Parknews
The e-Magazine for Rosslyn Park Supporters - Issue 10 2015/16 - 28 September 2016
PARK STILL SEEKING THEIR FIRST WIN
W
elcome to Parknews. Park
went down to a fourth defeat at Old Albanian last Saturday - and really have only themselves to blame as it was a game
they could very easily have won.
They were the better side in the
first half by a clear margin, but
again struggled to convert superiority into points, with only a
Harry Leonard penalty to show
for it with ten minutes to the
interval. A period of immense
pressure brought a try for LeonHarry Leonard scores for Park at Old Albaard, which he converted, and
nian, but the joy was short-lived [Photo:
two OA defenders consigned
David Whittam]
to the bin. It should have been
10-0 at the changeover and with
Park starting the second half against 13 men the match should have
Friday 30 September
been closed out. Instead, Park took their eye off the ball and OAs 13
Hatters v Hammersmith & Fulham
men went up the other end and scored. It happens like that when
Zoo Sports Shield
you’re going through a bad patch. Only 5 points adrift, and soon back
Home KO 7:45PM
to full complement OAs instead came much more into the game in
the second period.
Saturday 01 October
Park still had plenty enough possession in good attacking positions that they
really should have found a way to win. The superbly drilled rolling maul that
was so effective the previous week simply wasn’t there. It’s a worrying stat
that only Esher have scored less than Park’s 67 points from four matches. It
would be more worrying, though, if Park were not making the chances at all!
Surely it must soon all click into place, and this Saturday’s home match against
Darlington Mowden Park is probably as good a place as any to start.
AGM Notice
Hon Sec Bob Evans would like to remind Members that the AGM is at
11:00am in the Clubhouse this Saturday and that any member who has
not received papers either electronically or paper should apply to the
club office for an electronic set. Please try to attend - we are still a club
run by and for its own Members - have your say!
Darlington Mowden Park will be a tough nut to crack, an ambitious club who
were among the favourites for the title at the start of the season. Their home
at the Northern Echo Arena is the envy of most Premiership clubs, and they
are in the process of building a team to match the facilities. They made a less
impressive start to the campaign than they would have liked, losing 16-10 at
Hull Ionians and scraping past Blaydon at home by 15-14. However they have
now found their feet, producing a upset when they put 5 tries past Ampthill
for a 39-20 away win and - last week - another five try performance brought a
37-12 win over Cambridge. Since both Ampthill and Cambridge have beaten
us this season, it is clear that we are going to have to raise our game to get the
result we want.
Please do come along and give the players your full vocal support at a time
when they really need it. Whether or not you are a member attending the
Annual General Meeting
Clubhouse at 11:00 (Members Only)
Curtain Raiser
Park Bench v Oldham
Veterans match
home: KO 12:00
1st XV v Darlington M P
National 1
KO 3:00PM
Followed by the Rosslyn Park Beer & Cider
Festival hosted by the Slingbacks
Nomads v Teddington 2
Surrey Championship
Home KO 5:00PM
Fours v Grasshoppers
Middlesex Merit 2
Richmond Park KO: TBA
HAC 2 v B XV
Middlesex Merit 1
Away KO: TBA
Send all articles, reports, letters and photos to [email protected]
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AGM, there is a full day’s entertainment for your admission price.
Before the 1st XV match there will be a warm up Veterans match
at around noon, Park Bench v Oldham, and after the main match
the Nomads are playing and Slingbacks will be staging their annual
Beer Festival, for which there is no admission charge and which
goes on late into the evening. So a very full day at the Rock.
Dave Vincent breaks for Park [all
match photos by David Whittam]
The Slingbacks’ Beer Festival starts at half time: the bar will be set
up on tables in the Clubhouse and will sell a range of interesting
ales and ciders. The Park girls are making a real big effort to recapture their former glories and the Beer Festival is one of their key
fund raising initiatives. It is in addition to, and not instead of, our
normal service which will be available before, during and after the
match.
Old Albanian 18
Rosslyn Park 13
National 1
A
nother match that Park could and should have won eluded
them on Saturday. Park were the better team in the first half.
A Harry Leonard penalty put them ahead. With six minutes to go
until the interval, immense pressure saw Leonard score a try by the
posts, which he converted himself, and two errant OA defenders
sent to the sin bin.
searching for their first win.
Park: Robinson; Henderson, Grove, Kohler, Vincent; Leonard; Gash;
Nwakor, Bellamy, Lovell; Inglis, Spivey; Ovens, Broadbent, Milne.
Bench: Piper, Lilley, Rowland, Weir, Berridge
Park scorer: Leonard (T,2P, C)
Defence Coach Scott Sneddon said, “Again it is another frustrating
performance. We worked really hard into a strong wind in the first
half but didn’t execute the game plan well enough to come away
with more at half time.
“A lapse in concentration allowed OA’s get
into the game. Our ill
discipline gave OA’s field
position which resulted
in conceding soft points
and field position. Credit
to OA’s they took the
chances we gave them”.
Park failed to press home their advantage, and fell for the sucker
punch on the stroke of half-time when 13-man OA conjured a try
that really should have been defended.
A mere five point advantage was a poor return for a good first half,
and it was reduced to two when Chris May added a penalty for
the hosts on 53 minutes. It disappeared altogether when winger
Jimmy Spears broke away to score for the home side, converted by
May for 15-10 on 53 minutes.
Looking forward to this
week’s home clash with
Darlington
Mowden
Park, Scott added, “We’ll go away this week and work on these little
details which will make sure we are in a better position against a
strong DMP side.
/continued next page
DISCLAIMER
Any views expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributors, and are not those of the Club, its Officials or
employees unless specifically stated to be so. Potential litigants
should note that the Editor is skint and therefore not worth suing.
Park were still in the match with every chance. Gaining a penalty
with 13 minutes to go, Park opted to kick the points for 15-13 and
look for a winning score. But it was OA who delivered the goods
with another May penalty on 74 minutes that leaves Park still
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“There have been some good positives over the last couple of
weeks but we need to ensure we take these opportunities and covert the pressure we are putting on teams into points”
The B’s finished a busy afternoon at the Rock on the 4G with a 2217 win over MMT 1 rivals Old Priorians 2’s. With the scoreline at 5-all
at half-time, it seemed the result could go either way. Early in the
second half the B’s streaked ahead to 22-5, but Priorians fought
back to within a score. A good game with a lot of skill shown.
Thanks should be paid to the two referees who, in fact, covered
three games at the club, including Millfield Badgers. There seems
to be a shortage of refs currently, but thanks Raj and Russ for helping. I take my hat off to the refs, so please give them support and
respect…no ref, no game!
Well, no beer again on Saturday! No draught ale, just bottled…
what’s happening?! A problem with the gas? Again, people left
earlier than usual because of this!
A busy weekend. Games over the weekend: Friday evening 30th
September-Hatters v H&F 2’s Home ko 7.30pm? On Saturday 1 Park
Bench v Oldham Vets (or is it Athletic?) Home kick off midday-first
outing of a resurrected side after a number of years. B’s v HAC 2’s
Away MMT1 and 4’s v Grasshoppers 2’S Home MMT 2. Game in
Richmond Park. Nomads v Teddington 2’s Home Surrey Championship at 5pm on the 4G? At least - that’s what is planned....
Old Streetonians 15
Park Fours 35
Middlesex Merit 2
by Koujiro Tambala
n Saturday, the IVs ambled across London to play against Old
Streetonians at their place in Hackney. Initial omens were not
good; we started the match with a squad of 15, with several guys
playing out of position and several new faces as well.
O
The game itself started off well; good ball retention from the forwards saw the IVs spin the ball wide early, capitalising on a tackle
bust & break from Callum. Five minutes later and deep in their 22,
Callum - looking noticeably leaner & more powerful having shed
the best part of 15kgs (!) recently - would then go on to score the
game’s opening try, powering his way past 2 would-be tacklers. 7-0
to Park.
Andy Holloway resigns
A
ndy Holloway resigned as Rosslyn Park Attack Coach on Friday
last week. The management board respects Andy’s decision
and thanks him for the work he has done with the team over the
last 15 months, we wish Andy the best for the future. Scott Sneddon and Kieran Power remain in charge of coaching duties, London Irish Second row George Robson has also been involved in the
coaching team for the last couple of months and will continue to
look after the 1st XV line out.
Clubsides
W
ill Thorogood reports a bit of a chaotic week and Saturday
morning to say the least! However, in the end games were
played.
The Hatters ended up playing Richmond Jutes at the RAG, after
L.Irish Nomads cancelled their league game. To be re-arranged. We
don’t know the Hatters’ score.
The Fours went to Hackney Marshes to play Old Streetonians 2’s in
MMT 2. A 35-15 win for the boys, in sounds like a solid performance
and a good kick start to the season.
The Nomads lost to an efficient Camberley 2’s side. It should be
said that the Nomads are the first team to have crossed Camberley’s goal-line to score a try, this season. A gutsy performance by
the Nomads, but a bridge too far!
In what is fast becoming an unwelcome habit however, the IVs
switched off soon after this opening score and conceded a soft try
when a routine exit play turned sour, as the ball squirted out of
the back of a ruck inside our own 22. 7-5 to Park. That said, the forwards, led by a superb scrummaging performance from the front
row of Chris Castelino/Carlsson/Maximus, slowly began to dominate first the scrums and then in general open play. It wasn’t long
before they were able to win a couple of penalty opportunities for
Hynes, whose impeccable early goal-kicking form bodes well for
the season ahead. Not content with just penalties, Hynes would
then go on to slice through their defence with one of his trademark
show-and-goes to score a beautifully crafted try. Half-time score
20-5 to Park.
Numerical disaster then struck after half-time. First, Andrew Mullins - who admirably stepped in to play in the unfamiliar position of
6 - went down with a shoulder injury and, despite bravely soldiering on through the obvious pain he was in, was finally stretchered
off 10 minutes in. Blackburn was to follow soon after with a seriouslooking knee injury, which he regaled in great detail to his many
adoring female fans in the post-match pub; I think it’s safe to say
his story-telling skills do not match up to his rather more impressive ball-carrying abilities... Despite this, a flurry of late tries from
Callum and AN Other (in all seriousness, nobody remembers who
scored this try so please do hit me up if you scored/remember who
scored...) left the final score at 35-15 to Park.
A great team effort and hats off to you all for that performance.
Man of the Match went to Julius for an exceptional shift, first on
the wing and then at 6 after Mullins’ aforementioned injury, and
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Richard of the Day to Blackburn, who
inexplicably decided that dropping
the ball on the tryline after ignoring
an easy try-scoring pass to Chief Sneak
would go down well. Some people just
have to learn the hard way...
Richmond Jutes 26
Hatters 24
Zoo Sports Shield
by Angus Savage
The Hatters made the short trip to
Richmond RFC on Saturday after a
whirlwind few days that had seen various proposed opponents come and go
after London Irish Nomads pulled out
earlier in the week for lack of numbers.
Nevertheless a game against Rosslyn
Park’s big local rivals is always to be relished, and the Hatters turned up to the
Athletic Ground in fine spirit, though
looking more like a Barbarians side than
anything else as continued kit woes left
the players needing to wear shorts and
socks from their University days or from
former clubs, much to the amusement
of Richmond with their four sides on
the day in pristine club colours.
The Hatters took that Barbarian spirit
in a positive manner though, bringing
it into their style of play as backs and
forwards mixed intuitively, with two of
the four Hatters tries coming through
good interchange of passing between
backs and forwards, however it was not
quite enough for the Hatters to deliver
the win as they drew 24-24 with their
hosts. Or, possibly, lost 24-26 – more on
that later.
15thOctober2016
Racingstarts7:30pm
FreeEntryatTheRock
ProceedsinaidofRosslynParkFCTourFund
Richmond took an early lead, but
scores from David Beale, deputizing at
scrum half for the afternoon, and full back James Wilson gave the
Hatters the half time lead.
The half time break saw the introduction of a pair of Hatters stalwarts in tighthead Tim Leigh and back row Will Scott, whose fitness
was remarkable for a man who descried his own conditioning as
‘heavy’ following three weeks of steak and wine on honeymoon.
Wilson quickly secured his brace early in the half, before Richmond
pulled one back, keeping the game in the balance. A try from Stephen Ward following great hands from Ted De Haan with little over
fifteen minutes to go suggested that the Hatters had the game
signed and sealed, however through a combination of a lack of
concentration, or perhaps fitness, and good Richmond play, the
home side clawed their way back in.
Two breakaway tries in those closing stages were enough to draw
Richmond level, both tries set up by turnovers from their outstanding openside and skipper, who was a thorn in the Hatters side right
from the opening moments.
The second was the final play of the game, leveling the game at
24-24, which was, at least officially, the final score.
Now to those extra two points. With the conversion in front of the
posts almost a guarantee of the win for Richmond, the Hatters set
up behind the line to charge the kick, in the vain hope that it might
just work. Naturally, they did not get near it, but the pressure did
force the Richmond fly half to shank his kick a little.
Nevertheless it did squeak over, and the Hatters marched up to
shake hands with their victorious hosts and to berate themselves
for throwing away a comfortable lead. However it soon emerged
that the referee had in fact decided that the kick had missed and
that the game was a draw.
In the spirit of rugby values and a friendly rivalry though, the Hatters are very happy to acknowledge that the kick did indeed go
over and that the game finished 26-24 in the home side’s favour.
Next up for the Hatters is a game against Hammersmith and Fulham this Friday, 30th September, under the lights at The Rock at
20.00. All at the club, and beyond, are encouraged to come along
and support on what should be an exciting evening, with rumours
of a return to the field for the first time this season from Jack Porter
and possibly even Pat Jawich.
Slingbacks
T
he Slingbacks will be holding their annual Beer Festival on
Saturday, starting at half-time. It is their maajor fund raising
event, helping to defray the cost of things like coach travel to away
matches. There’s no charge for the festival itself, but it would hep
them greatly were you to purchase a souvenir pint glass and then
test it a few times. Please come along and support the event, for
which there is a flier at the back of this newsletter.
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It’s probably just as well that there is another week before their
important Cup match, at home to Reading Abbey on 9 October.
Please do make a note in your diary to come along and support
the Park girls. They really have made a major effort to reverse the
downward trend of the last couple of seasons and it would be
great for the whole club to get behind them.
Youth & mini rugby
Under-16s
Effingham & Leatherhead 29
Rosslyn Park 24
by Gary Muchmore
fter our slow start in the last fixture, the boys came out of their
blocks quickly today and were 0-12 up within 10 minutes.
Both tries scored by Sam Davies in the centre.
A
However E&L came back strongly and settled into their forward
dominated style, converting possession into 4 scores over the following 20 minutes.
The next score was critical and good for the match it went to Park.
After several phases Sam Davies, made it a hat trick performance
with another well worked try. Park were exerting all the pressure,
but Effingham managed to break out after a handling error and
give themselves a little breathing space.
But Park came back again, with phase after phase in Effingham’s
22 leading to a penalty try being awarded by the referee for persistent infringements. Despite finishing strongly we were not able
to cross the line again, leaving Effingham to take the spoils. A tremendous effort.
Friday night is Rugby night
T
his Friday evening why not start your rugby weekend early. THe
Hatters have a Zoo Sports Shield match at home to old rivals
Hammersmith & Fulham, kicking off at 7:45PM. The Clubhouse
will be open so why not come along and possibly partake of a few
beers?
If it whets your appetite, then we’ve a few more evenings coming
up:
Oct 28 B XV v London Cornish
Nov 11 1st XV v Esher
Jan 27
Fours v Streetonians
Mar 10 B XV v Chiswick
All the above matches are free admission except 1st XV v Esher
Rugby Camps
T
he Club will be running two more of the populat Training
Camps in October (see display flyer on page 6). These really
are top class professionally run events for youngsters looking to
improve their game. For all those interested, Dom Shabbo is the
one to contact. You can find him in the Club Office on 0208 8876
6044 or e-mail [email protected]
Injury Trust Fund Lunch
T
he local Derby against Blackheath on Saturday 29 October sees
the Annual Lunch in aid of the Rosslyn Park Injury Trust Fund,
our unique charity that supplies equipment and other aid to Rugby
players and other sports people who have suffered severe injuries.
Ouch! Nick Lovell goes
into contact at Ols
Albanian
defeat sees Fylde go below Park on points difference. Birmingham
Moseley are keeping up the pressure and their 41-13 win over
Blaydon sees them only two points behind the leaders while sealing Blaydon’s place at the bottom of the table.
Our next opponents, Darlington Mowden Park are third after
beating Cambridge by 37-12, putting them level on points with
Old Albanian. Blackheath whipped Coventry by 42-5 to claim
fifth place ahead of Ampthill, who won away at Loughborough
(our next away opponents) by 37-29. Plymouth Albion grabbed a
21-19 win at Esher to go seventh, just ahead of Cov.
Macclesfield’s 19-29 home defeat by Hull Ionians will have set the
alarm bells ringing. Macc have become fed up with being a yoyo club and have some very positive future plans, but the defeat
leaves them only 3 points above a return to the drop zone.
This weekend’s matches
There are a couple of matches of more than passing interest this
weekend as we try to get clear of the danger zone. Blaydon are at
home to Macclesfield and Fylde play Esher: the two clubs immediately below us playing the two immediately above.
Blaydon v Macclesfield
Ampthill v Birmingham Moseley
Cambridge v Loughborough
Coventry v Hartpury
Fylde v Esher
Hull Ionians v Blackheath
Plymouth Albion v Old Albanian
Rosslyn Park v Darlington Mowden Park
National 1 salary cap?
O
ff the field the major development is an RFU proposal to limit
the payments to players (including all employment costs) to
£150,000 per club. It has not been met with a tide of acclamation
by the clubs affected, to put it mildly. Coventry MD Phil Maynard
made clear in this week’s Rugby Paper that his club - which now
enjoys a turnover of £1.3 million a year - would simply ignore any
such directive. He also pointed out that no-one involved in producing the proposals had ever had anything to do with modern Rugby
at this level - only three club reps were involved and the highest of
those were at Level 5.
It is a charity that changes peoples’ lives for the better, so please
do make a note in your diary to come along and do your bit to
support it.
National 1 Round up
H
artpury continue to dominate everything, putting eight tries
on Fylde to maintain their 100% record with a 57-14 win. The
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To put this in context, Park have one of the smaller playing
budgets in National 1, but the proposals would cause us
to cut back considerably. How then are National 1 clubs
supposed to build a side capable of gaining a sustainable
promotion to the Championship, where the minumum
sustainable salary bill is said to be £1 million?
There seems to be an implicit threat that if this proposal
is not accepted then all funding of travel, etc at our level
will be withdrawn.
Presumably the savings will go to that worthy cause to
which the RFU has contributed so generously - the Premiership.
ROSSLYN PARK
RUGBY
CAMPS
TH
M ON 24 OC T TO
TH
16
THURS 27 OCT 20
AV A I L A B L E
LIMITED PLACES
ELITE SCHEDULE
START 9.30am
Registration and screening
Athletic development
Rugby skills/games
Lunch 12.15pm
Workshop/video analysis
Rugby skills/games
FINISH 4.00pm
Away travel
O
n Saturday week we travel to Loughborough (08
October) and then to Macclesfield on 22 October.
It’s certainly time to be booking train tickets for those
matches if you want to take advantage of cheap tickets.
Please note when booking for Loughborough that the
match will kick off at 14:00. Some advance notice about
the away match at Hartpury on Saturday 05 November:
there are rail works that day necessitating a replacement
bus service between Reading and Swindon, so you would
be well advised to allow a bit of extra time (the station to
book to is Gloucester). If you are cash rich but time poor
it’s possible to go via Birmingham from Euston, but it’s a
considerably higher fare.
ROSSLYN PARK ACADEMY
ELITE CAMP
U8s to U16s
U12s to U16s
RUGBY CELEBS
NUTRITION ADVICE
FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS
VIDEO ANALYSIS
CLASS WORK
FITNESS
COACHED BY
JAMES BAILEY
(ex England 7s and
Gloucester / London Irish)
PLAYERS MUST BE IN SCHOOL/
CLUB’S A TEAM OR 1ST TEAM
£35 PER DAY OR £120 FOR 4 DAYS
£180 FOR 4 DAYS
Loughborough
T
he Loughborough ground at Epinal Way, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, is easily accessible by car, from M1 J23
Take the A512 to Loughborough, at the 2nd roundabout
ROSSLYN
turn right on Epinal Way the main entrance to the UniverPARK
ROSSLYN PARK FC, PRIORY LANE
sity is 100 metres on the right. On match days the road diCall: 0208 8766044
UPPER RICHMOND ROAD
ROEHAMPTON
rectly adjacent to the 1st XV pitch is closed and you will be
Email: [email protected]
LONDON SW15 5JH
directed by security on the front desk to park in car-park 9.
This is a simple drive around the back of the Brockington
able to the ground for the fit, it’s more than a couple of miles so
pitch facilities, and car park 9 is found on the far side of the playing
most will require transport. There is a bus service from the station
fields, a minute’s walk from the 1st XV pitch.
to the ground (we know because our booked cab let us down last
time on the return trip and we had to hare aross the road to catch
For those travelling by train, it would be a very long walk to the
a bus to the station!) but we have no details and it appears to be
ground, but there is a regular bus service to the campus from
an infrequent service. A cab from the rank at the station is probLoughborough station (from St Pancras) that stops by the entrance
ably the best bet. There are several pubs close by the station, and
to the 1st team pitch (which has a 4G surface). There are also plena mini-crawl is the usual modus operandi of most regulars, then a
ty of taxis. There is a students bar only 100 metres from the pitch,
cab to the ground.
which is cheap and friendly, but the Greene King IPA they sell is not
TO BOOK
real ale if you are a connoisseur.
Most of our regular supporters take a walk towards town, stopping
by at the Three Nuns and pick up a taxi from there. If you do that,
check out the Tap & Mallet on the right, about 400 metres after
leaving the station. It gave every impression of being permanently
closed last year, but it is shown as operating in the latest Good Beer
Guide. If it has re-opened it is by far the most convenient place to
stop off if you’ve time to kill before your return train.
Macclesfield
F
or Macclesfield,the ground is at Priory Park, Priory Lane, Macclesfield, SK10 4AE. By car if you want to avoid Macclesfield
itself, come of the M6 at Jct 17 and take the A534 towards Congleton for about 5.4 miles, then second exit at a roundabout onto the
A34, then a right onto the A536 Macclesfield Road (which becomes
Congleton Road). After about 5 miles look out for a left turn to Dark
Lane, and after 300 yards a right fork into Gawsworth Road. Go
straight across the roundabout that intersects with the A537, but
at the next roundabout turn left into Priory Lane, where you’ll find
the ground about 2 miles further on, on the right. You’d be well
advised to check out the route with an atlas before starting off!
By public transport there’s a good service from London Euston
and, at time of writing, plenty of cheap tickets. Although it is walk-
Macclesfield have dropped their admission prices this season to attract bigger crowds. It’s £10 adults and £8 concessions, but they
have an offer of four people in a car for £20 - whether or not a taxi
qualifies for that concession we shall see! They are a really friendly
club run by real rugby people and have a decent clubhouse selling
real ales. Well worth a visit.
International Tickets
T
he forms have gone out to Members to apply for International
tickets, so if you’re a Member, want to apply but haven’t seen
the form then now is the time to shout! The ability to buy International tickets is one of the many benefits of being a club member
- so if you have not already a Member why not apply when you’re
at the ground on Saturday. Parknews is in no position to guarantee
this, but there’s a good chance that if you talk nicely to Boothy or
Karen and negotiate well, you might get back what you paid to
get in!
Parknews next week
P
arknews generally appears on the Club website some time between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons every week. Just
remember to look on the website. If you would like to receive a
‘tweet’ as soon as the Newsletter is posted then please opt to follow the @RPNoseyParker Twitter stream.
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