Fantastic season in danger of derailing

So....it's been a while (awkward tension). 


I apologise for not being more active but I have been distracted by a fairly major factor - all will be revealed in due course!


But what has happened in the meantime? Well, our glorious and magnificent season is in grave danger of becoming a train-wreck. A terrible string of results and uncharacteristically lackluster performances have lead to a debilitating tumble down the league table. And it all started with an away trip to the Herts/Essex border...


We approached the Bishops Stortford game with genuine optimism. Despite an embarrassing loss to Civil Service, we were convinced we could repeat our momentous away win to our Herts rivals. But things, inevitably, didn't go according to plan. For 20 minutes, we were in the game but then the tide turned...and apparently we forgot how to tackle.


Stortford deserved to win the game as we weren't at the races. But we weren't really allowed to be at the races. A truly baffling and inept refereeing performance meant we could not get a sniff at the breakdown area. As the defending team, we weren't allowed to even think about competing for the ball. If we did, instant yellow card. 


Frustration soon boiled over and we lost our cool. 45-10 the final score with three yellow cards and a red. This was a serious dent to our season but, more importantly, to our confidence and belief. 


And then the snow came. Our home fixture against Tonbridge was postponed due to the weather so we had two weeks of stewing and gym circuit training instead. When the ground finally thawed, we hosted Maximuscle's Staines.

The Rangers prepare for a scrum against Staines

We knew from previous games against the Middlesex side that they always push us to the limit. We were not expecting an easy game as their league position would naturally suggest. And we were not disappointed. They brought a fiery physicality and a desperate determination to push out of the bottom three. 


Despite going behind early, we managed to dominate large parts of the match. We were behind at half time but the tricky conditions meant we were still in with a shout. A tense but thrilling game was settled by a moment of genius from Scott Browne. A pin-perfect chip to the corner straight into the gleeful hands of Titch Roberts followed up by a crucial touchline conversion gave us the lead. The forwards kept Staines pinned down in Tring Corner until the final whistle blew. A tense 13-11 win to restore faith.


Just a week later, however, and we were faced with a problem. The home fixture against Tonbridge had been rearranged on a week that had been marked as free. This meant many people had already made plans and were unavailable so we were forced to field an under strength side. 


Now, to many this may seem like an arbitrary point - if there's a game you play as simple as that. But behind any amateur, semi or even full professional Rugby player is a long suffering partner. If plans have been made, it is very difficult/unfair to cancel them at the last minute - or risk spending the rest of the month sleeping in the dog house, which is no way to prepare for a game! I wasn't able to play in this game, but a 44-17 loss was all anyone needed to know. 


We had previously targeted the away fixture to Bracknell as a must/should win game. A match to rebuild our confidence and push on to triumphant unbeaten run to the end of the season. But last weekend was probably our lowest point. We totally capitulated. Our defence was weak. We coughed up the ball time and time again due to stupid and reckless offloads. And we were duly punished. 


We were taught a valuable lesson in Berkshire. For much of the game we dominated and played some excellent phases. The scrum was solid and our lineout was excellent. But we weren't nearly clinical enough. Like birds following a trawler (ooh I've gone all Cantona!), Bracknell lived off our scraps and made us pay.To be honest, we looked rusty and bereft of ideas under pressure. We were too flat and predictable in attack and too high and noncommittal in defence. 


A final score of 38-3 against a team we were expecting to beat shows we are a team at crisis point. It is easy to look for excuses - bad refs, illness, injuries and absentees - but we have to take ownership of these results and learn from the mistakes. We need to lick our wounds and regain some belief and confidence.


London Irish Amateur will be visiting Cow Lane this weekend and we know we are due a big performance. Or else face our season coming totally off the tracks. 


One final point, lamp-post impressionist David Shotton has decided to leave the club and start a new adventure in Australia. You never know, it might improve his chat! Good luck, mate. 

...by the skin of our teeth!

"Winning is a habit" - Vince Lombardi

10 minutes.

10 crazy minutes was all it took. To turn a game around. To break the visitors hearts. To spark euphoria in a sleepy market town. To turn a dismal weekend into a season highlight. 10 minutes to remind us all what is truly great about our game.

Okay, okay. A tad melodramatic, I admit. But Saturday’s epic win will go down in Cow Lane folklore – 11 points adrift heading into the final minutes before the greatest comeback the club has ever seen.     

The Boys celebrate the final whistle 

The Game was a physical war of attrition, more Agincourt than Twickenham with bloodied bodies strewn across the pitch. But in and amongst the brutality were glimpses of divine brilliance. A deft cross-field chip from Newton landed straight into the gleeful hands of Chennells who cantered over the line. 10-3.

Stortford fought back through their muscular forward pack. The referee reset scrum after scrum on our five-metre line before eventually awarding a penalty try. We finished the half with a slender 13-10 advantage. We probably deserved the lead but it had been a well-balanced, tense and absorbing game.

After the break, Stortford raised the physicality. They lacked creativity in the backs so relied on their hard running pack to make the holes. A succession of quick pick and goes and offloads created space for Fly-Half Coleman to weasel through a gap and the visitors had the lead.

Stortford looked the press home their advantage, using the conditions to keep us pinned down in the now legendary Tring Corner. However, a Rorke’s Drift-esque defensive effort kept them out, repelling scrum after lineout after scrum. A show of valiance that would have dampened Churchill’s eyes. 

Just when it looked like we had dug ourselves out of the hole, a truly horrific mistake by yours truly, gifted them a try. We’d forced a turnover and from the scrum, I broke right into the gapping hole where they winger should have been. Just as I was offloading to Chennells, their Open-side knocked the ball from my hands. Stortford pushed the ball wide from the turnover and scored. Schoolboy error.

As the seconds ticked by with the visitors’ defence holding strong, I started to despair, fearing a split second hesitation had cost us the game. Hope was fading fast.

Then, in a display of naïve arrogance, the young Stortford number 10 decided to express his delight in the score line. In his view, the Game was over, they had ‘embarrassed’ us on our home pitch, we had ‘nothing’.

Like a red rag to a rampant bull, these choice comments gave us the energy boost we needed. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, with the Stortford pack running on empty, we pressed hard down the centre of the field - the Mateai Express flattening our new friend Coleman. A crash ball in the centre before the ball was spun out to Newton, to me and then to JP who finished superbly in the corner. 18-24.

We continued to push, sensing the tide had changed to a Tring Tsunami with wave after wave of Tring pressure. We were camped on their line before Newton popped a quickly taken penalty to an on-rushing Chennells for the inevitable score under the posts. 25-24.

In a final act of Karmic retribution, the Fly-half's restart didn’t go 10 metres, gifting us a scrum as the last play of the game. The ball kicked out, deafening celebrations from the sidelines, 5 wins from 6 games, and poor Sam Coleman left to ponder what might have been.

Chin up, son!

A View from the Back Row

As regular readers of the blog will testify, I set myself some rather ambitious goals during pre-season. Five games into the new term, I wanted to stop and take stock of where we are as a team and where I am on the road to my ultimate goal, a spot in the Hertfordshire squad.

We’ve started the season in blistering fashion. The Tring Rangers Class of 2011/12 has scorched its way to 4 wins from 5 games and an unprecedented 3^rd in the league.

The team has developed a pragmatic ruthlessness. With the cold, compassionless eyes we have put teams like Havant and Luton to the sword. A visceral physicality combined with the same dogged determination has lead to hard fought wins against Ampthill, CS Rugby and also put the frighteners on league leaders Canterbury for large parts of the game.

Don’t get me wrong; there are still many things to work on. The scrum is still a little shaky, we are giving away too many penalties at the breakdown and we need to make sure we’re concentrating for the full 80. But this is an impressive start from an exciting team – certainly the best since I’ve been involved at Cow Lane.

The stunning form of talismanic Tom Newton has been superb as always. However, we no longer rely as heavily on our Full-Back as in the past. Papa Bear Lamden has put in some monster performances already this year. The Points Machine Chennells has continued his form from last season. Sam Clapham is showing all his Mike Phillips-esque skills at 9. New recruits Tom Mills, Benny Criddle and the Mateai Express have slotted in well to give us one of the most potent backlines in the league.

But perhaps the most pleasing aspect of this season has been the emergence of the pack. It is fair to say that Tring has lightweight forwards and have been bullied on occasions at this level. I remember games against Ampthill at home last year, Staines away and the games against Shelford to name a few.

We have not changed much in the way of personnel. Shagged-haired Kiwi James Farmer has moved on to pastures north of the border. Perennial sick-note Mason has missed much of the season through injury and the ferocious Nick Radley has been sidelined with a broken foot and now cracked ribs.

It would appear that experience at this level suits us well and we have grown in confidence and stature. We are no longer here to make up the numbers. Shottsy and Captain Morgan have refreshed our lineouts and our driving maul is a genuine marvel if set properly.

The scrums are still pose a question. We have a small squad, especially in the tight 5. So if we do have an injury or absence then it is much more keenly felt. However, we’re not looking for an arm-wrestle – that’s not our style. We just need a secure platform for quick ball.

The pack has chopped and changed already this year but we have managed to keep going with minimal disruption. Tom Metcalfe and Harry Bloomfield have both returned to University after excellent starts to the season. But the triumphant returns of Huw ‘Corporate’ Slater and Briggy have added a welcome familiarity to the team. Rob Baldwin has been a revelation in the Back Row as well. And who would be foolish enough to mess with the Brown Brothers?!

The Front Row Union 

From a personal perspective, I am enjoying my Rugby more than ever. This is an exciting team but also a great bunch of guys. Bus trips home are always a highlight – whether we win or lose.

Of course there is an obvious correlation between happiness and the winning streak. But there is a real buzz at training. The sessions are fast and furious – everyone is willing to try new things, push the boundaries and improve as a squad.

I’m still a little behind my pre-season targets. I haven’t crossed the whitewash yet and I need to get my body position lower. But generally, I have been happy with my performances. I have worked hard on my fitness and my new role in the team is to bring others into the game. I feel a big performance is on the cards.

Surprisingly, my tackling has vastly improved from last year. It still needs some way to go to get to where it should be but the technique training with John and Rob Edwards seems to be paying off.

This weekend will be an important opportunity for me. There will no doubt be County representatives there so I need to make sure I perform. To be honest, I’m not feeling pressured by this – I’m having too much fun to worry about that!

I just can’t wait to get out there!