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Trentham/Newcastle Vets Play at Twickenham

Trentham/Newcastle Vets Play at Twickenham

Michael Bezus17 Apr 2014 - 13:23
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Trentham & Newcastle Veterans Join Forces To Take on The Parliamentarians at Twickenham in support of the RFU Injured Players Foundation

On Tuesday the 15th April 2014 a combined side made up of Veterans from Newcastle (Staffs) RUFC and Trentham RUFC headed off to Twickenham to take on a side from The Commons & Lords RUFC which was to include Newcastle Under Lyme MP Paul Farrelly, Newcastle RUFC Chairman Richard Thomas, and Trentham's Adam Slater.

On a beautiful sunny Spring Morning players and spectators gathered at the Spirit of Rugby entrance and were escorted up to the Members Bar for morning coffee. As the time for battle approached the players were whisked away for the photo calls and to prepare for the game.

The visitors from Staffordshire were graciously allowed to use the England changing rooms with the Parliamentarians housed in the away changing rooms. After briefings from the Match Officials and then the Medical team, the players walked through the Twickenham tunnel on to the hallowed turf to warm up under the guidance of Ex-England & British Lions flanker Neil Back.

The game was to be played in 4 20-minute quarters under Parliamentary Rules which included uncontested scrums and limits on the distance any player could run. Despite these apparent restrictions they had little affect on the game which was ferociously contested. Trentham/Newcastle took an early lead in the first quarter when Man of the Match Ashley Attwood rounded the defence to score under the posts. This was however cancelled out shortly after by some slick inter-passing by the opposition. The second quarter commenced with a scrum and the veterans kept up the pressure despite losing Scrum Half Dave Allen after 10 minutes with an ankle injury. After some fierce forward play in the rucks and some massive hits in the tackle the Trentham/Newcastle men broke down the defence and Dave Shields crossed the line to take the Staffordshire men into a 12-7 lead at half time.

The second half began as fiercely as the first with injuries begining to diminish both sides. The third quarter was again a hard fought battle but the changes made by the Parliamentarians saw fresh young legs come on and up the pace a little. They soon scored a converted try which took them back into the lead 14-12 at the end of that period. In the final quarter the Trentham/Newcastle men began to tire and gaps started to open up allowing the Parliamentarians to run in another brace of tries. The Staffordshire men were not done yet however and scrum half Leighton Glover broke through the defence and crossed the try line before handing the ball to Ian Dale to score. The final whistle came not too soon for some in what was a commendable performance from the Veterans with the game finishing 28-17 to the Lords and Commons.

Following an excellent buffet Lunch in the Members Bar a presentation was held to hand over the Sponsorship money, exchange ties, and give out man of the match awards. Man of the Match for Trentham/Newcastle was Ashley Attwood and for the Lords and Commons Nick King. The total raised on the day for the RFU Injured Players Foundation was an amazing £14,108.00 with more still to come as the Westminster team promised their cheque was in the post .

A very big thank you to all who took part, to Paul Farrelly MP for Newcastle U Lyme for getting the fixture off the ground, to all the family and supporters who made the trip, to all the sponsors and to the RFU and Twickenham staff for the use of the facility and their support.

Newcastle/Trentham Team :- Forwards: Martin Almond (T), Charles Atkin (T) Graham Atkin (T) Mick Bezus (T) Matt Bridget (N) Ian Dale (N) Tony Gee (N) Steve George (N) Simon Hawe (T) Colin Hinds (N) Steve Moore (N) Mick Procter (T) Chris Taylor (T) Andy Thomas (N) Mark White (N).
Backs: Dave Allen (T) Ashley Attwood (T) Chris Blakeman (T) John Farrow (T) Mark Hall (T) Leighton Glover (N) Andy Howell (N) Neil James (T) Mark Mellor (N) Pete Skinner (N) Dan Topping (N).
Coach; Neil Back (Ex England & British Lions), Physio/Kit man/Reserve; Dave Sheilds Water/Ball Boys; Joel Bezus (T) James Skinner (N) Oliver Skinner (N)

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