8 February 2003 Powergen Kent 2 League
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC 33
Bexley RFC 22
Tries Phil Black (2) & Randall Leitch
Other points to be claimed....

A fantastic win for the bank this week and just what we needed to keep us in the right place in the league. Still a bit more to do and I am sure that we can win our remaining home games against Medway and Old Olavians to put us up even further.
Looking back this was a strange game....we really took it to them in the first 10 minutes and looked very good and converted the hard work with a penalty to take the lead. We then thought that the job was done and let the opps get back into the game and spent far too long in our own 22. Needless to say the oppo crossed our line and we had some serious thinking to do about the way we were playing. The rest of the first half saw us chipping away at the core with further penalties but still turning around in deficit.
A much better performance in the 2nd half ensued with some great play from both the forwards and the backs. We started to dominate the scrum providing a solid platform for our backs to take full advantage of. We scored some good tries and continued to add further points from penalties under the oppos post.
Some sloppy defending and a dubious decision let them in for a try in the 2nd half but for once we reacted positively and went back up the other end for Randall to score in the corner.
A great day for us , a good performance and a lot for us to take forward into the coming weeks.
Thanks to everyone who played but special thanks as ever to Trevor for helping out again, although I am not sure whether he actually touched the ball.
A quick apology for the missing report from last week - a hard fought game it was and one that we could have won - roll on next week when we get to have another go at them, Try scorers last week were Mr Dummers and Mr Wedders - a rare treat!!
Odie

29 January 2003
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC 21
United Banks RFU 18
Tries Chris Knight, Ken Thompson, Randall Leitch Conversions Tim Neale (3)

An excellent performance from everybody saw a good win for RBS. This was especially satisfying with many players playing out of position and not having played together before.

The forwards were winning good first phase ball with Alistair particularly outstanding in the line out taking both his own and most of the oppositions ball. It was also pleasing to see the recycling and also the amount of turnover ball that the forwards won in the first half. The initial score came from some good play between the forwards and the backs in our own 22 which saw Chris Knight released to run the length off the field having to run around their winger and full back before scoring. RBS dominated after that and spent some time camped in the UB's 22. Again good link play saw Ken Thompson released to race pass three of their players to score under the posts. The game was played at an extremely fast pace and RBS took their foot off the pedal for 5 minutes allowing UB's to score a well worked try. However we responded well with a further period of dominant play which led to Randall picking up and side-stepping 2 players to score under the posts.

In the second half UB's staged a revival which saw them score 2 tries which led to a tense finish. There were a lot of good things to take from this match with everybody playing well and working for each other. The more pleasing aspects were the amount of ball that we won and the direct running lines adapted by everyone to make inroads in to the opposition. If we play like this in Paris it should lead to an eventful and exciting game.

Steve

25 January 2003 Powergen Kent 2 League
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC 0
Old Gravesendians RFC 36

This week the least said the better I think. Although 20 minutes into the game and it still standing at 0-0 we certainly looked like we were in with a shout and the more likely to score. However when we let the oppo run in two soft tries through poor tackling we were 12 -0 down at the turnaround.

Playing up hill in the 2nd half we just did not get going and the oppo made the most of the conditions and the pitch to take a storming lead over us from which we knew we could not recover. We are just not fit enough to make the number of breakdowns that we need to in order to make it to the killer phase from which we can score.Some very positive play from us in the last 15 minutes saw us finally taking the game to the oppo through fantastic rolling mauls and rucking in the forwards. From one such jaunt up the field H broke free and looked likely to score in the corner only to be bundled into touch just short.

Thanks to James for his first game at the club at hooker and to everyone who turned out for us and put the effort in. We cannot afford to be going into matches anymore with just a bare 15 players and I must ask everyone to make an effort to turn up on a Saturday if you are carded and not to let us down at the last.

Our next few games are crucial....we are at home next week against Park House and with the right team we can beat them and even more importantly the following week we are away at Bexley which is a must win game for us. Please do all try to be available for these games.

Finally Training is on again this Tuesday (pitch permitting) so I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there at 7-00pm. No more to say on that really...we all know.

Odie

4 January 2003
Powergen Kent 2 League
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC 0 Sittingbourne RFC 21

This was a hard fought contest that was even closer then the 3 converted tries to nil displays, Throughout the match I would say that we played the far better rugby….. but only in patches where as the oppositions battering style remained throughout.We started fairly well considering we had a few players trying out some new positions but 15 mins into the game the oppo took good lineout ball at the tail in our 22 and even with our whole pack, heads down and feet dug in, they managed to push us backwards with a rolling maul over the try line to score.

Following the try we then came into our own and put together a great spell of play in the opps half with the forwards winning some good ball and the backs, when given the opportunity were tearing Sittingbourne apart. Some good breaks from LOl, Dummers and Boy could all have created an elusive try and turned the game around for us,Sittingbourne scored again before half time but again we finished the much stronger and even began to show some dominance in a very tight scrummage.

At the turnaround we all felt that the game was still there for the winning and set out determined to prove our worth, We battled hard throughout the half and although we got close a few times we could not break the line and get a score. Had we scored first in the 2nd half I think that the game may well have been closer but Sittingbourne scored out wide midway through the half and whatever we tried on the day proved fruitless in terms of points.Overall though a fantastic performance considering the oppo are at the top of the league and admitted afterwards that they felt that the game could have gone either way and thought that we were much better than when they played us earlier in the season.

We all know how far we have come this year and what our potential is and I am sure that it is all of our intentions to show our supporters just how good we are over the coming months.Training!!! Now there's a word we haven't heard for some time. By popular demand this activity will be returning the Lower Sydenham on a Tuesday night at 7pm.The first session will be on the 28th January....so plenty of time to plan for it and the next planned session will be the following week. Both sessions are before vital league matches so come along and lets work together on anything we think will be of value to us on the Saturday.

Odie

14 December Powergen Kent 2 League
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC 22
Brockleians RFC                          8

Are we on a roll now!!? 3 wins out of the last 4 games and it looks like we are finally starting to click. There were bad patches in this game where we went to sleep but in the end we really turned up the pressure and showed just what we are capable of. We could not have had a better start with one of the fastest tries I have ever seen in a match. Stu kicked off with Mr Rl, as ever, on the chase. Hesitation in the ranks of the oppo allowed Mr R to kick through, collect the ball and run on into the 22 where he popped a pass off to H to run in a try in under 10 seconds.... what a start. The game then lapsed into some run of the mill, end to end stuff with no real dominance but the oppo did pop over a penalty. Towards the end of the first half we managed our usual, lets take a rest type of performance in the forwards which allowed Brocks to dominate play and put a try in against us before the turnaround.

The 2nd half started much the same as the first had ended and whilst we were taking part in the game, it felt like we were on the back foot defending for a long period....but we did not concede. The turning point cam with the oppo awarded a 5 yard scrum on or line....we destroyed them and sent them backwards .....this spurred us on to what was by far the best 20 minutes of rugby I have been involved with at the club for many a year. Something happened and all of sudden we were playing with a passion and desire that simply blew the oppo away. We wanted the ball at last and every scrum and every line!!!

All in all some great work out there this weekend, we saw glimpses a week ago against Olaves and we put together 20 mins this week...the challenge now is for us the believe in ourselves and lets take it to some of the so called "better " sides and show that just what we can do. The forwards are starting to put more work into the grunt side of the game and we must continue to work on our rucking skills, whilst our settled back line appears to go from strength to strength as each week passes.

I hope that we are beginning to enjoy ourselves more, I know that I am ...don't lose "that feeling" we had on Saturday and find it again at Sittingbourne on the 4the of January.

Have a great Christmas guys and see you all in the New Year.

Odie

Another W with more to follow guys ...lets keep up this momentum.

Odie

PS is there any significance in the fact that both wins this season have been without the vice skips??

16 November Powergen Kent League 2
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC 15
Brockleians RFC                      12

As for the match...it was a pretty scrappy affair with not a lot of fantastic rugby on show and we did not really get going in the first half and let in a couple of sloppy tries. We did dominate most of the play and spent the majority of the half in the oppos 22...but yet again we failed to deliver the killer possession at the most telling times.
However 2 fantastic tries in the 2nd half and a rather "unusual" conversion from Stu Barry saw us go into the lead following our initial penalty in the 1st half.

We hung on gamely towards the end, considering the 16th player the opposition seemed to acquire as the referee gave them more and more strange decisions and the 2nd hand on his watch appeared to be going in reverse. However even though skips made a stupid mistake in the final moments, giving away a penalty, they duly missed, thanks to Wayne's strange powers and we registered the first win of the season.
A truly remarkable win considering the personnel we had available and just goes to show what we can achieve if we believe in ourselves. thanks again to all those that played and please do make yourselves available for next weeks home game against shoots as a number of players have tickets for the international again.

Odie

2 November Powergen Kent League 2
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC            0
Sittingbourne RFC                             27

After the performance the previous week this was a disappointing result. We had a very strong side out and were confident going in to the game that we could secure our first win of the season.

In the first half the game was fairly evenly matched with both sets of forwards trying to gain the advantage - the difference was the speed of the Sittingbourne pack to the breakdown which was not matched by the Bank. Despite some solid defence Sittingbourne took a 10-0 advantage by half time through a penalty and a converted try. The Bank's main opportunity coming from some tight forward play which was thwarted as vice skip dropped the ball over the line (normal service resumed).

In the second half the Sittingbourne pack dominated up front and were able to win all their own line out and scrum ball and also a good deal of our own as we struggled to hold them in the set pieces. This was frustrating for the back line who despite tackling well all afternoon had little opportunity to show their skills in attack.

The main differences in the two sides were fitness and cohesion as a unit - these can only be addressed by training (here we go again). All of us on the whole are getting more match-fit but if we want to compete against the other teams in the league we need to work together as units. If we cannot get down on a Tuesday it is important that we make the effort prior to games on a Saturday and hopefully people are doing their own fitness training during the week.

Thanks to Trevor for turning out for us at fly half on Saturday - I am sure he did not ache too much on Sunday - and to Cameron who valiantly completed the match (as we had no subs) despite pulling a hamstring in the opening minutes of the game.

For the time being training has been changed to fortnightly (not a decision we wanted to take but it was not fair on the 5 or 6 turning up each week nor on Mark to turn up and find out we could not do anything). Therefore there will no training tonight but there will be next week before the Brocks game (which we must win).

Finally Alex is going to try to get a side together to fulfil the second team fixture this Saturday - please make yourselves available if you possibly can - one of the more positive things this year has been the club spirit shown each Saturday and it would be nice to go and get another win this week.

26 October Powergen Kent League 2
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC      10
Old Gravesendians RFC               20
Tries: Dave Philipps (1^st try for the club) & Steve Griffiths

It is getting difficult to write match reports saying how well we have played without posting that vital win....but I certainly feel that after our last 3 outings we are starting to see what we are good at as a team, where we are starting to gel and more importantly we can see which parts of our game we need to focus on if we are to begin to show what we really have to offer in this league. You would never be able to tell that the opposition were at the top of the league and we are currently near the bottom...yeah they had some good backs but with some stronger refereeing with regard to the offside rule and some better use of the elements by RBS in the 2nd half would have secured us this game.

Having lost the toss we played against the wind in the first half and for the first 15/20 minutes we certainly looked the better side with some good recycling of possession from the forward and our new back line starting to look like a force to be reckoned with I think the opposition were a little taken aback with the amount of pressure they were under. Unfortunately we were unable to convert any of this pressure into points because we failed to win ball from key phases of play when we had done all of the good work in getting into the strike zone...and with the wind against us any turnover ball was quickly returned over our heads for us to start again.

The oppo scored a dubious try in the corner despite some fantastic cover tackling from Dave Phillips which took the player into the corner flag before grounding the ball, but apparently the ref. was not to be swayed!!? Just before half time we conceded another softish try with their backs making too much ground before tackles were going in. So we turned around just 10-0 down at half time, we felt confident that we would win the 2nd half as we would have the wind, we were winning all of our own scrum and line, all but the odd one of the opps scrum and about half of their lineout ball.

This continued into the 2nd half with some great play from the forward taking scrum ball with ease and driving the opposition all over the place. It was to be a tight game and after 20 minutes we had scored a try a piece but we were in the ascendancy and taking the game to them at every opportunity. Another try to the bank after some great forward work on their line saw us within 5 points of them but sadly they managed to score a breakaway try with one of their fast wingers going over half the length of the pitch to score in the corner. We were not beaten and after more good forward work Cameron, playing his first game of the season for us went over to score, however the only person not to see this appeared to be the referee who awarded a scrum instead??

So the game ended with us losing again but having made a big step forward in terms of the performance and the way in which we are beginning to play the game as a team. The opps knew how lucky they were...their skippers first words after the match to his team were " heads up lads don't worry"....and they had won! I am sure that the first win for us is just a week away...let’s make it happen.

I must say a big thank you to Steve Twigger, playing his first game for the ones this year, who came on for Lol at half time with Stevie G moving rather successfully into the No 8 position. I would also like to welcome Cameron back into the team who played exceptionally well as did Tom Leathes who always seems to get about just everywhere on the pitch. Another welcome back this week to Dave Steele who played the last 20 minutes coming on for yours truly....so skips won't be able to get into the team soon!!!

We made the start now guys and now we need to start to play smarter and have a strategy each week of how we are going to win games ...at times we still look lost as to what to do with the ball once we have won it and we still need to win more 2nd and 3rd phase balls if we are really going to improve.

We are thinking of holding training every couple of weeks from now on....hopefully this may be something more of you will be able to commit to and really make a difference to the way we play on Saturdays. The first session will be this week where I hope we can focus on rucking and putting in place some other "Moves" from lines and scrums to give the backs fast, clean ball to work with. We will then have a week off from training the following week. On top of this we will be arranging the meet for Saturdays game against Sittingbourne and hour earlier then usual so we can get as many of us together out on the pitch working on some new stuff and refining what we have.....so if you can make either of these please make the effort.

Odie

12 October 2002 Powergen Kent League 2
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC   15
Park House  RFC                     57

I felt that we went into this game buoyed a little from the previous week's performance and we certainly had almost a full complement of the right players to deliver a telling result. We did soak up a lot of early pressure but also caused the oppo a lot of difficulties in the scrummage so it was no surprise to find ourselves taking an early lead with a penalty slotted by Stu Barry. Unfortunately we were unable to add further to this during the half and conceded a few tries. However it must be said that we were challenging their line on a number of occasions and two of their first half tries came from US winning ball in their 22 only for them to break away and score!!

We felt at half time that we were still in with a shout in the game and we could take advantage of the elements that their No. 10 had utilised so well in the first half. However a number of injuries left us a little depleted with Lol having to leave the field with a knee injury and Corin having taken a bang to the head we were down to 14 as we had only one sub. Nonetheless we did start to string together some good periods of play and from a set move at a line out we managed to put the backs away with Alex scoring his 101st try for the club. We then defended a scrum on our own line, took it against the head and we watched in awe as Alex showed what speed he still has by going the length of the pitch to score under the posts....this was much more like what we have to offer. Unfortunately this burst caused the legs of the no 12 to give in and Alex moved out to one wing and then following an injury to Ken he moved out to the other wing.....so it was changes all round in the back line with Dummers already standing in at scrum Half.

Needles to say we did concede a further few tries amongst all of the above but we continued throughout the game to dominate all of the set pieces....we just need more 2nd phase possession.

Still looking for that big W guys ....lets make it happen on the 26th!!

Odie

5 October 2002 Powergen Kent League 2
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC   15
Bexley RFC                                 15

This week we have made a step in the right direction but I am sure that we will all see this as a point lost rather than a point gained. We had a good pre match preparation and we welcomed a number of new faces to the side that have added a new edge to our attacking play. So thanks to those who were new to the side.

The game could not have got off to a better start with Lol catching the kick off and driving forward followed by the pack, quick ball ensued with the ball going out to the backs and some good handling saw Alex Lowth go over for his 100th try for the club.....so special congratulations to him on this special feat. So at last we were off to the perfect start and seemed to be playing decisively. We continued to dominate for a further period culminating in an individual try by Nic. He took the ball on a charge - burst through several players and then expertly chipped ahead, he was then first to the ball to gently kick it beyond the try line and still had the pace to beat the closing defenders to touch down the ball for a great try.

We then lost our way for the last 20 minutes of the half and spent a lot of time bogged down in our own 22 and was unable to secure enough possession to make the most of our superiority in the back division. However we turned around in positive mood determined to secure our first win of the season and take things forward. Sadly however hard we worked in the second period we seemed to have lost the "spark" up front and spent an awful lot of time defending. We made bad choices in certain situations and towards the end of the game once the oppo had got a try back we should have shut up shop, got the ball away from our own 22 and played sensible rugby. Instead we saw too many of us being individuals and taking the ball on, (or dropping it) when we should have let it out to the backs to utilise their skills.

The final minutes of the match saw us concede another try and with the last kick of the game Bexley drew level with the conversion.

A let down for us all really but again a number of positives for us to take with us into next weeks game... We now have a growing pool of quality players to pick from in the 1st team and I am sure that the benefits will begin to win through in the coming weeks with us being able too use strategic replacements for the first time in a number of seasons.

Let's work on making things better on Tuesdays and lets look forward to what we can achieve next Saturday... Thanks to everyone who made Saturday a good day on and off the pitch and well done to Gerry and Boy for getting the 2nd team out for the first time this year. A great club effort this week guys and lastly I must say a very personal thanks to Bernard for putting in an appearance in the bar yet again.... where would we be without him.

And finally.... If anyone has seen a slightly drunk Finnish ice hockey player between now and the weekend and he is wearing a pair of black shoes.... please steal them back for me as I need them to go to work in... thanks

Odie

Notes from Vice Skips - Steve G
From a positive side it was great to see Laurence back
There were a number of positives to take from this game, whenever the backs got the ball they looked very useful and will dominate a number of teams this year.

From a forwards point of view we need to show more urgency and win more 50/50 ball and this is something we need to work on.

This was a good weekend with us managing to field 2 teams for the first time this season and lets hope we can now build on this over the coming weeks.

28 September 2002 Powergen Kent League 2
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC        7
Medway RFC                                  82

What can I say about this week that you haven't heard in the previous two match reports. Well this week we managed to take to the field with just the 14 players, one of which we picked up in the bar and another from a phone call we made en route!!!!.....otherwise I may have been reporting on a rather more disappointing result than that shown above.

I do not want to say much about the specifics of the match, more about the temperament of those taking part and giving everything for our club. From a commitment point of view no one could have asked more of the 14 of us bothered to take this club forward on a Saturday....in fact I can honestly say that this was a very enjoyable game to be involved in and I am sure everyone else would agrees....we knew when we took to the pitch what we were up against it and decided from the start that we would never let our heads drop...we didn't; not once. That we would take the play to the opposition....we did when we had possession and more than anything else we decided that we would play for each other...and we did more so than I have experienced for a number of years playing for the bank. The 14 of us shared an experience where we never gave in and could take pride in the performance on the day....so I would like to say a big thanks to all those that helped out on Saturday both on and off the pitch....this is a day from which we all know we can go forward and start to produce some really great performances.

For those of you reading this who did not play or watch you probably think I am talking a load of old b#!!#*ks but if you are in any doubt then just ask Tony or Ginger who I am sure will back up all of the above. So - where do we go from here....personally I can give no more than already do for the club.....the rest is down to the players who want to make it happen for us all. I think everyone needs to decide whether they can commit themselves to this game and this club. We need people to come and train so we can work on the things that will make Saturdays more successful. Mark gives us his time and the least we can do is make good use of his knowledge and support him by making the effort on a Tuesday. After Tuesdays we can let our captains know if we are available...as early in the week as possible. Lets not commit to something we are unable to fulfil on a Saturday. So guys..... please have a think about it and decide whether you want to play an active part in the success of this club and if you do then please make the effort to do the Tuesday and Saturday thing!!!

The real shame of it all is that teams of the standard of Medway would not be able to live with our team when we field our best XV...we just need to get you all out on the pitch at the same time. I look forward to seeing those who can make it on Tuesday....and if you can't just give me a call and let me know....just call me on 07880 770077....thanks!!

Odie

21 September 2002 Powergen Junior Cup
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC             7
Old Alleynian RFC                             55

Despite the scoreline this was an improved performance on the previous week and a big thank you must go to all the players who turned out many at very short notice.

The Bank took the lead early on after good work from the forwards and backs before Ken Thomson chipped ahead and collected the ball to score under the posts.

The first half was evenly matched with both sides having opportunities to score - however despite some solid tackling Old Alleynians equalised and then took the lead with a try in the final play off the first half.

The second half was a different story with the Bank too often committing too many players to the breakdown leaving an overlap every time in the backs, which despite some very good tackling led to a number of tries being scored - this is something we must work on in training.

Overall a good performance with many positives to take forward - the score was not at all reflective of the game and if we can continue to improve both in terms of fitness and levels of play the results will come.

Please support your skippers in making yourselves available and get to training as this is the only opportunity we have to work on things before each game.

Steve

14 September 2002 Powergen League Match
Royal Bank of Scotland RFC             0
Old Elthamians RFC                          58

I am sure that all of us involved in this game are more than aware of where we went wrong so I will not labour those points. I also truly believe that the result does not accurately portray our efforts in the game. There were periods both in both halves where we pinned the opposition into their own 22 but we just did not convert the pressure into points.

Ten minutes into the first half we were down just 3 - 0 and had missed a penalty of our own when after some fantastic work from the forwards at rucks left Phil Black in the clear to race over the try line but, due to some unfortunate placing of flags beyond what was deemed to be the dead ball line, the try was disallowed. At this stage of the game we were putting a lot of pressure on Old E's and had this stood I think that the momentum may well have stayed with us and whilst we may still have lost the game a more reflective score would have been forthcoming. We never really got going again in the first half and Old E's capitalised on some poor tackling to run in a number of tries leading up to half time.

I think that we were determined to put in a good showing in the 2nd half and proved to ourselves that in many departments we were equal to the opposition. Much of the half was played again in their 22 but we never managed to find the move to take us over the line. In the end they scored two breakaway tries and a third from a restart for which we were truly beaten by their pacier backs.

Looking back their are a number of positives to be taken from the game. We were good at set pieces, lineouts especially were very strong although we lacked conviction once we had won the ball and in the scrum whilst we probably gained parity with the oppo there is still room for improvement to take us back to where we finished last season when the scrum was a force to be reckoned with.

Lots for us to work on at training on Tuesday especially closing down the oppo from restarts, rucking, scrums, lineouts and penalty moves where all to often we were lacking on Saturday and really just handing possession back to them.

We can't change this first game but we can through our own hard work make a difference for the rest of the season and give the guys and girls who support us each week some classier fayre to enjoy on the pitch.

I must thank the guys in the back row for their tireless efforts this week which saw Nic named as our "Man of the Match" and I would also like to thank Nigel for helping out and "Coach Steff" for also stepping into the breach.

I hope to see you all on Tuesday...we have a cup game this week where we can start to put in to practice the lessons from this week before our next league match on the 28th.

Lets make the effort to turn this into a season we can all be proud of.

Odie

2nd XV Reports

5 April 2003                                                   Metropolitan Delta League
Royal Bank of Scotland 2^nd XV 38       Shooters Hill 3^rd XV  19

Talk about save the best 'til. last. In what could be described as a genuine 2nd. team we outplayed and performed against a team higher up the table revealing the potential that has been lurking there all season and occasionally shown its self only for us to squander chances.

The game started badly with us conceding a try from the kick off through there very quick centre this was then answered by one from Tom Fisher who created a gap and burst through to score . The re-start lead to us putting ourselves under pressure with Shoots nearly scoring but for some stout defence which saw us clear the lines and leading to the first of Neils tries. His second was probably the best try I've seen all season with the quick tap from the line the ball was spun wide to Simon Saunders at Fly Half who dummied to Tom and then fed Neils on the angle who was coming a pace and split the defence like a knife through butter to scamper over unopposed. Again Shoots attacked and put us under pressure but some big fitting by the backs kept our line in tact. We had the final word with Andy Rucco taking a quick lineout to Pete Young to scamper over via a couple of handoffs form 15m out the oppo complaining that the line had been formed and the ref pointing out that you need a min of two people from each side to form one.

Second half saw three changes with a return at full back of Si Lawson following shin splints Gerry O'Sullivan coming on for Richard Simpson and Phil Black for Marc Jones. The 2nd half saw us start badly conceding a couple of what can be described as sloppy tries this lead to a more determined performance and from an opposition scrum against the head the ball was moved to Tom at inside centre to batter over from short range to score. Shoots then caught us napping from a free kick inside our 22 with a sublime chip and chase to score this leading to a tense final quarter, Shoots scoring first to set up a tense final 10 mins this lead to further invention from our backs with Si Lawson making the break from inside our 22 up to their 10m line who popped it inside to John Green who was in support who with 10 metres to go was faced by there fullback he drew the man and popped the ball to Pinners to skip over and score three other players being in support. They then scored a late consolation try going into the final minutes Tommy O came back on having spent 10 mins in the bin for lumping someone but as we all know if Tommy had meant to have hit them they wouldn't have got up. With us finishing the stronger, I decide to end this fairy tale dream by attempting to take someone out of a maul using my shoulder unfortunately I missed leading to me collapsing in a heap with torn neck muscles and ligaments.

This lead to the to the ugly frog being whisked away by the beautiful princess in her big white ambulance. The reverse of any good fairytale.

A big thank you to all of you who helped lift me into the ambulance and remembered to give me a decent pair of shorts to come home in, as I'd have looked even sillier walking into O'Neal's in the pair I'd finished the game in.

Another thank you to Marc and Pete for sorting out kitty and shirts etc. after the game.

Last game this week players required as we are away to Old Beccs. Let's really finish the season on a high and get another win under the belt.

Les

PS -  A big thank you also to anyone I didn't mention by name.

28 December
Royal Bank of Scotland XV 29
Old Dunstonians XV 26
Tries Gary Casey (2), Kenneth Thomson (2) & Tom Banks
Conversions Trevor Fegan (2)

A hard well balanced game which was enjoyed by both the players and spectators alike. The Old D's supporters saying it was far more entertaining than there 2nd's against Old Juddians which had preceded us.

The game saw us this year take to the pitch with 15 players plus subs and in a Kit of our own unlike the previous year. We started strongly in the loose with the back making great head way in the three quarters however D's realised that there strength lay in the pack and got into rumble mode putting us on the back foot leading to them getting the first score, we responded with a text book try from a scrum on there 10m line Odie broke from 8 fed Steff who slipped it inside to Fatbloke on a trundle who drew the Defence took the tackle and slipped to Youngy who strode on was tackled ball laid back and then recycled for a back to score in the corner unable to hell as was still recovering from the trundle.

D's then responded with another two tries both converted again set up by there more dominant pack. we then scored through more fluent back play so turned round at half time 10-19 down.

The 2nd half brought a little more weight to the Pack with Pinners and Andy Rucco our new hooker going off poor lad had suffered due to Me and Wayne being a little lazy in the front row. This saw Odie moving up to hooker Twigger into the 2nd row and a new lad Marc Jones making his debut. In the Backs the Boy Casey replaced Phil Black on the wing. this increased weight brought our scrum to dominance, with us winning clean ball for the backs to play with. We had two early attempts disallowed one of which should have been a penalty try after the Boy was clean through one of there players who was laying on the floor decided to haul him down despite having not regained his feet from the previous breakdown, the ball having squirted out of a ruck was touched down by Marc again called back this time for them being offside. Steff was then injured with Tladi making a welcome appearance at Scrum half using Latin flair having spent a season in Spain he breathed more life into our back line. Final play of the game saw the Boy take a floated pass and score in the corner.

Fat Bloke

30 November Shepherd Neame Metropolitan Delta League
Royal Bank of Scotland 2^nd XV  10
Met Police (Hayes) 2^nd XV             23
Tries:   H & Phil Cantell

First of all I would like to say a few thank yous, especially to all the guys who came down to the reunion and stayed outside on a typically cold winters afternoon to cheer on the undercard seeing as the first team game was called off.  And also a big thank you to the guys from the first team who volunteered to sub for us, sorry I couldn't get more of you on the pitch.  Thanks also to the new players Scott, David and James who played their first games for the club, let’s hope we can keep their interest up.

Well what can be said in this report that wasn't either on the pitch or in the bar after!  We didn't deserve to lose, Malcolm did score a try, and Neils would have too had the full back not tried to decapitate him 5 yards out.....

It was a great game to play in, I don’t think I can remember a time when so many of our team were so up for knocking the opposition on their arses, could it be because it was against the police?  The two tries we scored were of a great standard that involved some great inter-play between backs and forwards.  For long periods it looked as though we would get that elusive breakthrough and maybe take the points but a combination of poor decisions and bad tempers prevented us from doing so, but if we can keep the commitment shown on Saturday up it won't be long before we give someone a beating we know we are capable of. (Without fists WAYNE)

Semtex

2 November  Shepherd Neame Metropolitan Delta League
Royal Bank of Scotland 2^nd XV       10
Old Olavians 2^nd XV                            20
Tries:           Malcolm Munro & Neils Riberio

A number of lessons were learned early on in the game on Saturday. After the clocks go back we have 2.30 kick off's and the traffic in Bromley is shocking! We turned up in very wet conditions and ran straight out and played, this showed very early on. After being under pressure for the first 10-15 minutes with Olaves having the slope Olaves managed to cross our line, after some resolute defending. We then had a more settled period where we managed to gain ground and a little confidence, the line out worked well, with some good throwing-in and a newly acquired NZ Salmon (Leyton!). We even put the Olaves set piece under pressure, no mean effort. The Ref then decided to make a huge howler of a decision resulting in Olaves scoring under the posts with not an RBS soul near them, I think the less said about this the better. Notwithstanding this if anything our heads raised even more and we started to play a bit of rugby (well with the ball we had that I, Boy, didn't kick away, sorry lads). Right on half time we were very close to crossing for a try then the Ref blew for the half, great timing. 10 - Nil Olaves h/t

The second half started with a bang, Olaves drop out went straight out, scrum RBS. As usual (for the afternoon) ball fires out the back at a rate, Boy tidies, gets mullered, we smuggle the ball back, I think Malc makes a break, we continue to recycle and score. Well Malc did, good to have you back Big Guy! Game on. Olaves then drop out again, straight out scrum RBS. >From this point on we dominated the game, the scrum was excellent (if lacking a little control) Malc Jer and Wayne took it to them and they didn’t like it one bit, winning their ball against the head. The next 15 mins were scrappy (my use of the ball wasn't ideal granted) we put Olaves under real pressure and after a number of phases we went from one side of the pitch to the other with Neils scoring well in the opposite corner. [Casey, Gary] At 10 points a piece it was game on. A nothing ball went back into our 22 and again the conditions and luck worked against us, again. Olaves got another easy score, they then put us under some pressure at the end and score one more try which didn't do us justice in the scheme of things.

There was much to take from this game. I played with one leg, and should have done better with the ball, lesson learned believe me although very frustrating on the day. We need to be a little calmer on the ball and work on some basic penalty moves and organisation. Many thanks to Neils for bringing Leyton, Paul and Patrick who added a little more edge to our play, will be great to see you guys again soon. It was great the have Yogi and Steff back who added a little more know-how to proceedings. Special thanks to Kev Mc and Malc for coming out of semi-retirement for a nice afternoon stroll, who said you wouldn't enjoy it....

The resolve and spirit we showed in the early part of the 2nd half really does demonstrate to Jer and I that even though we spend considerable time getting the Team out on a Saturday it is all worthwhile. May it long continue !

Boy

19 October Shepherd Neame Metropolitan Delta League
RBS RFC 2nd XV          69
Greenwich 2nd XV        0
Tries:   Alex Lowth (2), Wayne Sealy, H, Semtex, Christian Vere (3), Peter Ward (1st try for the club), Gary "Big Boy" Casey
Anyone who wants to claim the missing 19 points, please let me know!!
Conversions:        Don't know
Penalties:           Don't know

If I had a pound every time I was told that with only one team playing we would surely get a team out I would have..... well I would have lots of pounds!

So why were Boy and me phoning round on Saturday morning looking for a sub?

Anyway with a near scare of taking to the field under staffed for the third week running we were saved by the comeback of Christian Vere and our very own Alex Lowth. With a team of 12 second team regulars & 3 guys out of retirement we took the game to Greenwich in a big way.

The first half went by in a blur resulting in a half time score of 31-0. The half time team talk consisted of calming ourselves down and resolving not to have a point scored against us! Now if you have seen our last two results you may think that a little bit too adventurous but we all believed it was on the cards and was hell bent on proving it.

Greenwich did not have an answer for our forwards or our backs, and were quite happy to kick any possession they had back to us, which we happily put to good use. Even though they found out early on that we only had one jumper they could not stop Tom Leathes catching every thrown at him (even the stuff that wasn't straight).

At the end of 80 minutes and the dust had settled it was agreed that through all our puffed chests and inflated egos it was the best game of rugby we had ever got out of John Green (just for the record I did tell him Saturday night, after four hours of heavy mickey taking!!) and even though it was a try fest with all the front row scoring Phil Black still couldn't score so can we borrow Neils next week instead.

Here's to putting out a great side against Bexleys' Two's next week and getting another big W next to our name.

Cheers
Semtex

12 October Shepherd Neame Metropolitan Delta League
RBS RFC 2nd XV 12
Guys Hospital 3rd XV 48
Tries: Tom the flying Finn (2)
Conversion: Simon Lawson

For the second week running we took to the field with less than 15 players. 2 cried off early Saturday morning and one just couldn't be bothered to turn up or call, thank you James!

We turned up at Guys with 13 players, thank you Mark (Wayne's Mate) for turning up at such short notice, and even made himself available for next week. Guys to their credit gave us two of their subs and made a game of it.

True to form we scored direct from the kick off again Tom again the scorer. (where did we find him?). But that was all the luck we would have in the first half as I left the field injured, Guys went to the break 31-5 in the lead.

After the break things started to look good for us as we kept their constant attacks at bay and sandwiched in the middle of more of Guys tries we scored one of our own by that man Tom again, successfully converted by Simon Lawson.

The final score was 48-12 but that does not reflect the commitment and passion shown on the pitch by the players who turned out again knowing that a victory would probably elude them right from the off.

If we can take to the field with 15 players showing the same commitment as the 14 and 13 players who turned up the last two weeks it shouldn't be long before we start winning a few games.

Semtex

5 October Shepherd Neame Kent Delta League
RBS RFC 2nd XV 17
Brockleians 4th XV 22
Tries:    Mick (Phil B's mate!!), Thom the flying Finn & Wayne Sealy
Conversions:   Jerry O'Sullivan

A big thank you to those who played on Saturday, as Odie mentioned in last week's report the Club did take a positive step forward at the weekend. It was very important that we got both sides out and we did manage it, that said with a good mix of old and some new faces.

You must bear with me as this is my first attempt at such a body of work. We did start with 14 men but it was pretty clear from the outset that our backline, albeit sporting some new combinations, had a good look. The pack contained a heady combination of experience and a couple of guy's playing out of position. Brockleians as always bought a heavy experienced pack maybe a little long on the tooth but effective nonetheless.

We could not have started better as straight from the kick-off Mick the flying Aussie caught the kick on the full (after a couple of bounces!) and proceeded to carve through the 22 round the full back and score with some 10 seconds gone. The game then settled down to some steady play from both sides, it has to be said that RBS dominated the ball in the open but in the tight Brockleians were superior in their craft. Our lineout worked well and we managed to steal their ball a couple of times. The early exchanges showed that when we spread the ball wide we were very dangerous and Thom was released on a number of occasions. Thoms' first try for the Club came through a pass from Shaun, a great hand-off and a scamper down the wing. The lack of time on the field together showed in the later stages of the first half with RBS being hurried with the ball. With some 10 mins to go in the half we suffered the loss of Wedders which did unsettle us a little this coincided with some pressure from Brocks, that said the cover defence was excellent a feature of last season. Right on half time Brocks managed to work the blind side off the back of a scrum and managed to carry Boy through the 22 and just over the line. To be honest Brocks had not looked like breaking the line until this time.

The first 10 minutes of the 2nd half proved to be decisive with Brocks No.8 returning to the field and them starting strongly. We did hold steady and again it was difficult to see them breaking through, that said their pack was starting to dominate a little more. After around 10 mins we lost Aussie Mick with a concussion, this was a real blow and set the scene for the second half. Then came sustained pressure from Brocks, both at the scrum and in the tight with them camped in our 22. Brocks made the pressure tell and scored a soft pure numbers try. We looked very dangerous on the break with Pete, Corin, Shuan, Thom and Si working well together. A little while later Brocks scored again through numbers in the backs, the try was given but was obvious to all that the ball was knocked on over the line and should not have stood. We then had a good few minutes with the backs working well and alleviating the pressure, Brocks then committed suicide with a loose pass to Wayne in broken play who then proceed to romp over the line, score 17 all. Brocks then put us under more pressure and we lost Les to injury, with them camped in our 22 they scored their final points to win the match.

To sum up everyone involved enjoyed the game and in view of the circumstances all put in a great performance. The resolve shown through the game and the attitude in the 2nd half shows that the season ahead will be enjoyable. It is great to see many faces still around from last season and some new ones. I believe that if we show the same commitment as on Saturday we will have a winning season this year.

It was also great to see Bernard for a couple of quite Wedding drinks after the game.

Gaz the Boy

Coutts Reports

Coutts 14 Cazenoves 5 (Blackheath Cup)
 
 Scorers Tries: Dun Collins, Matt Nauer
 Conversions: Randall Leitch, Tom Crosland
 
Despite the efforts of the referee this was an excellent game with  both sides trying to play open running rugby.
 
 Cazenoves started strongly but good tackling from everyone kept them out in  the early stages. Coutts gradually got in to the game and on our  first  adventure in to the opposition half Dun Collins (making debut at Fly  half)  broke through to score under the posts, which was converted by Randall Leitch.
 
 Both sides then had many opportunities to break through but through good
 defence and some appalling refereeing decisions neither was able to.
 
 In the second half Coutts had more of the possession and after a series  of  good play Warren Norman broke through and was brought down inches from  the line (serves him right for being short) but managed to lay the ball  back from Matt Nauer to pick up and fall over to score. This time converted by Tom Crosland.
 
 Cazenoves then upped their game and broke away to score in the corner setting up an interesting last few minutes - which the ref asked both sides if we wanted to make longer - strange !!!!!!!

A good result which sets us up for the Plate Final (against Cazenoves again) at Lower Sydenham on 23rd April .
 
 Thanks to Odie, H and Phil Black for turning out to make up the side.

14 January 2003
Coutts & Co RFC 7
Lloyds/RBS XV 21
Try: Chris Knight, Conversion: Tim Neale
Lloyds/RBS points scored by:
Odie (2 tries) Dave Lawrence (1 try) Tom Banks (3 conversions).

An entertaining game provided a good run out for both teams.Coutts took an early lead through a breakaway try for Chris Knight. Thereafter the forwards cancelled each other out in the first half and both sets of backs looking threatening in attack.

Lloyds/RBS equalised late in the half through a forwards try with (I think) Odie falling over the line.

The second half saw both sides play some good attacking rugby with good defence also being shown RBS finally broke down the Coutts defence to score two tries to take the win.

Thanks to Jerry and to Chris Cornell for putting side together at short notice to fulfil the fixture after Norton Rose pulled out - and thanks to everyone for turning up at short notice.

Cheers
Stevie G

11 December 2002
Coutts XV 24   
Royal Bank of Scotland 2nd XV   0
Tries                 Tim Neale, Chris Knight, Randall Leitch, Alistair Hewitt
Conversions Bryan Hankin, Randall Leitch

There were some good performances from both sides and the game was very well fought in difficult conditions. Thanks to James Tobin for turning out for the Coutts side at short notice and also thanks to Gerry and to Gary for allowing us to strengthen our front row.

16 October 2002
Coutts & Co.     12
Farrers               13
Tries:  Steve Griffiths (2)
Conversion:  The Trevor Andrews

This was a well contested match between 2 sides who wanted to play running rugby.

In the early exchanges Farrers were quicker to the breakdown and were able to recycle the ball for their backs to run at us - however some excellent defence saw the score held to 8-0 to Farrers at half time through a well worked try and a dubious penalty (apparently for knocking the ball out of the hookers hands).

Both sides made changes in the second half and despite Coutts dominating the play Farrers again broke away and scored in the corner through some good back play. This seemed to gel Coutts in to action as we started to dominate up front winning good first and second phase ball to enable our backs to run at the Farrers defence. They must have worn them out as Griffiths managed to round off some good forward play by going over from 5 yards.

Coutts sensed they could still win the game and continued to dominate which was rewarded by yet another score for Griffiths (that's it for another 4 seasons now) from all of 7 yards - this time converted by Trevor. However this was the last play of the game and a thoroughly enjoyable game ended up with this narrow defeat.

An excellent evening with plenty of support on the sidelines from Coutts, Farrers and from RBS and I would like to thank Wedders and Odie for helping us out and Trevor for answering a late SOS, when our fly half dropped out (yes Trevor he did drop out). From Coutts it was great to see some old (mine) and many new faces with excellent debuts from a number of players which augers well for the rest of the season.

Here's to the next one and a thumping of Cazenoves on the 6th November.

Stevie G