Back Row: N.Vincent (Guest), M.Dunn, J.Foot, N.Price, C.Price, D.Weir,

 M.Ball (Guest), S.Hanley (Guest), W.Britten, O.East, R.Parker

Front Row: A.Lund, S.Wildbur, M.Laing, N.Fell (capt.), T.Hacking,

R.Weir, T.Shipsey

Also Played: J.Weir, W.Carew-Gibbs

North Dorset RFC 2^nd XV 19 Vs 39  Apple Growers

Tries: N.Fell, T.Shipsey, A.Lund, S.Wildbur, N.Vincent, D.Weir x2

Pens: Lund

Cons: Lund x3 

A trip to North Dorset for the Growers is always one of mixed certainties. The hospitality from North Dorset is always certain to be friendly, the opposition is always certain to competitive and the weather is always certain to be windy, wet and cold!

After Marco put us through our paces in the warm up and a few inspirational words from the skipper Nick Fell, and I stress A FEW, the growers were ready to face a reasonably strong North Dorset 2nds.

It was extremely commanding first half from the Growers with the score at half time 0-29! Felly set the tone early on with a good break through the North Dorset back line and beat a couple of would be tacklers to score under the posts and Lundy duly converted. The contest in the forwards was fairly even all game but it was the Growers back line that proved too strong for North Dorset and tries followed from Shipsey, Lund, Wildbur and Vincent.

One of the highlights of the first half had to be Shipsey’s howler on the wing. Dorset failed to make touch with their clearance and Shipsey failed to catch the ball cleanly and in annoyance with himself for knocking on, kicked the ball away in disgust…straight into the hands of Dorset’s winger who ran past him!

The second half was always going to be harder. Uphill and against the wind. The Growers spent most of the second half camped on their own line and credit must be given to the North Dorset forwards who applied persistent pressure that resulted in three tries.

However, as is becoming the norm, the Growers made a great try that started in their own half and ended by Duncan ‘Slim line’ Weir in the corner but not before it passed just about everyone’s hands. The Growers kept the pace of the game fast and Duncan Weir went over for his second try after picking a great line from full back. After deciding a hatrick would be showing off he settled for his second brace of tries in two matches and subbed himself. North Dorset actually won the second half 19-10 but it was too little too late.

Man of the match Ali Lund dominated the back play with some superb hands and running only to ruin his own reputation amongst his fellow Apple Growers by drinking lager after the match! One of several schoolboy errors in the bar afterwards. Most notably Marco slagging off the ref who was a member of North Dorset who had given up his Saturday afternoon to ref us, and was standing just behind Marco at the time!

Other than Rory Parker’s white boots, nothing or no one looked out of place and it was safe to say that there was not a weak link. Thank god the rugby played was more convincing than Gibbsy’s new Nordic beard and Ollie East’s statement later in the evening ‘I’m not going to the Chapel Nightclub’ only to be found 3 minutes later waving his arms the centre of the dance floor to ‘its raining men’ (I mean the classic cheesy tune, not Pricey Snr’s ultimate fantasy).

Thanks everyone for turning up. Especially the guest players Nick Vincent, Simon Hanley and in particular Matt Ball who’s 6 hour round trip to make himself available is just the sort of commitment others could learn from but it would be wrong to single anyone out. Alex Baldwin. That sort of commitment is up there with Pete Rudorf who sold his golf clubs and computer to make a sevens tournament in Oxford!

It was perhaps harder for this fixture than it has ever been to raise a team as it was discovered many members have lives outside of the Apple Growers which is always a hard notion to swallow for match organiser Ollie East. Congratulations to Rob Weir, Jamie Weir, Tom Hacking, Ali Lund and Nick Fell who all became life members on Saturday. A new record was broken as well. The 3 Weir brothers all playing together makes a new club record smashing the Price and Douglas Brothers’ previous record of 2.

DPW