Glamorgan university III 12
AECC RFC 17
Feeling confident, a few weeks ago the boys offered a free minibus ride to and from Glamorgan for anyone who fancied coming to watch some “outstanding” rugby, most seats of which were taken up by an enthusiastic mob including Jamie from the course office, Greek Loula, Dino, Amy Pease (does she? lol), Josh Doxon, and lil’ Lauren Cormier, among many others. As it was, the Chiros travelled to Tyn E Wern with a bare 15 men, with a list of unavailabilities “as long as yer arm” including inspirational captain Matt Bateman, Ben Rutter, Beau Henrickson, Iaiaiaian Crombie and Alex Horne, who cruelly suffered a concussion playing a game on Tuesday night, the result of which we won’t discuss…
With whispers of second-team ringers, the Chiros were prepared for a tough time, though the opening exchanges found them in the ascendancy, even after the journey. The boys clearly had some “bus legs” on though, as some scrappy errors and a host of penalties cost them valuable possession and territory. Following his near-incomprehensible pre-match talk, the referee was clearly stamping his authority on the game and the Chiros paid heavily for it. Eventually the pressure told, with a poorly-fielded kick being turned into a try for Glamorgan in the corner. The AECC seemed to get themselves in gear following this though, immediately hitting back with a penalty opportunity from 40 metres which Jon Coller confidently stepped up and bisected the posts with plenty in reserve.
The game continued in familiar fashion, the makeshift front row of the AECC causing all kinds of trouble to Glamorgan in the scrum, and Callum Forrest and Dean Matthews wreaking havoc in the lineouts, but the error rate staying too high for the boys to make the most of it. There was uproar, though, when the Glamorgan 8 snuck round the back of an AECC maul, plucked the ball from Forrest and raced under the posts. To the complete bemusement of the Chiros (and probably most of the Glamorgan team) the referee awarded a try to Glamorgan, rather than the more traditional penalty to AECC.
Still, these setbacks seem to inspire the Chiros. Following some good work, they were given a scrum on the Glamorgan five. Electing to go for a trundle, the Glamorgan scrum half took his life in his hands and flew under the feet of Chiro 8 Mick Richards, claiming the ball. By the time the silly sod got up, the referee was already under the posts awarding a penalty try. Coller duly slotted the conversion, signalling half time. The score was 12-10, but the Chiros felt that momentum was swinging, and straight after half time, they seemed to click. The outstanding Sindre Witzoe leapt like a horny salmon to claim Joe Frost’s pinpoint restart, triggering some fantastic phase play leading to another scrum five. Once Mick had ballsed up that opportunity, a poor clearance kick gave the Chiros chance to counter attack through “skips” Ryan Ryan and his merry men in the back line, with some more good phases allowing Callum Forrest to finally put his show-and-go to best effect, crossing the line for a try to put the Chiros ahead for the first time in the game. Coller once again stepped up to add the extras from a difficult angle.
By this point the frustration was beginning to show in the Glamorgan ranks, making substitutions and niggles starting to creep in. Persistent pressure in the Chiro 22 however was not capitalised upon as Forrest continued to make a mockery of the Glamorgan lineout, and Dean Matthews superb in the loose. Things finally boiled over when some fat lad who wasn’t nearly as good as he looks was sent to the sin bin for a late hit on full-back Ricky Davis, somewhat relieving the pressure temporarily. The Chiros heroically held on until the final whistle for what will look an ordinary win on paper, but is certainly their finest win of the season.
Following last week’s debacle, no-one was holding their breath for Coach Frost’s post-match assessment, but he was in “euphoric” mood, praising the “team spirit”, also “commenting” on the “bouncebackability” of the team after “coming from behind” to “win” in difficult “circumstances, finally “quoting” Al Pacino from off of Any Given Sunday, saying (and I quote) “well done lads, that was alright that.”
Big hands this week go to literally everyone for showing the dedication to turn up, but more specifically:
Stroon – finest match in an AECC jersey. Really stepped up in the loose
Dan Taylor – huge hand for Dan for stepping in at the last minute. Classy display, and he’s good on the beer. Top Bloke.
Wally – again, probably the best I’ve seen him play, and a fantastic destructive performance in his first match at tighthead
Sindre – first full game of rugby, you’d never have known it. Everywhere.
Crallum – massive performance from a massive man
Dominik – See Sindre. Well done mate
Deano – what is fast becoming a typical performance. A constant nuisance to Glamorgan.
Mick – there’s always an exception to the rule!
Coller – showing his aptitude in yet another position, at the heart of pretty much everything
Frosty – the general. Superbly marshalled the boys.
Ryan Ryan – another entirely typical game from first time skipper, which is possibly the biggest compliment you can pay him
Tots – Huge in midfield, in defence and attack. Great to have him back
Clive – Played about 78 minutes with a pulled hamstring. Standard. Lad.
Broomsgrove – after a shaky start, really got his act together. Will soon be a fixture
Ricky – another virtually error-free game in a new position. Superb.
After that, you can imagine that voting for man of the match was anything but clear cut, but one man “stood out”, in the words of skipper Ryan Allen, “head and shoulders above the rest”. Yes, take a bow, Callum Forrest. Allen’s jokes didn’t seem quite so funny when he was awarded the dick of the day outfit though, following his ridiculous forward pass with a try begging that would have put the game to bed late in the second half.
As they say, win or lose, we’re on the booze, and the tedium of a three-hour bus drive back was certainly relieved by a trip to the Toggler’s late in the evening. We hope that the supporters had as good a time as we did, thanks for coming guys! Next week, the boys travel to Marjons College in Plymouth hoping to take one step closer to the title.
AECC RFC: Not bad for a team of literally 15 players. Standard. Lad.
AECC RFC 17
Feeling confident, a few weeks ago the boys offered a free minibus ride to and from Glamorgan for anyone who fancied coming to watch some “outstanding” rugby, most seats of which were taken up by an enthusiastic mob including Jamie from the course office, Greek Loula, Dino, Amy Pease (does she? lol), Josh Doxon, and lil’ Lauren Cormier, among many others. As it was, the Chiros travelled to Tyn E Wern with a bare 15 men, with a list of unavailabilities “as long as yer arm” including inspirational captain Matt Bateman, Ben Rutter, Beau Henrickson, Iaiaiaian Crombie and Alex Horne, who cruelly suffered a concussion playing a game on Tuesday night, the result of which we won’t discuss…
With whispers of second-team ringers, the Chiros were prepared for a tough time, though the opening exchanges found them in the ascendancy, even after the journey. The boys clearly had some “bus legs” on though, as some scrappy errors and a host of penalties cost them valuable possession and territory. Following his near-incomprehensible pre-match talk, the referee was clearly stamping his authority on the game and the Chiros paid heavily for it. Eventually the pressure told, with a poorly-fielded kick being turned into a try for Glamorgan in the corner. The AECC seemed to get themselves in gear following this though, immediately hitting back with a penalty opportunity from 40 metres which Jon Coller confidently stepped up and bisected the posts with plenty in reserve.
The game continued in familiar fashion, the makeshift front row of the AECC causing all kinds of trouble to Glamorgan in the scrum, and Callum Forrest and Dean Matthews wreaking havoc in the lineouts, but the error rate staying too high for the boys to make the most of it. There was uproar, though, when the Glamorgan 8 snuck round the back of an AECC maul, plucked the ball from Forrest and raced under the posts. To the complete bemusement of the Chiros (and probably most of the Glamorgan team) the referee awarded a try to Glamorgan, rather than the more traditional penalty to AECC.
Still, these setbacks seem to inspire the Chiros. Following some good work, they were given a scrum on the Glamorgan five. Electing to go for a trundle, the Glamorgan scrum half took his life in his hands and flew under the feet of Chiro 8 Mick Richards, claiming the ball. By the time the silly sod got up, the referee was already under the posts awarding a penalty try. Coller duly slotted the conversion, signalling half time. The score was 12-10, but the Chiros felt that momentum was swinging, and straight after half time, they seemed to click. The outstanding Sindre Witzoe leapt like a horny salmon to claim Joe Frost’s pinpoint restart, triggering some fantastic phase play leading to another scrum five. Once Mick had ballsed up that opportunity, a poor clearance kick gave the Chiros chance to counter attack through “skips” Ryan Ryan and his merry men in the back line, with some more good phases allowing Callum Forrest to finally put his show-and-go to best effect, crossing the line for a try to put the Chiros ahead for the first time in the game. Coller once again stepped up to add the extras from a difficult angle.
By this point the frustration was beginning to show in the Glamorgan ranks, making substitutions and niggles starting to creep in. Persistent pressure in the Chiro 22 however was not capitalised upon as Forrest continued to make a mockery of the Glamorgan lineout, and Dean Matthews superb in the loose. Things finally boiled over when some fat lad who wasn’t nearly as good as he looks was sent to the sin bin for a late hit on full-back Ricky Davis, somewhat relieving the pressure temporarily. The Chiros heroically held on until the final whistle for what will look an ordinary win on paper, but is certainly their finest win of the season.
Following last week’s debacle, no-one was holding their breath for Coach Frost’s post-match assessment, but he was in “euphoric” mood, praising the “team spirit”, also “commenting” on the “bouncebackability” of the team after “coming from behind” to “win” in difficult “circumstances, finally “quoting” Al Pacino from off of Any Given Sunday, saying (and I quote) “well done lads, that was alright that.”
Big hands this week go to literally everyone for showing the dedication to turn up, but more specifically:
Stroon – finest match in an AECC jersey. Really stepped up in the loose
Dan Taylor – huge hand for Dan for stepping in at the last minute. Classy display, and he’s good on the beer. Top Bloke.
Wally – again, probably the best I’ve seen him play, and a fantastic destructive performance in his first match at tighthead
Sindre – first full game of rugby, you’d never have known it. Everywhere.
Crallum – massive performance from a massive man
Dominik – See Sindre. Well done mate
Deano – what is fast becoming a typical performance. A constant nuisance to Glamorgan.
Mick – there’s always an exception to the rule!
Coller – showing his aptitude in yet another position, at the heart of pretty much everything
Frosty – the general. Superbly marshalled the boys.
Ryan Ryan – another entirely typical game from first time skipper, which is possibly the biggest compliment you can pay him
Tots – Huge in midfield, in defence and attack. Great to have him back
Clive – Played about 78 minutes with a pulled hamstring. Standard. Lad.
Broomsgrove – after a shaky start, really got his act together. Will soon be a fixture
Ricky – another virtually error-free game in a new position. Superb.
After that, you can imagine that voting for man of the match was anything but clear cut, but one man “stood out”, in the words of skipper Ryan Allen, “head and shoulders above the rest”. Yes, take a bow, Callum Forrest. Allen’s jokes didn’t seem quite so funny when he was awarded the dick of the day outfit though, following his ridiculous forward pass with a try begging that would have put the game to bed late in the second half.
As they say, win or lose, we’re on the booze, and the tedium of a three-hour bus drive back was certainly relieved by a trip to the Toggler’s late in the evening. We hope that the supporters had as good a time as we did, thanks for coming guys! Next week, the boys travel to Marjons College in Plymouth hoping to take one step closer to the title.
AECC RFC: Not bad for a team of literally 15 players. Standard. Lad.
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