England 21 v 52 Barbarians

Sunday 19th June 2022, Kick-off 15.00
Rugby Friendly

Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham

Admission: £42.00

Programme: £6.00

Attendance: 51,385

Today I had a very rare experience of rugby, for my third ever visit to Twickenham. In honesty, it was not my choice to come to this game, but my partner wanted to take in her first ever rugby game, and in particular at the home of English rugby.

This game was arranged principally as a warm up for England to prepare for a three test tour to Australia in July. Since finishing as runners up in the 2019 World Cup and winning the Six Nations in 2020, the last couple of years have been rather poor by England’s standards, picking up just two wins and finishing in fifth place in the 2021 Six Nations, and while they again only picked up two wins in the 2022 Six Nations, they finished in third place. The Barbarians team invitational team today was formed mostly of French based players, with the sole exception being George Kruis, the 45 cap former England lock, for whom today would be his last game before retirement.

On an afternoon which was hot when the sun shone, but was mostly cloudy and cooler, the match started off fairly quietly, with no points at all scored in the opening quarter of an hour.

Marcus Smith then broke the deadlock with a penalty, but within a minute, Barbarians were awarded a penalty try following a deliberate knock on by Jonny May, and on 24 minutes, Barbarians added a try by Charles Olivion, converted by Antoine Hastoy. In the 34th minute, it started to look like the game might swing back towards England, when Smith scored another penalty, and Joe Cokanisaga scored a try two minutes later, to reduce the deficit to three points, and then Barbarians were reduced to 14 men when Will Skelton was shown a red card for a high tackle. But an early sign that this wouldn’t hinder the Barbarians too much came on 38 minutes, when Damien Pennaud scored another try, to leave the scoreline 11-19 at the break.

The second half continued as the first half ended, with Barbarians scoring another try by Batiste Couilloud, this one converted by George Kruis, to open up a 15 point lead for the Barbarians. May scored a try to reduce the arrears on 51 minutes, only for Pennaud to score another on 55 minutes, before England what turned out to be their last score of the match on the hour mark, Smith scoring a try, Then, Barbarians pulled away impressively, playing some really entertaining rugby..On 67 minutes, a lovely chip over the top by Nolann Le Gallec saw Louis Carbonel pounce first to score a try, converted by Hastoy, whilst the try of the match came on 73 minutes after England lost possession following a fumble as they approached the tryline, but in a devastating counter attack, Macoulu sprinted down the right wing before eventually passing to Le Garrec close to the half way line, and he surged forward before diagonally kicking the ball forward for Max Spring to run onto a ground the ball underneath the posts, converted by Kruis, who indulged in a backheeled conversion. And on 79 minutes, similar to the previous try, England lost possession in their attacking 22 when Jack Nowell dropped the ball, and a devastatingly lightning quick counter attack saw Penaud drive downfield before he was tackled, and the ball was taken on by David Niniashvili, his run including a forward roll, before passing the Le Garrec, and then finally to Hastoy, who grounded the ball underneath the posts. with Kruis again converting, with his team mates lining up around him and encouraging the crowd to clap him into taking the kick.

And so a convincing win for the Barbarians, and fully deserved it was too, as England, who admittedly were not at full strength, were left with a lot to ponder and to improve upon in the ecoming weeks.

Video highlights can be viewed by clicking here

Wales U21 0 v 1 Netherlands U21

Saturday 11th June 2022, Kick-off 17.00
2023 UEFA European Under 21 Championship Qualifying Group E

Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

Admission: £5.00

Programme: None, Teamsheet Free

Attendance: 161

I decided to stretch out my 21-22 season a little further into June by taking in this game at a venue rarely used for football, and for what would be my first footballing venture outside of England's green and pleasant land since before pre-Covid times. 

Although the 5pm kick off time for this game did seem like something of a wasted opportunity with the senior Wales team playing in Cardiff at 7.45, thereby preventing any possibility of a double, it actually made attending this fixture possible for me, giving me time to take the budget friendly National Express coach from London to Swansea, then catching a local bus service for the roughly one hour journey to a bus stop within about a ten minute walk from the ground. Opened in 2008, the Parc y Scarlets is the usual home ground of the Scarlets and Llanelli rugby union clubs, but has been used by the Welsh FA to host internationals for their various teams over the years, including three senior internationals, and local club Llanelli Town have played some their European fixtures here too, as their usual ground Stebonheath Park was not approved to host UEFA competition fixtures. Access is gained to the rear of a retail complex, with a lane leading to a large car park outside of the ground, which has quite an imposing and impressive fascia. With only the middle section of the (main) south stand open for this fixture, none of the usual turnstiles were open today, instead access was gained by passing through the reception area, and up a flight of stairs to the second floor, passing through plenty of rugby memorabilia and signage en route, before reaching the Quinnell Lounge, a very spacious and stylish hospitality area with plenty of tables and a bar, with doors leading from there to the pitchside seating area. The stadium is very smart easy on the eye, with four separate seated areas offering excellent unobstructed views, helped by a decent incline of seating. Some unusually shaped triangular floodlight structures  above the corners add some character to the ground of which it is otherwise fairly devoid in all honesty, although it probably did not help that this was a low-key affair as could be imagined, which seemed a shame, as with a little better promotion of the game and making the occasion more of an event, and with there being decent opposition, this could have been a good opportunity to really attract and engage better support. No programmes were produced for this game, but printed teamsheets were freely available from the lounge.

With the qualifying group stage for Euro 2023 coming to an end over the next few days, there was very little riding on this fixture. The Netherlands were already certain to win the group (excluding the improbable possibility of them losing this fixture by 13 goals) with a record of seven wins and two draws from their nine league games, and can look forward to a trip to Romania and Georgia for the finals next summer. Wales came into this game in fifth place in the table, following two wins and two draws from their eight games, a point behind Bulgaria, who play Gibraltar away in their one remaining game - Wales will host Gibraltar in the final group game on Tuesday. In the reverse fixture played last October, Netherlands won 5-0.

On a mostly sunny afternoon, this was a game which the Netherlands absolutely dominated pretty much from start to finish, as they controlled possession, overall enjoying 75% possession and having 21 shots on goal compared to the 2 from Wales, which only came in quick succession around the hour mark. The visitors thought they had taken the lead a minute before the break when another patient passing move ended with a close range tap in by Brian Brobbey, but the goal was ruled out for offside. 

They came close again in the 52nd minute, when following yet another patient passing move, the ball was lifted in the penalty area by Wouter Berger and the ball flicked off the top of Welsh defender Ryan Astley, before hitting the top of the bar and going behind. Wales' first shot on goal came in the 62nd minute when Luke Jephcott had a first time shot on the run quite comfortably saved at the keeper's near post, and within a minute, he had another shot saved, this time from just outside the area. But the Netherlands really should have taken the lead in the 68th minute when the ball was laid on a plate low from the left for a seemingly easy tap in from six yards out by Brabbey scuffed his shot wide. So it was looking like Wales would be rewarded with a clean sheet for a dogged performance, with defenders getting numerous good blocks in and the keeper making some decent saves and interceptions until their resistance was finally broken in the 86th minute. A corner was headed out to Milan van Ewijk outside of the area, and he curled the ball into the box, and Lutsharel Geertruida planted his header firmly high into the net beyond the keeper's despairing dive. Wales never really threatened to get back on level terms in the remaining minutes, as the Dutch claimed the win that their possession and the quality of their play deserved. But the Welsh can be pleased with a decent defensive performance, if tinged with disappointment that they could not hold on for a point. And as Bulgaria were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Gibraltar this evening, to earn Gibraltar their first point in the group after nine games, Wales can now finish in fourth place in the final group standings should they beat Gibraltar here on Tuesday.

After the game, I made my way back to Swansea, where I had a couple of pints and a curry, as well as a rather nostalgic walk around what was my local city when I studied at university in West Wales many moons ago to while away the time until my Megabus coach journey left Swansea at 23.40, finally getting home at 8.30 on Sunday morning. A tiring but immensely enjoyable adventure, and hopefully one I can repeat if kick off times are conducive for a game in the area next season.

The full match can be viewed by clicking here

Battle Town 0 v 3 St Johns Bowling Eagles

Saturday 4th June 2022, Kick-off 14.00
National Christian Cup Final

Vauxhall Road, Hemel Hempstead

Admission including Programme: £10.00

Attendance: 100 (rough headcount)

I had long since looked forward to this fixture for various reasons, but having had a long day watching the second day of the first Test Match at Lord’s between England and New Zealand  yesterday, I was very tempted to have a lazy day at home today, particularly as I had already visited Vauxhall Road just three years ago. But there was much appealing for me about this game - a rare opportunity to watch a competitive game in south-east England in June, Battle is a town that I lived in for several years and is still local to me, and the National Christian Cup was also rather intriguing to me, and so I wanted to take in its showpiece event this year.

I imagine that both participating clubs were probably as underwhelmed as I was about the venue chosen for this year's final, as the National Cup Final is often played at EFL stadia, with The Valley, Ewood Park and Bolton’s Macron Stadium all being used in recent years. But in many ways, Vauxhall Road made for a sensible host venue, not too big but still boasting facilities far in excess of what the participating clubs would usually encounter. For my previous visit to Vauxhall Road in 2019, I caught the train to and walked from Hemel Hempstead train station, but this time I got off a stop early at Apsley station, for a slightly shorter walk, still about 2 miles, partly uphill and taking about 40 minutes, and avoiding having to negotiate large roundabouts and walking along a very busy road. The ground is located at the end of a short straight lane, where a brightly decorated large brick turnstile block is located behind one length of the football pitch. Towards the corner there is a decent sized patio area with picnic tables provided, and a snack bar hatch and burger van situated in front of the clubhouse. Around the corner there is a large toilet block decorated in club colours, a wooden hut for pigeon racing club, and a small club shop. To the other side of the entrance, a small stand which had just had its roof removed on my last visit now has a very smart roof, with the small capacity officially reserved for home and away officials, and disabled persons. Behind the goal closest to the entrance there is a very smart all-seater stand, with bright red seats inside and sponsors graphics on the rear wall. Behind the other goal there is a similar sized stand but covering a small terrace with decent elevation. Towards one of the corners there is a double decker of portakabins, whilst towards the other corner flag is a newly installed bank of plastic grass covered steps to stand on, with a similar bank stretching the other side of the corner flag, up to a fairly small all-seater stand which straddles the half way line. The corner between the plastic grassed steps is now decorated with an imposing bright and colourful backboard, incorporating a flat screen used as a scoreboard, I believe. Since my previous visit, a 3G plastic pitch has been laid here. A 12 page colour programme was produced for this fixture and was free with admission, and provided good information about today's final, the participating clubs, the history of the competition, and the Christians in Football organisation.

Battle Town have been one of the powerhouses in the National Christian Cup in recent years, having won the competition in 2017 and 2019. And this season had already been one of their most successful ever, having secured a league and cup double in the East Sussex League. Their run to todays final has not been without excitement. After winning on penalties away at St Mary’s (West Croydon) after a 3-3 draw, they they travelled to Cardiff to face Emmanuel Baptist, finding themselves four goals down mid way through the first half before coming back to win 4-6. The semi-final was a rather more comfortable affair, winning 4-1 against AFC Hope, from Coventry. St Johns Bowling Eagles, based in Bradford, play in the Premier Division of the Yorkshire Christian League, and have won ten and drawn four of their 16 league games, and seem to have finished in third place but with two games unplayed. To reach today’s final, Bowling Eagles won 0-6 away at Gatley (Manchester), 3-0 at home to Newcastle based outfit NSFC, before travelling to Newcastle to beat North Shields 1-2, and then winning 3-1 at home against Liverpool side Aintree. 

On a partly sunny afternoon, a prayer was read over the loud speaker took place ahead of kick off, with the players gathering around the centre circle. The game was rather strange in that Battle had more of the possession, and created the majority of the goal scoring chances, but the closest they came to opening the scoring came on 28 minutes when a ball over the top sent the Battle forward clear and running through on goal, lobbing the ball over the keeper, only to see the ball hit the top of the bar and go over. But on 42 minutes, it was Bowling Eagles who took the lead, thanks to a slice of good fortune when a pass took a big deflection to divert the ball into the path of the Eagles forward to run towards the penalty area and although the Battle keeper came racing out to the outer edge of the penalty area, he couldn’t get there in time, and the Eagles player struck the ball low from a quite a tight angle, sending it in off the far post.

And although Battle could probably have considered themselves unlucky to be behind at the break, Bowling Eagles started the second half strongly, seeing a shot hit the post within a couple of minutes of the restart, before doubling their lead on 48 minutes, when a cross from the left deflected off a head, and the ball was headed home at the far post. And on 56 minutes, the Eagles opened a commanding lead with their third goal when their forward accelerated down the left before lashing the ball across the keeper and into the net. For the remainder of the match, Battle did plenty of attacking but there really was a feeling it was just not going to be their day and they never really looked like converting their chances, and so Bowling Eagles saw the game out with a convincing if rather flattering scoreline. Shortly after the final whistle, former professional footballer Dennis Bailey presented the Cup to the men from Yorkshire.