The Lad Done Good

Ah ...... I remember ........

And so it begins, the 2019 season starts in the balmy heat and humidity of a glorious sunny New Brighton day, perfect weather for relaxing on the touchline, a cool beer in hand, reminiscing about halcyon days with some good friends..... but enough about my day. Not so perfect for playing 80 minutes hard rugby though.

The real heroes in the heat where the players who took to the excellent pitch at Reeds Lane where our hosts New Brighton had set up quite a prospect for those fortunate enough to be watching and not playing. With the temperature at a balmy 26 degrees and the prematch team folding like a seasoned bluffer in a Poker game the Gaffer took to the changing room to let the ‘squad’ know that not only where there no subs, they were all to play the full 80 minutes, after the moans and groans had subsided the Anselmians team took to the field to be faced with an impressive New Brighton squad. This indeed, was going to be epic.

Now, we all know the old adage of how “Policemen are all looking younger” well, today the same applied to the referee. Taking charge for his first senior XV game was our very own Harry Hopwood at the age of 16 Harry donned the yellow shirt and with whistle in hand strode onto the pitch.

Whilst writing this report The Gaffer reflected upon the role of the Ref, a much maligned, often criticised and occasionally disliked role but a role essential to the playing of any fixture. If teams lose players the game can continue but the ref is pivotal to the whole ‘shooting match’. With this in mind I considered the immense level of responsibility and immense pressure placed upon such young shoulders. 30 players , 2 assessors, dozens of spectators analysing every decision, every signal, and every moment of those 80 minutes from their own partisan perspective. It would be easy to crumble under such pressure but not our Harry.

For a 16 year old he showed the maturity of someone who had been in the game for many many years. He made the calls, he communicated effectively with the teams and the relevant captains, and he dealt with conflict and compliance with equal calmness. For a debut this was a mature, knowledgeable and highly effective performance from a young referee who I would be happy to have ref any of my games throughout the forthcoming season. Well done young man on a very good performance and we’ll see you next week for the Ba Ba’s game at Vauxhall’s.

Right,  back to the matter at hand. The game was to be split into four, twenty minute sessions to be managed by the ref

The end result at 19-17 in favour of New Brighton was a fair reflection of what occurred during the 80 minutes however the reverse could equally have be true. The Anselmian team could have won and there would have been no cause for argument from our hosts, such was the closeness of the competition.

The Anselmian forwards dominated in the tight and the first score of the afternoon came via a rolling maul which took us over the try line 0-5 with the conversion missed. New Brighton quickly capitalised on some loose play and gained control of the ball, several phases later and they scampered over the line to make it 5-5. Conversion successful and the home side took the advantage at 7-5. New Brighton provided an excellent opposition with some strong individuals together and a strong overall team performance.

Anselmians tries coming this week from the opener thanks to Matt Thornton, the second a scything run from Matt Brookes and the final score from Christian McIvor finishing off from an excellent cross field / kick through from Matt Brookes.

Noticeable performances this week; some great forward performances from Ant Evans proving that he can win every line out in a game (well nearly), Matt Brookes for keeping the opposition guessing at every turn and creating one and scoring another. The entire squad for playing the full 80 in the incredible, strength sapping heat and playing right up to the 80th minute. But this week’s man of the match goes to Matt Thornton, his engine room was working on double time, his tackle count was incredible, one of a the first at every breakdown, scoring a try and just never stopping with some great carries he kept the forward momentum and never allowed some of the bigger ball carriers from Brighton to have any impact. Thanks to Harrison, Edgey, Evo, and Matt and the legend that is Mcgowan plus everyone else who managed to lose about a stone in weight and pick up a tan (not the Andy Smith bottled variety) but the genuine sun scorched version.

A final word again for Harry Hopwood who made the afternoon possible, contributed to a great game and hopefully made his first step on the road to professional refereeing status.

Well done.

The Gaffer

Semper a Mavericus, Semel a Mavericus.

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