Lutterworth 17th December at Harpenden

Photo: Steve Draper

Leighton

Buzzard RFC v Lutterworth RFC

Good afternoon and welcome to our Christmas Lunch. It is one of those events in our club’s calendar that everyone looks forward to and has been a sell-out for weeks now!

An especially warm welcome to our guests and visitors from Lutterworth RFC, the oldest club in Leicestershire and I believe the second oldest in the Midlands. It is almost 150 years to the day that the first recorded match was played between Lutterworth RFC and Rugby Crusaders, and so, for the 28th December, Happy Birthday!

Writing these introductions gets increasingly difficult throughout the season in a vain attempt to avoid “hesitation, repetition or deviation”. Trying to remember what I’ve said already, those I have insulted and those I haven’t! It all gets more and more difficult the more I have to do.

One thing I will never find myself short of saying, and never worry about repeating is……Thank you!

Thank you to everyone involved with making sure that our pre-match lunches are the envy of many of our visitors and enter into the lore of our club.

To that end, I would like to make special mention of Jody, our Clubhouse Manager, who has only been with us for a very short period of time but has already made such a huge impact on the running of the club with her work ethic, personable attitude and dedication to the tasks that are thrown her way, often at the last minute and often without thought as to the mechanics of making them work! She is a huge part of the club now, and I would like to thank her and her family for everything they do.

Working alongside Jody and her team behind the Bar is Alex and her merry band of staff who provide our catering. Alex’s go-getting attitude is very much appreciated and together she and Jody make a formidable team. Thank you, Alex, for everything you do.

To all of the Bar and Kitchen staff….a massive thank you on behalf of all of the club members, Committee and Directors.

At the risk of repeating myself, another thank you needs to go to the teams of volunteers at the club, without whom much of what we do simply would not happen! Coaches, First Aiders, Committee members, Directors, painters, decorators, bench fixers, changing room hook fixer-uppers……..simply everyone!

It gladdens the heart to hear of so many people willing to give of their time and energy for the betterment of the club.

Thank you!!

Finally, I would like to wish all of you, friends, family, guests and visitors a very happy and healthy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.

Lee Beaumont Chairman LBRFC

Round-Up - Regional 2 East Midlands

Saturday 3rd December, 2022

Kettering P - P Leighton Buzzard

Old Northamptonians 15 - 10 Northampton Old Scouts

Olney 19 - 33 Newbold on Avon

Peterborough 8 - 11 Market Harborough Peterborough Lions 5 - 39 Lutterworth Towcesterians 15 - 13 Old Laurentians

Friday 9th December, 2022

Northampton Old Scouts P - P Olney

Saturday 10th December, 2022

Lutterworth 32 - 10 Kettering Newbold on Avon P - P Peterborough

Leighton Buzzard P - P Towcesterians Market Harborough HWO Peterborough Lions Old Laurentians P - P Old Northamptonians

Buzzards Fixtures Cancelled Saturday 3rd & 10th December

Kettering P - P Leighton Buzzard

Buzzards fixture against Kettering was postponed early on Saturday 3rd December. The assigned referee was taken ill and no other suitably qualified referee was available in the East Midlands Refereeing Society or any neighbouring societies. The fixture has been rescheduled for the 4th February 2023, the next available league reserve date.

Leighton Buzzard P - P Towcestrians

Last week the weather defeated rugby across East Midlands with the exception of today’s opponents Lutterworth and last week’s opponents Kettering. The Towcestrians fixture has been rescheduled to the 25th February 2023.

3rd December, 2022

Buzzards 2nd XV 45 v 26 Daventry 2nd XV

For this friendly fixture Buzzards 2nd team fielded a team of youth and experience against a physically large Daventry side. Buzzards age range stretching from 17 to 61. The youth made a significant difference to the game raising the tempo and keeping the side on the front foot.

The first 15 minutes of the game were closely contested taking place between the 22m

lines but there were always signs that Buzzards youth would get the side behind Daventry’s defence. A few probing attacks out wide on both flanks were halted. In the 15th minute the pace of the backs got behind Daventry and a combination of inter-play of backs and forwards resulted in Ben Dumpleton scoring the opening try, Tom Maynard, making his senior debut converted.

More attacks down the right wing were causing Daventry problems and their large forwards began tiring leaving plenty of space for James Pleass to sprint in from 30m to score, Maynard, converted, score 14 – nil.

A lapse in Buzzards concentration allowed Daventry to score. As half-time approached the young halfbacks Archie Morgans and Ben Cullen released Terry Wessels who with a lot of defenders to beat and 50m to cover scored under the posts, Maynard converted. Two minutes later Maynard raced in from 50m to score out wide, but he failed to convert his own try. At half-time the score was 26 – 5. The second half saw Buzzards come under more sustained pressure and after 7 minutes Daventry responded with a converted try, 26 – 12. Six minutes later another converted try, Buzzards looked rattled, but composure was called for and delivered. As the side worked their way back into Daventry’s half the confidence grew and once in the 22m there was no stopping, Harry Cootes bulldozed his way to score under the posts and Maynard delivered the conversion. Three minutes later veteran Steve (Ace) McDade chipped the ball over the Daventry players and Ben Cullen won the race and touched down for Buzzards sixth try of the afternoon and again Maynard converted. With five minutes left to play Buzzards finished off with a captain’s try as big Joe Baker battled his way through Daventry’s defence to score close to the posts and again Tom Maynard converted. Tom’s personal tally for the afternoon, 15 points, and is the club’s top points scorer this season, having passed 100 points. Final score 45 – 26.

Ben Cullen

Joe Baker

Dan Coleman

Archie Morgans

Tom Maynard

Harry Cootes

Jay Buzzard 2nd XV Points Scorers 2022 - 2023

Terry Wessels 10 0 0 0 50 14%

Sam Beaumont 7 3 0 0 41 11%

Ollie Hagger 2 9 0 0 28 8%

Ben Cullen 3 5 0 0 25 7%

Joe Baker 5 0 0 0 25 7%

Leigh Draper 5 0 0 0 25 7%

James Pleass 4 0 0 0 20 6%

Jack Cullen 1 6 0 0 17 5%

Tom Maynard 1 5 0 0 15 4%

Joe Beaumont 1 3 0 0 11 3% Jack Hupton 2 0 0 0 10 3%

Alan Harbour 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Archie Morgans 1 0 0 0 5 1% Ben Dumpleton 1 0 0 0 5 1% Charlie Beaumont 1 0 0 0 5 1% George Vincent 1 0 0 0 5 1% Harry Cootes 1 0 0 0 5 1% Harry Nossiter 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Jack Kempster 1 0 0 0 5 1%

James Allred 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Jamie Whyte 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Julian Gallie 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Lee Tyas 1 0 0 0 5 1% Lewis Morgan 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Matt Seston 1 0 0 0 5 1%

Photos by Grace Carter & Steve Draper

Steve

Dickie Drivels

It’s Christmas!

Firstly, and unusually on a serious note, nay even more unusually a positive one, many many thanks to everyone who so generously gave to the collection and my head shaving for the Macintyre charity last Saturday. With the overall target being to raise £4,000 to allow young adults with learning difficulties and/ or autism to do the Duke of Edinburgh Award, the £407.60p raised has gone a long way towards this and, I hear, was well above expectations. The latter is a phrase I’ve never been associated with before, so thank you very much for your generosity.

Whilst I can now confirm that the midst of a cold spell is not an ideal time to have your head shaved and there’s the daily quandary of whether to wash my head with soap or shampoo, at least the Nit Nurse won’t be calling for a while.

With the cold snap, we had to buy a new heater this week. Apparently, this is Wi-Fi enabled but our Gill read the instruction manual, which being a man, suffice it to say, I didn’t, so this is now officially Wifey-enabled. I’ve managed not to break it yet but I give it until Boxing Day.

And so, of course, once again “It’s Christmas”, as Noddy Holder insists on shouting at me whenever I’m in a shop at this time of year - not that I visit too many. Back in 2003, I bought my younger nieces and nephews their Christmas presents in Hamleys and then purchased a World Cup Winners England Rugby shirt for my eldest niece in Carnaby Street. The next day, my bank rang me, having observed unusual transactions on my account. I’d never made two consecutive transactions in shops and not pubs, bars, restaurants or night clubs before! Needless to say, I’ve been careful not to make the same mistake again ever since.

With one of the lessons I’ve learned this year being that after every eight swiped card transactions you have to use your PIN, I’m looking forward to using this at least once this afternoon. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to remember it, if there are three such occasions.

It may be the case that Santa comes once a year and empties his sack but he doesn’t empty the bins! Christmas used to start for me with the annual trip to the Varsity match with the late, great Dave Miller and his railway mates. Those were happy days but have sadly been replaced by the release of the Christmas bin collection schedule as my signal that the festive season has started.

This week’s weather has certainly made whether the bins will be emptied a more emotional rollercoaster ride than even most weeks. Indeed, the reason that Dave and Sheila Lee aren’t with us today is because Dave is too traumatised by their bin not having been emptied on Monday to be able to drive up from Cornwall.

Anyway, one thing I won’t be doing this Christmas is watching the Duke and Duchess of Woke, sorry Sussex, bleating on about their ‘issues’ on Netflix. Perhaps the Lady-in-waiting, or should that be ‘who was waiting but ain’t no longer’, who asked “where are you really from”, did so because that’s what she constantly had to ask members of the Royal Family, with the answers being any of Germany, Greece, Holland, Denmark, Scotland, if you go back far enough even France and, of course, the USA.

One particularly juicy story I heard was that the late Queen got so fed up with Harry ringing her up begging for money that she called then Prince, now King Charles. Upon her asking why he wasn’t answering Harry’s calls, His (now) Maj replied it was because he always asks me for money! Respect! None of which, though, answers the question of where did that ginger gene come from?

And so, as ever, Christmas (roughly) marks the half way point in the playing season, Results for the 1st XV may not have been what would have been wished for earlier in the season, though, with the latest two consecutive wins, have obviously improved, but off the pitch I, at least, detect a really good atmosphere, especially with the now twin hospitality departments back on track. This has been to the extent that I haven’t even heard Robbie Robinson having a moan for a while now! So, thank you, Alex and Jody, for that alone, though there are, of course, so many others across the Club to also thank.

All of which drivelling just leaves me to wish one and all Yuletide felicitations and every success in 2023, irrespective of whether it’s on the pitch, off it, at the bar, in the kitchen or otherwise.

Man of the Match Award

Both visiting and home supporters will be able to vote for their “Man of the Match” in all Leighton Buzzard 1st XV home Games this season.

To vote please complete and detach the voting slip below and place it in the box on the bar after the final whistle.

Once voting has closed, the votes will be totted up by an almost independent adjudicator and the winner will receive their award in a short presentation.

This award is open to both Buzzards and their opposition so please vote fairly and only vote once. We are very thankful to M&M Properties for sponsoring this seasons man of the match awards.

John McDougal 1st XV Manager

Bateman

Tom Winch Fly Half Sponsored by: John Surguy

Jack Barchard Hooker

Sponsored by: Maximus Project Management Ltd Kieran Turney Prop Sponsored by: Jesse James

Previously in the Midlands

Buzzards will be hoping for a Christmas bonus with a win against Lutterworth who they lost to 33 - 10 back in September. Events and the weather has prevented Buzzards playing any competitive rugby since the 26th November. Prior to the September encounter Buzzards last player Lutterworth in the 2018 - 2019 season. Losing 31 - 22 in the first fixture. At halftime the score was 17 - 17, at the start of the 2nd half Buzzards were dominate and scored after 5 minutes to take the lead and gain a bonus point, they held the lead for the next 30 minutes. However, with just five minutes left, Lutterworth kicked to the corner and their large pack drove over from the lineout to level the score, nervelessly the home-team fly-half slotted the conversion to put Lutterworth 24-22 ahead. More heartbreak was to

follow, with the last play of the game the Lutterworth scrum drove over to extend their lead. Unfortunately the successful conversion took the final score to 31-22 denying Buzzards the losing bonus point their performance merited.

January 2019, again Buzzards took the lead but let it slip. In the opening minutes Buzzards took the lead and ten minutes later Lutterworth drew level. As half-time approached Buzzard scored out wide and within minutes Lutterworth evened the scores at 10 - 10. The second half opened with a score for Lutterworth.

Seventeen minutes later Lutterworth increased the lead 10 -22. This seemed to encourage the Lutterworth backs who were now playing with speed and ambition. Further tries were added in the 28th and 32nd minutes to stretch the lead to 10-34. Finally, in the last minute, it all clicked with an excellent try from their own half, scored by Harri Sayer and converted by Ollie Gronert to leave the final score 17-34.

Kristian Hastings & Nick Geoghegan 12th January 2019

Jacob Murtagh 12th January 2019

Harri Sayer 12th January 2019

John McDougal Points of Law

The Ball Hitting The Electricity Cable Part 3

Twice in recent memory (Kettering this year and Witney in 2015), the ball has hit the overhead cables during Buzzard home matches. As well as noting that the referees took different actions, one played on, whilst the other deemed it in touch, both subsequent Points of Law articles commented that the law was unclear. My conclusion was this is a situation where what you need is clear instruction from the referee, so everyone knows straight away what is happening.

Following the recent England V South Africa game, we now have an international referee’s interpretation. When the ball hit the spider-cam cable at Twickenham, referee Angus Gardner immediately stopped play and awarded a scrum to the side that kicked the ball (South Africa), at a point immediately below contact.

It is interesting to note that the ball went into touch, as intended, so it would have been very easy to just take the lineout – effectively playing on. In fact, England questioned the decision (preferring an English lineout to a South Africa scrum) but referee Gardner just said, “it’s the law”.

As it does not appear to be in the Law book, I’m not sure “it’s the law”, but clearly a policy directive has been agreed upon with international referees. And whilst he could have played on, it was sensible not to, as next time it could bounce to one side’s advantage so we must have consistency.

So next time the ball hits the overhead cable at Wright’s Meadow we know what the decision will be, or possibly not!!

Colts XV Fixtures & Results 2022 - 2023

Herts Middlesex Junior Leagues

Colts Division 5

Fri/Sat/ Sun Lge WK Opposition V R Kick Off Times

03-Sep 1 11-Sep 2 Luton A 11:00am 18-Sep 3 Cheshunt A 24-Sep 4 02-Oct 5 Luton A 5-38 11:00am 09-Oct Chesham A 21-19 16-Oct 6 Old Verulamians H 22-27 12:30pm 23-Oct 7 30-Oct 8 Grasshoppers A 19-38 11:00am 05-Nov 9 11-Nov 10 Bugbrooke (Friday, Kick-off 7:30 pm) H 17-21 7:30pm 20-Nov London Scottish Withdrew from the league 12 Noon 25-Nov 11 Milton Keynes (Friday, Kick-off 7:30 pm) H 19-18 7:30pm 04-Dec 12 Kilburn Cosmo H 43-21 11:30am 11-Dec 13 Enfield Ignatians A P 11:00am 18-Dec 14 Beaconsfield A 12 Noon 24-Dec Christmas/New Year 31-Dec Christmas/New Year 07-Jan 15 14-Jan 16 Cup Game 22-Jan 17 Grasshoppers H 12:30pm 29-Jan 18 Hampstead H 11:00am 05-Feb 12-Feb 19 Cup Game 18-Feb 20 London Scottish Withdrew from the league 11:00am 25-Feb 05-Mar 21 Ampthill A 11:00am 11-Mar 22 19-Mar Beaconsfield H 12:30pm 26-Mar Welwyn A 11:00am 01-Apr 8-Apr Easter 16-Apr Biggleswade H 11:00am 22-Apr Bugbrooke A 2:30pm

LBRFC Office Bearers & Officials

2022-2023

Honorary Life President Mark Hardy

DL President Gordon Fletcher GENERAL

COMMITTEE

Mr Lee Beaumont—Chairman

John McDougal, Marc Taylor, Jade Wheeler, Kev Street, Neil Rayner, Steve Draper, Malcolm Brooke, James Davis, Leigh Draper

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

M.Hardy DL, G. Fletcher, L. Beaumont, M Taylor, N Rayner, P. Arthur, R M Evans, J. Davis

LIFE MEMBERS

H Ansdell, P O’Reilly, D Currie, H Thomas, R Giltrow, T Tift, R Dillamore, A Hodey, Mrs M Reeves, N. Coles, G Blower, R. Robinson, E Banks, J Hall, A Micans, A Turney, E Cohen, P Cohen

Vice Presidents

Vice Presidents 2022 - 2023

Mr Richard G D Allen

Mr Peter Arthur

Mr Graham Aldridge

Mrs Linda Baroux

Mr Lee Beaumont

Mr Richard Beer

Mr Danny Bowell

Mrs Becky Bramham-Jones

Mr Steve Bramham-Jones

Mr Simon Brett

Miss Liz Briggs

Mr Neville Brown

Mr Keith Burchell

Mr Jon Chapman

Mr Henry Clark

Mr Russell Cohen

Mr Steve d’Sylva

Mr Hugh Davies

Mr Neal Davies

Mr Tony Dixon

Mr Martin Dwyer

Mr Richard Ellis

Mr Mike Evans

Mr Stuart Gore

Mr Ashley Grace

Mr Mel Gray

Mrs Myra Gray

Mr Keith Griffiths

Mr Tony Guerieria

Mrs Mary Hardy

Mr Darren Hayter

Mr Kelvin Healy

Mr Tom Henrick

Mr Ron Hill

Mr Andrew Hogg

Mr John Hooper

Mr Tony Horne

Mr Dave Hyde

Mr Ben Irvine

Mr Terry James

Mr Andy Jenkins

Mrs Elaine Jenkins

Mr Peter Keane

Mr Dave Lee

Mr Roy Lemon

Mr Jeff Lewis

Mr Adrian Linden

Mr Andy Long

Mr Steve Maddison

Mr Mario Marrone

Mr Andrew Mason

Mr John McDougal

Mr David Middleton

Mr Les Minney

Mr Keith Minor

Mr Gordon Moulds

Mr Darran Murtagh

Mrs Nicola Murtagh

Mr Maurice Parker

Mr Bill Pragnell

Mr Bryan Pratt

Mr John Pratt

Mr Steve Proctor

Mr Keith Prosser

Dr Ivan Pullen

Mr Andy Purr

Mr Richard Roff

Mr Steve Rogers

Mr Trevor Russell

Mr Martin Shayler

Mr David Siddon

Mr John Sirett

Mr Laurence Smith

Mr M J Smith

Mr Neil Smith

Mr Peter Smith

Leighton Buzzard Rugby Football Club Limited Wright’s Meadow, Leighton Road Stanbridge, Bedfordshire. LU7 9HR www.buzzardrugby.co.uk

Mr Rob Stirling

Mr John Surguy

Mr John Tarbox

Mr Malcolm Taylor

Mr Marc Taylor

Mr Jeremy Tobin

Mr Andy Tooley

Mr Chris Turner

Mr Mike Turner

Mr David Tysom

Mr Mark Vincent

Mr Andy Walton

Mr Cliff Ward

Mr Nobby Ward

Mr Barry Webb

Mrs Carol Williams

Mr Barry Wilson

Mr Alan Worrell

Mr Bill Yirrell