New Third Team Shirts

They have been ordered so should be with us in a couple of weeks. Let us know what you think by voting in the poll on the right hand side.

Thirds notch up first win 17-7 over Old Bedians

Buxton Thirds got their first win of the season with a battling and workman like win over fellow strugglers Old Bedians. The win lifts the thirds off the bottom of Division 5 South in the Miller Homes League. With plenty of subs the Thirds could concentrate on going flat out from the off, but despite opportunities were unable to break down a stubborn Old Bedians defence. With the scrum and line out functioning effectively Buxton were able to exert plenty of pressure in the set piece, the front row of Bearman Fussell and Austin looking comfortable and assured and the benefits of training showed through with Allen and Cavanagh providing the power in the second row. Edge and Poole had plenty of quality possession to distribute. Buxton's best chance of the first half came from a penalty move deep in their own twenty two. Skipper Allen spotted the space and instead of kicking for safety Poole took a tap and sent the ball out to Nichols. He broke through the Old Bedians defence and jinked his way some thirty metres up field. With opportunities outside him he back himself and the move died when he was brought to ground. With the backrow of Charles, Chapman and Henderson hitting the rucks the quality of possession was much

improved and the thirds defensive lines kept the sporadic Old Bedian attacks at bay. The conditions did not favour open back play but Ford and Politt used the limited opportunities well and Ritchie carried well. The half time score of 0-0 did not adequately reflect the thirds dominance. To their credit they started the second half even more strongly. Using the driving maul to more effect they marched into the Old Bedians half, and set up a number of attacking positions. A series of drives for the line led by Austin and Allen fractured the Old Bedians defence and Cavanagh crashed through to score a well worked try. Some positional changes and the introduction of fresh legs helped Buxton keep up the momentum. From broken play Edge found Hoodie lurking off his wing and he produced a burst of speed to take him clear of the defenders and under the posts for the second try. Charles converted and in the conditions 12-0 looked a wining scoreline. A lapse in concentration let Old Bedians back in. They countered with a series of sweeping moves and after switching play to the right managed to burrow over close to the touchline despite Gardin's efforts. A superb conversion took the scoreline to 12-5. For the next five minutes Old Bedians were back in the match. Excellent tacking and support kept them at bay, and Bennison cleared the danger by breaking out of his twenty two. The game was effectively sealed with ten minutes to go. Buxton wrecked an Old Bedians scrum, forcing them back towards their line. Allen nicked the ball from the ruck and Chapman darted for the line only to be held up. Preece set the move up again and the ball went through a number of hands close to the line before Charles crashed over to make the game safe.

A big thank you to the Buxton players who offered to play for Old Bedians, in particular Ian Henderson who propped for them the second half to keep the scrums contested.The win will boost the Thirds confidence and the improvements show how vital it is to keep on training. Next week they are away to Stockport.

Buxton were; Bearman, Fussell, Austin, Allen, Cavanagh, Henderson, Chapman, Charles, Edge, Poole, Ritchie, Nichols, Gardin, Pollitt, Gyte, Dilworth, Purvis, Hoodie, Rose, Ford, Bennison, Woodward, Burton.

Thirds get First Win of the Season

Buxton 3rd XV 17 Old Bedians 7.

Tries from Hoodie, TC and Big Bird helped Buxton to their first win of the season and provided an excellent basis on which to celebrate. Unfortunately I cannot remember who got what at Court, so if anyone wants to enlighten me I would be very grateful. I don't think the McFussells have any commercial legs though.

Match report to follow.

Bloodied but unbowed.

Buxton 3rd XV 0 v Aldwinians 46.

A brief respite from the league saw the Thirds in cup action, travelling to Aldwinians. Despite injuries and absences, the thirds managed to travel with 18 but were up against an Aldwinians side that were clearly bolstered by the fact that their seconds had had their game cancelled. Late arrivals mean't that there was little time to go through any pre-match preparations. Despite this the opening exchanges were even with both sides making errors. Aldwinians made progress into the Buxton 22 and some sterling defence kept them at bay with Rose putting in big hits. Eventually the pressure told and Aldwinians opened their account. The game was by no means a procession for Aldwinians. The thirds fought hard, edging the scrums and with the line out functioning much better this week the additional possession gave Preece options with the ball. Poole made a well timed break through the traffic, but despite the support the ball was knocked on. Gardin made some strong runs from the back, and Hoodie was a constant menace. Too many errors and turnovers however ceded the initiative to Aldwinians and by half time Buxton were 24 nil down and tie was lost. Aldwinians replaced their front row and the scrums became scrappy.

Injuries to several players meant some reorganisation. Buxton had been penalised heavily in the first half but with the game lost the penalty count evened up and with Poole finding some distance and Fussell finding Charles in the line out more should have been made of the possession. The forwards began to make more runs, Henderson picked up on the loose ball and Cavanagh drove into the heart of the defence with six tacklers hanging off him but was unable to off load. Pollitt and Ford both showed good presence on the wings. Buxton battled hard all afternoon, and never gave up. The effort they showed will be rewarded as the season goes on.

Next week the Thirds entertain Old Bedians at home. Training is on Thursday at 7.00pm.


Buxton were: Rose(Chapman 40m), Fussell c, Austin, Henderson, Cavanagh, Woodward, Charles, Chapman (Taylor 40m), Preece, Poole, Ritchie (Pollitt

40m), Stratford (Ritchie 65m) Nichols (Ford), Hoodie, Gardin

Apres Match

We did not hold court in the end as there were too many absentees however I have a few nominations that perhaps we can take forward to next week.

The Ranulph Fiennes prize for Navigation goes to Tay. Eventually when he realised that his sat nav needed a post code he found his way to the ground.

Mentioned in dispatches Seth and Gaz, but then they always get lost. Together. Geoff gets a mention for following the wrong car out of the ground and arriving at the pub 20 minutes late.

The Ballet Rambert gold award goes to Ian Henderson for his dive across the ruck. The referee appreciated it anyway.

To the Aldwinians player who Ian hit, allegedly, who waited until all his players were around him before "wanting to have a go back"

FUOTD - Seth for letting go of the ball on our line and letting them in for a really soft try, Mr Fussell for getting confused about the new calls, there were more but it would be tedious to mention them.

Thirds 0 Aldwinians 2XV 46

I'll post a match report later, but just to say despite the score we can be massively proud of the performance today. It was a bit of a piss take but we battled all the way and never once let our heads go down.

We need to be serious about next week. Training on Thursday is vital so lets get there if we can.

Thirds battle to brave defeat

3rd XV 5 v Ashton on Mersey 38

The scoreline did not do justice to the effort and commitment that the thirds showed, but unless they can utilise their possession more effectively they are going to be in for a very long hard season. The Thirds dominated the set piece comfortably winning their own ball and stealing much of the oppositions. The tight five worked hard,Fussell in particular made the opposition hooker's life uncomfortable all afternoon.

For long periods of the first half they were stuck in their own twenty two. But the defense was well organised and stand in No 10 Charles put in some decent clearance kicks to relieve the pressure. Apart from one piece of magic all Ashton's tries stemmed from defensive errors. That said Rabbits, Austin and Henderson were tireless in defense and Bearman produced an earth shattering bone crunching tackle to save a certain try. Injuries to the tireless Chapman and the hardworking Dilworth and Rabbitts meant some positional changes had to be made.

Preece put in a quality performance at scrum half and his apprentice Edge took over for the last twenty minutes and improves with every game. A sustained period of Buxton pressure went unrewarded after a series of scrum penalties eventually were cleared down field. Despite the game being lost early in the second half the Thirds continued to fight and to battle. Nichols and Jardin combined well and Jardin made a break up the centre and it took three to haul him down. Tom, playing out of position at open side was a human dynamo and when he was switched to centre almost broke out of his twenty two. The back three of Ritchie, Edge and Ford, worked well as a unit and were always looking to join the line. Packer came on in the second half to sharpen up the defensive edge. And the introduction of Hoodie provided a cutting edge out wide and proved himself to be a handful when ever he got the ball.

Buxton's persistence and spirit was rewarded after a series of rucks took them into the twenty two. With an overlap out wide Edgie backed himself and burst through the defenders to score a classic scrum halves try.

Training on Thurday at 7.00pm Be there! It is making a difference.

Next week away to Aldwinians in the cup. Let Simon F know asap if you are available.


Bearman, Fussell c, Austin, Henderson, Dilworth (Tom), Rabitts, Woodward, Chapman, Preece, Charles, Ritchie, Nichols, Jardin, Ford(Hoodie), Edge (Packer)

Apres Match

MOM - Fussell for his hooking apparently
FUOTD - Phil Preece for agreeing to go off and allowing Tom Edge to come on as scrumhalf (It was the only thing we could think of to get Phil!)

Another day another Loss

The losing streak continued at Ashton on Mersey despite the forwards winning a stack of possession. We were better than the 38 -5 scoreline might suggest but there is much to do if we are to start turning possession into points.

Chris is away at the moment so Simon is organising the team for this week's game against Aldwinians. Its a cup game so a rest from League action for a week. If you are availble to play and you don't get a text by Tuesday evening, let Simon know by e-mailing info@buxtonrugbyclub.com.

We will be training on Thursday up at the club at 7.00pm. We have had two great turnouts so get up there if you haven't been. It will make the difference to our season.

Buxton lose in the drizzle

3rd XV 0 v Carrington 17

Buxton Thirds had high hopes of ending their run of defeats and as the clock ticked past three o'clock and there was still no sign of the opposition it looked as if the Thirds would win by default. But although they had been unable to raise a side at home last week, Carrington, bolstered by the fact that their Firsts game had been cancelled arrived late but in good heart. Despite the lack of a warm up Carrington were quickest out of the blocks and Buxton had to defend from the off. Wilson and Stratford marshalled the defence and the Thirds held out. Both sides appeared equally matched, but the game was basically lost by the Thirds at the breakdown. Ill disipline saw them come off worse in the penalty count and too often good attacking ball was turned over in contact. Carrington's opening try was against the run of play and despite the endeavour the Thirds could not get backon terms. Matt Poole had a solid game at fly half, his kicking bringing a new dimension to Buxton's play. But with the lineout not functioning effectively, some of the advantage was lost. Woodward had an excellent game at openside making himself known to the opposition ten from an early stage. His pace and hard tackling will be critical if Buxton are to start winning. Allen battled away all afternoon and Butler and Pollit pulled off some vital tackles to save the line late on. On several occasions the forwards battled to the line, but with the Carrington defence at sixes and sevens and the line beckoning the wrong options were called and the opportunities squandered. When the whistle went the disappointment was etched onto the faces of the Buxton players, but if they are to turn their season round then they will need to be harder at the breakdown and swifter in decision making.

Training on Thursday at 7.00pm up at Sunnyfields. We need as many as possible there, if we are to put right the basics and start winning.

Buxton were: Bearman, Fussell (Rabbits), MacDonald (Fussell), Cavanagh (Rose),Henderson,Allen, Woodward, Chapman, Edge, Poole, Dilworth (Pollit), Wilson, Stratford, Butler (Ritchie), Gyte

Apres Match

His Honour Ali B was on the bench. He handed out fines like they were going out of fashion.

MOTM - Matt Woodward

Fuck up of the day - Mr Stratford for dropping a scoring pass. He should be dealt with for claiming to have friends from Oswestry.

Advanced warning - theme for the 25th October..........but if course if you had been at court you would know would'nt you.

Match Analysis by Matt Poole. You had to be there to appreciate it. One or two of us might be hanging up our boots sooner than we anticipated.

Thirds 0 v Carrington 17

They arrived late. We were warmed up and up for it. So what the fuck went wrong? Training on Thursday 6.45pm at Sunnyfields. Be there come rain or whatever. Match report to follow. Its not easy by the way having to write 250 words when we don't score.

Lookalike

Gimli

Chabal

Can I be the only one to have noticd the striking similarity between the dwarf in Lord of the Rings and Seb Chabal of Sale Sharks.