Mannerians 9 Oakham 29

Mannerians 1st XV 9pts Oakham 1st XV 29pts

It was an abject end to a game that started with promise for Mannerians, and which probably summarised the problems besetting the Bakewell club right now. This was the first clash between the two clubs and an air of anticipation shrouded the Lady Manners School pitch.Oakham were revealed to have a young, enthusiastic side but it was Max Crampton’s men that started with the more positive and creative play.

Indeed for the first quarter of the game Mannerians enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory, but sages on the touchline were heard to mutter "yes, but unless we get a try soon Oakham are going to know they’ve weathered it.”

And weather it they did, with Mannerians’ only reward being two well struck penalties from the cultured boot of Will Moroney. Meanwhile Oakham were starting to build some phases; their strong running backs taking flat passes, at pace, from deep. This stretched the Bakewell side and soon earned the visitors a 5-metre scrum, from which they claimed a rare pushover try. Moroney added a further penalty to maintain the Mannerian lead, but Oakham were clearly ascendant.

Individually, Mannerian players did have good games. Ben Sizer was again immense, picking up well under pressure at the base of a retreating scrum and putting in endless tackles. Ethan Bagshawe had another fine game. His service seems to have become quicker and more precise and he has the eye for a gap that always keeps the opposition honest. And Rob Wells was once more the pick of the three quarters, though his role was of necessity more defensive this week.

Tom Oldfield and Tom Crapper both came off their wings looking for action and Jack Duncan and Jake Ward were always a threat. Alistair Gregory and James Turner put in some good work in the loose and Tom Spencer was his usual troublesome self. But as a team the performance was loose and as Oakham’s confidence built they converted another try to give them a 15-9 advantage going into the break.

Mannerians knew they were still only a converted try away from victory, but it was difficult to see where the tries would come from as Oakham’s defence remained resolute and it was to be the first time in several seasons that the Bakewell side failed to cross the line. By contrast, as fly half Moroney pointed out, Oakham were playing with the kind of panache backed by solidity that typified Mannerians’ past few campaigns.

Despite Edward Armstrong being mysteriously sin-binned, following an earlier incident where the referee had mistaken the petite ginger prop for the non petite non ginger Spencer, Mannerians played with commitment to maintain the margin – without ever looking like scoring.

Towards the end though, the visitors extended their lead. Mannerians seemed to mark all the Oakham players who didn’t have the ball, leaving the fellow who did with a relatively easy run in. This pattern was repeated in the final play, leaving the home side looking for answers.

Manager Joe Oldfield was puzzled by his side’s last two performances. “We haven’t just become a bad team overnight,” he claimed, “though we are not playing with our usual confidence.” He had been pondering the reasons over the weekend, but couldn’t point to any one defining factor.

“There has been talk, justified talk, about a lack of facilities and a lack of structured training over the past few months due to the weather, and without a doubt those are contributing to the problem. But if we pretend they are the only issues we are just looking for excuses. We sustained a better standard of rugby in this league for the past two seasons without a significantly different set up.” The manager also pointed to other problems.

“A major contributor to our successes of recent years has been the similar success of the 2nd XV. This provided genuine competition for places and many of the stars of that 2nd XV have now proved themselves in the 1st XV. But this season the seconds have only managed a handful of fixtures. We really do need people to make themselves available every week if we are to grow as a club.

And you can’t hide from our injury list. Henry Bagshawe, David Boam, Will Brocklehurst, Ben Hopkinson, Paul Webster and Dave Greagsby, to name but a few. We’ve also lost Ed Hutchinson and Tom Elsworth, George Hutchinson hasn’t been available and Josh Bagshawe is taking a sabbatical. Mike Dabell is trying his hardest to retire and Peter Carr and Tom Moroney have left the country. The Armstrongs are available only on an alternate basis at home. That’s very nearly a team. For a club of our size to lose so many people all together is too much to absorb. It’s astonishing that we manage the quality we do all things considered.”

Oldfield continued to mull things over when his mind turned to his weekend’s entertainment. “In a rare change, I watched rugby at the pub,” he claimed. “England look better than at any time since 2003, and even my beloved is enjoying it. That said, we were both delighted when that clown Andrew Sheridan got voted off. He does remind me of one of my favourite TV stars though. Patrick Star off SpongeBob.

After the game the Oakham lads stayed around for a cracking sing-song. I must say that their manager’s singing knocked mine into a cocked hat. I shall be practicing all week and will do a solo next Saturday. Anyone with requests should post them on the club website.

I’m a bit hoarse now so my beloved and I are going to have an early night with the last episode of our Life on Mars box set and some of our Special Toys. I’ve a feeling Sam Tyler’s finale is going to make me a bit weepy so I’ll need a little something to perk me up afterwards.”

Team: Duncan; Oldfield, Wells, Ward, Crapper; Moroney, Bagshawe; Crampton (c), Driscoll S, Armstrong (Pearce 55-65), Spencer, Driscoll D, Turner, Gregory (O’Neill 52), Sizer.
Not used: Webster

Scorer:
Moroney, 3 pens