Oh dear we did let ourselves down. Danny Carlin may have made sure the water bottles were filled and the shirts were crisply ironed but the performance at Cannock was nothing like as well organised as our match day preparation. I mean what happened to our scrums ? And our lineouts ?

We beat Cannock in the Owen Cup final last May (remember that far back ?) and we convincingly beat them at home at the start of the season but this was a different Cannock that we see in 2012. Only 3 of the squad that turned up at the Cup final were playing in Blue & Yellow Saturday which shows the extent of the transformation of their side. Sure, if you pull on a Cannock shirt with a 6 or a 4 on the back then you're always going to be punchy and play like and arse but that was the only thing that I recognised this weekend.

We were playing downhill in the first half (Cannock's preference) yet after 40 minutes they were 15-0 up. Two well worked tries, a conversion and a penalty. Sure we had lots of penalty opportunities but we decided not to kick them; an observation made very vociferously by the visiting Staffs RFU delegation, and as such we were nursing a shut out in the first half and it didn't bode well. Despite having Bayley, Hudson and Robinson in the front row and Palin and the ever impressive Matt Evans at lock, Cannock bossed the scrums. It go to the point in the second half where we weren't even taking the contact and the only time in the second half we got the ball from any scrum was when the referee saw this as early pushing by Cannock, and we were awarded free kicks. On their ball they were solid and on our ball they immediately pushed us off back, turned the scrum to their advantage and let their very mobile number 8 rampage at our centres. Their 8/9 combination worked far too well and we weren't prepared for their speed up to the gain line. The Barton back row of Simons, Milns and Thorpe would ordinarily have clicked but after ten minutes Thorpy went off with a damaged ankle, having received special "attention" from the Cannock pack. Bayley and Cox were single handedly (double handedly?) trying to enforce discipline in the loose but we just weren't up for the physical game that Cannock bring.

The centres of Cleary and Cox were expected to have a strong game and with Jamie and Quidditch at half backs we expected to see them given a steady feed of quick ball. And they were, and with Bird, and Mills on the wings and a strong Murphy at full back, there were options galore; in fact we had an awesome team on paper. There are days when things just don't click and Saturday 7th January was one of them. We didn't snuff out the threats, or sort out the aggressors, and when Big Niall even says that "someone needs to smack that number 4" you know we are being bullied.

So Rowie came on for Thorpy, Moule replaced Huddy and we still didn't have any answers for the game plan. Our handling was good but it was hard to retain possession in contact as all our players tolerated hands in the ruck, lying on the wrong side, and slowing the ball down illegally. At one breakdown a clear ruck was formed yet a Cannock hooker dropped his knee into Evan's back, lay over the bodies and grabbed hold of the ball. One of the Cannock faithful said that ten years ago he twice tried exactly the same move, and on one occasion let go of the ball after being punched and the other had two of his fingers broken by the boot of an outside centre..........mmm. We discussed the relative merits of the old interpretation of the rules and how the game had moved on and we reached a compromise in that the game is now safer, but we both agreed that as long as Cannock were allowed to get away with these tactics then they would dominate thee game. And they did.

At 22-7 we gained some composure and were strong in defence; but we had to be. The Cannock 13 is clearly far too good for this league but his friends in the line didn't know how to play off him, and our centre pairing were not going to give him any space to work in, and the physical nature of a tight game continued. We survived a battering on our five yard line and gave as good on Cannock's but the penalty count against the home side was horrific - 17 in the second half alone. Was this down to an undisciplined Cannock or something else ? The game certainly didn't flow as well as it should have, and this frustrated both sides and there were seven successive penalties awarded to Barton in Cannock's 22 without any warning, let alone a yellow card. We allowed this to get to us and didn't use them to our advantage. Cannock did.

Reading this report this morning, it was suggested that I was fond of Cannock and the with a soft pink nostalgic glow actually enjoyed the games I played against Gavin et al all those years ago. Well I checked, and Hell hasn't frozen over yet, so you're wrong. .

Sure Cannock scored two soft tries, the last at the death being an interception, and the scoreline flattered the home side, but Cannock deserved to win, we deserved to lose and a lot of people need to review their performance after this Saturday.

Do you really want photos?

 

Here are the photos courtesy of Mr Stewart Cox;

and here is the match report courtesy of Mr Dixon ;

The press team of Statto and FYT set off in good spirits and, once off the M5, we waxed lyrical about the pleasant Worcestershire countryside with rolling hills, fields of hop drying frames and orchards and the beautiful architecture of the hop stores with their strange shaped roofs. We were upbeat, positive and discussing what to include in the match report.

The journey is long (70miles), but pleasant from Barton to Tenbury Wells at any time of year but one thing is for certain, today, on the last Saturday before Christmas, it would prove to be a much longer journey from Tenbury Wells back to Barton.

So, what to report.

What a lovely little Town with very pleasant Townsfolk and even more pleasant supporters and officials of Tenbury Wells RFC. Quirky, in that the changing room and Club are on one side of town and the pitch is on the other. Jonny Simons was struggling to focus on the match, or so he intimated, and it was very cold, wet under foot and the long grass on the pitch hinted at a mud bath otherwise.

We had 16 players, Blokko still in Kidderminster and with Rowie having to start at fullback, a very inexperienced back three and young Rob Barker benching for his first team debut. Moody’s Fruit & Veg shop on the High Street provided us with half time orange segments and now for kick off.

The first half started and Tenbury had the better of the early stages taking a 3 to nil lead from a converted penalty given for infringement at the ruck.

Barton started to dominate at the scrum but misfired at the lineout, it’s usually the other way round. The Tenbury 8 though, controlled the ball well at the base of scrums, even whilst walking back at a pace. He proved to be man of the match by a long chalk.

Barton improved as the half progressed and a fine move saw Woolly go under the posts after receiving a fantastic mis-pass from Jamie. Birdy converted off a cone because Gareth forgot the Red Red Tee, oh and forgot to come, and things were looking up after a shaky start.

Tenbury 3 Barton 7

Barton had enough ball and opportunity but seemed to want to do what Market Drayton had done at Barton the week before and play to the strengths of the opposition. We got the ball wide just once in the first half and scored. Tenbury, on the other hand, liked to work the ball up field in close contact using their mobile pack and very strong back row. We didn’t only allow this to happen but encouraged it by taking ball after ball into contact.

Eventually, a loose clearance from our back three allowed Tenbury the space to put in the right winger. Woolly and Quidditch made good covering tackles but inevitably they scored in the corner but missed the conversion.

Tenbury 8 Barton 7

Birdy got injured and had to come off and it was time to reshuffle. Rob Barker went to lock, Fradge to front row and Coxy to 12.

I was handed the flag and was now running touch, had responsibility for the kicking tee, the valuables and the match report.........I don’t mind of course, but it brings into question our off field support and structure.

 Just before half time Jamie converted a penalty to bring the half to a close.

Tenbury 8 Barton 10

Blokko arrived at the Club on the other side of Town and Kevin Davies from Tenbury showed what a great bunch they are at this Club by driving across Town to open the changing rooms. Thanks Kevin but, one question;

 ‘Did the half time oranges contain drugs’?

Barton felt confident that they could get the upper hand and with Birdy coming back on for Rob the game restarted but we knocked on from the kick off and it put us on the back foot.

Then we had the worse ten minutes of the season, we had seen it before at Edwardians but this was classic stuff. Twice we ran the ball into contact in our own 22 leading to two turnovers and two tries, one of which was converted.

Tenbury 20 Barton 10

Then we decided to leave the door open for the strong running Tenbury No 12 to go under the posts.

Tenbury 27 Barton 10

Blokko arrived with 25 minutes to go and replaced Jonny O in another reshuffle.

Jamie got injured and came off with Jonny O going back on and on it went.

The pitch was cutting up and the Tenbury rolling subs kept things fresh for them and then Coxy scored but Birdy missed a simple conversion.

Tenbury 27 Barton 15

Barton felt it was within their grasp but gave away the restart for their 7 to stroll through the gaps and suddenly the game was out of reach.

Tenbury 34 Barton 15

Statto and I were swift to depart the scene and the discussions on the journey back were of a stern tone in the match report.

One thing is for sure, the guys that turned out today worked hard but some questions have to start being asked in certain areas. Some people need a mirror for Christmas and what has happened to our off field support and the numbers coming through the second team.

It’s not for me to be critical but like everyone that is involved at our fantastic Rugby Club I care deeply and sometimes things need saying at the right time to aid in re assessment.

With Quidditch back at 9 we saw Lee Coton move out to his usual 13 spot and with both Murphs, Polly and Wooly for company this was going to be a good day. Polly took a ding early on and Shum came on to the wing. There were murmurs that he was good in attack but needed to learn how to tackle but within ten minutes neither of the MD wingers would agree with this statement as they were unceremoniously dumped in contact.

Then came the moment of the match. The ball flew out from a ruck in their 22 and Rowie took possession. Like a stag smelling another stag whilst holding hinds and grazing in open pasture, he lifted his head high, nostrils flaring as the old familiar scent drifted slowly through his olfactory glands. No, it wasn't the whiff of a rutting male who may have wandered upwind but the hallucinogenic smell of a drop goal attempt. His gaze wandered left and right; there were no teammates to be seen.

He lowered his head to see the ball perfect placed between his hands, he raised his eyes skywards and saw the towering white posts in front of him, beckoning, then, almost genuflecting, his head lowered and his eyes closed as the video of a perfectly struck drop goal played in his head. The glory of a game in days gone by where a smooth drop goal sealed victory on the distant fields of Yardley rugby club were refreshed. He struck the ball and it flew. Birdy, standing a few metres in front of him dropped to the deck like a Paratrooper in Helmand province and just before he hit the turf he saw the ball fly under his body. The ball continued on it's wayward path like a 5th November firework without a stick, and as the spectators scattered and the full back from the Bloxwich game on the next pitch returned the ball, we realised that this was not his finest hour. But a penalty ensued and Birdy took Red Red the tee and slotted it nicely.

In the first half we saw a lot of movement of the ball out wide. Here's the first try from Martin Woolston, after a lovely set of moves which ended in Shum popping the ball out of the tackle to the ever present Wooly :

Birdy put over the conversion from Red Red the Tee and although MD had a converted try, we were quite comfortable.

In the second half we saw the forwards dominate our game. Tom Robinson and Matt Bayley were joined by Myles Tydeman who played a stormer - what chance is there of this guy retaining possession here ?

Rowie and Palin locked with Matt Evans coming on later in the game. Newly scrum capped Jonny Simons played his usual thundering Number 8 and Quidditch had good clean ball all day. Craig Hudson came on for Myles late in the second half but it was a very clinical display by Barton.

But it was the second half where Barton came alive. Another lovely try from Ben Murphy finishing off a lovely series of play involving the back row and the backs and the competition between him and brother Sam for the most reliable finisher is still on. Sam and Ben made a lot of yards down the flanks and always drew in the full back for cover, which (when we were able to exploit it) led to overlaps in the next phase. Lovely to watch, frustrating to see when we didn't use them.

And then there was Shum. Time and again he appeared on the wing with the ball looking for trouble and should have had three tries - one he knocked on at the death, one he got bundled into touch and one was the best score of the day. Lovely

So a good win over Market Drayton who had 31 points in third place to our 21 points in fourth place. But with Cannock winning and getting a bonus point they moved above us in the table. Tenbury away next week will resolve this anomaly and the way were played today, it will be an interesting season.

 

How many of these photos show Birdy's gumshield half in half out ?

 

 

The Rugby boys had done their homework though and were ready for the Barton challenge. They knew we were strong in defence and so played for territory in much of the game. We however chose to do the opposite and five or six penalties were tap-and-go when the obvious decision was to kick for territory. The visiting representative from the Staffs RFU were perplexed with our tactic, especially when seen against St Leonard's defensive strategy. What was that? Well any time we went into contact they double tackled the player and threw many of their quite mobile forwards into the breakdown. A risky approach if it doesn't work because you leave your self exposed to overlaps and on many occasion we had overlaps on both sides but the ferocious battles at the breakdown meant Lee Coton rarely saw clean ball and when he did, it was never quick. Our backs were becoming impatient with the slow ball as many a looping overlap move had to stop, regroup and start again as the scrum half didn't have the ball. This stuttering loss of momentum raised the tension of the backs and when the ball finally did come out we were a little rushed and impatient and knock-ons ensued.

My God there were a lot of scrums. We thought the St Leonards pack would tire against the solid might of Tom Robinson, Matt Cox and Matt Baylesterstar, with the bulk of MBUK and Palin locking the tight five, but to be fair to the home side they used the five sub roll-on-roll-off law to good effect and remained fresh. Credit to the Barton pack who remained unchanged throughout and won that moral victory. Scrums were solid and St Leonards used the roll-on-roll-off law to good effect for the back row and stand offs too as they were pummelled every time by a rampaging Jonny Simons. He always had two or three tacklers slowing down the release but you could see he relished the contact. And what can we say about his flankers ? Pow Pow and Thorpey. Highly effective in very different ways - if they were in the medical profession Thorpey would be the brain surgeon - very precise, technically perfect and blindingly efficient. The patient wakes up feeling great and doesn't' really have many after affects on the rugby pitch it is the same (except the after effect is that the opponent is on the floor and doesn't have the ball any more). Never misses a tackle, technique immaculate, and never gets hurt. Pow Pow would be a battlefield surgeon from the Napoleonic wars where swift drastic action is required. Swash buckles into the theatre, knocking over anything in his path; "Doctor, musket wound to the thigh!" squeals the Nurse "Saw ! Scalpel ! " shouts Pow Pow as he removes the soldier's leg, his left testicle and the right index finger of an assistant in a 23 second operation. A red hot branding iron sears the open wound, and Pow Pow pats the shocked soldier on the head, knocks back the anaesthetic brandy that he forgot to administer to the patient earlier, gooses the nurse on the way out and takes the door of it's hinges as he waves "adieu !" to all. Yes, when you've been tackled by Pow Pow, you know full well what happened.

So these are the guys that  make up our forward pack. Matt Cox rampaged through the tight and relished the feel of bone against bone and one on occasion missed the contact and burst out into the wide open spaces of the paddock. Like a young deer flushed out of the sheltered undergrowth and into a dangerously exposed clearing Matt ran left and right and eventually found safety and security of the try line and thankfully flopped over the line with his muckers for company. Birdy missed the conversion but we were back in the game.

St Leonards had added a penalty and so we did the same and it was 11-10 to us. Jan Cleary was starting to get into the game properly. Wooly changed his style of play (straight hard line of running, into contact) and Jan loved this as he was always there looking for the ball, looking for work, looking for his teammates. If it wasn't for the very effective loose play by the home side our backs would have had many more points, and the disappointment showed.

Then came the move we had been waiting for for so long. One of the many rucks started with JS peeling off a scrum but this time the ball was quick. Miss pass to Wooly who was on fire today and loved the straight line contact - boom through the two centres he went, feeding the resurgent Polly who waited and weighted his pass to Sam Murphy who is clinical when it comes to finishing moves. Birdy converted from the special red tee - not orange red but Red Red. 20:20 vision was needed to see the ball sneak over the cross bar because the referee didn't signal whether the conversion was good or not and just blew the whistle for half time.

Then came some surreal events. Louie Whiting was playing on the right wing for Barton and his brother Shaun was locking for St Leonards. Their mum was on the touchline eating all my chocolates when Shaun went down with what we thought was a knee injury - he was not happy, and later tests showed a broken tibia. Just like Cliffy I thought.

Penalties were put over by both fly halfs and then another by St Leonards. And then they scored a try! 21-21 as the light started to fade. We were nervous as we watched the conversion drift wide, but then we got a break - All the backs were involved again and Louie was free down the right hand side but a covering tackle from the St Leonards left wing took Louie down and next thing I see is him being dragged off the pitch with a broken tibia. Can you believe it ? What would the odds be in a Pakistani-cricket-no-ball-betting-scam on that event ? You can imagine the conversation with the Ambulance guys ;

Us - "Whiting, suspected broken leg, Rugby at St Leonards".

Hospital - "Yes, we've got him here"

Us - "No, this is another one".

On came Schumacher and in a tense last ten minutes we saw St Leonards set up an "Occupy Barton" encampment on our 5 yard line. Like the protestors opposite St Pauls in London we weren't sure why they were there, or how long they would stay but we were very, very sure what they wanted. Barton dug deep and the legendary defence kept out the hordes. Eventually a break came and with virtually all the team involved we freed Schummie up the wing to dot down under the posts in the dying minutes and with Red Red Birdy slotted the conversion to conclude the game at 28-21.

Fourth in the league but ten points shy of the guys in 3rd place and only goal difference keeping us above a resurgent Cannock. The rest of the season will be interesting.

Barton 31 - Rugeley 5 - 19th November 2011

The villagers triumph again!

The banter had started long long ago with a Sky sports video clip of Martin de Ridder from Rugeley holding up a sign that said Barton = Village. The suggestion that Rugeley (a Town) should overcome Barton (a village) was never going to faze the Barton team and with a full squad of Veterans playing alongside them on the John Taylor fields it was going to be a tough afternoon for the visitors.

Overall it was a tedious match to watch as Barton were so dominant that any Rugeley attack was quickly snuffed out by the legendary Barton defence. The back row of Simons, flanked by Mercury Cox and James Thorpe were never going to see many people get past them and with Lee Coton at scrum half and Matt Bloxham and Jamie in the centres it was clear that any foray over our gain line was going to be hard fought and well deserved. The tackling was ferocious and effective but never flustered, and watching Thorpedo track down Flint and bring him to ground with almost no effort was a thing of beauty to behold.

The best try of the day was from Ben Murphy who finished off a lovely move involving all the backs and showed everyone present how to generate, maintain and exploit a one man overlap. The lines of running, the timing of the passes, the draw of the opposite number and the accuracy of the hands was a joy to watch and there were very few dry eyes on the touchline after that try was scored.

With Wooly on the right wing and Louie Whiting at full back any attempt at Rugeley kicking for territory would be punished with a siege gun of a boot kicking the ball upfield and when it came down to earth a few minutes later, Wooly would be there with Birdy and his cohorts in tow to keep the ball in Townie territory. Wooly scored a try in each half and another by Matt Cox gave us a comfortable lead of 31-0 after about 55 minutes. Mark Mills and John Ovendin came on to experience a resurgent Rugeley who felt that they had worn down our pack and could resurrect the game. They hadn't and they couldn't as the front row of Tom, Bayley and Huddy with Dave Rowe and the increasingly impressive Matt Evans locking, were simply taking a few minutes rest before resuming their domination of scrums, and mauls, and lineouts and rucks.

Rugeley managed to score an unconverted try in the corner late on in the game and the jubilation seen from the team and the supporters reflected the effort that was required to breach the Barton goal line. We were not happy at losing our clean sheet but the post match Ali Umpa resonated down the Trent Valley all through East Staffordshire as a warning to all.

 

So as we progress through the season, we see a couple of the favourites stumbling and falling but the Barton machine continues to churn along and we sit comfortably fourth in the table of eleven as we roll into the dark days of winter. Bring it on.

 

 

 

Clee Hill 13 - Barton 13 - 12th November 2011

A long way to go but what a score! First time we've played the Westerners and not lost so a great result away from home.

The Match report and photos are courtesy of Stewart "Statto" Cox:

I was not looking forward to this game. We had a few people who have played first team rugby this season who were missing this week; Rob Smith, Lee Coton, Martin Woolston, Tom Robinson and then a massive loss of Matts - Matt Bird, Matt Bloxham, Matt Cox, Matt Perkins, Matt Knight. I looked at Telford's record; played five won five, conceded 26 points. Ooooh I was worried. We are good in defence but my God, playing five games with an average of five points being conceded makes any defensive coach puff their chest out with pride.

The game was at home and due to an extended pre-match warm up in the Shoulder I was pitchside five minutes late. We were 8-0 up and the sour faces of the Telford travellers said it all. Ben Murphy had gone over in the corner and Jamie had just kicked a penalty and the possession and passion was all from Barton. Harry and Jan were the centre partnership and despite having a combined age less than mine, they set up in defence and planned attacks like they'd been playing for decades. The tackling was led as usual by Thorpey who inspired the whole team to snuff out any suggestion of a rout from the league leaders. Telford's game plan was clear - their number 8 was big and fast and he was the main ball carrier and go-to guy when things got difficult. We learnt last week that if you let a big forward build up speed then you are always going backwards and the four try stinging that the Edwardian lock gave us last week meant that within 90 seconds Barton had devised a game plan to stop the Telford 8 from gaining any ground. This slowed the game down immensely but only if we could keep up the tackles.

The nice standoff with a trendy pink undershirt ran the backs well, but again we quickly saw that he was not a runner or a tackler and so our back row made a bee line for him when we had the ball, and in defence we completely ignored him knowing he could only kick or pass. At one point when Jamie's kick to touch was collected by Steve Dixon on the touchline, the Telford ten tried to take a quick throw in. Steve told him he couldn't because the ball had been touched by a spectator to which the reply was "I'm not stupid you know". Steve's reply of "well did your Mum choose that top then ?" had all the spectators laughing.

Rowie wasn't laughing. He had a match long tussle with a lanky lock playing 16 and after one lineout in front of the massed crowds a little scuffle ensued. The Telford lock threw and landed a punch which everyone saw, including the ref, and he decided to yellow card both players. By this time we were 15-10 up after H scored a lovely try after a period of sustained pressure, and Jamie duly converted. Our front row of Bayley, Huddy and Big John played well and with Rowie and MBUK locking, it was a surprise to see our scrums disrupted so much by the visitors. The visiting spectators told us that their forwards were much more dominant in previous games and that they were frustrated at not being able to boss the set pieces over here in East Staffordshire, so our guys should be proud. Daz Mitchell and Jonny Simons completed the pack and saw far too many Telford players running at them with the ball for comfort.

With Rowie and their lock sitting out the end of the first half, Telford had a bit of a resurgence and their 8 peeled off the back of a ruck and went blind, giving Murph no chance with the speeding overlapping winger as he had to come inside to tackle the big man. The half ended 15-15 and the crowd, fuelled with curly wurlys, white chocolate and raspberry cookies and Dalmore whisky, were excited. Telford had never led this match and had conceded three times the number of points they were used to, and their supporters were worried. Barton's "Shed" were vocal and excited at the prospect of a big upset.

At half time I asked the Sky Sports team what the tackle count was, and what percentage possession Barton had in the first half but JC just gave me a glazed look and said "purple". Sam Murph had to come off with a flattened foot and Neil Forden came onto the wing. Big John came off with a flattened foot and Cliffy went on. Cliffy ran about for a bit, broke his fibula and hobbled off demanding that I hand back the kicking tee ! Cheek of the man ! Deano had to go on, as did Dave Palin when MBUK came off - are you still following me ? Huddy came off for a while and Mark Mills went on and so the rolling of five substitutes was complete.

Telford liked the rolling mauls as well as the pick and drive from rucks and managed to score an unconverted try early in the second half after a simple penalty. We were 23-15 down. Telford marched on and we carried on defending, breaking downfield every now and again to the immense frustration of the Telford forwards. The rucks were not for the faint hearted and many a player was "encouraged" to move with a Shropshire rake, and the crowd were not pleased at this tactic - this was our brand new flowery kit remember, and we didn't want it soiled.

Eventually the referee decided that Barton were slowing the ball down a little too much and pinged Jamie for ten minutes at a ruck on the far side. Unfortunately this ten minutes allowed Telford to increase their lead with another forward led try that this time was converted and at 30-15 and a man down we were not as happy as we were 40 minutes earlier. Barton's defence was solid all game and despite being a man down, the structure and strength remained and many lesser sides would have buckled under the onslaught that Telford threw at us during these ten minutes.

Big Louie at full back had a quiet game as the kicking from their standoff was deep and accurate so the ball was either well into touch or Louie had plenty of time before the hordes arrived. But it was Quidditch who won man of the match for slowing down the Telford back row long enough for his cavalry to arrive and snuff out their attack. It really wasn't to their liking and during one of their mauls the Rowe/16 tussle continued and one of the Telford back row decided to headbutt Palin (I know we've all been there). He missed, but the referee didn't miss the intent and their number 6 saw a straight red card from the East Yorkshire referee. With 14 men on the park, Telford couldn't keep up and we quickly dominated the game from then on. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time and although Dave Palin scored a try which Jamie converted we lost 30-22.

The league is now very interesting. Telford, Edwardians and Market Drayton sit on top with 5 or 6 wins from 6 games, then there are Rugeley, Bishops Castle and Tenbury at the bottom, but the middle five of Barton, Cannock, St Leonards, Bloxwich and Clee Hill are all within three points of each other. Our only losses have been against the top two teams and there is nothing in this league that we should be scared of. Just look at the league leaders and what five other teams have scored against them this season - Clee Hill 5, Rugeley 3, St Leonards 5, Market Drayton 10, Tenbury 3. Then along come Barton and roll 22 points past them. This will be interesting.

And before long, Birdy scored a lovely try - so good that England's Manu Tuilagi copied the Barton move to score against Georgia the following day. I have of course complained to the authorities about our secret set moves being stolen by Martin Johnson et al, and asked for recognition and compensation, but the Ombudsman at the Commission for Undermining New Training Schemes was no help at all.

Birdy converted and soon we were back scrummaging on their 5 yard line when the back row decided to pick & go blind and there was Jonny Simons smiling with ball over the line, thankful for the presence of Bloxham and Pow Pow. Birdy didn't smile as he had a right hand touchline conversion to make; but he did. Quite nice. The pressure and the gentle breeze helped keep us dominant in the first half and Ben Murphy touched down to finish off a fine move with the ever present Matt Perkins for company. Again Birdy converted and all of this was done with Matt Bloxham sportingly sitting our for ten minutes behind the posts in an effort to make more a game of it for the visiting Cannock supporters. Sadly for them their team were unable to capitalise on the extra man and the half ended 21-0.

By now the touchline sweets and Bill Scrogg's sloe gin had all but disappeared and as word got around more and more of the Barton population came down to savour in the match. The second half was a little different as Cannock managed to score two tries with only one conversion, but we kept the scoreboard ticking over by slotting two penalties. We didn't need to panic and just needed to protect our lead and run down the clock - good strategy from the captain and coach in my view but frustrating for the Cannock side.

The backs were solid today and even the partisan Cannock press said our defence was awesome. Man of the match Jamie marshalled Lee Coton and Birdy in the centres and with a Murphy on each wing and Polly securing the full back slot it was going to be an easy day for them. Quidditch had good clean ball all day thanks to the Barton pack, and it bodes well for the future. Pow Pow and his new headgear got pinged a few times for what can only be called "over-enthusiastic tackling" but that's just the way he plays, and long may he do so.

We didn't use any subs but what a bench to chose from ! Thorpedo, Gillet, Cliffy, all praying for a small injury to one of the back row, and at 21-0 up I think most of the assembled crowd fancied a run at the shaky Cannock backs. As you expect from a proud team, the niggle started to show and the visitor's frustration became a little too much for the Cannock 9 and his stamping in the first half, (oh, and again in the second half ref), his petty duel with Quidditch and his complete inability to control the forwards bubbled up at the sixty minute mark. We drew lots and it was down to Rowie to combine a tackle, a trip and a tug of both ears, which although executed perfectly, was well within view of the ref and David took a ten minute rest. Cannock still couldn't score which incensed the scrum half even more and the baiting continued.

Overall a tough encounter as you would expect. The pre-season training and the set move practice paid off as we knew it would, and the fitness of the Barton team (none of whom tired and needed replacing) showed who would be top dog in the old Staffs I league today. The game however was played without serious conflict, apart from one guy trying to provoke a reaction from the boys in red & white.

So it wasn’t the first time that day that things had gone sour due to an annoying little tit.

2010 / 2011 Season

Victory at the Owen Cup Final. Click on picture for the story of our season..

2009 / 2010 Season

Birdy kicks the penalty to beat Eccleshall at home. Click on picture for the story of our season..