26/10/13 Moles 7 Maidstone Vets 7
On a glorious day for rugby, the 'wily' Maidstone Vets, as always, provided the Moles with a stern test at Rectory Field.
Starting strongly, the Moles enjoyed long periods of possession in the first and competed well in
the scrums and lineouts despite losing the vast front row experience of Phil 'Philthy' Papworth to a calf strain on 20 minutes. Fly half Andy Dadson frequently put the Vets under pressure with his kicking and it was one of these that led to the Moles' first half try; the ball bouncing perfectly to a well-chased Graeme 'Shotgun' Trigg who took it forward before neatly offloading in the tackle for scrum half Jeff 'Nod' Saward to score.
The experienced Maidstone pack dominated after the break but excellent Moles' defending, aided no doubt by coach Steve 'Squeeksy' Weeks' defence focussed drill at training the previous Wednesday, held the Vets at bay. Standing out amongst the Mole tacklers was Man of the Match Ian 'Oily' Martin who reminded a number of Maidstone players that the Moles were not going to give up their lead easily. Despite the heroic Moles' effort, Maidstone eventually got the ball over the line albeit only to see the referee rule that the ball had been held up. This was somewhat of a fortunate 'let off' for skipper Mick Terry's men as the bodies peeled off one another to finally see the Vets' prop looking as if he had clearly grounded the ball. Continued pressure from Maidstone in the subsequent 5 metre scrum ultimately led to the referee awarding them a penalty try for an infringement long since forgotten about. A successful conversion by the Vets' kicker drew the scores level at 7-7; and that's how it stayed until the final whistle.
The disappointment of the second half performance melted away as the jugs flowed into the evening and all reflected on a much improved performance and the Moles' best result against the Vets for some time. Andy Dadson, Adrian 'Velcro' Perrett and someone else long since forgotten necked pints for shameful crimes also long since forgotten and Marc 'Lloydy' Lloyd was presented with his
Moles tie to become Mole #75. A splendid time was enjoyed by all and yet again the Moles proved that they are much more than just a rugby team!
Line up: Elvis, El Tel, Philthy, Big Bri, Garry Hodges, Velcro, Posty, Ork, Gareth Moore, Oily, Sam Holden, Squeeksy, Nod, Andy Dadson, Shotgun, Mick Terry, Neil Martin, Colin Cable, Lloydy, Q, Merv, Brian Rayner, Jim Gilham
On a glorious day for rugby, the 'wily' Maidstone Vets, as always, provided the Moles with a stern test at Rectory Field.
Starting strongly, the Moles enjoyed long periods of possession in the first and competed well in
the scrums and lineouts despite losing the vast front row experience of Phil 'Philthy' Papworth to a calf strain on 20 minutes. Fly half Andy Dadson frequently put the Vets under pressure with his kicking and it was one of these that led to the Moles' first half try; the ball bouncing perfectly to a well-chased Graeme 'Shotgun' Trigg who took it forward before neatly offloading in the tackle for scrum half Jeff 'Nod' Saward to score.
The experienced Maidstone pack dominated after the break but excellent Moles' defending, aided no doubt by coach Steve 'Squeeksy' Weeks' defence focussed drill at training the previous Wednesday, held the Vets at bay. Standing out amongst the Mole tacklers was Man of the Match Ian 'Oily' Martin who reminded a number of Maidstone players that the Moles were not going to give up their lead easily. Despite the heroic Moles' effort, Maidstone eventually got the ball over the line albeit only to see the referee rule that the ball had been held up. This was somewhat of a fortunate 'let off' for skipper Mick Terry's men as the bodies peeled off one another to finally see the Vets' prop looking as if he had clearly grounded the ball. Continued pressure from Maidstone in the subsequent 5 metre scrum ultimately led to the referee awarding them a penalty try for an infringement long since forgotten about. A successful conversion by the Vets' kicker drew the scores level at 7-7; and that's how it stayed until the final whistle.
The disappointment of the second half performance melted away as the jugs flowed into the evening and all reflected on a much improved performance and the Moles' best result against the Vets for some time. Andy Dadson, Adrian 'Velcro' Perrett and someone else long since forgotten necked pints for shameful crimes also long since forgotten and Marc 'Lloydy' Lloyd was presented with his
Moles tie to become Mole #75. A splendid time was enjoyed by all and yet again the Moles proved that they are much more than just a rugby team!
Line up: Elvis, El Tel, Philthy, Big Bri, Garry Hodges, Velcro, Posty, Ork, Gareth Moore, Oily, Sam Holden, Squeeksy, Nod, Andy Dadson, Shotgun, Mick Terry, Neil Martin, Colin Cable, Lloydy, Q, Merv, Brian Rayner, Jim Gilham