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“What the dickens was THAT?”
“Just Ossie on his skateboard.”
“What skateboard?”
“The one you bought last Monday.”
“That wasn’t a skateboard! That was a rectangular Trolley Dolly (Aldi Special Buys £10.99). I got it for moving pot plants and gro-bags round the garden, to help me bad back.”
“Try telling Ossie that ….”
Now apologies to all you soccer fans, but you’ll have to put up with a bit of egg-chasing over the next couple of weeks or so
. That’s driven by a couple of factors. Firstly, my game plan is to always try to see a “new” team whenever I attend a match, and the way the fixtures have panned out this season, that means rugby union games at North Dorset RFC - just at the moment - are providing that necessary incentive. And secondly, with the cost of unleaded fuel skyrocketing
, the less leisure mileage driven in the car at present, the better for my wallet.
Anyway, as an incentive to read on, at least this report is a BOGOF!
First up:
Friday 04/03/22 – Friendly (Simon “Hutch” Hutchinson Memorial Game)
North Dorset RFC 44 – Butleigh Amateur RFC 36Admission: free
Programme: none
Refreshments: burger, coffee and chips £5. The trick with the chips is to absolutely smother them with vinegar and salt, I’ve found ….
Attendance: 102
A rare opportunity to tick a Somerset RFU affiliated club which flies well under the radar. Founded in 1976, Butleigh Amateur aren’t in any organised league set-up but just play social Sunday and midweek games. I’d never even heard of them before this one!
According to the Somerset RFU Handbook, their HQ is the Rose and Portcullis in the village of Butleigh (in the Keinton Mandeville – Somerton – Glastonbury triangle) but that pub closed permanently last December. Their ground is listed as Kingweston Park, near Keinton Mandeville, which I assume must be part of Kingweston House, a boarding establishment for pupils of Millfield School – the only place I could find in the area admitting to a rugby pitch! Mind you, research of the Millfield School website discloses that one of their former Kingweston House boarders was a certain Makovina Wanangarua I Whanga Nui-Atara Vunipola ….. that’s Mako Vunipola (Saracens and England)!
The Handbook also describes their colours as “Multi”, which is an understatement to put it mildly ….. every shirt was a patchwork of colours and no two shirts were alike!
Anyway, said to be a 7:00 kick off, I was mildly alarmed to find a completely deserted pitch and patio when I arrived at 6:50
, but my fears were unfounded, both teams were happily warming up in the bar
. The corner and line flags were put out at 7:08 and the goalpost protectors at 7:15, and after a short speech and 30 seconds of applause in memory of “Hutch”, we got underway about 35 minutes late. I’m not a huge fan of “clapping” as a mark of respect, but it would have been churlish not to have joined in.
A free-running rugby game as befitted the occasion, played in 4 x 20 minute periods to allow for team changes and to give the veterans a breather
, Butleigh notched a try after only 39 seconds, but by halftime, the home team had secured the lead (22-19) and eventually ran out winners despite a spirited Butleigh come-back in the last period.
A bitterly cold night, most sensible folk (including Ossie) spent some time in the clubhouse during the match in the warmth. Social rugby at its best, and home in 5 minutes.
As I got out of the car back home, carried on the wind, I distinctly heard a rousing “Three Cheers” sounding out – the grassroots rugby ritual where at the very end of a game, after warming down, the players form a double guard-of-honour line and cheer their opponents off the pitch. I reckon the Nest is a mile away from the rugby ground as the crow flies (or a mile and a half as the flightless Ostrich drives) – it was quite uncanny.
Second up:
Saturday 05/03/22 - Tribute Dorset & Wilts 2 Central (Level 9)
North Dorset II RFC 65 – Bath Saracens RFC 5Admission: free
Programme: none
Refreshments: Wow, they’ve changed and expanded the Menu overnight
! A very decent Bacon Roll and coffee for £4. Crispy bacon, just how I like it!
Attendance: 73
A quick revisit to Slaughtergate to watch Bath Saracens, a club with slightly hazy roots but apparently descended from Admiralty RFC, quite a rugby force between the wars and winners of the Civil Service Cup in 1936. Bath, as a city, has (until relatively recently) been an outpost of various Admiralty / Ministry of Defence departments relocated away from Whitehall.
The Badgers’ (North Dorset II’s) title challenge has hit the rocks in recent weeks, losing at home to rivals Amesbury and Wheatsheaf Cabin Crew (a team with its HQ at the Wheatsheaf pub in Salisbury), so today was an absolutely must-win game against a middle of the table side. The result was never in doubt after the home side notched 4 tries and a bonus point inside the first 20 minutes, the relentless driving of their pack being the prime force.
Job done, North Dorset settled back a bit, and whilst never allowing Bath Saracens any sort of foothold in the game, there was no further score until a couple of quick tries were run in just before half-time (38-0).
Saracens saw more of the ball after the break and did get on the scoreboard with a close-range try following a penalty on 66m, but North Dorset ran in a further 5 tries in the second half. The margin of victory should have been greater; several easy conversions were missed
. It was another bitterly cold day with a strong northerly wind blowing straight down the pitch; I was very glad to get home and back in the warm.
