21
Jan
Earlsdon 3rd XV 27 Kenilworth 3rd XV 34
On Thursday we had 16 confirmed, with roughly all of the boxes ticked… yes a bone fide backline was due to take to the sward, refurbished and complete with a new hairpiece, whitened teeth and polished slippers.
Friday brought a couple of last minute cry-offs, but also news that the 1XV had raped the 2’s and with their game consequently called off we acquired a brace, or two, of them. By Saturday afternoon someone had shaken the tree and a few more old-timers had dusted their boots off and decided to come back out into the light. Great, a squad of 25, to find time for. At that point, having emailed, texted and shaken the trees all week Bruce decided, he wasn’t needed on the Park and, washing his hands of all ‘on the day’ organization, settled back to watch and enjoy the Banter.
Before the game kicked off we stood for a minutes silence in memory of Steff Kenney, an Earlsdon player who passed away just over a year ago. The Earlsdon Team, even their hairdressers, and their supporters, wore his signature black tape. Many of us at Kenilworth remember playing against him, a player to be respected.
As the whistle blew for KO, Earlsdon receiving, we quickly realized that we were going to have to work for our beer. As usual Earlsdon came at us hard, making good use of the strong following wind, kicking the pill over our heads and scoring two Tries early on. However, fortunately for us, their young front row, although strong, had not yet discovered Mr. Pukka’s best, or had not had time to consume of his wares in quantity, so we were able to dominate in the scrummage, I believe, taking a couple against the head (thanks Graham). With our backline then suitably fed, they worked their magic, and despite a couple of embarrassments, we clawed our way back into contention by halftime.
At halftime, the necessary wholesale changes, mainly to the pack, were made and we re-started with the sniff of a much needed win in the air. However, Earlsdon had also made changes, significantly in their front row and our first half dominance was curtailed. However, our fresh legs soon entered the zone and we took the lead. Earlsdon rallied every time keeping us on our toes until the final whistle. The score ended 34 to 27, narrowly in Kenilworth’s favour.
As I’d spent most of the game organizing the bench (badly apparently), making sure everyone got on, I only witnessed Ho Ho scoring 1 and Adam Turner scoring 2 (well done for not dropping the thing every time – he could have scored 4). Apparently no one else on our side could remember who else scored… great help guys.
In the bar afterwards I accepted Dick of the Day, for organizing the bench, in particular for taking John Brain off before he went on, then putting him back on, nicely cooled down, some minutes later (he promptly then passed the ball straight to Earlsdon who almost scored – close but no cigar). If I had found out who had taken the ball out of the back of the scrum as we pushed them over the line in the first half, it would have been you.
Candidates for MoM included Benno, very welcome back and well played at No.10, RB (what a difference!), Martin Howle, Sean Burke and, of course, Moonie….. Graham Ballinger was a very close contender, for putting in a full 80. The award, and a jug, was given to Richard Hall for a great debut game, at 15 for the 1st Half and 9 for the 2nd Half.
A second jug was poured for Earlsdon, Yorkie said a few words in memory of Steff Kenny, we toasted and got pissed. A great afternoon. Thanks to all.
