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Saturday with Dave Booth
Andy Payne15 Jan 2015 - 17:10
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Gordon League 10-19 St Marys Old Boys
This game would probably not fit into my top five so far for the season but that certainly does not take away the effort from both sides to produce a close contest. Credit must also go to the League for the state of the playing surface, which Chairman Nigel Mc Mahon explained to me had money spent on it and looks in perfect condition. With the home side losing the toss the visitors elected to get the slope out of their way in the first period by playing up it and must have felt pretty pleased with the score tied at five each at the break. Neither side could seem to put together long passages of play, thus only scoring one try apiece in the first half. With the slope now in their favour the visitors put much pressure on the home side in their own twenty five and eventually ran out winners by nineteen points to ten. The home side were pleased with their performance, chatting with club captain Simon Morgan afterwards he said that earlier in the season the boys would have been well beaten by a side like this and things now seen to be on the up, but ultimately they would have preferred a win. With player numbers a constant issue within our clubs at the moment, many only able to raise one side on a Saturday, i really do wonder if the people at the rfu do understand just how desperate things are getting at grass roots level, especially with a world cup on the horizon and this City hosting a few games. What the answer is “God only knows” but the days of seeing in the Citizen on a Friday evening with some of our clubs naming five teams seems to be a thing of the very distant past or was it just a thing of dreams. Whatever it is, I don’t think we’ll see that again! Let’s just hope the world cup can bring some people into our clubs and we can all breathe a sigh of relief and turn things round.
Back to Saturday now, just time for a quick pint after, as I was attending a fiftieth birthday party of Mrs “Smiler” Payne at Hucclecote Rugby club and had been warned by the wife that i was not to stay at the League drinking all that free beer with likes Karl Kocheran and Jock Whitson. They do have a chance again this week to catch up with me as i will be at the Stroud’s players reunion and Gordon League are the visitors. Look forward to it!
Also on the guest list were the patient and the carer, Robbo Reeves and Madge Danks. You’ll be pleased to know that Mage is still consistent with his poorly leg and around Xmas time had yet another stay in the royal. According to Smiler he’s clocked up 48 nights so far, no wonder there’s a bed shortage for genuine cases.
Cheers Dave
This game would probably not fit into my top five so far for the season but that certainly does not take away the effort from both sides to produce a close contest. Credit must also go to the League for the state of the playing surface, which Chairman Nigel Mc Mahon explained to me had money spent on it and looks in perfect condition. With the home side losing the toss the visitors elected to get the slope out of their way in the first period by playing up it and must have felt pretty pleased with the score tied at five each at the break. Neither side could seem to put together long passages of play, thus only scoring one try apiece in the first half. With the slope now in their favour the visitors put much pressure on the home side in their own twenty five and eventually ran out winners by nineteen points to ten. The home side were pleased with their performance, chatting with club captain Simon Morgan afterwards he said that earlier in the season the boys would have been well beaten by a side like this and things now seen to be on the up, but ultimately they would have preferred a win. With player numbers a constant issue within our clubs at the moment, many only able to raise one side on a Saturday, i really do wonder if the people at the rfu do understand just how desperate things are getting at grass roots level, especially with a world cup on the horizon and this City hosting a few games. What the answer is “God only knows” but the days of seeing in the Citizen on a Friday evening with some of our clubs naming five teams seems to be a thing of the very distant past or was it just a thing of dreams. Whatever it is, I don’t think we’ll see that again! Let’s just hope the world cup can bring some people into our clubs and we can all breathe a sigh of relief and turn things round.
Back to Saturday now, just time for a quick pint after, as I was attending a fiftieth birthday party of Mrs “Smiler” Payne at Hucclecote Rugby club and had been warned by the wife that i was not to stay at the League drinking all that free beer with likes Karl Kocheran and Jock Whitson. They do have a chance again this week to catch up with me as i will be at the Stroud’s players reunion and Gordon League are the visitors. Look forward to it!
Also on the guest list were the patient and the carer, Robbo Reeves and Madge Danks. You’ll be pleased to know that Mage is still consistent with his poorly leg and around Xmas time had yet another stay in the royal. According to Smiler he’s clocked up 48 nights so far, no wonder there’s a bed shortage for genuine cases.
Cheers Dave
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