Issue 1247 - The Courier

8.StanCalvert2012
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Th eCourier
Narrow win at Fortress Cochrane for
Tries from Boyle and Malins earn third consecutive Stan Calvert victory as unbeaten
Stan Calvert
Cup 2012
WOMEN’S RUGBY
Newcastle 1sts
Northumbria 1sts
By Sofie Raine
at COCHRANE PARK
10
Despite there being snow forecasted
for this tie at Cochrane Park, Newcastle
went into this game against struggling
Team Northumbria with high
hopes of a convincing victory against
a side 15 points below them in Division
1A.
Although Newcastle were confident
of sealing a win they were aware of
the threat that a hurting Northumbria
posed, especially with the conditions
far from suiting Newcastle’s normally
fluid play.
Newcastle received the kick off and
immediately attacked Northumbria,
moving the ball nicely across the full
width of the pitch before it was eventually
fumbled into touch.
The Royals stormed into a 5-0 lead
within five minutes when Holly Malins
scored just outside the post, after
decent support play from Roo Chintoh.
The try eased the side’s nerves as
they appeared to struggle to acclimatise
to the horrible weather.
However Northumbria were not
going to just let NWR walk all over
them like in previous matches; this
was Stan Clavert and no matter which
position they were in the table this
meant more.
Both sides stepped up their performances
for the occasion, with Rosie
Neal and Charlotte Flint unable to
penetrate Northumbria’s rock solid
defence. Northumbria then began to
7
exert some pressure of their own, pinning
the Newcastle team inside their
own 22 for large periods of the half.
With the pressure being kept up by
Northumbria, the outsized Newcastle
pack struggled to counter Northumbria
in the scrums despite the words
of Captain Phoebe Lebrecht ringing
in their ears, “its not the size of the
dog that matters but the fight inside”.
The ground gained from stealing
scrums was lost at breakdowns, the
ball becoming stuck in rucks. With
the ball coming loose and the end of
the first half near, there was no respite
for Newcastle who were still trapped
in their own 22. An attempted clearance
up the centre of the pitch from
the Royals wasn’t properly followed
up and Northumbria’s stand-off took
control of the ball and drove the ball
over the try line to the Poly’s delight.
The conversion was good, leaving
NWR in a situation not known to
them all season, behind on the scoreboard
5-7 at half time.
The spirit of the Royals was not
dampened and after half time they
came back with pressure and determination,
the reason NWR sit undefeated
at the top of their league.
With constant pressure being exerted
on Team Northumbria, Newcastle
returned the favour of the first half by
camping inside Northumbria’s 22.
Phoebe Lebrecht kicking for position
with the wind made all the difference
and with Sarah Bannon and
Hannah Rosa causing great disruption
to Northumbria’s line outs, Newcastle
began to turn the screw.
Ruck after ruck formed with Penny
Miles being stuck in every one of
them, securing clean ball for halfback
Hannah McShane to whip the ball out
to the back and Livvy Coombs making
fantastic breaks with Pat Lapierre.
The kicking game wasn’t working
at all for Northumbria, with hardly
any territory being gained from their
clearing kicks.
Newcastle took advantage of these
poor clearances and consistent pressure
eventually paid off when the
quick thinking and pace of halfback
McShane allowed for clean ball out
to the winger Lauren Wallace, a neat
switch back into Emma Boyle confusing
Northumbria’s defence and
allowing Boyle over the line to score
Newcastle’s second try of the match.
With no conversions it left the score
poised at 10-7.
Newcastle kept the pressure up in
the 22, but with the greasy ball and
cold fingers and toes setting in, the
telling score never arrived for the
Royals.
With calls going against Newcastle,
but not really giving an advantage to
Northumbria, it was hard to tell who
wanted a hot shower more; NWR,
Northumbria and the referee all suffering
from the conditions.
With minutes left to play a scrum
was engaged, the ball popping out to
the side to Pat Lapierre who used her
Ace of Blades: double win for fencers
Stan Calvert
Cup 2012
FENCING
Newcastle 1sts
Northumbria 1sts
By James Docherty
at SPORTS CENTRE
For as long as anyone can remember,
the points between the fencers have
been shared. All that changed this
weekend over four frenetic hours in
the Sports Centre.
Newcastle Men’s 1sts
Northumbria Men’s 1sts
124
119
4
0
In a massive coincidence, both the
Men’s and Women’s teams chose exactly
the same weapon order of Sabre,
Foil and Epee, which suited Newcastle
in the Men’s match, but probably favoured
Northumbria in the Women’s.
With the Men’s match starting first,
returning saberur Pat “Prodigal Son”
Navein acted like he’d never been
away, racing out into a 5-0 lead from
the first match. With tidy fencing
from Tom “Southerner” Patterson
and Andrew “Dixy Chick” Dixon giving
fine backup, Newcastle quite literally
put Northumbria to the sword
and left them without an answer. By
the time any thought had been given
of how to deal with the relentless attack
from the Royals, Newcastle had
run out convincing 45-29 winners.
Foil was always going to be a close
affair, with Northumbria known to
have strength in the point-scoring
weapons. Perhaps trying to make
amends for their sabre score, Northumbria
started quickly and built up a
safe lead.
Some thoughtful fencing from Rob
“The Good Captain” Walker, and
Grant “Needs a Nickname” Turnbull
kept Newcastle in touch, with Dixy
Chick attempting to close the gap in
the last bout of the weapon.
Sadly, the lead was too great and
eventually Northumbria ran out 38-
45 winners, leaving Newcastle as winners
if they could score more than 38
points in the final weapon, Epee. This
would be no easy feat, as Northumbria
were known for their strength in
this and so began a tactical battle for
the first Fencing Stan Calvert Points.
Northumbria knew they had to take
the match to Newcastle to stand any
chance of winning and did exactly
that, chasing down points and fencing
aggressively to take points and put
Newcastle on the back foot.
However, more tactical work from
the Good Captain and Dixy Chick
kept the target in sight and Captain
“Navy” Dan Grant pulled off points
of epic proportions to pull the match
back and leave Northumbria floundering.
Eventually Dixon took to the piste,
needing two points to put the match
beyond Northumbria and take a historic
victory for Men’s Fencing. The
effort by both fencers was clear as neither
wanted to make a mistake.
With an explosive fleche, Dixon
surged forwards and landed the hit,
giving Newcastle the critical points
and victory over Northumbria. The
remaining points played out with
Northumbria ending up 45-41 winners,
but Newcastle triumphed overall
and gave great momentum for
the Women’s Team going into their
match.
Newcastle Women’s 1sts
Northumbria Women’s 1sts
134
122
Women’s sabre was a much closer
and even affair, with teams trading
points tit-for-tat in an entertaining
encounter.
The Newcastle team of Ambreen
Drummond, Sarah Willis, Holli
Prescott and Captain Laura Mason
doggedly pressured Northumbria ,
nipping away at the lead they had
created; eventually tying the score at
44-44.
Captain Mason timed her final attack
to perfection and delivered an
excellent hit, taking the weapon by
the narrowest of margins, 45-44.
Foil was a one-sided encounter, with
Northumbria’s unfamiliarity with the
conventions of the weapon seized on
by an eager Newcastle team. Mason
and Prescott ensured Newcastle maintained
their lead through the bouts,
with Drummond’s distance and timing
sublime, undoing Northumbria
and leading to Newcastle claiming an
excellent 45-33 victory.
This gave Newcastle a 13 point lead
for Epee, a weapon they had lost by 20
points the last time they faced Northumbria.
However, Stan Calvert often
brings out the best in people and this
was no exception. Mason delivered
excellent hits into the Northumbria
fencers’ preparations, with Willis also
fencing well.
The winning point was won by vicepresident
Prescott, a fitting final act
following her three years of excellent
fencing for the women’s team. In the
final, irrelevant bout, Mason undid
the tactics of Northumbria’s finishing
Fencer, closing the gap they had
maintained throughout the weapon.
Although Northumbria ran out 45-
44 victors, Newcastle took the match
overall and succeeded in delivering
four Stan Calvert points to the cause.