Nuneaton Old Edwardians III 5 – 41 Manor Park III
Park 3rds opened their 2008 account with a well-deserved 7 try haul against local rivals Nuneaton Old Eds. Travelling the short distance to Weddington Road the Manor youngsters were eager to get their first derby match underway, unfortunately however the home team were unable to field a full front row meaning the scrums had to be uncontested.
It wasn’t long before park stamped their mark on the game when after a turnover the ball was moved quickly to winger Dan Cooper who bulldozed through his opposite number at the half way mark and then won the race to the corner.
Park recycled the ball well and were quickly back in the Eds 22 where their superb mauling was rewarded when Tom Groves squeezed over making it 10-0 to the visitors.
Eds rallied before the half and some quick handling in the three-quarters gave evergreen centre Sean Krauth the half gap he needed to break the park defence open making it 10-5 and game on.
With their heads up Eds continued to mount attacks which were snuffed out on each occasion and just before the break Parks forwards got the upper hand when No 8 Matt Marston broke down the blindside releasing the supporting Dan Joyce with a slick inside pass splitting the defence wide open to touch down between the sticks. This time converted by Bishop.
HT 5 - 17.
The Eds revival was short lived though and early in the second half parked stretched their lead when slick handling moved the ball away from the Eds covering defence and sweet pass out of the tackle from Adam Brown gave hefty prop Gary Lakin a simple flop over in the corner.
Park were now well in control and it was only a matter of time before another score, Marston happy to oblige breaking free from a rolling maul to touch down in the corner.
Eds were finding it difficult to adapt to the referees interpretations of the laws and their frustrations were getting the better of them. Following an infringement, scrum half Simon Garraway took a quick tap feeding Jenkins who slid through the defence only to pass back inside to Garraway who in turn found Madison in support for a simple run in, Bishop adding the extras.
The final nail in the coffin for Eds came when a speculative kick downfield from Fly Half Joyce was well followed by full back Forryan who caught his opposite number in possession and when the supporting Tom Hill snatched the ball out of the tackle there was no one home to prevent him taking the game out of sight. The conversion by Bishop made a final score of 41-5 a satisfactory outcome for a fabulous display of 15 man rugby by Manor Parks young 3rd team.
Manor Park 3rd 59 Old Covents 3rd 0
Once again park fielded a team of youngsters and once again they completely dominated their more experienced visitors. The park lads showed their intent from the first whistle, asking questions of the OC defence from all over the park. OC struggled with the flowing rubgy and on 5 minutes hulking 2nd row Chris Golds popped up in the back line and released a superb pass out of contact to give fellow 2nd row Tom Mitchell a simple run in to open parks account, Callum Bishop converting.
The park pack continued to dominate giving a solid platform for the half back partnership of Simon Garroway and Dan Joyce to mount attack after attack. Superb handling by centers Bishop and Reynolds ensured the ball moved freely along the line and the sublime running angles of Forryan joining the attack from full back meant the the OC defence was continually stretched, this was evident as right wing Dave Slinn bagged a brace.
Parks forwards work in the tight was matched in open play, and thier support play following probing runs from the back row made life very difficult for the tiring OC outfit who's heads had begun to drop prompting the referee to end the game early.
An all round fantastic display from the home team showing great skill and maturity in playing total 15 man rugby.
The lads have now scored 22 tries in three games not including the emphatic colts win against Bedworth after which many went on to play for the 2nd team to rack up another 50+ point win against Pinley later that afternoon.
The Future's bright: The Future's red and black.
Manor Park 3rd XV 36 AEI Rugby 5
Manor Park continued their policy of phasing last years U17’s age group into Senior rugby against a strong AEI team, and once again nobody was left in doubt that these “young guns” represent a bright future for the Griff and Coton based club. Parks balance of experience and youth produced a display of highly entertaining running rugby backed up by a brick wall defence.
From the onset Park dominated with the front row of Ed Ford, John Jenkins and Phil Groves creating havoc in the set piece. Park took the lead when the back row linked with the backs to see Number 8 Tom Hill burst through under the posts after 15mins. Callum Bishop duly converted. Park soon extended the lead when the backs combined well to see full back Cameron Forryan finish easily in the corner. Park maintained the pressure throughout the half and but for knock-ons at crucial times could and should have scored substantially more. It wasn’t until the 35min mark that they again crossed the line, when the veteran Kev Bishop caught the ball and used his still electrifying turn of pace to go around his opposite winger and score.
Half Time Manor Park 17 AEI Rugby 0
Park secured the victory early in the second half scoring twice in 6mins. Forryan started a move in his own 22 which passed through numerous sets of hands that saw him finish what he started. Bishop again converted. Park stalwart Keith Smitham who had dictated play well throughout the game at fly half was duly rewarded when he exploited the smallest of gaps to score. AEI to their credit mounted a good riposte midway through the half which saw Park constantly defending for 10mins. AEI were rewarded for their exploits when Bob Wallis (guesting as a replacement due to a front row injury) used his bulk to power over from 2mts out on the 68min mark. Park bounced back and camped in the visitors half. Scrum half Dan Joyce dummied at a ruck and broke, covering 30meters passed numerous tackles to secure Park the spoils with Bishop again converting. Credit has to go to the back row of Tom Hill, Gary Hammond and Tom Groves who dominated the game, creating havoc in the rucks and open play and ruling the lineout.
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