Kent Away

Grimsby Gentlemen 17: Kent Havoc 21

Referee: Steve Thomas

Weather: Warm day about 27 degrees a little humid. Their practice field was good, if a little bumpy.

Attendance: 3 Grimsby supporters. Mr and Mrs Erb and Jeremy's uncle.

President's report: Again we were short players although the night before we had fifteen. A couple of emergencies left us with thirteen players. I guess they should declare Pride Weekend a holiday and not have games. We did play the whole game with thirteen (12 + 1) until Kevin E. got hurt and we added a Windsor player late in the second half. Basically we felt we were lucky at 20 min to not be scored upon and Alex S intercepted a pass and ran to the endzone. Derrick W converted.
Essentially a good defensive half, we poached a number of ball and did not get ourselves into trouble or got out of it. We pushed them on their scrum, but they wheeled ours.

Half time score: Grimsby 7: Kent 0

Kent came out in the second half, and returned a poor kick to score and convert. However we came back and Dylan K notched a penalty and with about 20 min to go, Alex S made a slashing run through their backs, avoided the fullback and scored again. Dylan K converted to put Grimsby 10 up. However, the boys were getting tired and when Kevin went off less confident. With 10 min to go, their centre again ran through our line and scored and with three min to go, after sustained action, Kent managed to score to go ahead for the first time in the game. The kick was good and with three min of hard work to go, the game was history. Thanks to all those who went, we were well hosted at Boston Pizza.

Players: Mark Hall, Dylan Kinch, Nathan Rowbottom, Jeremy Young, Bob Mavro, Joel
Leonard, Vic Blaney, Jon Jeske, Derrick Weber (C), Mike Stuart, Alex Stevenson, Devon Kinch, Kevin Erb

Coaches Report:
It is too bad we let what would have been a magnificent win get away, but we certainly do not want to criticize the effort of everyone who played. We got tired on a hot day covering for a two man overlap after a two and a half hour car ride. Thanks to all those players who could make it.

Man of the Match: The thirteen of you

Their man of the Match: Alex Stevenson- Alex scored 4 of the 5 tries that we scored against Kent in two games.

Our man of the Match: Their 13 who scored all three tries.

Cambridge Away

Grimsby Gentlemen 12: Cambridge Pirates 38

Referee: Scott Flemming

Weather: Rained in the morning and all the way up, but stopped when we got there and turned warm and muggy. The field was in great shape.

Attendance: Small but vocal, our supporters bus must have got lost.

Presidents Report: Once again for the second away game we end up short players. Thank you to all of those who did make the effort. We showed up with 14 and Cambridge loaned us a flanker to put on the wing (he kind of tried). We did not seem to be able to get into the game and were immediately put on the back foot by good attacking moves in the backs by Cambridge. It was often like a touch game as we did not tackle well and let the opponents run through us. Cambridge scored after about 3 min and then again 5 min later after a quick penalty. They scored three more times in the half and converted 4 of them.

First half game score: Grimsby Gentlemen 0; Cambridge 33

However, a different team showed up in the second half and we began to shut them down and they could not run as much against us. There was no score for the first 35 min of the half and then Mike S. picked up a loose ball on their 5 m line and scored. This caused Cambridge to come alive and in a couple of minutes scored again. However, Grimsby was not done and Mike scored his second of the game after the forwards (Jon Millington) did a great job attacking with the ball. Derrick W. converted.

Second half game score: Grimsby 12; Cambridge 5

Unfortunately. we have to add the half scores together.

Coaches Report: I was strange that the two halves were so different as there was no change in conditions and their captain said that any changes they made at half were not for better players. We again had difficulty with the set pieces, we had difficulty at the base of the scrum and stopping the wheel. The lineouts were also as dismal. We improved in that we took fewer penalties (only one - led to a try); thanks Scott. Especially in the first half we did not tackle well in the open and did not communicate with each other. Poor ups. We did have a number of people playing out of position and a player on the other team on our side but our tackling was poor and coverage slow. We need to get to the games and take the warm up seriously and we may be able to surprise a few of these teams.

Players: Mark Hall, Dylan Kinch, Jon Millington, Jeremy Young, Kevin Murphy, Scott Walker, Dean Gibson, Vic Blaney, Jon Jeske, Derrick Weber (C), Bob Mavro, Mike Stuart, Alex Stevenson, Kevin Erb, An Other.

Subs: Nathan Rowbottom came on for the last 10 min for Kevin M.

Man of the match : Mike Stuart for his two tries but honourable mention to Jon Jeske for his hard work along with Vic Blaney.

Other teams choice: Vic Blaney
Our choice: their 10, along with their 9

Next week we need to get everyone to Kent and make a game of it. Kent has not seen how well we can play.

Season Scorers:

Derrick Weber: 1 T, 4 C 13 points
Alex Stevenson: 2 T 10 points
Mike Stuart: 2 T 10 points
Dylan Kinch: 2 P 6 points

Kent at Grimsby

Kent At Grimsby June 13/09

Grimsby Gentlemen 21: Kent Havoc 0

Referee: Brian Chappell

Weather: Started overcast but got sunny and warm to 23 degrees, little wind

Attendance: For a nice day a little low at 600.

President's report: A good day for rugby, since we won our first game in four attempts, and we even had enough players at warm up time. Kent were big boys but had difficulty in putting very much together and we answered whatever they had with a solid defence. We had difficulty at lineouts but were awesome in the scrums. We were often undisciplined and several times gave unnecessary penalties to make up for the good work. Alex S scored is first try for Grimsby after chasing down a kick the ball bounced into his hands and he put it down under the posts. The conversion by Derrick W. was good.

Half time score Grimsby 7 Kent 0

I am sure Kent felt they should not be behind in the game but they really had difficulty getting through our defence and did not threaten to score in the second half. Eventually (about 15 min to go) Alex scored his second try with a nice aggressive run through the middle to the try line. Derrick W. completed his second conversion. And with about 10 min to go Derrick scored his try and converted.

Well done everyone.

Players: Nathan Rowbottom, Mark Hall, Jon Millington, Jeremy Young, Dean Gibson, Bob Mavro, Joel Leonard, Vic Blaney, Jon Jeske, Derrick Weber(C), Kevin Erb, Mike Stuart, Alex Stevenson, Alex Millar, Frank Shilte.

Subs played: Andy Breuls for Mark Hall at half, Scott Walker for Jeremy Young at 50 min, Colin Maisonneuve for Dean Gibson at 60 min, Eli Raddick at 70 min.

Coaches Report:We did what we had to do for our first win of the season, namely shut down their fatties and tire them out. I was wrong in that their forwards were not as good as expected and the backs better. Alex's first try was because he chased down a kick (by himself) and got the bounce. His second try in the second half was straight ahead, determined running. Well done Alex. A good run by Derrick, put icing on the cake. Generally, we tackled high and tried to grab instead of driving with the shoulder. Next week we need to be better on the ups, less hiding in the rucks, and we need to support our runners more. The only good thing abour the lineouts is they saw us at our worst. We will be better next time. Next game in Cambridge.

My Man of the Match Alex Stevenson for his tries and hard tackling
Their pick: Alex Stevenson (first time they are the same)
Our pick: Their fullback

From Under the Willow:

Great job by the front five in scrums. Thanks Nathan for the last three games.

Wilmot Away

At Wilmot on Saturday June 6

Grimsby Gentlemen 0: Wilmot Warthogs 28 (default score)

Referee Adam Wilhelm

Conditions: a great day for rugby (not so good for Grimsby)

President's Report:

Our first away game this season, saw us travel with only thirteen players. Injuries, work, other led to a undersized squad. We borrowed a couple of players and had an exhibition game which turned out to be entertaining for most of the game. The score at the half was only 12 to 8 for the opposition with Mike ? borrowed from the other team scoring our first try of the season and his for Grimsby (this lead to a Zulu). Wilmot put in some stronger players and scored 4 tries in the second half.

Players: Nathan Rowbottom, Mark Hall, Jon Millington, Jeremy Young, Kevin Murphy, Joel Leonard, Bob Mavro, Vic Blaney, Jon Jeske, Derrick Weber(C), Chris Sears, Kevin Erb and Alex Millar

Coaches Report

Not much to say, it is very difficult for us to do well with only thirteen players.
Mark Hall was conscripted into Hooker and we may never get him out of there. We did have some difficulty on our own ball, but managed to push their pack around a few times. The back row did a yeoman's job of stopping their short game. Great games were again played by Jon J. at 9 and Vic B. at 8.

Coaches man of the match: Joel Leonard
Our pick for man of the match: their and our winger (Mike)
Their pick: Vic Blaney

Next game at home to Kent on June 13.

Beamsville at OFSAA

The Beamsville Girl's team was probably underrated at A/AA OFSAA in Belleville this past week. Their first game on Monday was against the number three seed Park Street of the Georgian Bay District. The game was tied 5-5 after full time and it went to several penalty kicks before Park Street went ahead. On Tuesday, with Beamsville on the consolation side of the draw, they defeated St Paul of Ottawa 22 to 0 in the morning. In the afternoon, it was again a nail biter as Beamsville tied the game late and missed the kick as the ball blew over. In overtime kicks it went to the fifth kicker before Beamsville came out the winner. In the consolation championship on Wednesday, the team came out flat and lost 12-0 to Burlington Central. Congratulations to all the girls and their coaches and with all the players back next season, they look to be strong again.

Paul Rohner

On May 31, 2009(actually last year) we inducted Paul Rohner as a life member in the Grimsby Gentlemen Rugby Football Club as an exceptional player, executive member and builder of the club. Paul was to be inducted at last years end of year dinner, but he had just had a knee operation and could not be there. This is essentially the text of the speech inducting Paul by Bill Stuart, President of the Club. Most of the speech was read from information given by Chris Atkinson also a life member of the club. Thanks to many of the St Catharines's team who stayed for the ceremony.

If you think we are slow on the field, we are even slower recognizing people in our organization who have given greatly to the organization. We chose St Cathatines to honour Paul because he loved to play against them. Paul played with the club since the mid eighties and Chris remembers him being smaller, as many of us were and starting out as a winger. Yes Paul was small, but Chris cannot ever remember his being quiet. As a younger player, Paul played in the backs but found his position in the forwards as an eight man who was exceptional at reading scrums and lineouts both offensively and defensively. He became a great open field runner and tackler.

In the late eighties and early nineties, he was a stalwart player for our team, quite feared in the league both on the field and in the bar. When the Gents took a short hiatus, both he and Chris played for Ancaster and Paul was instrumental in getting the club re-established in the league (probably because he did not want to drive through any more cornfields with Chris). Through his post with the Club as Minister of Gambling, he could get people to bet on anything, like the Grey Cup, 649 numbers or who would go to the bathroom next. He could raise significant money, $5 a square at a time.

Some things to know about Paul:

He is fiercely loyal - he once lost a job to hang out with Chris and a few cases of beer which led to a lost week during which he still claims to have met Mark Twain. He also slept in Chris's truck and when Chris's sister found him, she thought it was a dead body.

He is a great cook. His food is legendary with a mixture of British, German and Italian influences. Chris knows where the first two came from, but not the third. The evidence of this proficiency can be seen on the bellies of a few members around the foom. (Paul won this year's New Year's Chilli contest, without really being invited.)

The straight arm was his friend and if you played in the NRU at that time and didn't get one, then you weren't around the ball.

He is a great conversationalist, just give him a few beers and sit him down with Donny Mac. Chris writes "We could have had the best rugby team on the planet if we could have turned any of those drunken schemes in to actual plays."

He once threw up in Chris's kit bag because he did not want to throw up on the shag carpet in Skid's dad's motor home.

He would buy all kinds of Schnapp sat the duty free on the trips to Batavia to test in the hotel room. He was one of the few who liked the taste.

Paul had a high tolerance for pain and played through a lot without showing it. He had shoulder problems, back problems and was finally done in by a knee problem caused not by rugby but by ball hockey. And speaking of heart, few played as hard or wore the Grimsby rugby jersey with such pride as Rohns. (When I was making the sign for the clubhouse, I had to call Rohns to make sure it matched the tattoo of the Grimsby crest on his leg.)

He was inspirational to his fellow players and universally feared in open play. We were never better than when we played open field, multi-phased running games and he was a great part of that, although Cris remembers getting yelled at a lot from this angry German both off and on the field.

Paul is a good man, a determined and gifted athlete, a great friend and he deserves all the allocades you can give him. From Chris "Sorry I am not there to buy you a beer Rohns, but I lift a glass in your honour often.

As president, I would like to add that Paul has done a great deal in working towards the completion of the clubhouse by getting us materials and simply doing the work. He and Michelle have also run 649 lotteries to generate money for the clubhouse.

Paul it is my great honour to award you with a life membership in the Grimsby Gentlemen Rugby Football Club.

Brooker Cup May 31 09

Grimsby Gentlemen 3: St Catharines Tigers 17

referee: Jeff Dahl
conditions: Cool (14 degrees) but clear with a swirling wind
attendance: 700 (a new record)

Ball sponsored by Wayne Hoskins a visitor from Bedwas, Wales


President's Report

Basically we played well but several injuries caused problems especially with the offence. We were without the services of Kyle W. and Kevin M. We lost Alex M., Mike S., Derrick W and several players played with injuries. Jon J. went to scrum half for Kevin E.(injured arm) at 25 min and played very well for his first time in many years. Sean P. (nice to see him back)came on at full back about the same time and Craig E. came on at #10 at the half. Colin M played the second half for his first ever rugby game and looked at home especially running with the ball. Chris S. played well on the wing for his second game since high school. Also Jeremy Young played his first game very well at lock. An experienced Nathan Robottom (as prop) played his first game for The Gentlemen as inside center and made some devastating tackles.

The social part went well again with Bob organizing and Bubbles cooking. Tori again was a stalwart behind the bar.

Team: Mark Hall, Dylan Kinch, Jon Millington, Jeremy Young, Dean Gibson, Bob Mavro, Joel Leonard, Vic Blaney, Kevin Erb, Derrick Weber, Mike Stuart, Alex Stevenson, Chris Sears, Jon Jeske, Alex Millar.

Subs used: Sean Padulo (25min), Colin Maisonneuve (40min), Craig Evans(40min),
Nathan Robottom (40min, Eli Raddick (60 min)

injured: Kevin Murphy

Score Line: Dylan Kinch (penalty kick)




Coaches Report:

For the second game we could not generate a strong enough offence to keep the ball in the other team's end for extended periods. The first half was against the wind and we hoped to get out without a score. However, they scored a try from a rolling mall at the lineout from about 10 m after 25 min. During one of the rare occasions in their end in the first half, Dylan scored a penalty kick (he is 2 for 2 on the season and our only scoring points). But the tigers scored at the end of the half off a quick penalty and converted

Half time score: Gentlemen 3: Tigers 12

A little more offence in the second half but not sustained and we were often on the back foot in defence. Tigers score at 55 min. and even though we pressed a little, we cannot get any more points.

Final Score: Gentlemen 3: Tigers 17

Player of the match: John Jeske for starting on the wing and doing a great job as a replacement for scrum half.
St Catharines choice: Sean Padulo
Our choice from the Tigers: their outside centre

Generally, we were on the back foot most of the game, letting them come to us. We need to have a stronger up and need to do less ball watching but spreading out on the flat line and looking up the field at our opposite number. We are still weak at rucking but better than last week and establish the slow ball plays and use the patterns. We need to block more at lineouts and hold the ball before the scrum half gets it.




From Under the Willow

The lads showed great enthusiasm and look like they are having fun out there, which is the whole point. Well done.

With a lot of new players, you still have to come together and gel as a team and the injuries did not help. The new players played very well considering.

We might have kicked away to much ball in the second half, perhaps we should give it to the forwards and let them sort it out.

I liked #5 (Dean) who may not have knowen where to go all the time, but was a pest to the other team and poached a couple of balls. Your #8 (Vic) played well as did the first scrum half (Kevin) who played with great enthusiasm until we lost two ball at the end of the ruck (actually Kevin hurt his arm).