleswade Colts Bartlett, Darlow, Dunn, Franklin,
Gordon, Haddow, Hamilton, Harwood, Joyce, Nott, Phipps
(C), Priston, Roake, Sale Taylor, Thomas, Welsford, West Biggleswade
Colts will hope to feature in the County U19s squad who have started training
at Biggleswade on a Tuesday evening |
|
|
|
|
|
National
U20s Cup East Midlands
vs Staffordshire Wednesday 18th March 7.30pm Biggleswade
RUFC Biggy
are finally to host this National U20s game, after the original fixture was
cancelled due to snow. Players
for the EMRU side will be drawn from clubs across Beds and Northants, and may
include some home grown talent as well as some players who are already in
Premiership academy squads. |
|
|
Biggleswade RUFC March E-News |
|
|
This is emailed to over 180 members, feel free to pass on to anyone
who may be interested. This is being sent a bit early as March is going to be
very busy, please keep looking at the website for updates! This weekend........ Saturday 28th February Senior games TBA (County Cup game posponed for third time,
due to Vauxhall having a League game) Sunday 1st March. See the Message Board for last minute changes! U13s HOME v Ampthill
(League) 11am U14s HOME v London
Welsh (League) 11am U15s HOME v Bedford
Development 11am Colts HOME v O.A.s
(League) 2pm Minis very possibly home training in the afternoon, this is TBA Everything over the next few weeks is subject to alteration as we
try and re schedule cancelled games. At Biggy we cancelled very few games,
but others we not so fortunate, leading to a fixture back-log! RFU Referee Education
Evening. This course is being
held at Biggy on Monday 2nd March 7pm to 9.30pm the speaker is Paul Freestone, Referee Development
Officer for the Midlands and is aimed at non-society referee's at all levels,
including coaches who occasionally referee. For further details
please contact Paul Freestone paulfreestone@rfu.co. 07738
029262 or Sam Rouse on 07764 960389. This evening is FREE. This course will only
run if enough participants apply, please register via www.rfu.com/referee
First XV meet Bedford Queens at home on Saturday 7th March at 2.15pm. On Saturday March 15th the First XV are at home to Rushden &
Higham. This game will be preceded by the Ladies Lunch, open to ALL lady club
members (Mini and Youth mums most welcome) from all of the
sections. More detail will be posted on the website soon. There is some
re-organising to do following the loss of games in the ice and snow, so
please keep looking at emails and the Message Board for details. National U20s: East
Midlands vs Staffordshire at Biggleswade RUFC on Wednesday 18th March K.O at
7.30pm. Top level National U20s at Biggy for the first time in many seasons! (confirmed now Wednesday
not Tuesday as stated previously) All spectators welcome. Bedfordshire U13s
County Cup Final: Bedford Junior Blues vs
Biggleswade venue TBA, very possibly a home game! County Colts opt for
Biggy training base. The Bedfordshire Colts
will train and prepare at Biggleswade on every Tuesday during March starting on the 3rd. The Colts will be managed
by John Thoday and coached by Paul Rait. Paul has coached at Biggleswade and
London Welsh. A number of Biggleswade
players will be hoping to make the squad. For more details please
contact John, contact details are on the website. On Wednesday 11th March we host the local round of the Schools Year 3 & 4 Tag Rugby competition. This will start at 10am and is being
organised by Stratton School and will feature lower schools from Biggleswade
area. In the evening of March 11th the Bedfordshire County U14s will also be playing Hertfordshire at
Biggleswade with a 7.30pm start. Mini's Bedfordshire
Festival. Sunday March 15th
U7/U8/U9s at Luton RFC with the U10/U11/U12s venue TBA (NOT at Bedford Ath as
original plan as they are not allowing the Festival to be held at
Wentworth Drive) Bedfordshire Police
Support Schools festival. The club are pleased to play host to over 250 children for the Year 5 &
6 County Tag Finals on Tuesday 31st March. This event will be supported by Bedfordshire
Police as part of the Child Victims of Crime charity. The police will also
provide help from cadets and officers on the day. Mid Beds Schools Liason
Officer is club secretary Simon Rutt (mates with Lawrence and Jonno!)
who is helping organise the day. The all day event will
start at 10am and go on until 4pm. Support from club members is welcome and
vital! Parking Just to clarify the position re parking.
Parking on the main road outside the club is not permitted. There is
also no parking in Sheepwalk track as we have to give access to both the
houses and RailTrack. Parking in the
lane that leads to Holme Mills is OK. The police will enforce
the No Parking on the main road. On certain days we will
use Jordan's Meadow or Sheepwalk, but only if dry. Bedforshire Rugby
Dinner. Friday 27th March at
Stockwood Park. There is a Biggy table at the dinner, please contact John
Thoday if you want to go. RFU Grand Draw. Huge thanks to those who supported the Grand
Draw. This is an essential fund raiser for the club and we have done very
well again....The Draw results will be known on 24th March. TESCO VOUCHERS! we are collecting the TESCO vouchers , which
are being offered at the stores from 2nd March. We can use the vouchers on a
wide range of equipment for the Mini and Youth teams. As last season, those
age groups who contribute will see the benefits. STS Tyres remember to get your 10% discount card
from Dave the Bar Tzar or Martin. Pitch Preperation. We need garden forks that you may not use
anymore! This is to help get the pitches through one of the busiest periods
in the clubs recent history. Please contact Martin 01462 811242 if you can
help. Diary Date..... Greene King Finals Day Saturday April 25th |
|
|
NAVIGATION: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|