Without wishing to start the season on a downer and not sure who penned this but it has been said that the end of the cricket season is the saddest time of the year because it represents a time when we are all one more summer away from our youth. William Shakespeare had something to say about this as well in one of his poems when he wrote, "And summer's lease hath all too short a date." End of summer, glass half empty. Not a bit of it. Glass half full far better. End of summer, start of the rugby season, lots to look forward to, new teams to play, away trips to organise with friends, a noisy Monks Lane for away teams to contend with, club lunches, player socials, women, mini and junior teams to support and Tuesday evenings walking touch rugby for us old and not so old boys and girls, some of whom are certainly more than a short distance away from their (our) youth.

Enough rambling. Another pre season done and all eyes now turn to next Saturday with the visit of Longlevens, the first round of games in Regional 2 Tribute Ale Severn. A number of new teams this season but some familiar ones as well. As for last Saturday, Blues came away from Reading with a win courtesy of three converted tries against Reading's three unconverted tries. There will be satisfaction at the win, but a realism that Reading had a number of opportunities, only to knock on or throw a poor pass at crucial times which kept Blues in the game. Reading also spent a lot of time in Blues twenty two and the defensive effort of all Blues players was significant in ensuring the win.
Blues started the stronger of the teams and Harry Waye Branch, whose throwing into the lineout continued at the high standard he has set for himself, almost went over in the first five minutes with Blues forwards executing a very good rolling maul from an attacking lineout. However Reading broke out courtesy of a fine clearing kick and Blues had to work hard to stop the move from developing. Under pressure Reading knocked on and from the scrum, debutant Dave Few made good ground in a strong run. Dave's contact work was also very impressive throughout. Another debutant who impressed was Ben Hurford John who scored two tries, the first the result of some crisp attacking by the backs, the second an interception from under Blues posts and a sprint the whole length of the pitch. It was Reading, though who scored first with a well taken try twenty minutes into the game. Blues responded quickly and five minutes later Ben went over for the first of his tries, successfully converted by the ever reliable Dan Thorne. It is difficult to quantify how many times Dan's place kicking has been the difference between winning and losing and so it proved yet again on Saturday. Ten minutes later Blues extended their lead. Reading were under a lot of pressure and an attacking lineout and a driving maul resulted in Zac Burke touching down to make the half time score 14-5 to Blues.
Reading scored first in the second half to bring the score back to 10-14 but soon after Blues won a scrum penalty, one of a number they won during the afternoon with props Sam Bramhall and Ben Hicks doing a sterling job in the front row. The lineout also functioned well and credit here to Will Osborne for impressive lineout out calling and also for his contact conditioning. Twenty five minutes into the second half Reading scored their third try. However a third missed conversion for the home team meant Blues were only one point adrift at 14-15 and even though it was a pre season non league game the final ten minutes or so were quite tense, both sides treating the game very seriously.
Reading went close to scoring again but Blues scramble defence held firm and Reading knocked on when they were in a very promising position. From here the ball went loose and Ben collected it and ran the eighty or so metres to score his second try. Dan's conversion made the score 21-15 to Blues with about seven minutes remaining. During this time both sides had chances to score again but strong defending meant no further scoring and Blues ran out winners 21-15. Sam Croton, making his senior debut played with great energy, Christian Collett showed great physical presence in the midfield and Harvey Woodburn, over in UK from Australia played his first ever game of rugby. He has had to be patient for his opportunity and he brought energy and intensity when he came onto the field.
Well done to all the players and thanks to those who turned up to support the lads on Saturday. As always it is much appreciated by the players and the backroom staff. Here's to a big crowd at Monks Lane for next weekend's game. See you all there.