Newbury reclaim Lyle Crawford trophy

Royal Ascot, Henley Royal Regatta, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, All England Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. Significant dates in the summer social calendar of the great and the good. Typically British, much eccentricity (have you seen those boaters) and we continue to await the inclusion of the Good Friday rugby extravaganza at Hungerford to take its rightful place amongst these great summer sporting and social events. OK, Henley and Wimbledon can boast elite world class athletes but whilst the level of competition at Hungerford on Good Friday is perhaps not quite up there with a Steve Redgrave rowing masterclass or a Roger Federer classic backhand none the less the endeavour, commitment and enthusiasm is as great and last Friday was no different to the previous 20 Good Friday "classics."

The match has its origins in quite tragic circumstances and as that Hungerford stalwart Bob Boulton wrote on the club's website in 2010, "Lyle Crawford was a young talented player for HRFC who met with an unfortunate farming accident....so every year we have a memorial match for him, a match that is played with equal measures of fun and competitiveness to reflect Lyle's personality." The minute's silence at the start of the game was therefore a poignant reminder of the game's purpose and a mark of respect for a young man and his family. What the game reflects is the relationship Newbury and Hungerford RFC's have and through the years a number of players have played for both clubs. A number of current Blues and Stags players began their rugby as minis or juniors at Hungerford and one not so much elderly as mature player who played for both clubs during his rugby career began the match on Friday for Hungerford but at least managed to have a ten minute break during the game.......Andy Sparks, the epitome of the strong relationship between both clubs.

Charity game yes, fun game, certainly not for the players for the duration of the game. There was no quarter given by either side on Friday. There was even a bit of niggle at times but nothing too serious and at the end of the game the traditional photograph of both teams together reflected the general spirit of the 80 minutes. The final score of 44-17 meant that Newbury won back the Lyle Crawford trophy scoring 8 tries to Hungerford's 3. The traditional speeches and man of the match awards were then undertaken and Harry Stevens had the unenviable task of taking part in a drinking race with the Hungerford man of the match. It should have been Harry Waye Branch but perhaps sensibly he had left before the announcement of man of the match.

The Newbury team consisted of young players and some not quite as young and in my reckoning the average age of the youngest and oldest Newbury players was about 42 Given the youngest player was 19 years of age that should give some indication of the (alleged) age of Steve Hubbard! But good on you Steve, turning out for the game along with other "old timers" Guy Shackleton and Brian Trott. Couple this experience with some young, fast backs and there you have it almost a dream team.

There were some good performances throughout the team, with Birchy and Gibby showing up prominently in the wide open spaces of the Triangle. Ben Sherratt scored the first try and soon after Tom Cole scored for Newbury. It was just as well there was no video recording of Tom's attempted drop kick conversion. This would have certainly have given him DOD status! The third try was scored by the rampaging Tom Erskine to be followed soon afterwards by one of the moments of the match, a wondrous weaving run out of defence by GRS, leaving in his wake a number of flailing Hungerford defenders (or at least one or two). Newbury's 4th try was scored by Alex Harris, after some effective interplay between Harry Bates and Dan Thorne. The score now stood at 20-12 to Newbury and with the team under pressure came the game changing decision, to bring on Chairman of Rugby Brian Trott to steady the ship and grind out the victory. Further tries soon followed from Harry Stevens, Harry Waye Branch, Joseff Brown and Andre Le Roux and soon after Andre's effort the referee blew for full time.

Another Good Friday game over, another splendid social day at Hungerford and the final thoughts must go to Lyle's dad who always says a few words at the end of the match and to all the Crawford family. Long may this match continue , to respectfully remember a young man who tragically did not have the opportunity to fulfil his potential as a rugby player.