Saxons XV Match Reports

Weedon Lane - Saturday 8th Novemeber 2008 - Chiltern Saxons 20 Marlow 3rd XV 25

Chiltern Saxons took on local rivals Marlow in their 8^th game of the season. Having slipped a few places in the league following last weeks loss to Windsor, the Saxons were eager to get one over on their rivals and move back up the table.

The early morning rain had died off and, thankfully, held off until the game was done. The Saxons started well and put points on the board at the earliest opportunity, with Bugden slotting a penalty over. With the Saxon pack being extremely dominant in the scrum and winning more than their fair share of line-out ball, the back were invited to stretch their legs, an offer the Mike ‘Shakira’ Buckler duly accepted. However, having broken a couple of tackles and reached the try line, he decided he did not fancy scoring today, and offloaded to captain Fletcher to claim the glory. Mike may well have wished he has been slightly more selfish after the game as he was fined a jug for ‘try avoidance’. Bugden converted. Shortly before half-time, Scott Jarrold managed to break the line and beat a number of players to go over. Unfortunately the conversion was missed.

I believe Marlow slotted a penalty or two in the first half, making the half-time score 15 - 3 or 6!

The second half told a much different tale. The Saxons could only manage another 10 points, all from Bugden, in the form of a try, conversion and another penalty. Despite some good defence, Marlow crept back into the game, making the final score a lot closer than it should have been at 20 - 25. However, the Saxons could easily have ended up losing this game as a Marlow player dropped the ball when clean through. Had they possessed a player capable of kicking, the referee gave Marlow ample opportunity to win the game by penalising Chiltern at every single breakdown for offences such as sneezing, coughing and burping! OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, but my ears are still personally ringing from the constant whistle blowing for offences that only the referee could see were taking place.

For the second week in a row at Weedon Lane a nasty clash of head brought a temporary halt to the game. A Marlow player and young winger, James Carty would both require stitches. However, the Marlow player taped up his head and completed the game, but Carty was unable to continue due to the combination of the wound and the fact that, in trying to help, one of the spectators picked up a bottle thinking it was water and squirted it on his face only to find she had just placed deep heat all over his cut!

I’m unsure who was given man of the match, but in my opinion, until his injury, Carty had a solid game. Tristan Harper, a Saxons regular last season, came back to play for the club this week and had an excellent match, putting in a large number of tackles. Next week is a tough test away to Readingensians, who sit on place above us in 3rd, but have scored and conceded an almost identical points tally to ours.

Team: 1. Bobbett 2. Stankard 3. Shanks 4. Bourne 5. Gibson 6. Donnebaum 7. Harper 8. Wall 9. Sitzberger 10. Bugden 11. Buckler 12. Jarrold 13. Wright 14. Carty 15. Fletcher (capt) Subs: Turner, Gilhooly

Luke Donnebaum 11.11.08

After a disappointing result against Wallingford and a week without a game, the Saxons were back at Weedon Lane holding host to bottom of the table Henley Wanderers. Despite being bottom on -1 points, Henley’s results so far suggested they would be no pushovers, but the Saxons were determined to get back to winning ways.
The Saxons opted to utilise the wind in the first half and received the kick off. Despite the swirling wind, the Saxons back line put together some good moves with the ball being well-presented by the pack. With ‘wonder kid’ Smalley pulling the strings from 10, the backs were finding space to run into and it wasn’t long before Smalley spotted a gap and took his chance to cross the line for the first try of the game. Paul Sitzburger ably slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead to the Saxons. With the wind in their faces, Henley were struggling to make it out of their half, but the pressure wasn’t being converted into points. Despite a strong pack, the Saxons were struggling in the scrum, although it could be argued that there may have been a spot of deliberate wheeling from the Henley forwards which the ref failed to penalise. Henley’s inability to clear their lines eventually cost them when number 8, Ed Buller, charged over. The conversion was missed making the score 12-0. This was the way it stayed until half-time, although Scott Jarrold could have grabbed another, but dropped the ball before the line, claiming he had heard a whistle!
The second half was a little more competitive, with Henley having the wind advantage. However, the closest Henley came to scoring was a period of pressure in which the Saxons defence was put to the test and passed with flying colours, steadily driving them back until an error came and we could clear our lines. Midway through the second half, after some good forward work, Lurch managed to carry himself and a couple of Henley players over the line to make the score 17-0. Paul Sitzburger converted to add the extra 2 points and make it 19-0.
A final period of pressure by the Saxons had Henley back in their 22 again. They managed to steal ball back but heaped more pressure on themselves with poor passing. This culminated in a Henley player picking the ball up beyond his try line and turning to see 4 or 5 Saxon players coming at him, including Michael ‘Shakira’ Buckler who uttered in a deathly whisper “We’re going to kill you’…this was enough to strike the fear of God into the Henley player who, instead of touching the ball down, switched himself into American Football mode and launched a long forward pass, seemingly looking for a non-existent wide receiver!! Luckily, as most of the Saxon players were now in stitches after seeing one of the funniest moments ever seen on a pitch at Weedon Lane, the final whistle was not far away, and the game ended 19-0 to the Saxons.
Special mention goes to Matt Craggs, a Colt playing in the second row, who had gave a fine display. Man of the Match was awarded to Smalley, who commanded the game from 10.

Team: 1. Pettinger 2. Shanks 3. Wall 4. Gibson 5. Craggs 6. Price 7. Isaacs 8. Buller 9. Sitzburger 10. Smalley 11. Buckler 12. Marsh 13. Bruce 14. Jarrold 15. Fletcher (capt.) Subs: 16. Farhi 17. Donnebaum 18. Wright


Saxons march on at Weedon Lane

The Saxons were brimming with confidence going into their first home game of the league season against Buckingham IIs. After their convincing display against Bracknell, the squad believed that they could put on another strong display in front of the Chiltern faithful.
As with the previous week, the determination and resilience of the players in defence ensured that from start to finish Buckingham hardly had a sniff. Even at such an early stage in the season, the players were working hard for each other and together as one unit.
The account was opened when an attack deep inside Buckingham’s territory allowed left-wing Michael ‘Shakira’ Buckler to drive through the defence and bundle the ball (and four players) over the line.
Later in the half, Ross Bugden at fly-half duly added to the score with a converted penalty after a couple of decent close attempts. The Saxons went into the interval in a commanding position.

10 – 0 (HT)

In the second half the game opened up with attacks from both teams, but it was Chiltern who proved the only side capable of finishing. The Saxons back line, often spearheaded by former captain Dave Neale, found numerous gaps in the Buckingham defence and subsequently added three more tries to their earlier score.
Chiltern were successful down both wings, and persistent surges down the left flank provided two notable opportunities, one being converted from close to the try line by captain Tom Fletcher. Down the right flank, Scott Jarold also finished an excellent drive with both Dave Neale and Chris Preston in support. A second half penalty was also converted to add to the score.
The only blip of the game came when a kicked clearance was charged down, caught and converted for a try, but it was rare luck and utterly flattered Buckingham’s otherwise blunt offensive game.
In the later stages, Ross Bugden completed another flowing Saxons attack, taking the ball between the posts and impressively converting his third of four attempts. Overall, Chiltern dominated and have set a standard which they aspire to continue to meet.

32 – 7 (FT)

Special commendation must go to the forwards who were strong in all aspects of their game. Their relentless tackling and effort at rucks and set plays provided an unrivalled platform for the backs to launch multiple-phased attacks. The Saxons pack proved a formidable unit, and both Jimmy Irwin and Darren Smith put in particularly outstanding performances.