RUGBY UNION: The numbers' game part 1 (From Oxford Mail)

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RUGBY UNION: The numbers' game part 1

7:09pm Saturday 5th April 2008

comment Comments (7) Have your say »

By Ed Mezzetti »

Blue Boar landed their first county trophy with an emphatic win at Iffley Road. Here is the numbers' game. See Tuesday's paper for full report.

Competition: Oxfordshire Shield final

Score: Oxford 8, Blue Boar 27

Oxford player ratings:

15. Graham Crapper 7 (looked to counter)

14. Joe Hartley 6 (kept in check)

13. Tom Olley 7 (decent first half)

12. Neil Walker 6 (worked hard)

11. Phil Longuet-Higgins 6 (made errors, but some good runs)

10. Robbie Hill 6 (faced up well)

9. Jon Derrick 6 (never really went forward)

1. Gary Walter 5 (replaced at half-time)

2. Jack Rudman 6 (solid throwing)

3. Ed Mitchell 6 (needed to show more)

4. Mark Viner 7 (powerful display)

5. Charlie Mason 6 (solid but unspectacular)

6. Lukke Soetters 5 (disappointing)

7. Tim Knapp 6 (faded after the break)

8. Andy McDonald 6 (never gave up)

Replacements:

16. Paul Molyneux 5 (struggled to make impact)

17. James Knox 6 (kept battling)

18. Josh Byles 5 (on the back foot)

19. Tom Samsworth 5 (no time to shine)

20. Stuart Waknell 5 (hardly saw the ball)

Blue Boar player ratings

15. Chris Sandbach 8 (some skilful touches)

14. Charlie Young 7 (powerful in attack and defence)

13. Jamie Brufell 7 (carried ball well)

12. Ben Nicholl 8 (got stronger as game went on)

11. Sam Cover 7 (took try well)

10. Sam Stoop 9 (STAR MAN, bags of creativity)

9. George Sykes 8 (kept on sniping)

1. Ben Lay 6 (held his own)

2. Jamie Orpwood 6 (reliable)

3. Russell Paul 6 (did his job)

4. Adam Pearson 8 (always dangerous)

5. Nigel Cox 6 (worked hard)

6. Carl Alder 6 (tackled well)

7. Barney Harrison 8 (a constant menace)

8. Rob Wearing 7 (carried the ball well)

Replacements

16. Tom Vaughan-Fowler 6 (filled in well)

17. Jonathan Barnes 6 (plenty of energy)

18. Steve Dixey 6 (kept scrum solid)

19. Paul Shepherd 6 (late introduction)

20. Jimmy Wallbridge 6 (brief cameo)

Referee: Andrew Graham (Oxon) 6 - missed a few things.

Entertainment rating: 7.

Highlight: Sam Stoop's link play

Lowlight: poor place-kicking

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Your Say YourOxford

unbiased rugby fan, oxford says...
10:19pm Sat 5 Apr 08

I am very dissapointed at the county in allowing blue boar to field the team they did.

It was noticable that many players in this team play at a far higher level than the oxford team. Credit where credit is due, oxford put up a good fight, but were outclassed by players who clearly don't play in the bb&o leagues.
The team blue boar put out, should have been playing in the cup competition, not the plate. I know there were concerns when they beat bicester, the rules(which i have read) state that players must play at least 3 games for the team they are representing. It clearly isn't the case here. which i feel makes this final a farce.
Blue boar, you won a final that you shouldn't have been in. Oxford you tried hard but and never let your head go down, you should be glad of the display you put on, along with your green supporters.
To the county, you need to make sure that this doesn't happen again, as this was the lowlight in a wonderfull and entertaining day of rugby.

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Adopted Green Army supporter, 599-124 says...
7:12pm Sun 6 Apr 08

I hear what Mr unbiased rugby fan has to say and must say that I agree. As it panned out, i thought the Green Army played very well under the circumstances and I also believe Mr Mazzetti has been slightly stingy with his number game, in particular to the Oxford back row, who forraged and toiled hard all game. The Oxford 7 must have put in 20 plus tackles alone, along with several turnovers. We all appreciate the free flow style of rugby, however this only happens once the hard graft has been done and these playes must be appreciated.
I also think (along with the majority in the main stand with me) that Mazzetti's star man should have visited the bin at the very least for his persistent thuggery!

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Loggerhead, Oxford says...
7:15pm Sun 6 Apr 08

Brodley for England

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black bush enthusiast, says...
10:54pm Sun 6 Apr 08

The complaints are interesting. What I think is important to bear in mind is that the guys at the Blue Boar have never had a training session and play the sport for entirely the right reasons - passion for the game and, above all, enjoyment. I would be intrigued to hear exactly which players you think haven't played three times for the Blue Boar this season? A shame that such a great day is being tarnished but I firmly believe everyone has their right to an opinion. Sometimes those opinions are louder when results haven't gone your way.

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Old Boar, Stanford in the Vale says...
1:26pm Mon 7 Apr 08

I don't remember all this whining when the BB lost in the final of the same competition four years ago, I think its load of nonsense that detracts from, what was, an extremely entertaining game of rugby.
Oxford were camped in the BB 22 for almost the first 25 minutes. Had the BB buckled under this huge pressure and let in a try the outcome could have been quite different.
There seems to be a suggestion that the BB has put together a load of ringers from local clubs like Grove and Bicester to come along and win this competition. This is rediculous. The BB has a good mixture of players some young some old and retiring, but at the moment they are just going through a bit of a purple patch. There is a long history between the BB and Grove going back to the late seventies when the landlord of the BB played for Grove. Now you have 2nd generation BB players like Nicholl,Young, Sykes, Sandbach and Morgan whose fathers played BB rugby well into their forties. The majority of players are regulars in the Pub and come from the local villages of Fyfield, Stanford, Goosey, Buckland, Hinton, Southmoor and Longworth.The players come together on the day of a match and there is no training.The one Bicester player on Sat was Nigel Cox who is 45 years old and has 60 BB games under his belt.
Since the professional status came to the RFU, amateur club playing numbers have dwindled. People who want to play but not too seriously have been marginalized. The BB provides the non pressure enjoyable rugby that many people seek.
Its a shame that these detractors instead of engaging in petty back biting don't focus on the uniqueness of the BBRFC, its 30 year contribution to Oxon rugby, its colourful History, its cavalier style of play, what it has done local clubs, its association with the Hungarian RFU and why the players love to play for it and consistently raise their game when doing so. All from a little backwater pub in Longworth

I don't remember all this whining when the BB lost in the final of the same competition four years ago, I think its load of nonsense that detracts from, what was, an extremely entertaining game of rugby. Oxford were camped in the BB 22 for almost the first 25 minutes. Had the BB buckled under this huge pressure and let in a try the outcome could have been quite different. There seems to be a suggestion that the BB has put together a load of ringers from local clubs like Grove and Bicester to come along and win this competition. This is rediculous. The BB has a good mixture of players some young some old and retiring, but at the moment they are just going through a bit of a purple patch. There is a long history between the BB and Grove going back to the late seventies when the landlord of the BB played for Grove. Now you have 2nd generation BB players like Nicholl,Young, Sykes, Sandbach and Morgan whose fathers played BB rugby well into their forties. The majority of players are regulars in the Pub and come from the local villages of Fyfield, Stanford, Goosey, Buckland, Hinton, Southmoor and Longworth.The players come together on the day of a match and there is no training.The one Bicester player on Sat was Nigel Cox who is 45 years old and has 60 BB games under his belt. Since the professional status came to the RFU, amateur club playing numbers have dwindled. People who want to play but not too seriously have been marginalized. The BB provides the non pressure enjoyable rugby that many people seek. Its a shame that these detractors instead of engaging in petty back biting don't focus on the uniqueness of the BBRFC, its 30 year contribution to Oxon rugby, its colourful History, its cavalier style of play, what it has done local clubs, its association with the Hungarian RFU and why the players love to play for it and consistently raise their game when doing so. All from a little backwater pub in Longworth

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A local, Longworth says...
5:44pm Wed 9 Apr 08

I agree with the last two comments. No ringers have been introduced and you must remember this side never trains together, out of a bunch of people who can play, each Sunday game we have, the team differs massively also. The fact is this bunch of people who drink at the Boar are generally good friends and are gifted at rugby. There is now a large group of the 2nd generation players coming through who have just left school or who are at University such as the Sykes, Sandbachs, Vaughn Fowler, Blanchards etc. Many of these people also live in the village or just around, local farmers etc. So I ask for you to take this defeat gracefully and let this proud pubside enjoy their win in this competetion.

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put game to bed, , oxford says...
10:45pm Fri 11 Apr 08

i must say that all oxford players and the majority of supporters took the defeat gracefully and have the future to look forward to, to both teams well done on a good game of rugby it kick started a memorable day of the county of oxfordshire rugby history. big hand to the tweed army - most entertaining banter

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