Sevenoaks Vets V Medway Vets
Sevenoaks vets, last years finalist, away on a wet afternoon following a tough Midweek game against the Firebrigade, was always going to be a tough ask. Medways old boys. however made their way through to the 2nd round of the Evergreen plate successfully. Sevenoaks started much the stronger side and always had the upper hand in the scrummage pushing the Medway pack back at a rate most of them would be pleased to go forward at un-opposed! However wise old heads enabled Medway to make the most of the scraps of possession they did gain. This coupled with some stout defensive work from the whole team work meant they were able withstand numerous assaults on their line by the Sevenoaks side. Sevenoaks appeared the more likely of the sides to open the scoring, but the extremely wet conditions meant that the vital last pass went astray.
Despite the lack of clean position Medway played some good attacking rugby in the2nd half and held on with dogged determination. No one person should be singled out for praise, although player coach Graham McManus must be praise for getting some of these old boys out onto the field twice in a week it was a great team effort. The whole team should feel proud of their exploits and must be looking forward to finding out who their opponents are in the next round with baited breath.
Fire Fighters too hot for Fray`s Fifteen.
Medway Veterans 0 Kent Fire Brigade 21
Local Priestfield residents thought it was November 5 but it really was still the 1 October as the flashing blue lights arrived for a midweek floodlit fixture. Before the game kicked off a presentation was made to Jim Fray ( pictured ) as a mark of appreciation for his long association and support of his local rugby club. The new shirts have been provided through sponsors Kent Insurance Services and presented by Gary Friel ( pictured ).
A large crowd turned out to see some open rugby played in a good spirit but well contested. The fire Brigade forced an initial period of sustained pressure as Medway took time to settle. Solid tackling in open play from Dave Francis and Geoff Kempt manged to keep the vistors to nil until halfway through the first period. A well worked move from a scrum in the middle of the pitch culminated in the fir fighters scoring under the posts. Medway responded with fine linking play between forwards and backs – but not retain possession to press the opposition line. Just ahead of the break saw the Fire Brigade put through a clever kick down the left for the winger to collect and cross for a try.
Medway old boys gave a strong start to the second period and began to see more of the ball. Sniping runs from scrum-half Stuart Cullen and flanker Gary Davies ( captain ) put the visitors on the back foot. Medway finally went over in the corner, but a forward pass meant it was disallowed. Youthfulness was on the side of the Brigade as they found more open spaces with Medway slow to the ruck. With only a few minutes to go they crossed the home line for their third and final try of the game.
Vets Tournament
6 September
Medway vets had a good day out at Ashford on 6 Sept. Beating Maidstone and Canterbury and drawing with Anchorians meant we narrowly missed out on the plate final on points difference. Our only loss was to Romford - the eventual plate winners. Tries from wingers John Gilbert ( 2 ) and Kevin Narborough helped Medway progress as one of the leading teams in the tournament.
