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Parknews
The e-Magazine for Rosslyn Park Supporters - Issue 26 2014/16 - 18 February 2015
7-TRY ROMP AT RICHMOND
W
elcome to Parknews. What a super performance at Richmond
last Friday! The 7-try win took Park to the top of the table for 24
hours, and underlined the fact that we are ready to pounce should
Ealing slip. Coventry did slip – in a bad tempered match at Esher, our
next away opponents – and so Park move back into second position.
After a couple of matches in which we failed to make the most of
our chances, the finishing at Richmond was lethal. Richmond contested the first half well, but were unable to make much of their
possession as they met an impregnable, well-drilled and committed
Park defence. By way of contrast, from the moment Welsh sevens international Adam Field hared up the wing for our first try, after Scott
Sneddon had threaded over a penalty, Park looked really sharp every time they gained possession.
Six of our seven tries came from the wingers, Dave Vincent bagging four of
them, all in the second half. The pack put in their usual big shift and constantly threatened to drive the home forwards off the ball. Richmond had
been putting some sound results
together against sides like Coventry
and Blackheath, so the value of this
win should not be under-estimated.
Towards the end Park were running
Richmond off their feet to the extent that the final whistle felt like an
act of kindness after Dave Vincent had scored a quick-fire hat-trick in the last 5
minutes. Does anyone know whether that is a record at National level?
Vinny’s in again!
Alex Codling was delighted, “I was extremely proud of the performance on Friday. Our intensity and accuracy with and without the ball was excellent. To win
in the manner that we did, against a team who had recently drawn against two
of the form teams in the division in Coventry and Blackheath, is testament to
the effort that was put in by the starting 15 and the boys who came on from
the bench”.
This Saturday
Alex, of course, knows better than anyone that at this game you are only as
good as your next result. Turning to Saturday’s match at home to basement
club Macclesfield (kicking off at 3:00PM) he said, “This week we face a very
resilient Macclesfield team who despite their league position, have been very
competitive in games, this was highlighted by their performance against
Blackheath last time out. They arrive at the Rock with nothing to lose which
makes them very dangerous”.
Macc, to put it politely, are not having a very successful season having won
only two of 22 matches. However, when we won away there earlier in the season they looked a lot better than their league position suggests. They have
shown the odd spark of recovery, only to be followed by the proverbial bucket
of cold water, but they are always likely to put in that really good performance
in a match against the top sides where there is no pressure of expectation on
them.
Park win the ball at
the back of the lineout at Richmond
on Friday
Forthcoming fixtures
Saturday 21st February
1st XV
v
Macclesfield
National 1
Home KO 3:00PM
Plus Annual Rosslyn Park Beer Festival
from 3:30 until late
To book for the pre-match lunch please call the Club
Office on 020 8876 6044
The Clubhouse bar will also operate normally before,
during and after the match
Hatters TBA
B XV v Chiswick II
Middlesex Merit 1
Richmond Park KO TBA
Hammersmith & F IV v 4s
Middlesex Merit 2
Away KO TBA
Barnes III v Nomads
Surrey Combination 1
Away KO TBA
Macc were relegated from National 1 the season before last, but bounced
straight back. They are run by some real salt of the earth rugby people, but
Send all articles, reports and correspondence to: [email protected] (click for e-mail)
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Kiba Richards leads a Park attack
at Richmond on Friday night
with no ‘sugar daddy’ they struggle to compete for players against
relatively junior local clubs. That could all change if development
plans come off, but in the meantime only a miracle will save them
from relegation again. Like many clubs in trouble, they play with
tremendous team spirit but have not enjoyed the best of luck. At
full strength they are a useful side indeed, deserving of our full respect. Saturday’s match will be no walk in the park, that is for sure,
and your vocal support will be very much appreciated.
The 1st XV have the rare luxury of a week off from League Rugby,
the following weekend being one of those reserved for Postponed
matches from earlier in the season. So our next League action is
away to Esher in a local Derby on 7th March. After a fair start to the
season Esher went through a patch of bad form, but bounced back
on Saturday to defeat Coventry. That result alone confirms that
Park cannot afford to be on anything other than top form.
The Esher ground is at Molesey Road, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
KT12 3PF, near to Hersham Station on the Waterloo - Woking line
is very close to the ground entrance. On leaving the station, turn
right under the bridge and the Ground is 300 yards on the left.
By car take the A3 out of London and continue down to turn-off
to Esher (A244). Follow this road (Copsem Lane/Claremont Lane)
through Esher Village, and across High Street into Church Street,
turn left into Lammas Lane towards Walton-on-Thames (A244)
along dual carriageway. Turn right at large roundabout into Molesey Road, under the railway bridge at Hersham Station, and the
Ground is 300 yards on the left.
Jack’s back
P
opular scrum half Jack Gash is back and should be available for
selection this weekend after a brief loan to Wasps. He played
(very well, by all reports) in their recent LV Cup match against
Northampton at Franklin Gardens and really enjoyed the experience of playing in front of a large crowd.
1st XV League Table and Stats
For National 1 results and fixtures click here
For the current National 1 league table click here
For other National 1 stats click here
For directions to National 1 grounds click here
Clubsides
W
ill Thorogood reports that the 6 Nations weekend curse,
again, caused chaos. From an original schedule of Hatters v
London Cornish 2’s and Nomads v C.S. 1863 2’s, both games were
either postponed or cancelled by the opposition. We “ended up”
with a RP Combo XV away game with a supposed Chiswick XV!
Well, they (Chiswick) turned up with a VI, not even a VII. Desperate
for rugby, our XV were able to use their squad of twenty-two to mix
and match with those few Chiswick, and played three twenty minute sessions, before the England game beckoned! The score-line
isn’t relevant, but, at least players got a run-out!
On a down note, B’s skipper and stalwart, Nick Jones, injured his
knee, again, playing in this game, after having gone through reconstructive surgery last year, and months of rehab . I’m sure that
we wish him all the best and a speedy recovery
League tables for Clubsides:
For the Zoo Sports Shield Division 3 table (Hatters) click here
For Middlesex Merit Table 1 league positions (B XV) click here
For Middlesex Merit Table 2 league positions (Fours) click here
For Surrey Combination 1 table (Nomads) click here
Slingbacks
Y
our next chance to see the Slingbacks in action at the Rock will
be on Saturday, when they will be dispensing ales at their annual Beer Festival which kicks off at 3:30. The following beers will
be available, along with some ciders yet to be announced:
Brecon Brewing Three Beacons 3.0%
Celt Experience La Tène 3.5%
Kite Cwrw Gorlas 4.0%
Sambrooks Scrumdown 4.0% (special 6 nations beer)
Sambrooks Pumphouse 4.2%
Bluestone Brewing Red of Heaven 4.3%
Gower Lighthouse 4.5%
Grey Trees ICB JPR Pale Ale 4.7%
Celt Experience Home of the Fruitcakes 6.0%
There is no charge to enter the festival, but you should buy one
of the tastefully designed festival pint glasses from which to quaff
your selection.
The Slingbacks would like to thank club sponsor and former Park
player, Duncan Sambrook of the eponymous brewery, for his great
help in obtaining the beers and setting up the operation.
Duncan’s Wandle bitter plus Trooper and the full range of lager,
cider and other drinks will continue to be available over the Clubhouse bar during the festival.
Slingbacks League table
You can follow this link for a League Table and results for the Slingbacks.
National 1 Round Up
E
aling Trailfinders retain leadership of National 1 after an impressive 39-22 away win over Hartpury College, who had been
enjoying really good form of late. We are four points further back
in second place after Friday night’s win over Richmond. Coventry
got only a losing bonus point in a 20-17 defeat at Esher in a match
that saw two red cards. Esher look to have turned the corner after
a poor run, and are our next ‘away’ opponents.
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Blackheath are 19 points behind in fourth place after a 25-13 win
at Macclesfield, two points ahead of Fylde who returned to winning ways with a 28-24 win at Blaydon. The match featured one
notable milestone with long-serving Fylde winger Oli Brennand
scoring his 200th try for the club.
sidered joining the 400 Club? There is a monthly prize draw, plus
a significantly larger end-of-season draw. It costs just £4 a month.
Contact Boothy in the Club Office (020 8766 6044) for full details.
Hartpury and Richmond lie sixth and seventh, though Darlington
Mowden Park would have gone above Richmond had they not
incurred a 5 point penalty earlier in the season for a registration
irregularity. Their 27-18 win over Tynedale attracted more than a
thousand spectators – the biggest National 1 attendance of the
day.
Wharfedale secured a precious win over Old Albanian to move
nine points clear of the drop zone, leaving OAs only two points
ahead of Cinderford, who occupy the third relegation berth despite a 28-12 win over Loughborough. This weekend’s OA v Cinderford match looks to be crucial. Macclesfield are now 27 points
south of safety in bottom place and Tynedale now have 9 points
to make up.
When Park played Cinderford recently there was some comment
among our own people about the absence of their star winger Nev
Codlin. It turns out that Nev tore a muscle in the win over Ealing,
and this week his contract with Cinderford was cancelled by mutual consent to allow him to concentrate on rehab.
This weekend’s fixtures:
Blackheath v Esher
Blaydon v Wharfedale
Coventry v Hartpury College
Ealing Trailfinders v Darlington Mowden Park
Fylde v Tynedale
Loughborough v Richmond
Old Albanian v Cinderford
Rosslyn Park v Macclesfield
400 Club Winners
F
ebruary winners in the 400 Club draw were: Colin Edney £100,
Tom Baigrie £50 and David Evans £25. If you want to support
the club and potentially make some money yourself have you con-
N
ext week’s Parknews should be on the Club website between
Tuesday / Wednesday lunchtimes. Contributions are always
welcome. The deadline is usually 13:00 on the Tuesday of the week
of publication. If you’d like to be notified as soon as it is posted then
please opt to follow the Twitter feed @RPNoseyParkerwitter, if you
can’t make it to a match then catch Mo Sher’s twitter commentary
throughout the match on @Rosslypark.
Lack of articles and reports from around the club, largely due to cancellations on 6-Nations weekend, has left a lot of space to be filled with
photos this week . It just had to happen the one week David Whittam
couldn’t make it! Back to normal next week hopefully.
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DON’T FORGET THE BEER FESTIVAL ON SATURDAY
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DAVE VINCENT BAGS A HAT TRICK IN 5 MINS
Richmond 6
Park 44
National 1
By Mo Sher
ark took the honours against their near neighbours and rivals
Richmond at the Athletic Ground on Friday evening, running
in four second-half tries en-route to securing a convincing 44-6
triumph.
P
Adam Field about to score Park’s first try
On a brisk night in south-west London in front of a 500+ strong
crowd, the hosts started the brighter, with the wet underfoot conditions determining a game plan based around the short ball.
Happy to soak up both the elements and the early pressure, Park
remained patient and were rewarded with a cracking opening
score.
F
or all the ball Richmond enjoyed in the opening 40 minutes,
Park enjoyed almost complete control after the break.
A second Kirby penalty was all Richmond had to show for their
efforts, with Park delivering their most complete
40 minutes of rugby this
season.
Dave Vincent timed
his run into midfield
perfectly, slicing open
the Richmond defence
with Neville Edwards
and the returning
Adam Field outside
him. As the ‘Mond
defence
desperately
backtracked, Field took
full advantage, sidestepping his man and
crashing over for the
opening score.
Ireland and Edwards combined to put away Vincent
for the first of his four tries
on the night with Ellis driving over from close range
for the bonus-point score
– his 16th of the campaign.
Rampant
Despite plenty of endeavour and commitment,
Richmond were now
The Park front row ready for
struggling to contain a
action
rampant Park. Kiba Richard’s surge to the line was
halted a metre out, but
Vincent was on hand to dive over and the same man scored twice
in two minutes at the death.
Phases
Undeterred, Richmond
continued to work the
phases and should
have been on the
board a few minutes
later. Chris Surman broke clear ten metres out but, with men either
side of him bearing down on the whitewash, refused to release the
ball and ran straight into the covering Edwards.
Carter and Field combined in the five metre channel to hand Vincent with a simple finish for the hat-trick, before a lighting Edwards
break saw Richmond run out of defenders, and Vincent race in
from just inside the ‘Mond half to complete the scoring and cap
a nigh on complete performance from the men in red and white.
Rob Kirby’s penalty eventually got the scoreboard moving for
Steve Hill’s team moments after, but Park were to deliver another
excellent try.
Mark Ireland’s purposeful carry took him deep into the red-zone,
splitting the Richmond defence. Moving wide quickly, skipper
Hugo Ellis intelligently engineered a 2v1 situation, with Field once
again profiting to hand the visitors a 15-3 lead at the interval.
Park: Edwards; Field, Ireland, Mackey, Vincent; Sneddon; Carter; Liffchak, Woolstencroft, MacKenzie; Inglis, Bowley; Shires, NorthcoteGreen, Ellis.
Subs: Bellamy, Lundberg, Macfarlane, Whelan, Richards.
Park scorers: Vincent (4T), Field (2T), Ellis (T), Sneddon (P, 3C)
Aaron Liffchak temporarily
halted
Kiba Richards on a run
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