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Dorset & Wilts Division 1 North Ten out of 10 for effort Minety 1st XV 10 pts – Fairford 0 pts Led by a great display from the pack, Minety put in a determined and gritty team performance to close Fairford down and secure a win by two tries to none. With everyone tackling hard and the forwards in great form in the loose, Minety deserved 10 out of 10 for effort in this game, but perhaps only 5 out of 10 for finishing and finesse. On top of their opponents for most of the game, they should have scored more points but instead repeatedly infringed at the breakdown by failing to release the ball quickly enough to satisfy the referee. Occasional off-sides didn’t help their case, and nor did the backs’ propensity for attempting long passes under pressure when taking the ball into contact and recycling might have been a better option. But the positives for Minety were there to be seen in the side’s attitude, organisation and teamwork. Lock David Hazell jumped and caught superbly in the lineouts and was always a handful on the charge. Flanker Charlie Gawthropp was at his forthright best, letting no one past him and repeatedly putting in the hard yards to carry the ball forward in tight spots. The home side scored a try in each half and never looked like conceding points. Their first followed an attacking lineout. Flyhalf Will Howse tidied up messy ball and powered across the gain line before going down in the tackle. The back row recycled possession, which was moved snappily down the threequarter line to the right wing. The winger took the ball with 25 metres to go and two men to beat, but he eeled his way past his markers and sped in for a try in the corner. The unluckiest man on the park was Minety’s outside centre Tom Fitzcharles, who sprinted over the try line in the first half only for an opponent to take advantage of his momentum and bundle him over the dead ball line before he could touch the ball down. Showing excellent pace and strength, he piled over the try line in the second half too, but a canny defence prevented him from grounding the ball and again five points went begging. Minety’s second try followed a long period of pressure during which Fairford, ever dogged in defence, had consistently kept them out. The ball was eventually fed out wide to prop Martin Coe, who stepped round and through the winger and the fullback to score by the corner flag. The win takes Minety to third place in the table. They’ll hope to continue their winning ways as travel to Sutton Benger this Saturday.

This was the scene at Minety Playing Fields today, Wednesday 6 January 2010. Maybe this lot will melt and the ground thaw by Saturday, but I sincerely doubt it. Fixture news here on the website as and when we have it.

Dorset & Wilts Division 1 North Minety stuck in neutral Minety 1st XV 0 pts – Chippenham 2nd XV 14 pts A decent performance from Chippenham seconds saw them follow a simple but effective game plan to beat Minety by two converted tries to none. Their opponents worked hard but failed to turn their considerable efforts into points. A week of rain produced a muddy surface at Minety which the visitors exploited well. Their halfbacks kicked intelligently, especially in the first half, gaining territory and posing continual problems for those trying to field a slippery ball. A kick ahead 10 minutes later once again put Minety under pressure. The defence seemed to have the ball under control, but it spilled loose, giving a Chippenham player running up in support the opportunity to pick it up and dive over for a try from short range. An easy goal kick made it 0-14 in the visitors’ favour. The rest of the game was a muddy stalemate. The Minety pack scrummaged and mauled powerfully but with little guidance or control, gaining ground but frequently losing turn-over ball. Minety’s decision making was poor all round, as was the execution of critical phases of play. There was no shortage of hard work from the home team, and they tackled well, but they lacked guidance and control and could not capitalise on their advantages. This Saturday, Minety play away against Calne.

All it remains to do now is to wish all our members, friends and opponents a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Minety’s next games are on Saturday 8 January 2011 when both our senior teams are due to play at home. The firsts take on Pewsey Vale while the seconds play hosts to Swindon thirds. Kick-offs: 2.30 pm.

The firsts put in a truly gutsy performance to beat Calne by a single point while the seconds came back in the closing minutes of the game to beat Melksham thirds thanks to a score from their amazing try machine Luke Radcliffe. Details of both games are now in the Match Reports section. Saturday 19 March: The firsts are off down to Trowbridge this Saturday while the Dream Team play at home in the Stroud Combination Cup against Dursley. Both sides would appreciate your support! Meanwhile… * See The Iron Age for further details of a fund-raising effort in memory of the late John Lewis involving a bike ride from London to Paris to raise money for the British Lung Foundation. * The online Minety RFC Club Shop is now open for business. To visit the shop, go to the Club Shop link in the menu list on the right of the screen. Place your order online and the items will be delivered to your door. Please note that all orders are processed once a month, irrespective of when the orders were placed. * Tickets are still available for the Minety RFC 40th Anniversary Summer Ball, but they’re going fast. Click on the menu link for details.

The firsts worked hard but lacked cohesion and struggled to make ground away against Avonvale. The seconds, meanwhile, carved out a win at Wootton Bassett and have now gone top of Dorset & Wilts Division 3 North. A big THANK YOU to the Minety Academy for all the young players who turned out on Saturday and helped make the victory possible. Reports on both Saturday’s games can now be found in the Match Reports section. There’s no game for the 1st XV this Saturday, 6 November 2010, but the seconds have an important home tie against Stroud Nomads in the first round of this season’s Stroud and District Combination Cup.

Dorset & Wilts Division 3 North A cricket score for the Dreamers Minety 2nd XV 53 pts – Calne 2nd XV 3 pts Fitter and faster than their opponents, Minety seconds ran away with this home tie against their counterparts from Calne. Although the visitors opened the scoring with a penalty goal, that proved to be their only source of points in what turned out to be a highly one-sided affair. Minety had the better pack and were better organised and markedly fleeter of foot than their opponents. Working as a team, they consistently converted possession into points. In all, the home side scored nine tries, four of them going to the outstanding Luke Radcliffe. There was a brace apiece for Andrew Hibbard and Andrew Tucker and one for the ever nimble Milo Hartley. This Saturday, Minety seconds travel south to play the Warminster 2nd XV.

Have a look there now for details of the upcoming Players’ Meeting. Huw has also published details of the pre-season schedule HERE. Both pages can be accessed from the alphabetical menu at the right-hand side of the screen and will be regularly updated. Check in frequently to get all the latest news on playing and training with Minety RFC.

Max Sparrow made the break and gave the critical offload, but Ed burst onto it at speed and the angle and timing of his run defeated Dorchester’s best efforts to stop him before he crossed the line. He also had the sense to score right in front of where Nigel was standing with his camera. Taken into the glare of a low sun, the photo is a little washed-out, but just captures the action as Ed dives across the line to ground the ball. Click on the photo to see it full size. Other pictures to follow in due course.

Saturday 30 January 2010 Southern Counties South Minety fade away Minety 24 pts – Dorchester 36 pts An inspired first half from Minety faded away as Dorchester stormed back after the break. Things looked hopeful for Minety as they scrummaged purposefully and ran the ball to good effect, but Dorchester were soon showing their paces. Some mazy running and slick passing from their threequarters put inside centre Adam Jones over for a try, which he then converted. An apparent try in response by Minety fullback Reuben Saunders was disallowed and it wasn’t long before Dorchester had worked the ball back upfield. They created a four-man overlap on the right of the pitch enabling outside centre Lee Harvey to crash over for a try by the corner flag. Trailing 3-12, Minety then conjured up a brilliant quarter of an hour which saw them first catch and then substantially pass their guests. First came a try for centre Max Sparrow, capitalising on a fine break and inside pass from winger Will Howse. Then Minety’s other winger, Ed Ackerman, scored, coming onto the ball at pace as Sparrow adroitly slipped him a pass out of the tackle. Finally Sparrow struck again, selling an outrageous dummy before cutting through a gap and skittering over for a try from 15 metres out. The second half was a different story, with an early Jones penalty goal from Dorchester setting the tone. Patiently, the visitors worked their way back into the game, denying Minety ball, kicking for territory and closing down attempted breaks. Another penalty goal from Jones made it 24-18 before Devizes skipper Dave Gower made a break from the back of a maul to jink in for a try that brought the visitors to within a single point of Minety. With 15 minutes to go, Minety were still hanging on to their slender lead, but when Jones burst onto the ball on the right wing, he was able to step inside the last defender and land the try that put Devizes back in front once more. After that, the home side were forced to play catch-up, running from deep and trying to take their chances. In the event, Jones kicked another penalty goal for the visitors before replacement lock Lee King finished off the game with a late try in the corner. This Saturday, Minety play at home against Wimborne. –0-0– Minety caused Dorchester all kinds of problems for the first forty minutes but in the end Dorchester’s superior fitness and all round ability prevailed.” The report on the game on the Dorchester RFC website is a pretty fair account of what happened (and corrects some of the names Nigel got wrong). To find out how the opposition saw the match, click here: http://www.dorchester-rfc.co.uk/match_reports_0910/minety_away.php

Saturday 10 October 2009 Southern Counties South Injury-hit Minety struggle in second half Devizes 1st XV 61 pts – Minety 1st XV 0 pts As injuries whittled down their playing resources, Minety leaked points. With regular backs Max Sparrow and Andrew Taylor unavailable for this game, Minety started with plenty of resolve but a weakened threequarter line. The pack performed well, matching or besting Devizes in scrums and lineouts. All this was to no avail, however, as, yet again, Minety missed their tackles and failed to communicate clearly or organise effectively in defence. Devizes took full advantage and ran in three tries before the break. Seventeen-nil down but competing well in the set pieces, Minety still fancied their chances for a second-half come-back. But as a series of injuries forced Matt Plummer, James Stewart, Dave Church and Jack Ward from the field, Minety used up their two available substitutes and, with quarter of an hour still to go, were down to 13 men. Faced by fewer defenders, Devizes ran in more tries, racking up 61 points by the final whistle. Tom Fitzcharles had the best chances to score for the visitors. Twice he dashed almost the length of the field only to be brought down just short of the line. Another few metres would have done it, but it was not to be and Minety failed to get any points on the board. Although concerned for his injured players, Minety skipper Craig Smith was philosophical about the result of the game. “That was a much better performance by our forwards. The final score flatters them a little, but we missed tackles. When we get that sorted and get our injured and missing players back, we’ll turn this round.” This Saturday, Minety are at home to Frome. For an opposition view of the game, have a look at this report which appeared in The Swindon Advertiser: http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/sport/sportheadlines/4676404.RUGBY__Devizes_61_Minety_0/

Reports on both games are now in the Match Reports section. And the Minety Academy were in fine form, completely dominating Royal Wootton Bassett Colts as they won 20-5 on Sunday afternoon. A brief report on that game is given below. Photographs by Tracy Glew. You’ll find fuller details of the game in The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. Next Saturday, 25 January 2014, the firsts play away against Swindon seconds while the Dreamers travel down to Devizes. Kick-offs at 2.30 pm. –0-0– Under 18s Academy boss Bassett Minety Academy 20pts – Royal Wootton Bassett Colts 5pts Minety Academy put on a superb team display as they completely dominated their counterparts from Royal Wootton Bassett. Playing up the slope, Minety built a 10-nil first-half lead thanks to tries from Ben Kingston and Garin Garland. Tackling their opponents out of the game, Minety put Bassett under continuous pressure after the break. When the visitors tried to clear their lines, the hosts charged down the kick and Kingston ran in try number three. Scott Lees kicked the conversion and then added a penalty goal to give Minety a 20 point lead. Royal Wootton Bassett scored a late consolation try, but the game belonged to the Academy.