19/04/2008

Mossley Hill vs Trentham

Trentham concluded their successful league campaign with a 44-23 victory against Liverpudlian side Mossley Hill. Despite the flattering scoreline it was a patchy display from the kids of New inn lane as they struggled to find the necessary motivation in what was essentially a dead rubber.

Winger John Street, who scored a hat trick last week was again amongst the tries, this time going one better with 4 scores. Trentham could count themselves fortunate for at least a couple of their early tries as Mossley Hill errors or lucky bounces fell their way for important points. Neither side would enjoy watching a re run of the match, both defensive lines had more holes than a brothel, and it was this fact that produced the high points tally rather than the general quality of play. Both sides endured long spells of the game where little or no rugby was actually played at all. Instead they were forced to listen to interminable lectures from the referee who seemed to be participating in a different match entirely. Unfortunately this meant that the game could find no rhythm or fluency. Additional scores came from skipper Sean McGibbon, Ben Bicknell and Joe Turnock while Rich Urwin knocked over a penalty and a few conversions in his first start for the club at fly half.

Ultimately Trentham did enough to win the game but rugby was the loser on the day.

12/04/2008

Trentham vs Moore

Trentham were made to dig deep but fought back to secure their second promotion in successive seasons by defeating their main rivals Moore by 25-17 in front of a bumper presidents day crowd.

The initial outlook was as gloomy as the april weather as Trentham started strongly but found themselves 10-0 down inside 20 minutes. Moore’s counter attacks brought them two tries from their only excursions into Trentham’s half. Trentham needed to regroup quickly and gain some points but the visitors would not relinquish their promotion ambitions lightly. Moore were in possession of a powerful pack and stout defence which would prove difficult to break down. Trentham were taking the fight to the opposition though and slowly started to gain the upper hand. The forwards woke up and started to play with the passion that has carried them through so many games this season, a scrum just inside the opponents half would yield Trentham’s first score of the match. Hooker Jason Bromley stole opposition ball with a strike against the head. Number 8 Burke picked up at the base of the scrum and span the ball wide to his winger Chuck Street. Street bulldozed through his opposing man before sidestepping the full back and touching down for the try. The score would remain 10-5 until half time. Although Trentham had come back strongly it was still brown trousers time for many of the Trentham faithful as their promotion hopes hung in the balance.

Trentham would continue their good work in the second half and soon got back to level terms when a planned move from the base of the scrum deep in enemy territory resulted in Matt Standley diving over from close range. Trenthams resurgence continued when Chuck Street added his second try following good work from the backs to leave Trentham with their noses in front and promotion within their grasp. They nudged further ahead when Jim Buckley detonated into a tackle on the half way line which dislodged the ball, centre partner Chuck McGibbon hacked the ball ahead and demonstrated electric pace for a middle aged man to outstrip the covering defence and touch the ball down in for the score that gave Trentham some room to breathe, but not for long.

Moore went on the offensive with their best phase of the game as they set up camp in the Trentham 22 and pounded away at the Trentham defensive line. Trentham’s cause was not helped by the number of needless penalties that they conceded. Eventually one such penalty resulted in a try as Moore’s burly centre crashed over from close range. Moore’s scrum half missed a routine conversion to leave the scores at 20-17 and Trentham with squeaky bums. Fortunately the game was settled soon after as Trentham charged back down the field and scored the clinching try when man of the match Aaron Barker broke for the line before offloading to Chuck Street who ghosted over for his hat trick. When the final whistle blew shortly after Trentham knew they were up again, only winger Joe Turnock was mystified by the celebrations breaking out around him. “Don’t we get promoted every year?” he asked.

Moore proved to be a very useful side and were worthy promotion contenders. Trentham had to dig deeply into their reserves of intestinal fortitude to emerge victorious. The pack were once again outstanding with prop Tony Gee in barnstorming form as he approaches the Indian summer of his career, he was ably assisted by Johnny Hallam and Jason Bromley in the front row. Dave Rathbone and Barry Shaughnessy worked tirelessly in the second row. The unholy trinity of Matt Standley, Chuck Collins and Chuck Burke needed to be at the peak of their powers to keep Trentham going forward in the back row. Aaron Barker was again outstanding at scrum half while Nick Wide’s howitzer boot often kept Moore pegged back in their own half. Jim Buckley was immense in defence as he patrolled the midfield with menace. The back three of Herbert, Turnock and Street always posed an attacking threat although Herberts kicking record of 0 out of 7 was ever so slightly rubbish.

Great season boys.

PS There is a Trentham rugby club group on facebook if anyone wants to post their pictures of the day on there. Beware the Chucks of Norris.

05/04/2008

Trentham vs Shrewsbury

Trentham put in one of their best displays of the season to despatch a visiting Shrewsbury side by 39-12. The visitors were a couple of divisions above them in the national league structure which made the victory all the more impressive. It was Shreswbury who started the brighter however, as they took possession from their own kick off and piled pressure onto the trentham defensive line. From the opening skirmishes Shrewsbury looked like a well organised side who had come to play. They soon claimed the opening try when missed tackles in midfield allowed the Shrewsbury backs to fashion an opening out wide, the opportunity was duly taken to leave Trentham 5-0 down with less than 5 minutes on the clock.

Trentham reacted positively to this setback though and were soon back on level terms. Trentham started to pick and drive through their forwards to put Shrewsbury onto the back foot, Trentham managed to string some phases of play together and as soon as they released their backs Ben Bicknell burst through the centres and his outstretched arm planted the ball over the try line for a powerful score. The try was converted by stand in goal kicker Michael Herbert to give Trentham a two point lead. They would soon add to this lead with more good work from Ben Bicknell. Bicknell received the ball on the 22 with limited options, he ran the ball back against the traffic towards the far touchline, despite not making much ground he was able to ship the ball to cowboy Jim Buckley who had been hugging the left hand touch line and muscled his way over the line to increase Trentham’s lead to 12-5. It was Trentham’s turn to defend again as Shrewsbury came back at them but they were up to the task. Number 8 Burke somehow managed to create a Trentham score when he gave away a penalty on his own 22, Shrewsbury opted to run the penalty quickly but jet heeled winger Joe Turnock gleefully intercepted the ball and ran most of the pitch’s length to touch down to crush Shrewsbury who had been threatening to score a try of their own on the stroke of half time.

Trentham started the second half in bright spirits, they were holding their own in the scrummage, both sides’ lineouts were pretty ordinary in truth but in open play the Trenthamers were blossoming. With unity of purpose the home side were producing some sparkling passages of play. The forwards were smashing into their counterparts on the gain line and driving them backwards in the tackle while the backs never allowed the Shrewsbury three quarters any time or space to flourish. Trenthams profusion of strike runners has been well documented on these pages and they were in evidence once again on Saturday. Pocket rocket Aaron Barker scored a typical try, breaking from the half way line he evaded would be tacklers with ease to touch down between the posts. Trenthams best try of the day came next. The trentham pack carried them from the half way line to within ten yards of the Shrewsbury line through a series of fine driving runs, with defenders committed the ball was then shipped along the backline to Phil Millington who made a fine job of catching the ball and bursting over the line to score. Somebody else scored a try, it may have been Aaron and it might have been Wild Jim Buckley but my memory has been dimmed by an evening of Guiness and red wine, I’m sure it was a cracker. Joe Turnock sealed victory with a carbon copy of his first try. Racing up in defence he intercepted a Shrewsbury pass and sprinted the length of the pitch to wrap up matters. Shrewsbury hit back with a try late on but it was too late to have a real bearing on proceedings. Trentham had sealed a victory which will give them valuable momentum going into their vital league fixture against Moore next week.

08/03/2008

Trentham vs Eagle

Trentham clipped the wings of Eagle as they produced a second half display of real quality to soar to a 28-7 victory at New Win Lane.

Faced with a strong wind in the first half Trentham started sluggishly. It was Eagle who broke the deadlock as they exploited an overlap 30 yards out to score a try in the corner. It was converted impressively from the touchline to leave the hosts 7-0 down. Trentham would soon rally though. Galvanised by the try Trentham got back on the front front through their forwards who took the game to the Eagle pack. The blustery conditions dictated that territorial advantage would have to be garnered by honest endeavour rather than the boot. The Trentham eight ran bruisingly at their counterparts all day, making the hard yards that would soften the Eagle pack for later rewards. They earned a penalty twenty yards out which was slotted over by fly half Weston to reduce the arrears to 7-3.

Growing in confidence as half time approached Trentham were gaining the upper hand. Their forwards were starting to over power the Eagle pack and it culminated in a try late in the half. Trentham made a series of charges through Matt Standley and Dave Rathbone. Josh Collins took the ball on and was halted just shy of the try line. Trentham refused to panic and the ball was recycled for Aaron Barker to dart over for the try that gave Trentham the lead.

Going in to the second half Trentham had a slender one - point advantage but they also had the best of the conditions as they were now down wind, they were determined to make the most of it. Farmer Jim Buckley took time out from his busy cow - milking schedule to score his first try since his return to the club, and it was a beauty, receiving the ball on the half way line he bullocked his way down the touchline powering through several would be tacklers to touch down in the corner for a fine try.

Trentham were started to enjoy themselves now and were playing with a great deal of fluency. Even the forwards were producing some champagne stuff as they were putting slick little passing moves together, Hooker Jason Bromley released Dave Rathbone to devastating effect with a beautiful reverse pass that earned Trentham fifty metres. Mick Bezus never did that with a full compliment of fingers! Not to be outdone Matt Standley created the try of the day when he fielded an Eagle kick on the touchline. Knowing exactly where his support was he flipped the ball inside without looking to Findlay Burke who hit the ball like the hogwarts express, exploding through the gap. Still with work to do Burke danced around three defenders before touching down to complete his comeback from injury. Aaron Barker scored his second try of the day in very similar circumstances to his first as he went over from close range. Barkers pace and low centre of gravity made him a constant threat to the Eagle defence.

Dave Rathbone completed the scoring when he powered over from close range late on. It capped a fine display for the burly second row who was immense in his ball carrying all day and earned the man of the match award. Other notable displays came from Matt Standley who had an awesome game, tackling everything that moved and disrupting Eagle ball. The pack as a whole were outstanding while the centre partnership of McGibbon and Buckley offers the team dynamic offence and defence.

Traditionally Eagle have provided stern opposition and Trentham have only claimed a draw from encounters over the previous season and this one. Trentham’s stylish victory maintains the four point gap over their nearest promotion rivals although the chasing team have a game in hand. Trentham now have a four week gap before they resume league hostilities and they must maintain their focus and determination over this period.

23/02/2008

Uttoxeter vs Trentham

Trentham’s bogey side got the better of them once again as they lost by 20-11 to a committed Uttoxeter side. Trentham started brightly and held the upper hand for much of the first half, the pack started brightly and their powerful rucking play led to two first half penalties which fly half Weston duly converted. Uttoxeter responded with a converted try before Trentham regained the lead thanks to a perfectly placed crossfield kick from Weston which winger John Street gathered and touched down. This would be Trentham’s last score as Uttoxeter began to take control of the game in the second half. The referee did Trentham no favours but in truth Uttoxeter showed more guile and physicality at the breakdown which starved Trentham of possession and they were unable to release their dangerous backs. The home team scored another try and added two penalties and when Sean Mcgibbon was forced to leave the field through injury Trentham lost a lot of structure in midfield when they were able to get ball out. Out of the cup now Trentham must regain their focus in the league next week when they meet their main promotion rivals St Edwards. Trentham will be buoyed by the return of Jim Buckley who will add some umph to their promotion push.

16/02/2008

Trentham vs Ellesmere Port (H)

Trentham roared back into the promotion reckoning as they defeated Ellesmere Port by 50-7. Aaron Barker scored a dazzling hat trick with further tries scored by Joe Turnock (2), Ben Bicknell and Barry Shaughnessy with Roger Weston adding a penalty and 6 conversions. With rivals St Edwards losing Trentham reclaimed their league destiny and will now be promoted if they win all their remaining fixtures.

26/01/2008

Trentham vs Douglas (H)

Trentham surrendered their proud unbeaten home record to league leaders Douglas as they were comprehensively defeated by 48-0. Trentham will not play as badly again this season but credit should go to the manx side for a powerful, classy display to which Trentham had no answers. Trentham must now win all their remaining fixtures and hope that second placed St Edwards slip up if they hope to achieve promotion. Trentham must regain focus immediately for next week when they face an extremely tough fixture against Uttoxeter in the Owen cup semi final. The tie will be a repeat of last years epic final when Uttoxeter took home the spoils.

19/01/2008

Parkonians vs Trentham (A)

Trentham travelled up the M6 to Birkenhead to face Parkonians in a crunch league fixture. Trentham had defeated the merseysiders 67-0 in the home tie but were expecting a tougher game this time round as Parkonians were missing several players in the first game and had put together a string of good performances in the weeks leading up to this game. Trentham overcame some dreadful conditions and a boggy pitch to prevail by 25-0 in a dour contest.

Trentham scored an early try that was largely due to the persistence of winger Joe Turnock. Fly half Roger Weston chipped the ball ahead in midfield, it landed midway between the half way line and the opposition 22. The Parkonians winger gathered the ball but was immediately hit by Turnock, the weight of the tackle dislodged the ball and Turnock was first to his feet to pick up the ball and offload it out of the tackle to centre John Street who was haring up in support. Street side-stepped the full back with ease and plopped the ball down between the posts. Weston converted to make the score 7-0. Weston added a penalty later in the half for a ten point lead which Trentham held until half time. The interval allowed some measure of evaluation. The rain and mud were causing inevitable mistakes and it was a case of minimising errors while still trying to impose some sort of pattern on the game. Trentham were up against a hefty pack who were suited to the conditions. While Trentham were unable to release their speedier backs Parkonians were able to stifle most of Trentham's attacking intent in the narrow channels close to the ruck and maul. However, Trentham's fans (even Jimmy) must have been impressed by the quality of Trentham's ball retention which was awesome in such miserable weather.

Trentham added another try soon after half time when Tony Gee touched down following a powerful surge of six inches. Good driving work in the maul close to the line released the big fella to claim his first (?) try of the season. Weston converted then added a penalty to make the score 20-0. The scoring was completed late on by Joe Turnock in an exemplary team try. A surge by Aaron Barker brought Trentham within sight of the parkonian line. Some powerful rucking play earned Trentham 30 yards as they recycled the ball at least 10 times. Eventually the ball was shipped wide and Ben Bicknell drew his man in the centres before releasing Turnock for the try he richly deserved for his earlier work. Weston blotted his copybook by missing the conversion but it was immaterial as Trentham claimed the points in a hard fought away win over useful opposition.

It is difficult to pick anyone out for praise, largely because it was difficult to pick anyone out at all, all were the same shade of brown. The whole pack performed commendably, skipper Dono took the field for the final quarter of the match to complete his recovery from the ankle injury that has troubled him for the past couple of months. Ironically he will be fit just in time to face Douglas where the injury was originally sustained. It's good to have you back Lenny. Just leave the kicking to Rog though. Special mention should also go to Ben Bicknell who chose the worst conditions of the season to produce his best handling display of the season. If we can find Ben his own personal rain cloud he may make a centre yet.

Trentham face a crunch game against Douglas next week as the season reaches its denouement. Trentham have seven league fixtures remaining and must play the other three teams in the top four before the climax of a compelling season. Can they earn that successive promotion? Will Lozzer make the team? Will Joe capsize his Venetian gondola? Will Jimmy get out of that wedding next week to come and watch? Stay tuned folks.

12/01/2008

Stafford XV vs Trentham (A)

Trentham journeyed south on the A34 to face a Stafford XV that was likely to feature several first teamers. Because of this Trentham expected to face a difficult encounter against a club that are a couple of divisions above them in the national pyramid. Trentham overcame the odds to record an impressive 28-10 victory. Conditions were ideal for Rugby. Heavy rain in the preceding days failed to dampen Trentham spirit or the surface of Stafford's ground which was pristine. A timid winter sun poked through the clouds to illuminate a cold day.

Stafford started the game brightly and demonstrated early on that they were an organised side who would pose problems for the Trenthamers. They were efficient in the set piece and well drilled in the ruck and maul. For the opening ten minutes Trentham barely got a sniff of the ball as Stafford poured on the pressure in the Trentham half. Trentham needed to provide resolute defence. The tackling effort was superb in this phase of the match as they continually smashed into the Stafford players on the gain line to deny them territory. After they had weathered this intial storm Trentham hauled themselves into the game, the back row was instrumental in this endeavour as they started to out-scrap their opposition on the floor and harry the inside backs. The Trentham pack as a whole started to assert themselves and carried the game to Stafford though a series of pick and drives to once again stifle opposition possession and gain territory. The backline was starting to find gaps in the Stafford defence. Fly half Weston made a scintillating break mid way through the first half. Gathering the ball on the half way line he sliced through the opposition ten and centres. Having made thirty yards he was eventually hauled down but the damage was done as the ball was recycled quickly and fed to Ben Bicknell in space. After Weston had committed the covering defence it was a formality for Bicknell to run the ball -home. Weston converted the try to make the score 7-0.

Stafford responded quickly, scoring a try in the far corner to leave the score at 7-5. This would be the half time score as the game remained in the balance going into the break. The half time talk was all about fine tuning the performance after an encouraging start. Silly unforced errors like dropped passes and wasted overlaps had cost Trentham in the first half. Realising that an upset was on the cards Trentham tore into the second half with renewed vigour and were soon rewarded. Trentham set up camp in the opposition 22. A Stafford clearance kick to touch was fielded by Fin Burke. Having a moment of clarity Burke took a quick lineout to Mike Herbert who in turn fed Ben Bicknell who made a 20 yard charge into enemy territory; ten yards out now scrum half Barker threw a miss pass out to Lozzer Dimelow with three Stafford players in front of him. Liking these odds, Lozzer charged at them like a lion that has just had its love spuds flicked. He bashed his way through to the line for an important try which was converted by Weston.

Ben Bicknell added a fine try soon after. Attacking from within his own half he chipped the ball ahead. After outpacing the covering defence the ball bounced perfectly for him. He gathered easily and proceeded to touch down under the posts for a memorable score.

Aaron Barker completed the Trentham scoring with another fine individual try. Receiving the ball in the opposition 22 he slashed through the heart of Stafford's defence with barely a hand laid on him. Weston converted both tries to leave Trentham with 28 points. Stafford came back into the game with a try but it came too late for them to stage a realistic fightback.

It was another good performance from Trentham to maintain their momentum as they resume their league campaign against Parkonians next week. In the front row Andy Leishman put in a good stint at the coal face, the back row was impressive as a unit and Roger Weston at fly half matched the previous games kicking display with an inspired running game this week.

05/01/2008

Trentham vs Holmes Chapel (H)

I think it was Nietzsche who first declared "Let the old idols learn what it means to have feet of clay". In this case it was not old idols but Holmes Chapel, who visited fortress clayhead looking to do the double over the "poxy club from Stoke". The contest was given added spice by discussion on both clubs websites leading up to the game, largely stemming from the previous games' match report that was meant for Trentham eyes alone, but was used for motivational purposes by the opposition.

Trentham edged a tight contest and won the match 12-6. Given the nature of the build up both sides seemed to be driven by a must not lose mentality rather than going out and playing attacking rugby but sometimes you have to grind out victories and this was one such instance. The victory moves Trentham level on points with second placed St Edwards and well into the promotion reckoning.

Conditions were actually conducive to free flowing rugby. It was a dry, bright and cold day with the refurbished Trentham pitch in great condition for January. This time last year the game would have been played with a fear of drowning but no more will Trentham take the field in snorkel post Christmas. Holmes Chapel started the brighter and took an early lead through a kicked penalty. This score galvanised the home side and their powerful pack rumbled into the game. The Trentham eight started to use their ground and pound tactics to try and soften up their Chapel counterparts, repeatedly picking and driving at the heart of the Chapel pack. This tactic was to prove effective as one such drive concluded with Rathbone of the clay crashing over the line for his ninth try of the season, ably supported by the Trentham engine room. The try was unconverted to give Trentham a narrow 5-3 lead, which they held until half time.

The second half continued in much the same vein. Trentham had the edge in the forwards and were content to bash it up the middle rather than release their backs. This may have been a slightly restrictive game plan but it did starve Holmes chapel of possession which was beneficial as they had dangerous runners in the centres that could have done more damage with more ball. Trentham also had the lion's share of possession but were not quite clinical enough when they were close to the Chapel try line. Passes were dropped or players would get held up on the try line as Trentham sought the elusive second try. Credit should go to Holmes Chapel for their valiant defence. They eventually yielded when a scrum on their five metre line was pushed over and Burke of the clay touched the ball down for the try. Roger Weston (honorary non clayhead) converted to give Trentham a precious 12-3 lead.

It was now Trentham's turn to defend as Holmes Chapel enjoyed their best period of the match. They started to retain ball and looked to open the game up with their backs. They were rewarded with a penalty which they duly kicked to make the score 12-6 and brought them within a converted try of taking the lead. Trentham responded well though and effectively shut the game down by kicking corners and playing the tight forward game that garnered territory and possession while suffocating Chapel attacking opportunities. The score remained 12-6 and Trentham secured a well earned victory in what probably constitutes a local derby in this league.

It was a powerful display by the Trentham forwards. Hallam, Gee and Bromley deserve credit for getting the scrummage on the front foot. Rathbone made his usual Dave sized dents in the opposition. Josh Collins passed the ball for the second time this season and was that pre requisite for good back rowers, a bloody nuisance, as was Matt Standley on the other flank. Michael Herbert collected another man of the match award with an impressive display at scrum half while his half back partner Weston proved his versatility by controlling a tight match with his kicking game. Lozzer put in some big hits on the wing and drank a whole bottle of whisky afterwards. Monster.

16/12/2007

Newton Le Willows vs Trentham (A)

Trentham travelled to Warrington expecting a hard, physical game and were not disappointed. They eventually overcame a committed Newton side and registered a 17-5 victory to move into third position in the league table and into the promotion reckoning.

It was a bitterly cold day but the heat of battle would soon warm all participants as the contest began at a ferocious pace. No quarter was asked or given as the sides crashed into other with vicious intent. It quickly became evident that Trentham would have the edge in the set piece but would struggle to penetrate a powerful, rushing Newton defence. Trentham got into their stride and were effectively using pick and drives to try and grind down Newton and started to get the lion's share of territory as the first half progressed. They earned a couple of shots at goal through Newton infringements at the breakdown. Fly half Weston converted one of these to earn Trentham a three point lead. Although Trentham spent a lot of time in the Newton half, the opposition looked dangerous whenever they counter attacked, possessing one of the better backlines that Trentham have faced this season. Newton almost took the lead through one such counter attack, their fly half broke the line on the half way line before releasing their winger with no one between him and the try line. It took an outstanding tackle from Joe Turnock to prevent the try. He ran the winger down after giving him a head start and managed to haul him down just before the Trentham try line.

Trentham continued to threaten the Newton try line but would remain frustrated by Newton's defence and were guilty of schoolboy errors when a try was within reach. Passes would be dropped or there would be a 5 metre scrum infringement or turnover that gave possession away. The score would remain at 3-0 as the half time whistle blew and Trentham knew that they would need to produce a second half performance to take the points.

They managed to get their first try shortly after the turn with a well worked score. Rob Krywjkc broke down the left wing and offloaded the ball to Josh Collins who made serious inroads into Newton territory before uncharacteristically passing the ball. John Street was the receiver and he was free to run the ball in from twenty yards out and place the ball beneath the posts. Weston converted to make the score 10-0 to Trentham. Trentham's joy was shortlived however, Newton got on the offensive with a couple of quickly taken tap penalties. They took advantage of some weak Trentham tackling to score a try of their own and reduce the arrears to 5 points. The pressure was now back on Trentham but they stood by their game plan and they continued to attack through their forwards. The pack took it in turns to batter away at the Newton defensive line. Newton took it in turns to batter Josh Collins and he was forced to leave the field with a multitude of injuries. Newton were still in the game however and Trentham could count themselves fortunate when they squandered a certain try. The outside centre broke the line 10 yards out with no one in front of him. Instead of scoring the inevitable try he decided to throw a wild pass out to the wing which missed its mark and went straight into touch. Buoyed by this let off Trentham set about securing the game. It was more forward pressure that allowed Trentham to set up camp on the Newton five yard line. Trentham worked desperately hard to seal the game breaking score. Several times they came within inches of the line. Just as it looked as if they would waste another opportunity Sean Mcgibbon stole across the try line from the base of a ruck like a midnight ninja. With ten minutes left on the clock Weston converted the try to effectively seal the points.

Trentham played out the endgame without further incident and claimed an important victory. Traditionally Newton has always been a difficult place to come and seal a victory. They play hard rugby in a league style. The tackling is an acquired taste and they put pressure on you come up with a performance. Success in this league is all about tough away trips like this and Trentham clawed out another result. It was another excellent team performance. The tight five of Gee, Bromley, Hallam Shaughnessy and Rathbone provided a superb platform for the team. They put Trentham on the front foot in the scrummage which meant Newtons possession was always pressurised. At scrum half Michael "Herbie" Herbert was a revelation, standing in for the absent Barker kept the defence honest with a series of piercing breaks and a clever kicking game. In addition fly half Weston must have been impressed by the quality of service he received having been weaned on Barkers erratic bullets for the past three months. Herbert deservedly claimed the man of the match award. Centres Street and McGibbon were resolute in the midfield warzone, refusing to be out-muscled by some powerful Newton backs while Joe Turnock showed some dazzling running skills at full – back; he steadfastly refuses to kick the ball at any juncture and coupled this with some excellent defensive work to thwart Newton's thrusts. Trentham will look forward to resuming their campaign in the new year against Homes Chapel, hoping to avenge their defeat earlier in the season when they travelled missing eight first team players.

08/12/2007

Trentham put on a show for the visiting county selectors who must have been impressed on their journey home by some of the performances given by Trentham's youngsters against a Burton XV. Trentham cut loose in testing conditions to rack up 47 unanswered points and claim a morale boosting victory. Burton arrived with a beefy pack that looked like they could pose problems for Trentham's smaller forwards, indeed as the game commenced it appeared that Burton were a well drilled side well capable of upsetting Trentham's apple cart.

The opening quarter was a case of the two sides feeling each other out as they both sought the upper hand in the opening skirmishes. Honours were more or less even until the twentieth minute when Trentham broke the deadlock with a quality try. Quick ball on the half way line was shipped wide to the backs and Lozzer Dimelow on the wing. Lozzer made a powerful surge through some heavy Burton traffic before offloading to centre John Street. Street still had work to do to score but he did that work admirably as he scudded through three tackles to dive over the line for the try. The two points were added by Roger Weston who enjoyed another fine afternoon with the boot, converting six out of seven tries.

Trentham had calmed Burton's initial fire and now set about starting a few of their own. They had gained parity in the scrums and lineouts and were now starting to break the Burton defensive line with increasing regularity. Trentham's forwards were inflicting damage whenever they ran at their Burton counterparts and there were some bruising ball carries from Street, Rathbone, Burke and Barker who scented weakness in the Burton tackling and sought to exploit it. It was one such forward sortie that led to the next score, powerful drives down the touchline released Ben Bicknell who burst down the blindside of a ruck and beat the covering defence for pace before touching down behind the posts just before the half time whistle.

Starting the second half with their noses in front allowed Trentham to play with more abandon to warm the hearts of the supporters on a cold and wet December day. Dave "Unit" Rathbone was first to cross the whitewash. He had been terrorising the Burton defence all day with hard, powerful running and they could not come up with an answer when he charged at them from fifteen yards out. He crashed over the line with half the Burton pack on his back for a memorable try. Ben Bicknell was next to score when a Burton move broke down on the half way line, Bicknell hacked the ball ahead and had enough gas to outstrip the covering defence before gathering the ball and flopping over the line.

Trentham scored again immediately from the restart. Substitute Danny Wright hurled himself at a clearance kick, managing to charge the ball down. John Street chipped ahead before picking up and dashing over the line for a similar finish to the previous try. Dave Rathbone then capped a fine display with his second five pointer. Burke took a quick tap penalty fifteen yards out and slipped the ball to Rathbone who battered his way to the line through several would be tacklers for a fine try. Ben Bicknell completed the scoring with a powerful solo effort late in the second half. Once again the catalyst for the try was a quickly taken tap penalty. This time Bicknell took the penalty himself and burst through a couple of tackles from ten yards out to complete his hat trick and demonstrate once again what a dangerous player he is WHEN HE KEEPS THE BALL IN HIS HANDS.

Trentham continue to produce some excellent rugby and the young side seems to be maturing fast. Second rows Dave Rathbone and Barry Shaughnessy caught the eye in the forwards with strong games in the tight and loose, Tony Gee brought much needed power and experience to the front row. Joe Turnock was always a threat, running everything from full back but the pick of the players was Roger Weston at fly half who controlled the game superbly and looks as if he has been playing there all his life. Euromanx Dave would be proud of him.

In addition to our match report you can also read what Saturday's opposition had to say about you. Click the link:

http://www.burtonrugbyclub.co.uk/Teams/A/Reports07/TrenthamA.shtml

01/12/2007

Trentham took the points with a convincing 41-0 victory at home to remain in fourth place. The result was never really in doubt as Trentham exerted their authority from the get go and put the visitors under pressure immediately to put them on the back foot.

The Trentham pack was in ebullient mood despite being without recognised lineout forwards like skipper Dono and youngster Collins who was on the bench due to sore ribs.. Despite this the lineout functioned well, as did the scrum which was never threatened by the Mossley Hill eight. It was in the loose though that the pack really excelled. There were powerful pick and drives, hard, straight running lines as well as deft offloads to supporting runners to grind down the opposition into submission.

The first try was scored, almost inevitably, by scrum half Aaron Barker who is already close to double figures in the try count for the season. He showed great awareness to take a quick tap penalty five yards out and crashed over for the try that opened the scoring after ten minutes. His half back partner Roger Weston was next on the score sheet following another passage of strong driving play from the forwards. He received the ball 15 yards out and let the defence drift to his outside men before he straightened the line and darted through the gap he had created for a good score.

Big Dave Rathbone was next to get a try, in similar circumstances to the first. Trentham’s pressure had brought them within 10 yards of the try line when Mossley Hill infringed at the breakdown to concede a penalty which was tapped quickly and shipped to Rathbone who crunched through the try line defence to score. Ben Bicknell completed the first half scoring when he went over in the corner following smart work by Martin ALLMOND who managed to scrabble the ball away from a maul to Fin Burke who released Bicknell to race away for the try.

Trentham did not play with quite the same fluency in the second half. Injury to Barker at scrum half did not help matters while Matt Standley also had to leave the field with a oversized cranium issue following an outrageous dummy he sold to the opposition and most of his own team. They did however score two more tries to improve their points difference in the league standings.

Legendary reprobate Lozzer Dimelow, who had been prowling along the touchline like a caged baboon as a substitute, he was eventually brought on and proceeded to lecture the opposition on their perceived weakness. He immediately proved his point by launching himself into a maul on the opposition try line consisting of 6 opposition players and himself. Lozzer emerged victorious with the ball and flopped over the line for a five pointer. Heroic.

The final try was all about pace and simplicity. Situated on the half way line quick ball was shipped out of a ruck. Burke and Weston drew their men before releasing outside centre Street who rounded the opposition winger before blazing home to score the try under the posts. Roger Weston converted four of the tries, including his own and kicked a penalty for a personal tally of 16 points.

The scoring was completed but not the entertainment as a skirmish on the touchline erupted into a mass brawl in a match that had previously been played in a good spirit. Commendations for taking it to the mat belong to Ben Bicknell, while Martin Allmond and Josh Collins showed good stand up skills. Collins in particular launched his quest for the UFC octagon with a beautiful overhand right. Unsurprisingly the referee blew his whistle for full time to allow the blood to cool and Trentham had won another game with another strong performance.

When the side is close to full strength as it was for this game Trentham are capable of playing some fine rugby and they demonstrated this in tough conditions. Seano McSwigging won the man of the match award from inside centre for his usual strong running game and destructive tackling while other notable displays came from back rowers Matt Standley and Martin Allmond. Both were tigerish on the floor and effervescent in support to maintain the flow of Trentham possession and disrupt the oppositions ball.

10/11/2007

Trentham vs Newton le Willows (H)

Trentham were made to fight hard but eventually ran out 12- 7 winners in a gritty display at home. Still missing key players all over the park, Trentham ground out a result to maintain their unbeaten record at home. Second half tries were scored by Aaron Barker and Rob Krwyckj late on. Phil Millington converted one of the tries.

03/11/2007

Holmes Chapel vs Trentham (A)

Trentham fought hard but were unable to overcome a crippling injury list that had robbed them of eight first team regulars. They eventually succumbed to a 16-10 defeat at the hands of Holmes Chapel.

Without Hallam, Rathbone, Dono, Weston, Mcgibbon, Bicknell, Chadwick and Burke Trentham were missing a lot of experience and ability and these absences led to some untried combinations in all areas of the pitch. Despite this Trentham dominated possession for the opening skirmishes of the match but were unable to convert this pressure into points. They went behind to a penalty after thirty minutes against the run of play and this was to be the only score of the first half.

Despite a creaking scrum and lineout Trentham were competitive in the loose but were unable to generate enough quality ball to release their danger men out wide. The game was won really in the 20 minutes after half time. Although Trentham levelled the scores just after half time through a Nick Wide penalty Holmes Chapel were starting to pull away and the scoreboard reflected this. They added a penalty and a well taken drop goal to make the score 9-3. Mick Bezus’ arrival went some way to shoring up the scrummage but Trentham were now succumbing to the Holmes Chapel pack and living off scraps of possession. They were also guilty of making basic errors like missing kicks into touch and having their ball turned over in contact which made their task even more difficult.

With 10 minutes to go Holmes Chapel scored the try that effectively ended the game as a contest. Their fly half ran a planned move which put their outside centre into space, he burst through a couple of weak Trentham tackles and touched down. The try was converted to make the score 16-3. Although it was too late for a genuine comeback Trentham were galvanised by this score and launched into their best period of play in the match. They attacked from a series of tap penalties led by Aaron Barker and Matt Standley and forced a try following 5 minutes of prolonged pressure. Barry Shaughnessy was the eventual try scorer, following some strong surges from the pack. The try was converted by Rob Krywyckj to add respectability to the score line just before the final whistle.

With a full side Trentham would have viewed this game as a comfortable victory but struggled to compete with half the side missing. The players were indomitable in adversity particularly Barker, Oldacre and Standley but simply came up short this week. There were further injury concerns to Kris Oldacre and Barry Shaughnessy which may further stretch playing resources next week, however Trentham fans will be heartened by the imminent return to action of mighty Eddie Millington who will re enter the fray next week following almost two years out with a cruciate knee injury. He will provide a much needed boost to this Trentham side with his raw aggression, scrummaging ability and dynamism in the loose.

27/10/2007

Trentham Vs Eccleshall (H)

Trentham got their Owen cup campaign off to a flying start as they cruised to 31-11 victory, playing some of their finest rugby of the season to date. The trenthamsiders are desperate to perform well in this competition having come so close last year. Eccleshall visited the New Inn Lane keep as something of an unknown quantity. They have not faced Trentham in a first team fixture for some time and are in a different league structure in terms of area so they arrived as something of a mystery.

They began brightly enough however and caused some initial problems for Trentham, slotting an early penalty to take the lead. For the fist quarter the game was quite evenly balanced as Trentham struggled to put any pattern on the game and Eccelshall gained in confidence from their good start. Trentham clawed their way into the game though and got in front following a score from forearm smasher Lozzer Dimelow. A powerful burst through the middle by the forwards created a little space out wide. Quick ball was shipped out by fly half Weston and Lozzer bashed through a couple of would be tacklers like a runaway rhinoceros to score from 5 metres out. Trentham now had the lead.

Eccleshall were still keeping their share of possession and were still in the game but their hearts must have sunk a little when Seano Mcguigan bashed his way through for the second try. There hadn’t seemed to be much on when Sean received the ball on the 22, the defence had rushed up fast hoping to disrupt possession and hit the centres before they crossed the gainline. McGibbon swatted away the first couple of defenders from a standing start before building some momentum and bursting through another couple of weak tackles and touched down for a powerful score. Trentham were by now playing some excellent interlinked Rugby. The handling from forwards and backs was sublime at times and there always seemed to be a man on the shoulder in support for the pass out of the tackle. The scrummage was never in danger but the lineout was shaky at times, probably owing to the enforced changes in personnel over the past couple of weeks.

It was slick handling that led to the third try. The ball went through several pairs of hands before eventually ending in the mitts of Ben Bicknell who needed no second invitation to dive over in the corner and score. Trentham had played a fine half of rugby but needed to consolidate to be sure of the win.

Consolidation came in the form of Aaron Barker who had enjoyed another fine game. He scored a typical opportunist try when he picked up from a ruck 30 yards out and spotted a gap in the blind side defence which he ducked though before outpacing the chasing defence to score a clinical try.

The final try for Trentham was scored by Ben Bicknell who received the ball in the centres following more slick handing from the Trentham side. Ben shaped to ship the ball wide before straightening his line and cutting inside the wrong footed defence. Roger Weston converted his third kick to give Trentham 31 pts. Eccleshall scored the last try but were well beaten in the final analysis.

Another good performance then from a team missing a few first team regulars, Trentham are building nicely for the season. The young half back pairing of Barker and Weston becomes more assured with each game. A full game from Johnny
Hallam in the front row lent conviction to the young pack. Sean Mcgibbon finally made it into the match report with a bullocking display in the centres, while Laurence Dimelow had another big game and continues to confound critics who dismissed him as a drunken fool before the season began.

Trentham vs Parkonians (H)

Trentham turned on the lights and the razzle dazzle to thump Parkonians 67-0 in an entertaining display from the New Inn Lane collective. It was not the most auspicious of starts. The match was without a referee until 1530, the booked ref failed to appear and it took a few last minute phone calls to find a replacement in the form of Mark Hall, a qualified society ref who had been hoping to view the match from the comfort of the bar. Mark located his boots and a whistle and the game got under way albeit rather late. Under normal circumstances the late kick off would have put the kibosh on the match but with Trentham’s ace new floodlights the game would be played.

In truth conditions were not conducive to attacking rugby. It was a grey, wet, miserable sort of day, a day where you would rather be playing snooker, but Trentham had to get back to winning ways following their disappointing loss in the Isle of Man the previous week and were determined to get on the front foot from the off. They managed to do this with some style as they scored a try from the first scrummage. Findlay Burke collected the ball from Roger Weston following a planned move off the base of the scrum. He committed a couple of players before offloading out of the tackle to Aaron Barker who was supporting at pace. Once he had the ball it was all over as he opened up his legs to race home for the score. He was quickly followed onto the scoresheet by Roger Weston who went over in the corner after the forwards had made good ground before releasing the ball to the backs. Roger dummied to the overlap before cutting between two defenders to score.

After the missing ref and late start the game took another strange twist when the game was moved to the bottom pitch. Dave Rathbone was injured when a maul and a 25 stone lock collapsed onto his ribs. Young Dave was in a lot of pain and it was not deemed sensible to move him before medical assistance arrived so the game was moved instead. The move did not disrupt Trentham’s rhythm however, and they were soon scoring more tries through Ben Bicknell and Roger Weston who burst through some mediocre tackling to score. John Street scored a fantastic try from his own 22 veering outside his opposite man before outpacing the covering defence. Well, it would have been fantastic had young Mr Street remembered to put the ball down instead of dropping it like a three year old girl, cue much hilarity on the touchline.

The second half carried on in much the same vein. Trentham simply had too much firepower all over the park. The visitors were a weak side but in the past Trentham have let their let their own standards slip when faced with this kind of opposition and it was good to see them maintain their concentration levels for eighty minutes. Ben Bicknell added another try, as did Aaron Barker. John Street did eventually score two tries and they finally let Joe Turnock onto the score sheet late on. Kris Oldacre saved the forwards blushes by scoring a mazy try and ensuring that backs did not score all 10 tries. Roger Weston kicked the remaining 17 points to end up with a personal tally of 27 points but still managed to lose the man of the match award to Josh Collins who had a great game from the flank. The whole back line played with great vigour and athleticism throughout the game and reaped the tries they deserved. Eccleshall in the cup are next for Trentham with the game being played under floodlights on Tuesday night.

13/10/2007

Trentham vs Oswestry (H)

Trentham produced a classy performance to defeat Oswestry by 34-17 in a friendly match played at fortress New Inn lane, where Trentham have not been beaten since 2005. The performance was all the more impressive considering that Oswestry are from the division above Trentham in the league structure and are doing well in that division this season. Apart from a slight drizzle conditions were good and lent themselves to the progressive rugby that Trentham try to play.

Oswestry had an initial burst of energy when the game began but this energy soon dissipated as Trentham began to assert themselves. This game was probably the best performance by Trentham’s forwards this season as they dismantled the opposition pack in all facets of the game, particularly picking and driving from the base of rucks which caused no end of problems for the Oswestry defenders.

Trentham got onto the scoreboard within ten minutes through Ben Bicknell who received the ball following a blind side attack on the opposition 22 and scythed inside before swerving outside the last man to get under the posts and score the try. The try was converted by Roger Wilkinson / Weston who did not miss with the boot all day to score 17 points.

Trentham’s next try was all about forward power. Bromley’s throw in to the lineout was claimed by skipper Dono and the home pack set up a driving, rolling maul that rumbled over the try line. Matt Standley eventually put the ball down but the try belonged to the omnipotent pack. Weston kicked the conversion and two more penalties to make the score 20-0 at half time.

Trentham started afresh in the second half, Johnny Hallam again took the field in the second half due to work commitments and Trentham began to build sustained pressure on the opposition through their forward power. The pick and go was still being used effectively, the scrum was going forward and the lineout was ruthlessly efficient. Roger Weston was marshalling his backs with some aplomb as well as kicking the ball prodigious distances downfield when called upon. Trentham scored their finest try of the day on fifty minutes. Ben Bicknell found himself in space on the halfway line and set off on a powerful run, as he was tackled by the covering defence he managed to offload the ball to Steve Dono who had been in hot pursuit, Dono took the ball on and also managed to offload the ball out of the tackle under extreme pressure. Findlay Burke gathered the pass and galloped the remaining ten metres to cross the line and score a great team try.

Trentham’s final score was another one for the forwards, great driving from the base of rucks set up another thunderous rolling maul 10 metres out, which was drawn to the try line like a tractor beam. Matt Standley was again the try scorer, as lethal as ever from three inches. Weston kicked the goal to maintain his 100% record for the day. Oswestry did manage to get on the scoresheet with two converted tries and a penalty but whenever they got close Trentham always seemed to find another gear to pull away again. The pack has started to come into its own this season after sometimes being outshone by the dazzling backline play last year. Collins, Standley and Oldacre were everywhere in the loose. Rathbone made his usual Dave sized dents in the opposition which makes a change from him making Dave sized dents in his own team at training. Aaron Barker was punching holes in the defence all game from scrum half while Michael Herbert had one of his best games in the shirt at full back. Trentham’s momentum is building nicely this season but their progress will be sorely tested next week when they fly to the isle of man to face table toppers Douglas in a crunch game.

06/10/2007

Trentham’s line up was again much changed as they played host to Prenton, who had reluctantly travelled down from Merseyside on quarter final day. Injury, Marseilles and car theft had robbed Trentham of key players, particularly in the backs where a drastic reshuffling was required with a few players in unfamiliar positions. Conditions were ideal however and Trentham’s pitch is in a grand state this season following its expensive makeover. Trentham claimed their third league victory on the bounce, running out 22-10 winners.

It would not take long for Trentham to get off the mark with a gem of a try. Prenton were on the attack just inside Trentham’s half. Sharp work by the pack gave Trentham possession following a turnover. The ball was slipped to Joe Turnock who set off down the touchline like a gazelle, the covering defence just about stopped him but he managed to offload the ball to the supporting Josh Collins. Josh put his head down and was hauled down 5 yards out. He flipped the ball up to Dave Rathbone who crashed over for the score. Roger Weston, playing in the centres this week, was wayward with the conversion but it would be the only kick he would miss all afternoon. 5-0 to Trentham.

Trentham’s pack was dominant in the set piece all day, particularly in the lineout and was always able to exert pressure on the opposition in these areas. It was a period of sustained pressure in the opposition 22 that led to Trentham’s next score. The pack led the onslaught into enemy territory with a series of pick and drives before Prenton were forced to kill the ball and concede the penalty. The kick was duly despatched by Weston to make the score 8-0.

Prenton now began to get back into the game and hit back with a converted try around five minutes later. Their joy would be short lived however as Trentham attacked down the same touch line that had yielded their first try. Good work from Matt Standley released winger Ben Bicknell who skipped around the full back before touching down under the posts for a deserved score. Weston converted to make the score 15-5 going into the half time break. Skipper Dono was forced to leave the field at the interval after sustaining a nasty leg injury and was replaced by Johnny Hallam who had arrived late due to work commitments.

Trentham started afresh in the second half and got on the score board early to deflate their opponents. The try belonged to the forwards. Camped on the opposition 5 yard line for 5 minutes through a combination of good lineout and scrum work they eventually bulldozed their through to the line with a rolling maul. Dave Rathbone was the man who touched the ball down for his second try of the game. Weston converted to make the score 22-5 to Trentham. This score effectively ended the game as a contest and after the score the game settled into a scrappy affair with more set piece work than open play, making it difficult to build any kind of momentum or rhythm. Trentham defended manfully when called upon, only allowing their line to be breached once the game was up to make the final score 22-10.

It was an effective rather than a thrilling victory with a good performance by the pack. Dono and Collins had a field day in the lineout, while messrs Bromley, Gee and Hallam when he arrived put the some hurt on the opposition front row. The backs had to work with scrappy ball all day but had a little too much class for the opposing three quarter line. By a strange twist of fate Trentham face the same opposition next week in the vase of the national cup, where victory will again be paramount.

29/09/2007

Trentham v Ellesmere

Trentham were made to work hard but eventually clinched their second victory of the season as they ran out 21-20 winners away at Ellesmere Port. Five enforced changes from the previous week threatened to disrupt the Trentham rhythm.

Trentham started brightly however and managed to open the scoring through Aaron Barker. A rumble from Dave Rathbone set up a ruck 10 yards out and quick ball was shipped out to rookie fly half Roger Weston who committed a couple of defenders before offloading the ball to Barker who outskirted the covering defence to touch down. Weston also converted to make the score 7-0.

Trentham were then guilty of allowing Ellesmere Port back into the game as they fundamentally failed to get the basics right. A wilfully incompetent referee did not help the team’s discipline as he repeatedly penalised the away side for imagined indiscretions. Trentham could have made things easier for themselves by playing in a more united style. Ellesmere kicked two penalties to get back into the match by half time.

Trentham began the second half afresh and established a bigger lead through Barry Shaughnessy who gathered the ball from a planned lineout move before embarking on a run that wouldn’t have been out of place on Strictly Come Dancing. Shaughnessy skipped through at least 4 tackles before pirouetting over the try line and touching down. With a fake tan and some sequins Shaughnessy could have a big future. Weston again converted to make the score 14-6. Trentham then pulled away with their third try which was a peach. Great forward offloading and interplay carried them 40 yards down the right hand touchline before the ball was released to Mike Herbert standing out in the centres who sucked in a couple of defenders before the ball was passed outside to Ben Bicknell and finally Steve Dono to score the try. Weston kicked the conversion to cap a fine debut at fly half. 21-6

At this point Trentham stopped playing and were punished by penalties and a late breakaway try to leave them sweating on a last minute penalty which the hosts fortunately missed to give Trentham the points. To make matters worse chairman Phil Millington was sent off for unauthorised cleaning of his boots late on to leave Trentham with 14 men for the last 5 minutes. A win then but Trentham will have to improve to be genuine contenders for promotion.

Trentham 2nd Team Home to Ashbourne 3’s – Saturday 29th September 2007

This was the second merit table game but the first the one to actually be played. The opposition was the best team the 2’s played last year, with a solid performance throughout the team and a winger with a side step to surpass Finn’s, which apparently is from God.

Ashbourne are one of the two towns that compete against each other every year in ‘shrove tide’. This is truly a highly competitive game played with a brightly painted medicine ball and well worth a look. It starts with a former goal scorer; which is very rare because goals are very scarce indeed. The speaker is from a bygone era when weapons were allowed, who then regales the crowd with his story of past glories, then a quick rendition of the national anthem, then the ‘ball’ is put into play. The maul around the ball is truly awesome; it comprises of sixty or so farmers at least tight around the ball, each pulling each other’s mullit. This ‘maul’ literally levels small trees, walls and any passing fully-grown hippopotami. Any shop windows are boarded up, as the path of the maul resembles that of a hurricane. The aim of the game is similar to rugby, as the ball needs to cross the river (try line) close to the opposition’s town for a ‘goal’ to be scored. The game lasts for days so lefty would be ineligible because 60 minutes is enough for him, even though he could pass for a mullit haired farmer

Anyway this Saturday was a typical early part of the season game, various injuries thanks to Unit at training and working schedules meant the club had to call on all players past and present to put out four teams, which is an awesome feat in itself, Perhaps this is a reflection on the club, recruiting players by its shining reputation. Anyway a big hand must go to Bakes for turning out and playing injured, Shaun for just getting there and Denbo for helping the team out.

The two’s started with a front row of Jase, Aruba Andy and Mick the mechanic, a second row of Si and another newcomer Julian Martin; yes a real live speaking Frenchman in Trentham, wow! The back row was Pat, Mart and Flowers who had been given a special dispensation to play with the two’s, Ta Cavey. Scrum half was another former favourite returning from a successful cricket season - Sharpey. Mo carried on in the fly-half shirt (even though all the numbers on the shirts are wrong) Denbo started at inside centre until shifting to full back once Shaun got here. Bakes was at outside centre, with the wings being Burt and Noel.

Trentham lost the toss and started playing towards the clubhouse with the sun in their eyes. The 2’s were looking to expunge the Leek game with an assured performance despite the new faces having no time to settle in; sounds familiar to last season with players scarce at the start of the season. But following the kick off Noel showed no respect for his opposite number by trying to bury him in the pitch. Heads were up and the team started to believe, even though Trentham started a man down (well actually Shaun does count as 11/2) the pack began to secure ball for the backs that Denbo used to good advantage by making some yardage. Noel kept putting his opposite number under the ground with Burt catching every high ball that even came near him.

Julian made some powerful runs with Mart’s quick tap dancing feet waltzing around the edges. This was the fourth game into the season and players began to start playing. Unfortunately against the run of play the first score went to Ashbourne. But the team gathered themselves and carried on taking the ball to the opposition, with several good runs being made throughout the park. However Ashbourne were a bit more clinical with the ball and scored another try.

The guys seemed determined to get the next points on the scoreboard and began to really pressure the opposition, who’s scrambled defence held up. But after a period of killing the ball Trentham fired a penalty into touch on the opposition’s try line, which gave them a 5-metre line out.

Now the line out has been solid all season as it was last year, the two’s have another youngster in the back row, who can also jump in the line out. Flowers, despite having a really sissy sounding surname (sorry old man Flowers) is made of stern stuff. Not only that he easily out jumps much taller opposition, by getting propelled into the air a lot faster than a cat tied to rocket, he wins nearly all his own ball and a fair size of the oppositions. However to sucker the opposition, the call was a four ball, which Si duly court and presented to Mick. The two’s then formed a phalanx and drove the ball forward with Flowers grounding the ball, for his second senior score of the season. The kick was missed and despite the pressure no more scores were to happen in the first half.

The two’s carried on playing well but did not get any more points, with possession being squandered and kicked away too often. Ashbourne scored another two tries one of which coming from very poor defending indeed, meant the 2’s had suffered another defeat.

The 2’s had played well in patches and maybe better decision making would have given Trentham a fairer result. The final score 26-5, but turning a team of 15 players out in the circumstances was a victory, even though it didn’t feel like one. At least Lenny had something to celebrate by turning 18.

22/09/2007

Trentham 10 St Edward OB 3

The supporters at New Inn Lane witnessed one of the best all round performances from Trenthams 1st XV, the preparation before the game was good and the mood in the changing room was that of a determined confident squad. The game plan was simple keep it tight, play in their 22 and keep the defence solid we train hard and we train to a certain style that should be demonstrated on a Saturday afternoon. The 1st 20 minutes were Trenthams, we took it to the much heavier St Eddies Pack, with Dave Rathbone playing in the front row and Barry Shaughnessy starting in the engine room with Steve Dono our superior fitness and mobility soon dampened the visitors fire, and when we got a little carried away the more experienced John Hallam slowed the play down reorganised us and set us up to move forward again. Trentham drew 1st blood with a massive push over try from the pack, Dave Rathbone being the man to lie on the ball as we went over.

The back line up was just as impressive the return of James Chadwick at no 9 (who surprised us all and himself by lasting the full 80 minutes) added quality, he communicated well with the pack and delivered good although slippery ball to Phil who played a solid game at number 10. Phil put in some destroying tackles one that left two st eddies players daised and phil with a big hole in the back of his head, however a dirty bandage and loads of blue tape later he returned to the pitch to continue his performance. This disturbance gave st eddies a little confidence and they showed us that they are the well drilled side that we had expected. St Eddies attacked Trenthams half, and 1 to 15 the home team defended valiantly for 15 minutes, the away side came away with 3 points from a penalty given away by a very busy Josh Collins. (his only mistake was that he got caught)

The second half, was a battle of discipline who was going to make the 1st mistake, after 15 minutes of end to end rugby the 1st missed tackle was by trentham and a slow to react pack was left standing as the st eddies number 15 made a break for the trentham line, jo turnocks superior pace could not help us only the great vision and determination of Aaron Barker could, he corner flagged and intercepted the 15 one meter from the line preventing the 5 points from going up in the away sides favour. This break gave the saints a boost of confidence and the trentham team found themselves defending inside their own 22 for a good 15 minutes, the away pack kept it tight but couldn’t quite create the steady platform they needed to deliver good ball to their hungry back line. After a couple of small clearances from Phil Millington trentham slowly worked their way out of their own half and with a couple of good phases of play unleashed Chris oldacre down the right wing into st eddies 22, the ball was set and delivered swiftly down the backs to Jo turnock who touched down it the far corner finalising the score at 10 – 3. With 10 minutes still to play trentham did not sit back they continued their attack giving st eddies no room to play and opportunity to set up play. Trentham know their game plan and need to stick at it throughout the season, if we don’t have the ball we can’t score, we don’t play in our own half and we don’t let teams cross our line.

Trentham 2nd Team Away to Leek 2’s – Saturday 22nd September 2007

This was a bi-monthly fixture last season - that means twice a month not a self-help group or a magazine for confused people, Josh. This team were a true nemesis to the two’s, the fixture would always come when numbers were depleted, and their first team game was cancelled, so not the most opportune of times. But this would be a test of the Everest proportions and things went as normal for the men in green and whire, no front row, cry off’s etc. Less of the excuses.

The team was started with a different set of players to the previous week. Pat stepping in for Dale, Aruba Andy back at hooker following a stint of being a best man at his brother’s nuptials, with Mick swapping to tight head. Hisso joined Si in the second row, with Lefty coming in for Flowers alongside Mart and Sam in the back row. Greg was back in at scrum half; with Mo coming in at fly half. The centres were Shaun and Big Guns Bakes. With the wings being newby Alex and Noel. Mr. Barrow took up residence at the rear.

The guys got changed and then went out onto the pitch, which is so wide the touch judge needs high powered binoculars to see the other side of the pitch and wingers need to communicate by semaphore.

The team started and seemed to be overwhelmed by the occasion rather than the team, the first 15 minutes were pretty shocking with tackles being missed and players backing out of contact situations. However Lefty and Mart kept getting into the opposition and showed the team that Leek 2’s are human.

Leek scored early by breaking around the side of the maul with the defense covering the outside men, leaving a space for the opposition to walk through unopposed at the side of the maul. Trentham wound themselves up a notch and began to play with the ball being passed and recycled. The move culminated with Mart being taken out short of the try line without the ball. The ref felt the offence warranted a 10-minute rest for the opposition number 8, but not a penalty try.

The penalty was just to the right of the post, so the decision was made to take the points on offer. Mr. Barrow pushed the penalty just wide, which would probably sum up the rest of the game for Trentham. The two’s then began to lose players at regular intervals, first Sam then Andy, Shaun. Luckily the colt’s game had been cancelled so the subs bench had players on it. But fresh legs did not help stem the steady trickle of points, even Bakes got bounced over the line by seven stone teenager.

The two’s turned up and did not play until it was too late; this fixture is the monkey on their back. Get off our back cheetah!

15/09/2007

Trentham 2nd Team Home to Stafford 3’s – Saturday 15th September 2007

Following on from the previous week the 2’s hoped to carry on with a free flowing rugby that suits the team with a young set of backs and a reasonably young back row to cover the field and make holes in the oppositions defence. This is all based on a tight five that sets up a platform for the others to exploit.

The team was indebted to Dale, Shaun and Hisso who were cajoled into making an awesome looking front row. This rather large platform allowed a more mobile second row and back row. With Cal becoming Bear Grylls rather than that hairdresser Ray Mears now in the forwards alongside Si in the second row, with Sam, Mart and Flowers in the back row. The team looked very capable of taking the game to the opposition in fifth gear all afternoon. Also thanks to Mick, who showed up to watch a game but ended up refing.

Greg was in place at scrum half; with Colts captain Rich at fly half. The centres were Mo and Big Guns Bakes. With the ever improving Roman on one wing and wannabe Mart look-a-like Loz on the other. Mr. Barrow was in residence in his usual position at the back. Newcomer Noel and Azzer appeared in the second half for Si and Roman.

Stafford showed up with a team that looked an ominous mix of gnarled old guys in key positions in the forwards and backs and some young lads to add pace where needed, a couple even had an antipodean’s twang.

Again Trentham won the toss and started the game with the sun at the backs playing away from the clubhouse. From the kick off Trentham just oozed class and were like a team of Ferrari’s with a few dump trucks for the donkey work. It would be impossible for anyone who had played in that game to write an accurate report of what happened. Trentham were on fire and vastly superior in every department, the front row won every scrum on their own, with Dale putting down a marker with 80 minutes on the pitch in a fiery performance. Mart opened up his bag of tricks for a true all-round performance. Running well with ball in hand, breaking well off the scrum, the usual game winning tackles (most of which were below the chin) and PASSING! But the most exquisite piece of skill being for the first try. After a passage of play down the right hand side the opposition were pushed up tight, but with an inch accurate kick over the top a perfect ball for Loz to gallop onto and catch without the ball bouncing for a remarkable try.

This try set the tone with the tries coming at regular intervals. Stafford could not handle the constant attacking and holes opened up. Even foul play could not prevent the scores – with Mo claiming a penalty try when brought down without the ball after following his own kick in a clear race for the line.

Andy Bakes bagged another brace, with Mart, Sam and Greg all getting on the score sheet. With three conversions coming from Mr. Barrow and Mo.

Trentham were unplayable and set themselves a high target for achievement if they were to play like this every week. Would the team sheet have the same names next week, would Ben not moan about the lost ball (it’s in the hedge) would England qualify for the later stages of the world cup? Who knows? Who cares? Final score 41-5.

8/09/2007

Trentham 2nd Team Away at Uttoxeter

This is it, after months of far reaching advertising campaigns, hours of endless training, the hype following on from the previous, victorious campaign. The pinnacle of rugby has returned…. Yes Trentham second team, willing to fill that Saturday afternoon black hole, all this in shirts that still smelt of last season – nice!

Following on from the previous season the second team had a familiar look with the players hopeful to pick where they left off – That this free flowing rugby with high scoring games, mainly going to the team in the green and white.

The team had to press gang some players into positions unfamiliar, but this was willingly done so the game could take place. The front row started with Pat Topham at loose-head, not his usual position but after months of putting off any exercise Pat filled the role exceptionally well. Aruba Andy started in his preferred position of hooker after playing all previous matches as a prop. Mick ‘the mechanic’ Johnson swapped sides in the scrum to tight head. Si Hawe the newly elected captain was in the second row alongside Nick Hissey; who through years of lifting of alcohol, not just to his mouth meant his back was unable to take the strain of the front row. The back row had Danny ‘I live in a penthouse’ Wright at blindside, hoping that the many training sessions over the summer would catapult him into the unknown – being on the pitch for a whole game of rugby. The new fresh faced number 7 was Adam ‘Marge’ Flowers making his first start for the 2’s. And just to bring the average age of the back row past 21 was the previous season’s talismanic captain – Martin Almond. Greg wore the No.9 shirt, with the Colts captain, Rich Urwin at 10. The inside centre was Shaun with Andy ‘the calcium kid’ Baker at outside centre. The wings were Callum ‘Ray Mears’ Dillon and Daniel-San Looker with Mr. Barrow at full back. The subs bench was filled with Roman, back after having a prolonged visit to the mother land. The other sub who had been sheared for the occasion was Dale Jones, making a massive return from a horrendous injury.

Trentham ominously won the toss and started the game with the wind at their backs on a very hot day on a very hard pitch. The teams looked evenly matched with both sides having several young players scattered throughout. Uttoxeter were looking to play an open game and trying to run the ball at every opportunity with their scrum half orchestrating the play. Trentham were defensively up to the job and stopped Uttoxeter on the gain line, both forwards and backs alike.

A rusty Trentham team began to get their hands on the ball, but moves not carried out in a competitive game since last year were floundering with the ball not being recycled quick enough or stolen by a strong Uttoxeter back row. The set pieces started off very average but began to build impressively. The scrum settled with the front row gaining dominance over their opposite numbers allowing the scrum half and back row to run different plays.

After about ten minutes of play following on from a couple of phases where the ball was recycled and passes went to hand the backs went forward, with each player drawing his man, Andy Bakes minus his guns stepped back inside his man and put on the after burners then drawing the winger in, passed the ball outside to Danny who kept the pace electric drawing in the full back, then a perfect pass back inside to the silver booted Bakes allowed the centre to finish the move with a try. Which Mr. Barrow duly converted, 7-0.

Uttoxeter tried to re-start the game with a ‘funny’, which Shaun duly caught then ran the ball back through the attackers and came close to going all the way but was stopped just short of the line, plus he nearly ran out of breath.

Trentham began to dominate phases of play but were struggling to find that killer ball, with the passes not going to hand or players taking the wrong options. Following on from such a move Trentham floundered close to the Uttoxeter line 15metres in from the side. Uttoxeter stole the ball and then shipped it to one of their late arrivals, who then took the ball up the blindside, having eluded several sloppy tackles the player found himself in space with no one in front. The player ran a fine individual effort, which was not converted leaving Trentham still in a deserved lead.

Trentham had to start again, building up good field position and pushing home their advantage. The away side were awarded a scrum close to the Uttoxeter line in a good position, which was duly won. The forwards began to drive the ball forward and tie in the opposition back-row, which left space on the large blindside. This was exploited by Trentham with a move of the back of the scrum ending with Greg going over in the corner, Mr. Barrow missed the kick.

This left Trentham 12 – 5 up at the turnaround, with Dale starting the second half after some earlier appearances on the pitch as a blood substitute and one for Lefty, who was taken off the pitch against his will by Andy B – Probably thought he wanted to go off! The second half started as did the first with good open rugby which suited the conditions but not some of the more mature players.

The line out functioned very well with Trentham winning nearly all their ball and at least half of the opposition’s. An eager to learn Flowers was at 2 with Si at 4, the added height of the lifters meant Trentham soared supreme. However moves off the line out faltered at times with poor positioning of blockers but through hard work the team learnt it’s lesson and eventually put things right. An attacking lineout on the home side’s 5metre line presented Trentham with another chance to put things right. It was a text book move, well executed with Si catching the ball then Mick securing. Uttoxeter’s defense was good, but Trentham did not panic and changed the angle of attack with Shaun adding his muscle to the attack. Lefty secured the ball from Mick then drove back inside and was propelled over the line closely followed by Si. The ball was secured and grounded with the only threat to stopping Lefty, being from his own players trying to claim the score.

Trentham added another score following a move that passed through most hands with several phases of play; Greg went close and passed back inside to Si in close support, who was brought down by a Uttoxeter player who had the attack covered. But fast recycling by Colin resulted in Marge, who appeared to cover every area of the pitch, popping up in support and going over in the corner.

Trentham relaxed a bit with the home side getting another two scores. But fine work by the backs and kick over the top allowed the resplendent silver-booted Andy Bakes to wrap up the game and secure a worthy ‘Man of the Match’ performance. Several players shone on a hot day; Callum with his excellent running and ankle tackling came close to getting on the score sheet but a dubious decision from the home linesman robbed him of that glory, Shaun looked powerful, Marge with his work ethic, the list goes on.

The two’s performed well and learnt from the game and showed some of the touches from last season. It was important to start well and also get Dale back on the pitch and involved in the team play. The final score 29 - 19 in favour of Trentham, the bookies hot tip, who were the only team at the races.