Market Rasen AND Louth – two for the price of one – BOGOF as people say to Strauney.
Having mustered lots of players, enough to allow us to put out a team without Ady (an immediate and distinct advantage), we all jogged out 2 or 3 minutes before kick-off to stretch, finish glasses of beer, stub out fags – the usual Vets pre-game warm-up programme.
Kick off into the wind, everyone dawdling around, no pattern, no game heads on….. and Rasen’s very quick Full Back ripped through to score.
Try again… but this time with attitude, allowing Mods to push up into the opposition 22 and camp there. Lots of hard work and energy – especially verbal energy (who picked Young Harry & Harry at 9 & 10?) which really wasn’t appreciated by Pete the Ref – one in each ear!! After several phases Sean nimbly tiptoed through to dob the ball down – Harry converting – normal service had been resumed….
Or had it? ‘cos Louth now launched a series of attacks using their quick winger and full back and again they ran through tackles and scored. This could be a battle.
Cometh the hour cometh the Men and with Stewie (back from breaking his Mother-in-Law’s leg) leading from the front, the ball was taken upfield by the forwards and a real stranglehold put on Market’s game, allowing Coley to relive his misspent youth and pretend to be a Centre again, scoring close in, then Mike Water revved his bum up before barrelling in from about 10 metres out.
DamoS was making lots of yards but the final pass was not happening, whilst Bloodgate on the wing had the legs on his winger and was inches from scoring on several occasions (life threatening injury in the second half requiring urgent tlc that evening)
Rasen’s 8 had obviously attended the same ‘Cheating’ school as JB with many of his tricks going unnoticed by the increasingly agitated Ref – far too much ‘advise’ coming his way – but when JB went off (hurty bott’) and Sean (couldn’t open his legs !!!!!!) the scrums unfortunately went uncontested. This should have given Rasen the advantage with their younger pack but on came Semi I.E.Damo so no prisoners going to be taken this afternoon and with Turbo at long last learning to make a mess of his side of the opposition scrum it was Mods who took an even stronger grip on the game.
By now The Ref had had enough of Harry` giving him earache and told them both to shut up (advice promptly ignored of course lol)
Half Time
Mods Non-Ageist Veterans 17 -v- 12 Market Rasen, Louth, half of North Lincs
Second Half even more of the same, such was Mods dominance that Rasen barely got out of their own half except at restarts. Herbie was blitzing through midfield, DaveIceIceIvermy ran rings round the opposition forwards, his own forwards, the spectators, a couple of dog walkers, even Wiley an experienced creator of waves & curls couldn’t keep up.
From a maul on the 5metre line Stewie bundled the ball over to score.
The Scrim was making life as miserable as possible for his opposite number (it’s obviously contagious) pulling and blocking him and eventually ‘helping’ him to go off injured. Paul was on at Full back and when Rasen tried to kick the ball clear, he caught it and returned it with interest, as did Nige(NO -I don’t have prehensile toes, I’ve always run like this)Davis.
Keiran joined the forwards, bringing much needed pace and energy, allowing Wiley to put his bottle of Grecian2011 down to slide through for a try – which he converted!!!
Loads more of the same, DamoS was magnificent in midfield, Young Harry never shut up (cant think where he gets it from) but fired out hard, flat passes all game.
The muddy pitch failed to stop wide, fast, flowing rugby.
The final whistle came as no surprise.
How on earth did we only score 2 tries in the second half?
The most complete half of rugby we have played this year |