Last minute wonders – Pinner 26 Royston 22 match report

This week, Pinner travelled to take on Royston in what was to be a physical, entertaining and surprising match.

Conditions were favourable and both teams looked to take advantage of this by playing fluid and clinical rugby, with Pinner initially reaping the benefits. After some early posturing from both sides and a deadlock in the middle of the park, the ball was spread wide through the Pinner back line. Fullback and superstar Mark Razzell broke the gain line, carried the ball one hundred and forty metres before passing out to flying winger Chris Jepson. Jepson crossed in the corner five minutes into the game with an unsuccessful conversion, making it 5-0.

The battle for dominance was then taken to the forwards, as Pinner appeared to have the advantage in the backs. Royston dominated the scrum, which they used to devastating effect, but after a switch around of positions Pinner managed to equalise this somewhat. Still, Royston forwards piled on the pressure, utilising quick pick and drives and rolling mauls to the dismay of the Pinner pack.

Pinned in their own 22, Pinner defended solidly and with tenacity for ten minutes, pushing out every attempt Royston made. With seeming inevitability, however, Royston eventually managed to cross with Pinner left reeling. The conversion was successful.

The hard work had taken its toll on Pinner, and this showed from the kick off. After receiving well, Royston shipped the ball out to the no. 10, who managed to step inside his defender and break away. A last, desperate attempt to stop him was made by Razzell, but the line was crossed in the corner with Pinner scratching their heads. No conversion was made.

The two tries made in quick succession gave Royston a massive confidence boost and had a profound effect on Pinner, who spent the rest of the half defending against powerful and clinical forward play. The home side were kept out, however, and the score at half time was 12-5.

After some harsh half time words, both teams looked ready to take the fight to the other side once more. Unfortunately for Pinner, it was Royston who came out on top. For what felt like an age, Pinner seemed incapable of retaining possession or creating any space. Defence was strong, however, and the heavy tackling weakened the Royston attack somewhat. After 15 minutes of deadlock, Royston found themselves in the Pinner 22 after a strong rolling maul. Reset and recycled, The Royston 8 man found himself half a gap and shrugged off a tackle to cross in the corner. Again the conversion was unsuccessful, making it 17-5.

Heads started to drop on the Pinner side and being on the back foot for so long was taking effect. Breaking the norm of the game, Royston shipped the ball out to the backs for the number 12 to receive and somehow slip through two Pinner defenders in open play, crossing just to the right of the posts. Somehow, this was unconverted.

With just 15 minutes of play left, all hope seemed lost for Pinner. The ‘never say die’ attitude began to come through, however, and Pinner started to pick up the pace. Still struggling to retain possession and feeling battle weary, they stuck to their guns and got in the face of the opposition. Complacency set in for Royston, and they paid the price dearly.

With five minutes of play left, numerous penalties were being awarded to Pinner, who, as much as possible, opted to take quickly and charge up the field, gaining much ground. At the half way line, they lost possession and Royston looked to push the ball wide. Reading the play, centre Alex Goring intercepted a short pass between the backs and sprinted to the sticks. 7 points for Pinner, who were now chomping at the bit.

At the kick off, Pinner received well and again charged hard at the defence, sucking in numbers and forcing errors. A penalty was awarded which club captain Reza Sibilant took quickly and passed to Fly half Steven Griffiths who had spotted a gap. Passing the gain line, he found the support of big Bernard Richter who galloped to the line under the posts. Another 7 points added and Pinner trailing by just 3 points.

Shocked and worried, it was Royston’s turn to be on the back foot. The ball stayed firmly in the half of the home side, and they found themselves travelling backwards. Not long after and at the stroke of 80, Pinner were awarded a penalty 10 metres from the line. The referee had warned that this was to be the last play, and although it was kickable, Sibilant decided he wanted the win. Tapped and passed to the powerful front rower Simon Whitcombe, the defence was sucked in and the ball was recycled quickly. From there, the ball was put out to centre and man of the match Goring, who drove through three desperate defenders and slammed the ball down to confirm Pinner’s victory. The conversion was successful, making the final score 26-22. It was a wonderful turn-around and a great nod to the view of never giving up.

The Tomas Report – Grasshoppers Festival Sunday 31st October

Today, I went to a rugby tournament at Grasshoppers.  Due to lack of players from Kilburn they asked us to form a Barbarian Team.

We called ourselves the KP Peanuts (KP = Kilburn and Pinner), however Sam complained as he is allergic to Peanuts!

We played 3 matches, the first against London Welsh, the second Grasshoppers (Hosts) and the last against Hammersmith.

Here are the match scores:

London Welsh 15 – 0 KP Peanuts

Grasshoppers 10 – 0 KP Peanuts

Hammersmith 10 – 5 KP Peanuts (Our try by Sam)

We played well and were hard to beat but lost as we lacked tries.  We also had a disadvantage having only played with Kilburn 3 times before.

Sam’s try was excellent, he ran from our try line to theirs scoring, and I passed it to him.

We did some crunching tackles and a few decent passes and runs with the ball.  We lost as the other teams were more prepared however we did well to score 1 try.

Everyone tried their best and it was a good team spirit.

I really enjoyed it, despite losing, and am looking forward to the next tournament.

Tomas Matthews

Pinner RFC mini’s tour to Bognor April 2011. (update)

Wednesday 1st December 2010

Hello everyone, thank you for your support in joining the 1^st Mini’s tour of Pinner RFC. I am really looking forward to it and I hope you are as well. It is however time to collect the second payment now, what I would require is another £20 per head, this should be paid to myself by

Sunday 5^th December please. Cheque or cash is ok, cheques payable to Paul Parker-Brice.

I will be collecting the remaining monies over dates during January and February, this all to ease the burden of paying for the tour during the up and coming expense of Christmas season, hope it suits.

I am also looking to do some fund raising in December it will take the form of a rag collection, this will involve leaflets being delivered to houses in your areas then at a later date returning to collect donations, l have the contact for a company who will come to the club and collect the rags and hopefully leave us a nice size cheque to go towards the tour in some way so please keep hold of your old clothes ask friends and others to hold onto it for us as well. Also if anyone has any prizes that could go towards raffles, which we could run over the season to raise funds, please let me know.

Thank you,

Paul Parker-Brice.

OK here are some details:

Pinner RFC Mini’s Rugby Tour

2010 – 2011 Season

Friday 8^th April until Monday 11^th April

Hello everyone this is Paul Parker-Brice here the Under 10’s coach. A tour has been arranged for Pinner RFC at the end of the season. I am the person who will be arranging this excellent chance for all the players to get away together as a team, also for as many of the families to come along as possible for a fun weekend. The dates for this tour will be, 8^th April until 11^th April 2011, it is a weekend organised by a company called Burleigh Travel (www.burleightravel.co.uk) who are a company that specialise in sports tours.

The weekend tour would be held at a holiday park in Bognor about 1hour 40mins away, it is proposed that we take the self-drive option to keep the price down. Accommodation will be 6 or 8 berth caravans close to the beach, these will be on a self catering basis but I’m sure we can arrange some team food evenings again to keep the cost down. The price of the tour weekend also includes entertainment passes from Friday until Monday. On Saturday 9^th April, the minis teams will play a tournament it is hoped that we can take U6/U7 combined a U8, U9, U10, U11 & U12 numbers allowing however these teams can be combined as in accordance with the RFU guidelines should it be necessary. On Sunday 10^th the youth team U14 would have their tournament. Please read the following notes describing the tour weekend and l hope as many of you as possible come along for this weekend, as it would be great for the kids and the adults alike a really good social event.

The cost for the Tour would be £82 per person as long as we get over 45 people to go, l would be operating an easy payment system for people to pay week by week or month by month?

Come and join the tour 50 people have already secured their places with the deposit, but we still need YOU. More players needed to take part in the touring teams.

TO SECURE YOUR TOUR BOOKING I NEED YOU TO CONFIRM YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO, AND FOR YOU TO GIVE ME A £20 DEPOSIT PER PERSON.

THIS NEEDS TO BE HANDED TO MYSELF NO LATER THAN SUNDAY 7^th NOVEMBER 2010

Interested in joining us, email your name, the number in group, which age group the player is from, contact number and email,

To Paul Parker-Brice at precisebrice@hotmail.com

General Information

You will be based in six or eight berth caravans in a holiday park on the beachfront close to Chichester. There are plenty of on site amenities to keep your group entertained, such as a brand new heated indoor swimming pool complex with slides, steam-rooms, sauna and a state of the art fitness suite. There’s also crazy golf, go-karting and even a fun fair. In addition, there is regular entertainment for all ages each evening on site. This ideal location, combined with the Bognor Mini Rugby Festival will make for a memorable tour.

Friday 8th April

You will depart your club and travel to Selsey. Once checked in you will then have the remainder of the day and night free to explore the park and use your leisure and entertainment passes.  Once you have settled into your accommodation you may wish to spend the evening enjoying one of the on site entertainment shows.

The park has a number of evening shows to cater for all ages.

Saturday 9th April

You will assemble as a group and travel to Bognor RFC for the Bognor Mini Rugby Festival.

10.00 Hours – Bognor Mini Rugby Festival

Following the RFU continuum we will ensure that all sides will receive the maximum amount of Rugby available to them under the RFU guidelines. Once the festival is over you will return to the Holiday Park to continue your celebrations, and make the most of the parks facilities where a visit to the arcades or the pool and spa complex is highly recommended.  In the evening, you can enjoy a show in one of the themed bars or cabaret clubs on-site which is included in your price.

YOUTH FESTIVAL

Sunday 10th April

This will be a free day where you may wish to arrange a training session on the park or perhaps enjoy the park’s extensive facilities, such as the state of the art pool and spa complex. The modern Oasis pool complex comprises facilities such as a Family fun pool with water slide and Lazy River, Health suite with sun beds, massage, steam room and sauna, Competition pool with six 25-metre swimming lanes and State-of-the-art gym, with 50 exercise stations plus

Youth Festival: Sunday 10th April

This morning you will travel to nearby Bognor RFC to take part in the Bognor Junior Festival, with teams between U/13 and U/16 competing.  The festival is run on a group format to ensure everyone receives plenty of rugby.

In the evening you will return to your accommodation in order to continue your celebrations

Monday 11th April

After checking out of your accommodation the day is free to make the most of the park’s facilities before your journey home.

Protected: Mini Section: Home friendly matches Sunday 17th October (photos)

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Pelicans versus SloughRFC (2nd/vets match) Saturday 16th October. (photos)

just for starters, some photos from the first Pelicans game of the season, match report to follow. Should mention here player of the match Angus, who played number 8 for the first time and apparently liked it! But enough text – here’s some pics

Pinner Mini Section: Sunday 17th October. Visitors; Kilburn Cosmos and Staines

On a bright yet crisp October morning the playing fields of Pinner & Grammarians was awash with a multitude of players, representatives from Kilburn Cosmos RFC and Staines RFC had travelled to the friendly fixtures with the hosts Pinner & Grammarians. There was a real buzz about the air and even though both the main pitches were out of use; one nearing completion from the extensive drainage work, and the other, being used to play the league fixture; Pinner youth Under 14’s versus Bedford Under 14’s. So space was going to be tight and some quick movement of cones and kit allowed enough full size pitches for every age group. It was great to see so many people tucking into their bacon rolls, cups of tea, dog walking and more importantly a vast number of young players keen to do their best for their club. With warm ups quickly dispatched, coaches were keen to get into match mode (particularly Staines who saw this friendly fixture as a way to get match practice in before they had an ‘important’ fixture the following week!) well if they thought they could just turn up and expect to win, they were in for a surprise. Kilburn, on the other hand, play in the same manner that Pinner do, fun, enjoyment, learn new skills and apply them to a game situation where emphasis is on playing as a team not with a must win mentality.

From what I heard from around the pitches there were some very good games being witnessed, the under 12’s put everything into their game, also, playing the first time as a baba team (Pinner are supplying players to Kilburn to help them out in the forthcoming Grasshoppers Festival) showed great team play, supported each other and scored some magnificent tries. The under 11’s also held their own and proved a difficult team to beat, pushing Staines throughout the games and win more than they lost.

At the time of writing I am still waiting for full match reports from coaches/parents.

It was also nice to see our RFU link coach Martin pacing up and down the touchlines of all the games and said that he intends coming over at least three more times before Christmas to run training sessions for initially the younger ages. He left the club very impressed with what he had seen and the enthusiasm of all the players. Also, if you looked around the pitches you might have seen members of the first team who were enjoying the weekend without a league fixture keen to help out.

There will be additions to this shortly, in the mean time there are some photos posted (protected)

Youth Section: Under 14’s Maidenhead Tournament Sunday 10th October with Photos

The long-promised Indian summer greeted us at a bustling Brayswick Sports Grounds early Sunday morning.

Boasting the largest squad Pinner had yet assembled, the long queues to park and even longer walk to the pitches did nothing to deter a Pinner side that was keen to right the wrongs of the previous week’s lacklustre display.

Drawn against the hosts themselves for our first of three matches, the coaches instilled in the players the need not to concede an early try and it was the most pleasant of surprises when Amir Singh went over for his first try for the club in the first minute!  Capitalising on powerful runs from forwards Tyler Hone and Dominic Seiler, the ball was channelled to fly half Piers Marx-Carr who popped it wide to Amir who accelerated away from outside their 22 and over. A mere 6 more minutes passed before Daniel Villamil, our determined loose head, went over for a 10 – 0 lead. Once again, ferocious tackling and driving from Tyler and Dominic saw a 20 yard gain before the ball went to 6′2″ lock Bradley Stevenson. With his usual tenacity, “Big” Brad made a solid 12 yards before a short pass to Daniel on the 5 metre line and we were on our way. The second half saw centre Adriaan Viljoen make his club debut and a crunching tackle in his 1st minute on the pitch certainly made his intentions known! 3 minutes into the second half and we switched off for the briefest of moments, allowing their outside centre too much space and he completed a long solo run with an unconverted try for a 10 – 5 score line. The best was yet to come! With 2 minutes left on the clock, a huge driving maul led to possibly our best ever try! Dominic Seiler broke out and made nearly 10 yards against 3 of their players before passing to David Wilkinson, the other lock. David drove forward, went to ground and presented to Jamie Benevides who ducked 3 tackles before a short pass to Adam Stone, our centre. He made 3 yards before Big Brad took it over after a fine 20 yard run, with our 3rd try being well converted by Harrison Davies for a 17 – 5 result.

Due to scheduling issues, our next match was a 2 hour wait which did nothing to enhance the boys’ concentration.

Next up was Reeds Weybridge, certainly a force to be reckoned with. Quick hands and an even quicker winger saw Reeds take a 5 – 0 lead after a mere 45 seconds. Pinner, however, responded well and the rest of the half was spent in the middle of the pitch, with possession split equally but neither side looking likely to score. Worthy of mention through were some huge tackles by Jonathan Hill, our winger and Adam Stone and Jamie Benevides. The second half continued in much the same vein, although a couple of powerful Pinner scrums nearly saw us break free but a loose pass allowed their No 8 to score a great solo try which, once converted, led to Pinner trailing 12 – 0. Further strong passages of play saw some great defensive work, especially from Adriaan, Jamie, Big Brad, Jonathan and Dominic plus some really intelligent and deft play from new scrum half Jack Garraway but, with the whistle about to be blown, Reeds scraped over in the corner for a 0 – 17 final score.

Disappointing but still all to play for as we were 2nd in the table!

This was the match that decided the runner up’s position but, once again, a lengthy break of nearly 2 hours did nothing to help. 2 try saving tackles from Dominic Seiler and a superb, darting run from defence with a massive booted clearance at the end from Adam Stone were not enough to stop 3 quick, too-easily conceded tries in the 3rd, 4th and 5th minutes for a 0-19 score line. To the boys credit, they persevered and a quick-thinking tap ‘n go from Adam Rees saw him over for a 5 – 19 half time score line but with Pinner in the ascendancy, looking dangerous. Unfortunately the break saw Alton score a too – easy try between the posts before 2 tap ‘n goes in succession by Bradley Stevenson and an 8 yard run made it 10 – 26. For commendation were 2 big tackles from Jamie Benevides and Adam Rees against much bigger opposition followed by a try-saving double tackle by Dominic Seiler but, with seconds to go, a poor clearance was charged down by their lanky no 5 for a final score of 10 – 33 and a 3rd place finish for the boys.

There were no players of the day as everyone made their contributions but special mention to debutante Adriaan Viljoen for 3 solid performances; a welcome arrival and a true asset to the team!

Squad:

Matthew Andreou; Jamie Benevides; Harrison Davies; Jack Garraway; Ben George; Callum George; Jonathan Hill; Tyler Hone; Dillon Maloney; Piers Marx-Carr; Adam Rees; Dominic Seiler (c): Amir Singh; Bradley Smith; Bradley Stevenson; Adam Stone; Adrian Viljoen; Daniel Villamil; David Wilkinson.

Fun Mini Rugby Games 5-8 yr olds

As the CCC I hope to enhance your coaching and knowledge of the game and coaching to others. I have investigated a couple of coaching manuals and have purchased this one; mainly for coaches of the younger members of the mini section, although many of the games can be adapted for all age ranges.

such games include:

Zombie Chief, Action Jacks, Don’t feed the monkeys, The Tomb etc

It’s worth having a look at especially as we are looking to introduce the RFU proficiency Awards (coaching meeting/briefing session TBA)

cheers

Spud

ok technical problem – will sort out link shortly! the files to big…… still working on it!

booklet

Pinner and Grammarians Vs Old Merchant Taylors

This week saw Pinner travel to Old Merchant Taylors in what was to be a physical, flowing and ultimately disappointing result for the travelling side.

Conditions were favourable and the pitch was large, so both teams looked to take advantage of this from the off. OMT’s, however, initially looked more switched on and they crossed the line early to the shock and dismay of Pinner. After attacking strongly and pitching deep in Pinner’s half, they earned a penalty when the defence was deemed to be coming in at the side. Taken with a tap, the pass was made to Vice Captain Will Wallace, who put his head down and burrowed through the defence to cross the line. The conversion was unsuccessful.

Straight away, Pinner countered and showed they were awake. Forcing their way down the field with strong lines and support play, they soon found themselves in OMT’s half and with the home side having to make desperate tackles. This inevitably led to infringements which Pinner chose to capitalise on by putting 3 points on the board through the boot of Fly-Half Paul James.

The game was now well and truly on with both sides chomping at the bit, much to the delight of spectators. OMT’s won their own kick off and, after two phases, attempted to play the ball out wide and use the space the conditions allowed. Showing his intelligence and impeccable timing, Pinner centre Alex Goring intercepted a long pass, put his head down and sprinted to the line to cross under the posts. Paul James successfully converted to make the score 10-5 after just five minutes.

The game was shaping up to be a truly exciting spectacle, and again OMT’s showed they were up for the fight Pinner were bringing to them. Winning their own kick off, they tested the defence through powerful forward play and fluid back moves. Just 4 phases later, OMT’s fly half saw an opportunity and kicked the ball passed the gain line for the attackers to chase. Pinner were caught off guard and the pace of OMT fullback, Ryan TaRocha, saw him collect the ball and cross the line in the corner. Again, the conversion was unsuccessful.

The following 20 minutes saw the two teams trading blows but failing on the final push. Running rugby with strong support play was failing to produce results for either side, and it was OMT’s who broke the deadlock by changing tactics. Having established themselves as dominant in the lineout, they utilised this by pinning Pinner in their own half and producing tight mauls which Pinner struggled to keep out. After Pinner were  penalised for bringing a maul down, the OMT scrum half took the tap and passed on to big forward Tyson Dasouza, who battered his way across the line to earn 5 points for his side. OMT’s failed to convert yet again.

Not wanting to change a winning formula, OMT’s kept up the pressure through superior lineouts. The defence stayed strong for some time and Pinner battled hard but, with seeming inevitability, an almost carbon copy of the previous try was earned by the OMT pack for a further 5 points.

Pinner came straight back on the attack and attempted to put the game back on their terms. Superior open and support play saw them quickly advancing up the field, falling agonisingly close to the line on numerous occasions. Eventually, they earned a penalty which they chose not to take quickly like the others. The trusted boot of Paul James put another 3 on the board just before half time to make the score 20-13 in OMT’s favour.

It seemed that strong words were shared at half time as both teams came out visibly ready to continue the fight for dominance. Big tackles and inspired defence were in abundance, much to the delight of those on the sideline. Eventually and after steady forward pressure, OMT scrum half Billy West spotted half a gap and ducked through to open the second half scoreboard. The conversion was not completed yet again.

Not wanting to be outdone, Pinner put the terms of engagement back in their favour by playing a fluid and expansive game. Sucking in the defence, they put the ball through the hands until it reached club captain and back-rower Reza Sibilant who had found himself in the backline. The defence was drifting which Reza took advantage of with the old ‘show and go’, crossing the line to the right of the posts. Unfortunately, the conversion was unsuccessful.

Deadlock resumed as both teams cancelled each other’s attacking play out through strong defence. This was not to last, however, as OMT’s changed their strategy to mirror Pinner’s. Supporting play and quick ball was achieved, with good results for the home side. Taking advantage of the disarray their attack had caused, OMT’s fullback TaRocha crossed the line again after taking an inside ball from a forward in open play. This time, however, the conversion was successful.

At 65 minutes, players from both sides were beginning to tire and this was self-evident in the increase of handling errors. The exchange of scrums suited Pinner well as they had established themselves to be dominant in this area very early on.  Numerous penalties were awarded to Pinner who chose to run it on most occasions but they failed to punch through the defence for a try. This soon changed, however, when OMT’s defence found themselves desperately trying to clear with Pinner bearing down on them. A bodged kick was intercepted again by Goring, who showed his pace by getting clear of three defenders before putting the ball down directly under the posts, giving an easy conversion for James.

Responding to this, OMT’s regained their composure and went back on the attack. In open play, offloads and tight passing were in abundance, making for a very difficult game to defend against. A controversial pass eventually gave them the break they needed and crossed the line under the posts to the dismay of Pinner, visibly frustrated by the lack of punishment for the pass. The conversion was successful.

Not wanting to give up and wishing to forget, Pinner stormed back up the field and put the defence on the back foot. Desperate defending earned them a penalty inside the home teams 22, which they chose to tap and drive. Big forward and Vice Captain Simon Whitcombe stepped up to receive and blasted his way into the defence. Falling just short of the line, he had still completed his job well by sucking in most of the defence, requiring 4 of the opposition forwards to bring him down. The ball came out quickly and was given to Reza Sibilant who tracked across the line until a gap opened up for him to cross.  Again James converted.

Going into the dying moments, all hope was not lost for Pinner and they battled hard to gain back the deficit. Unfortunately, it was not to be and they struggled to regain possession once lost. Desperation set in and discipline flagged, leaving OMT’s with a huge overlap on the open side. Putting the ball through the hands eventually allowed them to cross the line in the corner to solidify their victory. The whistle was then blown and the final score set at 47-32 in favour of the home side.

It was an agonising defeat for Pinner, but a very enjoyable game for all involved and a further, fitting testament to the quality and standards of this league.

match report: Mark ‘mad dog’ Razzle

Level 1 Coaching courses available

I have just recieved this information  from the RFU regarding Level coaching for those who are interested / have completed Rugby Ready course

Please note there are still places available on the forthcoming courses in Middlesex:

Level 1 Middlesex Uni. 4 November – 9 – Closing Date 20 October 2010

Level 1 Colchester 6th Form 17 November – 12 – Closing Date 3 November 2010

Level 1 Wymondham 17 November – 12 – Closing Date 3 November 2010

Level 1 North Herts College 24 November – 6 – Closing Date 10 November 2010

Please can you let your coaches know of these availabilities – all applications (FORM ATTACHED) should be returned with payment to the approved centre at:

RFU London Coaching Centre, Hartpury College, Hartpury, Gloucestershire. GL19 3BE

All coaches should have completed the Rugby Ready pre-requisite prior to this course – all details at www.rfu.com/coach – London North Non- Award pages

ApplicationForm (link)

A Harsh Lesson for Pinner

This weekend saw Pinner and Grammarians host Old Millhillians in what was to be a gruelling game and a harsh lesson for Pinner.

Conditions were less than favourable and this hampered both sides, resulting in the forwards having to do most of the legwork after numerous handling errors. Millhillians opened the scoring by taking three points when Pinner were deemed to be offside, kicked by Joe Ashcombe. The stalemate in the middle of the park, however, appeared to frustrate the players which led to penalties being handed out heavily, particularly against Pinner. MillHillians then capitalised on this by attacking strongly and putting Pinner on the back foot. The defence was strong but the frustration got the better of some players, leading to the sin-binning of Pinner winger Josh Reed after making a high tackle. Shortly after, Millhillians broke the deadlock via powerful forward play and drove the ball over the line. Ashcombe converted making the score 10-0 in favour of Millhillians.

This seemed to wake Pinner from their slumber and they responded by attacking strongly and worrying Millhillians, forcing them to make many errors. Pinner took 3 points from a penalty after Millhillians were caught offside, kicked by lock Dominic Coyle. Although Pinner kept the pace up, Millhillians defence stayed strong and kept Pinner out until the half time whistle.

After the break, both teams came firing out of the blocks and produced some strong running rugby to the delight of the spectators. However, after 10 minutes Millhillians made an error that gave Pinner a scoring opportunity to make it 13-3. Further pressure was put on by Pinner, showing that they weren’t ready to give up, and after a stolen line out in MillHillians 22, the referee awarded Pinner with a penalty which was taken quickly by captain Reza Sibilant. Breaking numerous tackles, he then offloaded to no. 8 Bernard Richter who crossed the line under the posts to the jubilation of players and fans alike. Coyle converted to make it 13-10.

Again, both sides played with tenacity and strength, trading blows in the middle of the park and playing with a high level of intensity. At 60 minutes, however, another penalty was awarded to Milhillians which they took full advantage of by adding a further 3 points to the board. Pinner were then forced to make numerous changes to their line up which upset the flow of play and consistency.

After strong and steady pressure from the Millhillian pack, they eventually crossed the line as the clock struck 70 and the weariness in Pinner began to show. A further infringement against Pinner, apparently the result of their frustration, led to another 3 points being added by Millhillians which furthered Pinner’s woes. They dug deep, however, and held the opposition out for a further ten minutes but Millhillians refused to let up the attack. Just before the referee blew the final whistle, Millhillian centre crossed the line after a wonderful passage of play to signify their dominance in the match. Ashcombe converted to make the final score 33-10. It was a harsh lesson for Pinner, but a fitting tribute to the competitive levels of the league this year, which is shaping up to be a fierce contest.

Next week, Pinner travel away to take on Old Merchant Taylors in what will surely be another exciting competition.

report: Mark Razzle

Player of the week – ‘pickle boy’

Belsize Park 0 – 0 Old Merchant Taylors’

London French 7 – 13 Royston

Old Tottonians 13 – 14 Old Isleworthians

Pinner & Grammarians 10 – 33 Old Millhillians

Quintin 6 – 6 Ickenham

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts	Adjust
Royston	4	3	1	0	89	34	55	16	0
Old Millhillians	4	3	0	1	105	55	50	13	0
London French	4	2	0	2	82	41	41	10	0
Quintin	4	1	1	2	58	48	10	8	0
Ickenham	4	1	1	2	53	46	7	8	0
Uxbridge	3	2	0	1	50	49	1	8	0
Old Isleworthians	4	2	0	2	49	70	-21	8	0
Belsize Park	3	1	1	1	34	28	6	6	0
Pinner & Grammarians	3	1	0	2	41	66	-25	5	0
Old Tottonians	4	1	0	3	40	137	-97	5	0
Old Merchant Taylors’	3	0	2	1	7	34	-27	4	0