Lymington Mariners RFC

LYMINGTON MARINERS 2^ND RUN COMES TO AN END

Chineham II 44 – 0 Lymington II

Readers – don’t be fooled by the headlines.  Lymington Mariners 2^nd XV stood proud last Saturday afternoon.

The Lymington Mariners are an emerging club and only a few months ago found difficulty in fielding one team.  These days, training is attended by well over thirty enthusiastic players, all dedicated to the cause of establishing Lymington Mariners as a strong force in the Hampshire leagues.

For the last five outings, the Mariners have fielded strong enough 2^nd team squads to win all matches.  This Saturday, a depleted squad but by no means lacking in team spirit, travelled the length of the M3 to take on the might of Chineham.  The home team, best described as convivial, rustic heavy weights dominated the set plays, particularly at the scrums. Captain Jack Sparrow Legs wasn’t about the let this put him off though, and led the charge right from the front.

The Mariners were blooding eight rookies, new this season to the adult format of rugby, including Adam Harris at prop and James….. at hooker who were sent straight into the front row.  The average age of the Mariners team, excluding old timer Douthwaite was 19 years.  Now, this stands the Mariners in good stead for future years and playing against a formidable Chineham pack has logged heaps of experience ready for their next encounters.

Most of Chineham’s tries were the outcome of their hefty forwards bludgeoning their way across the goal line, leaving the referee with a dilemma deciding where the ball was under the pile of bodies and whether it had actually been grounded… even the plea of the home side saying “We didn’t score that try Sir, it was held up by the Mariners” wasn’t enough to convince the ref, and he duly award the try anyway.

Numerous outstanding defensive tackles by new ‘boy’ Paul Thompson playing open side flanker prevented the opposition from notching up a cricket score.

One particular highlight of the first half belonged to prop forward Stuart Harvey who took up the role of stand in fly half on his own 5 meter line and produced a deft punt of the ball that travelled slightly backwards to be caught by the Chineham thunder thighs forwards and then cross the line for a try.

Most of the Mariners 2^nd team attend training regularly on Wednesday evenings and it is obvious to all that their team play is developing week by week.  The team ethos of playing the game outside of the Mariners own 22 meter area and earning the hard yards in mid-field through retention of the ball and then penetrating the defence in the attacking third,  is paying dividends.  Players are beginning to realise this is not always a short term goal but a process that will unite the team with a strong, purposeful and most of all successful system of play.

Adam Harris at loose head prop could be a front runner for ‘find of the season’.  His solid performance in the tight and breaking tackles when driving through the defence as a ‘pod’ runner was outstanding.

Harry Hamson, Ben Mansbridge and James Bell looked really solid in mid field – if only Pete Rolf at stand off could have received more quality ball from the set pieces, he may have made a pass out to the centres. On the few occasions the ball did make it as far as the centres, Ben Mansbridge and Harry Hamson made some very cutting runs and gaining valuable yards – much to the dislike of the opposition number 12 who was heard to say he was cringing every time they started on a run as it felt like he had to stop a pair of tanks on speed!

In defence, the back line players made a solid wall, with the 2 centres repelling attack after attack by the Chineham back line (although Pete Rolfe side stepping out the way of a tackle rather than making the hit, was one of those classic moments to go down in the ‘tool of the day’ books!), …whilst James Bell at fullback was set on stopping any aerial attacks and returning them with interest. Aaron Lopez, Josh….. and Mikey Jenner (who employed his usual tactic of using his rubber head) ensured the opposition knew there was no way through on the wings.

There is no doubt that player commitment to training and personal fitness are the Lymington Mariners’ coach’s dream and expectation.  The player who fits this bill streaks ahead of any other is Ollie Westall.  Young Ollie is a model example of a dedicated player for all others to emulate.  He has had a body make over during the last twelve months – from a ‘Burger Man’, he now works out in the gym every day, is a lean mesomorphic athlete who trains hard every Wednesday evening with the Mariners squad.  In fact, there is a rumour that his obsession with fitness may be a tad over the top as he was sighted training in the gym a few hours after playing in Saturday’s game.

In the last quarter of the match, that worse feeling in the world was beginning to seep into the minds of the Mariner players.  They were aware that Chineham were on a roll, that the referee had lost control and a really heavy defeat was on the cards.  To their credit and the spirit of Mariners, that is rapidly becoming the club’s tradition and a trade mark, they gathered all their strength and determination and finished the game with their heads held high having given Chineham a contest that was not represented by the final score.

The Coach’s ‘man of the match’ is awarded to Will Banasik for his outstanding ability to punch above his weight both defensively and as a play maker.  Paul ………. ,   who claims to be a Veteran also receives the MOTM award and would be the first name on the team sheet in any future match.

Captain Jack is now forbidden from showing his face in Lymington again, following the Mariners first defeat as a club to Chineham.