CRUFC

1st XV back to winning ways

Chesham 40 Chinnor 4th XV 0

Chesham turned in a solid performance against a Chinnor side that has struggled for most of this season. Stand in skipper Steve Morris urged his team to put the defeats of the last two week behind them. He was rewarded with one of the clubs better performances of the season.

From the kick off it was apparent that Chesham had an advantage in the scrums. Good possession gave Chesham backs the opportunity to run the ball. Ross Leek at fly half distributed well to his backs and Chesham ran in the trys. Chinnor forwards defended well but their backs were unable to contain Chesham's running rugby.

The second half saw Chesham forwards take control of the game. Dan Rose was outstanding in line outs and generous possession opened up the visitors defence for more scoring opportunities for the Stags. To their credit Chinnor never gave up but they were not able to contain the running rugby that the Stags produced. Chesham ended the game with good win and kept the visitors to a blank sheet.

More support at training was skipper Steve Morris's plea in the post match discussion. Chesham's man of the match was Dan Rose, closely challenged by Don Marshall and Ross Leek.

Old Gits come 2nd in Clash of the Titans

Chesham Vets 7  Beaconsfield Bandits 12

 

This was a highly entertaining match. Chesham lent a couple of players to the visitors to make up the numbers and fielded a side carefully selected (cobbled together) by skipper Colin Hogg and introduced some of Chesham's youth to the joys of Veterans Rugby.

Despite all the rain the pitch was in good condition. Both teams tried to play running rugby and there was plenty of encouragement from the sideline supporters. From the kick off Beaconsfield used their bulky forwards to good effect. Chesham tried hard to get the ball to their speedy youngsters but it was the visitors who opened the score with a converted try.

The second half saw Chesham play with plenty of spirit. They were rewarded with a fine try from the "Blue Booted" speedster Al Campbell-Grieve followed by an impressive side line conversion from the evergreen Pete "the Boot" Springford.

Towards the end of the game, with tired legs much in evidence, Beaconsfield ran in a second try for a deserved win.

Great to see a return to Chesham's vets side of Mike Boucher and Mark Quinnell. Well done to those Stags players who continue to support the club in its efforts to field a Vets team.

GRAND PRIZE DRAW

Chesham Rugby Club Mini & Junior section are pleased announce a Grand Prize Draw.

£1.50 buys you two tickets:

Ticket One enters you into the Chesham Rugby Club Draw which takes place at the Club on 14th March at 1.00pm. TOP PRIZE is an Apple iPod Touch kindly donated by Cestreham Masonic Lodge 6674.

Ticket Two enters you into the Rugby Football Union Draw which takes place at Rugby House, Twickenham on 30th March. TOP PRIZE is a whopping £10,000!

NB - the tickets will NOT be sold separately. Chesham Rugby Club has no involvement or control of the RFU Draw other than to sell tickets. Children under the age of 16 are not allowed to sell or be sold these Draw tickets.

For tickets please contact: Jane Morris on 01494 784951 / 07939 570686 or at mandjchair@cheshamrugbyclub.com  

Minis update

The U11s and U12s were due to be playing in the Land Rover Premiership Cup Festival organised by Saracens this Sunday.

Unfortunately the pitches at Habadashers’ are waterlogged so the festival has been postponed (date to be confirmed).

Therefore everyone will be training at home this Sunday except for the U13s who are due to be playing Chiltern B away from home.

Sarries v Quins @ Wembley

Saracens are playing Harlequins at Wembley on the 17th April.

This is just a couple of weeks before the end of our season and we would like to celebrate by having a large contigent from Chesham at the game.

Tickets prices are again £10 for an adult and £5 for a junior and if you have not had the chance to visit Wembley Stadium yet it is a magnificant venue and at these prices it is a real bargain.

Please ensure that friends and relatives are aware that they can obtain tickets through the club.

Contact Bob Cullen for more info.

Clash of the Titans

No, not England v Ireland. The REAL match of the day takes place at Chesham as our Vets team (aka the Old Gits) take on the Beaconsfield Bandits on Saturday.

Kick off 1.00pm. All spectators most welcome and if you fancy a game please contact Colin Hogg or turn up at the Club at 12.30.

 And after the match why not join our sponsors in the clubhouse watching England doing their stuff against Ireland.

Big win for Chesham Women

Ealing Jades 7 Chesham 46

Chesham womens team went to Ealing Jades today with 12 players with Ealing agreeing to match numbers keeping the spirit of rugby alive.

 

Chesham started well applying pressure from the kick off , forcing Ealing to kick from their 22 straight to Dee turner who decided to run at the biggest player on their team rather than the acres of space available injuring herself in the process.

 

Chesham then scored from the resulting ruck through Gabbi D'Almeida, Chesham continued to keep up the pace with Dee Turner going over to score, Jo Blackmore scored after 6 phases of quick ball,Alena Maksimuk continued her try scoring habit with some strong running to score  before half time. Ealing rallied towards the end of the half with there fly half scoring a converted try following a clever chip and chase.

 

The second half sparked into life with moment of the match Jo Blackmore at scrumhalf selling a Dawson like dummy and sprinting in from halfway to score the try of the match. Alena Maksimuk added to her tally taking the harder rout to score under the posts for a converted try, then followed Danielle Flynn enjoying the space she had in her 1st game at full back to run in a fifty meter try under the posts for another seven points, Alena Maksimuk put the icing on the cake with her third try again taking the toughest rout to score under the posts allowing Dee Turner to finish with a hat-trick of conversions. Alena now understands that you can cross the line in the corner then go under the posts, so we will hopefully see some easier finishes this season.

Frustration for Stags

Chesham Stags suffered a frustrating weekend as the 1^st XV lost 31-14 away at Aylesbury and the 2^nd XV suffered a heavy 42-7 defeat at the hands of Hitchin.

 

The 1^st XV had every reason to be optimistic in the game against Aylesbury having beaten them comfortably at home earlier in the season.  A strong side was named but the absence of Captain and No. 8 Gary Szulc with an ankle injury seems to be having a large effect.

 

 
Chesham started the game in the worst possible way as straight from the kick off Chesham missed several easy tackles, allowing Aylesbury to run in for the opening try.  It was a rude awakening for the Stags and they regrouped well and began to put pressure on the home defence.

 

The forwards made the most of plenty of possession and held the ball well, unfortunately the ball did not make its way out to Chesham’s dangerous backs and several moves broke down on the Aylesbury try line.  Against the run of play the Aylesbury winger chased a kick ahead and was able to gather the ball, he outpaced the defence to score a second try which was subsequently converted.

 

Chesham hit back just before half time, a flowing move involving youngsters Jack Davies and Chris Marriott ended with a fine try from fly-half Ross Leek.  Leek then converted his try to bring Chesham within 5 points at half time.

 

 

The second half began evenly matched and it was not until twenty minutes in that Chesham began to take control of the game.  A set move involving both backs and forwards resulted in flanker Don Marshall scoring under the posts, giving Leek an easy conversion to put the Stags 14-12 ahead.

 

At this point the strong leadership of Szulc was need but in his absence the Chesham players were frequently penalised by the referee for dissent.  Silly infringements gave Aylesbury the initiative and Chesham heads began to drop.

 

Aylesbury sensed the opportunity and began to play simple rugby, putting a fragmented Chesham team to the sword by scoring three more tries in the final period.  

 

All square for Chesham Women

Chesham Women 5 Hammersmith & Fulham 5

It was left to Chesham’s women’s side to bring some pride to the Stags' weekend performances, salvaging a hard well-earned five-all draw, against a robust and large Hammersmith and Fulham RFC side.

In cold, wet and windy conditions this was never going to be an open running game. In the opening few minutes the Hammersmith’s speedy full back took full advantage of a slack Chesham defence and ran in an unconverted try. Chesham got their act together and there was plenty enterprising play from Chesham forwards and backs. However, despite constant pressure on the visitors' try line Chesham could not get over the whitewash.

Chesham enjoyed most of the possession in the second half but failed to finish a number of promising moves. In the nail biting closing minutes of the game Chesham finally got an equalising try, but with the last kick of the game the conversion dropped short.

An exciting game to watch ending in a satisfying and well-earned draw and a stalwart performance from Chesham’s evergreen Claire Moore who this week played tight head prop.

Chesham lose out to local rivals

Chesham 6 Amersham & Chiltern 3rds 19

Chesham fielded a strong side for this eagerly awaited return league fixture. Amersham and Chiltern recalled some of their old boys and set about giving Chesham a lesson in a controlled display of rugby.

Much as Chesham tried to move the ball to their backs they were constantly thwarted by solid forward play and strong defence from the visitors.

Chesham had their chances but as in the past few weeks failed finish off try scoring opportunities. Chiltern on the other hand made the most of their possession and ran in two tries in the first half after missed tackles from the Stags.

The second half was marred by the Chesham skipper Gary Szulc suffering a dislocated ankle. Chesham were constantly penalised for infringements and their attacks broke down. Scoring opportunities for both Chesham wingers were frustrated by their own mistakes rather than opposition defence and, when Chesham fullback Steve Morris was yellow carded, Chiltern made the most of it and ran in a third try.

This was not Chesham at its best. The endeavour was there from individuals but it was a lacklustre team performance overall.