Daventry v Olney
19th October 2024
This week’s guest reporter: Dick Tingling

Having played Daventry at the end of last season and seen some of their results of late, Olney knew what they are capable of on the pitch and would need to keep up their own high standards to come away with a victory. This reporter will apologise now for any inaccuracies in the write up as, unusually, he couldn’t attend the match and relied on second hand information (which he knew would be accurate as he left it in capable hands). Dean Crafter could have scored for all we know! In a bit of local gossip, Mr Harris has just purchased an original Van Gogh coffee table. He knows it’s genuine because it’s got a bit of veneer missing.

Olney travelled into the wilds of Northamptonshire this Saturday to take on their counterparts from Daventry at 3 levels – 1sts, 2nds and 3rds. It’s good to see that in this day and age that 2 clubs can put out 3 teams against each other, if a little bizarre that one of the matches wasn’t played at Olney.

After a titanic struggle in the Lewis Shield Final at the end of last season a close encounter was anticipated by the throng of Olney supporters that made the journey. Olney started off brightly and thought they had scored after only 2 minutes when winger Max Day made for the line, only to have been deemed held up by the referee.

The game to and fro’d as both teams tested each other’s defence in the midfield areas of the pitch. Both defences coped well, but Daventry changed tack and made a concerted effort through their forwards to push into the visitors 22. Strong defence aided by some handling errors under pressure saw the Olney side clear their lines and they then created their own momentum, running from deep and working back into Daventry territory. Once again defence came out on top and the Olney incursion was repelled. And so the half continued with well drilled defences on both sides able to cope with all that the opposition could throw at them. Olney defend as a team these days and it was showing, Cobie Chapman and Charlie Harris among others were putting in some hard yards up front and the midfield defence of Stu Livesey and Felix Iles held firm, aided and abetted by the rest of the back line.

As the game approached the half hour mark Olney were penalised in their own 22 for a high tackle as Daventry made another incursion into the Olney 22. The Daventry fly half duly obliged and put the first points on the board. Olney came back immediately, re-gathering from the kick-off, and a slick handling movement found Max Day on the right wing, but he was forced into touch deep in the Daventry 22. Good aggressive tackling kept Olney deep in opposition territory, but a quick break by the home teams scrum half from a penalty awarded for not rolling away, almost resulted in a breakaway try, but a knock on close to the Olney line and an “accidental” knee to the head gave Olney a penalty. Although Olney initially got the ball away, the home side buoyed by the break-out, stole the Olney line-out and worked their way back into the Olney 22. Another misdemeanour at the breakdown saw Daventry awarded another penalty in front of the posts, easily converted to make the score 6-0. Once again Olney came back strongly and forced their way back up field through hard running and good hands, and were awarded a penalty of their own which Charlie Hicks had no problem putting over the bar.

As half time approached Olney were penalised on the half way line and the Daventy 10 had no trouble in kicking the penalty. Olney were then turned over at the ruck as the restart was punched into Olney territory and the Daventry 2nd row bounded over on the left and touched down under the posts as Olney struggled to regroup from the error. With that being the last play of the half, Daventry went into the changing rooms 16-3 up, a scoreline that maybe flattered them, but they did finish the half with their tails up, and seemingly confident of extending that lead in the 2nd half.

Olney made 2 changes at half time, replacing Carlie Harris with George Bennet and Max Day making way as Struan Brooks made his long awaited return to Olney colours.

The new half started much as the first with Olney going on the attack from the gathered restart, but a knock on in midfield gave the home team the advantage and from the scrum they broke through the middle to score under the posts. The conversion was made to give the home team a 23-3 advantage. A tall order for Olney to come back from and the assembled locals were enjoying their afternoon, but this side does not give up easily. A long range penalty from Charlie Hicks fell short, but shortly afterwards and with the scrum under pressure, Eddie Goss made a great pick up from the base and set off the Olney backs, culminating in a break and chip ahead by Stu Livesey which resulted in a penalty close to the Daventry line, presumably for obstruction on the chasing Brooks. From the penalty Olney kept pressurising the Daventry line and for the first time in the afternoon the home side could not hold out and Charlie Hicks squirmed over to score his sides first try which he also converted.

Olney felt they were back in the game at 26-10, but then Livesey was yellow carded for holding on in the tackle and the penalty was added to put Olney on the back foot again.

Olney continued to press with outside half Elliot Simpson pinning the home team back with raking kicks deep into their half. A high tackle at a quick penalty saw Daventry also reduced to 14, but Olney were penalised at the line-out and the danger seemed over. However Olney seemed to be growing in confidence and energy whilst their opponents seemed to be getting tired. The scrums were going much better now and the introduction of Graham Smith, also returning from a long lay-off, gave the forwards some fresh legs. Olney ran the ball from a quick heel at the scrum and for the first time created some space for Brooks who made the break down the right and passed inside for Hicks to score, this time unconverted.

Daventry were having trouble dealing with the kicks deep into their half and consequently Olney were able to retain territory and keep the pressure on. Another good scrum and the visitors scored a try from a midfield break of their own, Charlie Hicks, scything through to score once more. This time the conversion was successful to make the score 26-22.

The clock was ticking – had Olney left it too late? With seconds left a cross field kick to Brooks on the right wing saw him tackled in the air, but he had the wit to flick the ball back in field as he landed. Charlie Hicks saw great skill in picking the ball up on the move and dotted the ball over the line to make the score 26-27 in Olney’s favour. The conversion was missed but the game was over, an epic victory for Olney with every single player playing their part.

Another game that proves what a tough league this is. Daventry will wonder how they lost from being 26-10 up 10 minutes into the 2nd half and Olney will be delighted with the skill, fitness and application of their team. Well done to both teams!

With Olney 2nds winning their game 40-34 and Daventry 3rds winning 25-19 it seems we have 2 clubs here that can compete with each other at all levels. Special thanks for the comprehensive touchline report from Mr S Crumdown.

Good news for single man Plod Soman this week when the doctor told him the results from his recent prostate examination were perfect and all is well in that department. He was deeply touched. In the dating news, apparently he joined a dating site for arsonists which he discovered was one of the better ones. They have been sending him several matches every day.