Vets at the Knackers Yard
With the first team resting this week and the 2nd team’s opposition pulling out their fixture it was left to the revived Vets team to entertain the mass throngs at Wright’s Meadow. The Vets playing local rivals, Dunstablians the Vets competition were hopeful of a good performance. At the outset of the game Dunstablians lost a player with just 32 seconds on the clock. The game restarted and Dunstablians broke down the right hand side of the pitch round the covering defence and scored with barely a minute of play having taken place. Dunstablians put together several good attacks and Buzzard Vets didn’t seem to have any response with both forwards and backs failing to organise against a well organised opposition who ran in three more unconverted tries. This gelled Buzzards into a more organised passage of play with both backs and forwards making their tackles and finding holes in Dunstablians defence. A sustain passage of play brought about by an outside break by Leigh Draper and close interpassing with debutant player Badan Roux set up the forwards for a series of driving rucks along Dunstablians try line that Dan Abbott final breached close to the post; Dunstablians forwards looked shattered, Dan Allen converting to bring the half-time score to a more respectable 7 points to 20.
Playing downhill in the second half Buzzards conceded two tries in quick succession with Dunstablians scoring on the left and right wing. There were good phases of defence from the Buzzards stopping two very near tries. There were phases of comedy too, were a pantomime horse would have managed better passing and a more respectable jog too. Realising the performance wasn’t pleasing the crowd the Vets once more rallied with fine performances and driving thrusts of play led by, Mark Ward (captain on the day), Gary Low, Paul Gore and Martin Snowden. A change in the backline moving Badan Roux to the left wing seemed to work wonders with the ball getting out wide and to hand for the first time in the half; during one of these Badan glided round his opposite number and sprinted half the length of the field to score close to the posts. Dan Allen converted. Shortly after this Dan Allen missed a penalty and Dunstablians ran in two more tries, the last of which they converted but they had quite a few practice attempts.
The final score being Buzzard Vets 14 – 42 Dunstablians.