Recap
It was a sunny February afternoon that saw Kempston look to repeat their winning ways in the Merit League so far, topping the table as they did after 2 wins from 2, plus a string of really strong friendly matches.
Kempston took to the field at Olney strong in numbers, boosted by a local arrangement with Cranfield which has borne fruit for both sides.
However Olney 3rds had other ideas, and from the get-go were up for the contest, running in 3 tries in short order over the first ten minutes. Credit to K’s who never let their heads go down, and battled bravely against a fierce onslaught from an incredibly strong 3s side (some might say it wasn’t their 3s, but the writer couldn’t possibly comment…) The K’s captain, John Higginson, rallied the troops and led by example, scoring a try mid way through the first half, to break a 10-year try drought, and he easily converted.
Buoyed by points on the board, K’s kept at it, but unfortunately through errors let through a couple more Olney tries. If there was one saving grace this far, it was that the Olney no10 had failed to find his mojo, and had yet to convert any of Olney’s tries so far. Scoreline at the halftime whistle was 25-7 to the home side.
John rallied his players again, and in a speech reminiscent of Henry V at Harfleur, urged them to summon up the blood and stiffen the sinews. The speech clearly did it’s job, since K’s won the second half and pushed Olney hard for the rest of the game. Tries came in thick and fast from Tristan (a fine corner effort when a gaping space round the posts was beckoning!), Nathan, Ewan, and a little known player under the name of Penalty – Olney infringed close to their line clearly stopping a try-scoring opportunity and the ref had seen enough, running to the posts and signalling for a penalty try.
Olney scored twice more, their no10 managing to find the posts for one of them.
Final score 37-29, and whilst it wasn’t the W the K’s captain demanded, it was a gallant defeat for which everyone could hold their heads high as they walked to the changing rooms and the wonders of the communal baths…
Post-match honours:
Man of the match:
Liam – for his massive work rate, hard yards made and hands clearly coated in glue at the lineout!
Dumbo of the Day:
Gaspard – for oversleeping, being late for his lift and making the committee member bringing the playing kit late to the venue!
The team now focus on their next away fixture before a well-earned break, this time against Bedford Swifts, looking for payback for their narrow defeat against K’s before Christmas.