Cup winners.

Oops almost forgot, there has to be a picture of the winning team with the cup!!!

    So here they are, cup winners Fotheringhay with the Nene Valley Cup!!!

27th December.

I finally got home on boxing day night, Dad's operation having gone ok. So a friendly between the two teams knocked out of the competition was decided upon.

                        Tansor about to kick off against Cotterstock, despite being a good kick possession went to Cotterstock, but a bad kick forward resulted in a line-out to Tansor.

                Ten minutes into the first half and Tansor go over for a try and despite the acute angle, the conversion was good.

                      Second try for Tansor with a pretty easy conversion.

                 Cotterstock's first try which was easily converted.

                                Second try for Cotterstock, unfortunately the conversion attempt went wide.
Second half was pretty uneventful apart from a penalty awarded to Tansor for a forward pass.

                Fnal score :  Tansor  17    Cotterstock  12.

Hopefully video of Tansor's conversion on their second try!!!

Reflections.

                     All in all, it has been great fun doing this knock-out competition using my local village names and none of it was preconceived, so I didn't know who would win either! Subbutteo Rugby is probably the only game in the range that can be effectively played solo, provided the rules are administered evenly. Football is ok until it comes to shooting at goal, it being a bit tricky to man goal and shoot at the same time! Cricket, well even with someone doing some bowling for me, I find hitting the ball with the bat pretty tricky, there again I do not get the chance to practice!!!
                      I was hoping to do a Boxing day match between the two teams that got knocked out  first, but unfortunately my Dad is going into hospital for an operation  on the 23rd, so I am not sure where I will end up over Christmas.
                     So a very happy Christmas to all who view this blog, and lets hope for some sanity in the world in the new year.

Nene Valley Cup Final.

                              Final match for the cup between Glapthorn and Fotheringhay, Glapthorn having just kicked off.

                            Early penalty for Glapthorn bad clearance giving off side. Glapthorn open scoring with 3 points.

                                       Yet another bad mistake by Fotheringhay gives Glapthorn another penalty.

                                     Fotheringhay's first try just before half time, the conversion attempt went wide giving a half time score of Glapthorn 6  Fotheringhay 5.

                                              A good start for Fotheringhay in the second half, with this try right under the posts and a successful conversion.

                  Mistake this time by Glapthorn gave Fotheringhay this easy penalty.

                                     Bad clearance by Fotheringhay opened the door again for Glapthorn with this easy penalty.

                        With 5 minutes to go, this penalty was awarded to Fotheringhay for off side, allowing them to stretch their lead.  The last minutes of the match were all Glapthorn, but they were unable to break through the defence and final whistle saw Fotheringhay lifting the cup.

                       Elated supporter streaks onto the pitch, despite the efforts of the arm of the law!!!!


                                      Final score :    Fotheringhay  15   Glapthorn  9.

Third place match.

      Oundle about to kick off for the third place play off. The first half was totally dominated by Oundle, with the ball hardly going into the other end of the pitch.

                         This line-out won against the throw looked promising, but Oundle were unable to get a score from it. The first half finished without any score, despite all the attacking coming from Oundle.

                   A dangerous situation here for Warmington, Oundle having taken the scrum against the head.

                                      This was the opening try for Oundle, winning the scrum so near the posts gave them the advantage they needed, however the conversion attempt went wide.

                                  Warmington were next on the scoreboard with this penalty awarded for off-side.

  Another penalty was awarded to Warmington, but they failed to score with it and in the final minutes of the game, this penalty was awarded to Oundle, but they failed to put it over, the game ending with a pretty low score.

                     Final score:     Oundle  5    Warmington   3.

Final Matches.

  Next Saturday will see Oundle taking on Warmington for third place.

Sunday will be the final for the Nene Valley Cup between Glapthorn and Fotheringhay.

Final Table

	Played	Won	Lost	Total  Points
Oundle	3	0	3	26
Warmington	3	1	2	24
Fotheringhay	3	2	1	31
Glapthorn	3	3	0	37

Sunday's Match.

Fotheringhay versus Warmington.

                              Warmington about to kick off.

                                Good clearance kick by Fotheringhay produced this promising looking line-out.

                   A good run from the line-out produced this try, which was easily converted. Fotheringhay opening the scoring.

                Shortly before half time, Warmington were awarded this penalty with which they scored.

 The last minute of half time saw Fotheringhay awarded this penalty for off-side, with which they scored, giving a half time score of :    Fotheringhay 10  Warmington  3.

                     With 5 minutes to go to the end of the match, Warmington gave away this scrum for a knock-on, but despite some very close play Fotheringhay were unable to break through the defence.

                            The last kick of the game, with Warmington getting a penalty 1 minute into injury time.


                                                     Final score:            Fotheringhay  10   Warmington  6.

Saturday's Match.

Oundle versus Glapthorn.

        Glapthorn having won the toss have elected to play from the East end of the pitch, here pictured just about to kick off.

                                   Oundle managed to get possession and a good clearance kick found a useful touch, unfortunately they were unable to make anything of it.

                           Glapthorn were awarded a penalty for offside, with which they were able to open the scoring.

                 Glapthorn scoring a try right by the posts, this was easily converted.
  There was no more score in the first half, which saw Glapthorn leading 10 points to nil.

                             Oundle were awarded a penalty early into the second half, but surprisingly they missed with this attempt.

                            A couple of minutes later and another penalty was awarded to Oundle, this they did score with.

                           With just a few minutes remaining, Oundle got yet another penalty that they managed to score with, this being the last score of the match.


            Final score:    Glapthorn  10    Oundle  6.

Next Matches.

  The final matches in this table will be played next week.

      Oundle versus Glapthorn.               Fotheringhay versus Warmington.

Table Update.

	Played	Won	Lost	Total  Points
Oundle	2		2	20
Warmington	2	1	1	18
Fotheringhay	2	1	1	21
Glapthorn	2	2		27

Sunday's Match.

Sunday's match was Oundle taking on Fotheringhay.

  Fotheringhay having kicked off with a nice kick to touch deep in Oundle's half.

      Oundle opened the scoring with this well executed try, which was easily converted.

               Fotheringhay were next on the scoreboard with this try which too was easily converted.

Just before half time and Fotheringhay go over for another try, the conversion attempt went well wide.
Half time saw Fotheringhay leading by 5 points.

  Oundle were able to run this try in 10 minutes into the second half, the conversion attempt was successful. Shortly after this Oundle were awarded a penalty which despite being close to the posts, they failed to put over!
                      In the closing minutes of the game Fotheringhay got a penalty for off-side, which they easily scored with. All in all a very close game, with both sides going for it, and yet again a surprise result!!

             Final score:   Fotheringhay  15   Oundle  14.

Saturday's Match.

  The knockout continues with Glapthorn taking on Warmington.

                       Glapthorn started proceedings with this very useful kick-off that just found touch.

    The resulting line-out was neatly won and cleared by Warmington and they started to pile on the pressure with some very good runs.

    This scrum from a knock-on although won by Glapthorn, resulted in an off-side, giving Warmington a penalty which they put over to open the scoring.
           Glapthorn again managed to kick into touch for a line-out deep in their opponents half, but the resulting clearance kick and follow resulted in a try for Warmington.

                           The try was a good one, but the conversion attempt went wide.

                             Glapthorn won a scrum for a knock-on  deep in Warmington's territory and from this were able to run in a very good try which they easily converted.
     This was followed by another good run and in the last minutes of the first half, Glapthorn scored again right under the posts, giving them another easy conversion.
              The second half started with Warmington being awarded a penalty for off-side, unfortunately the kick went wide of the left hand post.
                    Game play became very tight after this with neither side taking any real chances, until a bad clearance attempt by Warmington gave Glapthorn a penalty right in front of the posts, which they easily put over. With 5 minutes left to play, a bad mistake by Glapthorn gave Warmington a penalty, which this time they did score with.
                    Despite a good bout of possession by Warmington in the dying minutes, there was no more score to be had and the game ended with a surprise win for Glapthorn.


       Final result:  Glapthorn 2 tries and conversions plus a penalty =  17 points.

                        Warmington  2 penalties and a try =  11 points.

Next round.

Next week Glapthorn will play Warmington.

                 Fotheringhay will play Oundle.

Table

	Played	Won	Lost	Total  Points
Oundle	1		1	6
Warmington	1	1		7
Fotheringhay	1		1	6
Glapthorn	1	1		10

Match report.

                        Fotheringhay and Glapthorn on the pitch awaiting result of toss to see who starts the game.
Glapthorn won the toss, so kicked off and started with a good run forward but were unable to get through the defence. Fotheringhay followed up a long kick, and an over enthusiastic charge by Glapthorn gave them a relatively easy penalty.

                               The penalty was a long one, but went over giving Fotheringhay the lead just 2 minutes into the game.
                  After this the game got very tight with both sides making good runs but not managing to finish, then 12 minutes in Glapthorn were awarded a penalty for off-side, which they scored with.

  Apart from some rather dangerous looking scrums, nothing appeared to be happening either way, until with just a minute of the first half left,Glapthorn went over for a try which they promptly converted.

                                      Half time score:   Fotheringhay 3  Glapthorn  10.

                                 The second half was a very cagey affair with neither side making any real headway, there had not been a single line-out in the first half and it was about middle of the second half before a line-out was conceded.

                              This line-out went Fotheringhay's way and from this they were able to clear their line, the resulting run up field saw them awarded another penalty, this time right in front of the posts, which they easily put over.  Despite some very spirited attacks, Fotheringhay were unable to put any more points on the board and similarly Glapthorn were unable to increase their lead. Glapthorn came out the winners with a credible 10 points.

                                   Ecstatic supporter streaks onto the pitch to the amazement of the players!!


                                      Final score:    Fotheringhay 6   Glapthorn  10.