Pinner youth Section Under 15s host a great morning of rugby

A very busy weekend for Pinner RFC was rounded off this Sunday with the Youth Section Under 15s organising a four way fixture. Visiting teams; Harrow RFC, Kilburn Cosmos and Fullerians all took part in a fantastic display of youth rugby. With the mini section training on the available space and intermittently supporting the home team, a full clubhouse, hot BBQ and flowing tea all spectators were given a series of very competitive matches. A full match report will follow shorty but in the meantime here are a few images from the morning – obviously weighted towards Pinner! and some more to come, we may even have a few from other matches. A special thanks goes to all that helped and a special mention to Brad, who, without him, it wouldn’t of happened. (Oh by the way Laney, three tiles need replacing, call yourself a perfectionist!)

Narrowly missed victory for 1st XV

This Saturday following a splendid Presidents Lunch, which saw many of the past players attend ventured out of the warm and cosy clubhouse into fresh afternoon to watch the 1st XV play a league fixture with Old Grammarians RFC. A match report will be posted as soon as possible, but you know the score, here are some of the images from the game taken by under 12’s hooker Jacob Talbot.

You might want to have a look  at the Presidents Lunch post to watch a very entertaining video of the clubhouse in full swing with their rendition of ‘Lion Hunt’ are the current first team missing out on something…………….. enjoy

Pinner RFC match report Sat 28^th January

Lack of a kicker cost P&G’s dear.

In front of a large crowd who had enjoyed a good lunch hosted by Club President David Hiles and with the Middlesex CRFU President Paul Astbury and Old Grammarians RFC President Keith McGuiness among the guests P&G’s narrowly lost by one point to visitors Old Grammarians.  Within five minutes the home team were 3 – 0 down having conceded a penalty on their own 22 in front of the posts.  Almost immediately after the restart P&G’s drew level when Simon Griffiths converted a penalty for killing the ball.  Five minutes later yet another penalty taken quickly allowed O G’s centre Jon Watkins to score the first try which was converted by the visiting fly-half.  Pinner immediately retaliated with their own quickly taken penalty by captain Reza Sibilant which saw the ball move through several pairs of hands for centre Richard Southern to score close in. Fly-half Simon Griffiths added the two points to bring the scores to 10 all.  Play ebbed and flowed with both sides evenly matched. However, yet another penalty for not rolling away from a tackle saw the home side once more behind.   Pinner had further scoring opportunities and eventually the referee’s patience was exhausted sending an O G’s flanker to the sin-bin for constantly killing the ball.  With half-time approaching two more penalty chances went begging which should have put the home aside ahead at half-time but the trailed 13 – 10.

The second half saw a much more spirited start by the home side egged on by increasingly vocal supporters.  An injury to fly-half Simon Griffiths required a reorganisation of the Pinner backs.  Mid-way through the half Pinner under pressure made a poor clearance which fortunately was fumbled by O G’s just outside the home 22. The ball was gathered by Sibilant who produced a fine up- field kick behind the visitor’s defence which was no match for the pace of home centre Chris Jepson who easily won the race to touch down.  Replacement kicker Alex Gorring was not able to add the two points but the home side were now 15 – 13 in the lead.  On the half-hour O G’s took advantage of having two reliable kickers to regain the lead from yet another penalty for pulling down in the line-out.  The referee’s enthusiastic use of his whistle did not help the home side.  And so although scoring two tries to the visitor’s one Pinner lost 16 – 15.  The crowd of former players returned to the Clubhouse to enjoy an evening of reminiscence and song that at one time was standard in all rugby clubs but now seems to be out of fashion with the younger players.

With the start of the Six Nations Internationals clubs at this level have a few weeks break from the league programme.

Latest information on the Mini Section Under 12s League progress

Latest information on the Mini Section Under 12s League progress

Sunday 29th January

Owing to a clash of matches at Pinner, with the Youth Under 15’s hosting a four way mini friendly tournament the Under 12’s had to change the venue to Bank of England who stepped up to accommodate the fixture. below is a match report by one of the team players: Paul Nash. Also photographs provided by Graham Souster; big thanks to both

After a thirty minute drive from Pinner RFC, our U12s arrived at the magnificent club of the Bank of England (Roehampton) to play our final matches, prior to the Middlesex festival in March.  Results from these games decide which pool we play in at this end of season finale.

Match 1

Pinner 57 v Bank England 0

A rampant Pinner dominated from the start with Ben Stone scoring a try in the first passage of play, instantly followed by Kai Gordon getting another one over the line. Charlie Gascoigne scored Pinner’s 3^rd try, a fantastic effort straight from the restart.  Kai scored again and Marc Souster finished off the 1^st half with yet another try. All the play was in our half with Bank of England prevented from getting anywhere near the try line by our strong defence.

With only a minute gone in the 2^nd half Pinner scored again, this time with Luke Barrowman scoring his first every try for his new team –  Pinner were playing for show now!  Marc scored Pinner’s  7th & 8th tries and Brandon Cotter finished off the impressive haul -  9 tries in all.  Conversion kicking (done at the end of each half) was a little erratic, with 3 kicks missed, but the 6 converted tries and 3 tries made up the 57-0 white wash handed out to the home side.

Match 2

Pinner v London Welsh

Pinner faced a much tougher challenge with another South of the river team – London Welsh, who are favourites to win the championship. They had already convincingly beaten Bank of England in the first game of the morning.  London Welsh took the lead going seven points ahead after a solid converted try.  A stout defending performance by our Pinner lads kept London Welsh at bay.  Pinner had plenty of possession but went in at half time still seven points adrift.

In the second half, Pinner came back out with solid resolve, the breakthrough finally coming when Marc Souster dramatically scored our one and only try of the game.  Then followed a determined defence from both sides and a try saving tackle from Freddie Hart, in the last play of the game, which kept the opposition at bay. Pressure was now on Freddie Hart, who had missed a conversion in the first match. He stood up to take the kick shooting a true and high ball that sailed between the uprights to level the score.  Honours even, what a match!

Pinner RFC U12s now look forward to showing what they are made of in the Middlesex Festival on 18th March at Grasshopper.

We have now completed all our matches prior to festival, 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.

Sunday 27th November

Victory for Pinner U12s at the second round of the Middlesex Championships at Hackney Marshes

Pinner U12’s ventured further East than ever before to play the second round of the Middlesex Championships at Hackney Marshes, on the very edge of the Olympic Park near Stratford.

The sun was shining once again, although a brisk wind was an unwelcome addition this week, both for the players who had trouble kicking conversions and the parents, cowering on the sidelines.

Despite the distance to travel, Pinner had a strong turnout of 12 players. This wasn’t quite enough for the 13 needed at this level so once again they were very pleased that 6 players from Kilburn were able to join them to assemble what turned out to be a formidable team.

Fortune once again shined on them and they weren’t required to play the first match. The benefits from this were twofold; firstly allowing almost an hour to practise and work out team positions and secondly providing an opportunity to spy on the other teams as they played their match, which incidentally Hackney won against Wasps in convincing fashion.

Eventually it was Pinner’s turn to take to the field against Hackney. A really tough game was anticipated and for the first couple of minutes it was just that. However Pinner piled on the pressure and were able to ruck the ball close to the Hackney try line, allowing Carter to pick it up and put it down for a try. This was soon followed by another try by John and suddenly the previously formidable looking Hackney were 10-0 down and looking hopelessly lost.

Hackney dug deep, coming back strongly and eventually scoring after a period of intense pressure. Pinner didn’t buckle though and following a couple of penalties, Charlie Gascoine was able to run in a try, only to have it disallowed for handing off. He didn’t take it badly though, and within two minutes the ball was back in his hands and he ran in an almost identical try – without being penalised. Pinner were back in control 15-5, with only minutes to go until half time. In what turned out to be the last play of the half Hackney were able to run in another try to narrow the gap once again. Charlie and Niall converted two tries at half time to take the score to 19-14.

The Pinner scrum had been formidable throughout the game, winning almost every ball, regardless of the team that put the ball in. A significant change for the second half therefore was the request from Hackney for uncontested scrums as a result of an injury to one of their forwards. Ten minutes passed of hard fought rugby before Hackney broke through for a try in the corner and tying the score with one conversion opportunity in hand. Following this the Pinner coach, Steve George, made a shrewd substitution, bringing Sam Marchant back on in the right wing position. Within seconds he was handed the ball and was able to run the ball in for what proved to be the match winning try. Although Hackney continued to fight back Pinner held on for the victory, 24-21.

Pinner were in confident mood heading into the second match. They’d beaten Hackney who had previously thrashed Wasps and were expecting to be able to do the same. Needless to say, this wasn’t to be the case! Right from the first whistle Wasps were able to press forward and the Pinner team, which had been re-organised to take advantage of the uncontested scrums, were struggling to come to terms with their new positions. It didn’t take too long for Wasps to find a gap in the defence and run in a try to take them into the lead; the first and only time that Pinner found themselves behind that morning. The effect of this was to shock Pinner back into action and they soon retaliated with a brace of tries, first from Marc and then Brendan. The game moved to and fro in the middle of the field for the remainder of the half until the whistle blew to call time. After Niall successfully kicked another conversion the score was 12-7 in Pinner’s favour.

The second half was just as tough as the first, Pinner continued to play the great rugby that they had demonstrated all day; their rucking, mauling and scrumming was better than in any other game they had played. An unwillingness to retire seven metres for penalties caught them out on several occasions and a few too many handling errors resulted in many uncontested scrums in awkward positions. Nevertheless they persevered and were the first to score again when Charlie ran in his second try of the day. Pinner came close to scoring again when Louis George charged repeatedly at the Wasps defence. It wasn’t to be though and in the final play of the game Wasps were able to score a consolation try, resulting in a final score of 17-14.

Not since the Middlesex Finals in May had this team enjoyed such a successful morning’s rugby. The hotly anticipated chocolate cake then made a fleeting appearance before being demolished by the victorious Pinner and Kilburn players.

report: Nick Marchant

MIDDLESEX U12 SHIELD LEAGUE
TEAM	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Diff	Tries	Points
London Scottish	4	4	0	0	113	12	101	17	20
Twickenham	3	3	0	0	102	14	88	13	20	* Awarded 4 pts as LW did not play
Saracens B	4	4	0	0	120	7	113	17	19
Ealing B	4	3	1	0	51	33	18	9	14
Hackney Bulls	4	2	2	0	69	81	-12	11	12
Teddington B	4	2	2	0	45	59	-14	7	11
Pinner	4	2	2	0	41	78	-37	7	10
Finchley B	4	2	2	0	50	42	8	8	9
Rosslyn Park C	3	0	3	0	40	75	-35	6	5	* Awarded 4 pts as LW did not play
Bank of England B	4	0	4	0	26	85	-59	4	1
Wasps B	4	0	4	0	21	114	-93	3	1
London Welsh B	2	0	2	0	7	85	-78	2	1	*Did not play in Round 1

	POINTS TABLE
League Pos’n	Team	Points	For	Ag	Diff	Tries	Finals Day
1st	London Scottish	20	113	12	101	17
2nd	Twickenham	20	102	14	88	13	Shield
3rd	Saracens B	19	120	7	113	17
4th	Ealing B	14	51	33	18	9
5th	Hackney Bulls	12	69	81	-12	11	Plate
6th	Teddington B	11	45	59	-14	7
7th	Pinner	10	41	78	-37	7
8th	Finchley B	9	50	42	8	8	Bowl
9th	Rosslyn Park C	5	40	75	-35	6
10th	Bank of England B	1	26	85	-59	4
11th	Wasps B	1	21	114	-93	3	Vase
12th	London Welsh B	0	7	85	-78	1

Protected: Pinner Mini Section friendly fixture – Hampsted RFC

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Music & Curry Night: Saturday 21st January, all welcome

To get rid of those January Blues we are holding a Music and Curry night at the club, terrific duo ‘Mouth on a Stick’ will sing songs from 60′’s through to the 90′’s acoustically, while you can eat, drink and be merry. Ticket cost will be only £10 per person, for the curry and the music. Please let Sir Les Chaffe no if you are coming along: leschaffe@yahoo.com or book in via facebook

Mouth on a Stick

Singer/bassist (Howard) and guitarist (Keith) – both formerly of 80s rock band ‘Liaison’ – renew their musical relationship in this energetic and fun acoustic duo. Performing a variety of hits and album tracks from the last 4 decades, the pair mix dual vocals with acoustic and bass guitar. Both talented singers, they share the lead and backing vocal duties during their diverse set of rock and pop covers.

Mouth On A Stick specialise in the eclectic. They are not your average duo – nor do they wish to be. Their set consists of a carefully chosen mix of songs from the 1950s through to the present day.

We think you will be pleasantly surprised by the song choice – from award winning pop singles like Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ and ‘The Fear’ by Lily Allen to pop/rock anthems such as Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ by The Who.

There are also some obscure gems that you will undoubtedly remember but rarely hear these days. Brian Protheroe’s ‘Pinball’ and ‘Dance With Me’ by Orleans being two such examples.

And just to keep you on your toes, there are a few classic album tracks like Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’, from their million-selling ‘Rumours’ album, or Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ from the album of the same name.

So please don’t be upset if you don’t hear ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ or ‘Mustang Sally’ – we like to leave that to the others.

Presidents Lunch: Saturday 29th January

This Saturday saw many past members attend the annual Presidents Lunch hosted by current President David Hiles. Many of the past past players brought an assortment of memorabilia including a dish/bowl with a cartoon character painted on (see photographs). Two fresh barrels of London Pride were made available for our retired players; but judging by the consumption levels they have not retired from consuming alcohol!

David Hiles made his usual great speech and mentioned the sad loss of Bill North, the current performances of the 1st XV and the continuing development of both the Youth and Mini Sections.

After an excellent meal an auction was set in place by Pinner RFC Chairman Andy Wright for 10 tickets for the Saracens v Harlequins match at Wembley. After a slow start a bidding war developed and unlike usual auction bids did not go up at a steady pace; one wasn’t sure but a bid of £100 was keenly added to by an amount of £130 some jump! The final winning bid was for £185 the winner will remain nameless at this point just in case members of the family were looking forward to a nice weekend away with the bid money!

Following the meal, past members ventured out on to the bitterly cold fields of Shaftesbury playing fields to watch the 1st XV home League fixture against Old Grammarians – see match report on website

Please find below a number of photographs from the lunch (taken by under 12’s hooker Jacob Talbot; current 1st XV match photographer)
Also a little treat: ‘Lion Hunt’ those who know, know!

Local Derby didn’t go to plan

Pinner 1st XV suffered their first defeat of 2012, local rivals and league leaders put on the points against a team that basically lacked good quality training time. The match report will be put up as soon as it arrives, in the meantime, the usual, photos

Pinner suffer second heavy defeat.

Before the kick-off both teams and all the spectators stood in silent tribute to the former Pinner & Grammarians President Bill North whose funeral, attended by nearly 200 people, had taken place two days earlier.  Bill was not only an unsung war hero as a young Lancaster bomber pilot but had worked tirelessly on behalf of his own club and all sports clubs in Harrow over many decades.  This was recognised by the people from many walks of life who attend the wake in the Pinner RFC clubhouse and by the respect shown by the Harrow players and supporters before and after the match.

The New Year started badly for P&G’s when they played hosts to promotion chasing local rivals Harrow.  Without a few key players Pinner soon found themselves 7 – 0 down.  Harrow were awarded a penalty on the P&G 22 and elected to kick for touch. From the ensuing line-out Harrow moved the ball across their backs for the no. 12 to score near the posts giving an easy conversion for the scrum half.   Ten minutes later an almost copy was repeated but this time the no. 12 scored further out and the kick was unsuccessful.  Pinner forwards were getting the better of the set scrums but Harrow’s more precise drills proved dominant in the lines-out.  Sloppy handling in mid-field led to Harrow’s next try.  The fly half kicked for the right corner and the bounce favoured the visitors wrong footing the defence and enabling the no.11 to score.  Very soon the no.11 was on the score sheet again when a quickly taken free kick, awarded for a crooked feed into the scrum, caught the home defence off guard.  On half time P&G’s had a chance to get on the score sheet when they were awarded a penalty on the harrow 10 m line but fly-half mark Razzel’s long range attempt fell just short.  Harrow went into half-time with a 24 – 0 lead having already secured their bonus point.

Soon into the second half Pinner lost a scrum on their own 5 m line allowing the visitor’s scrum half to score.  P&G’s now entered their best period of play several spirited attacks were thwarted by the Harrow defence.  No. 8 Bernie Richter made a couple of impressive breaks from his own 22 to set the backs in motion but the wingers were bundled into touch. The score remained at 29 – 0 until the last ten minutes of the match when the home side’s lack of fitness after the holiday lay-off  proved yet again the need at this level for better training facilities.  In that 10 minute period Harrow ran in a further four tries but fortunately for the home side only one was converted.  The final score was 51 – 0 to Harrow.

Next Saturday P&G’s travel the 50 miles to Royston in north-east Hertfordshire in much need of a win to cement their place in the middle of the league.

Saturday, 07 January 2012
Ickenham	5 – 19	Old Merchant Taylors’
London French	21 – 28	Old Isleworthians
Old Abbotstonians	22 – 30	Uxbridge
Old Grammarians	32 – 31	Royston
Pinner & Grammarians	0 – 51	Harrow

Herts/Middlesex 2	Short Format Long Format
Team P W D L F A Diff B Pts Pts Adjust Harrow 12 11 0 1 460 126 334 10 54 0 Old Merchant Taylors’ 12 11 0 1 407 129 278 7 51 0 Uxbridge 12 10 0 2 409 144 265 8 49 0 Old Grammarians 12 8 0 4 271 199 72 7 39 0 Kilburn Cosmos 11 6 0 5 250 180 70 6 30 0 Old Abbotstonians 12 5 0 7 230 291 -61 5 25 0 Royston 11 5 0 6 208 208 0 5 20 -5 Pinner & Grammarians 12 4 0 8 154 319 -165 2 18 0 Old Isleworthians 12 2 0 10 144 420 -276 4 12 0 Ickenham 12 2 0 10 97 405 -308 0 8 0 London French 12 1 0 11 110 319 -209 3 7 0
Last Updated: Jan 7 2012 5:36PM