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Blois Easter Tour 2010: Lewes play champagne rugby in France
7th April 2010
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Photos on this page courtesy of Alexa Kent
The men
Report by Dereck Wade
Lewes travelled to their Twin-Town, Blois in the Loire Valley for their Easter Tour, returning home with two excellent wins and without conceding a point. In so doing, they maintained the record of the Sussex Club over the past 43 years, having lost to Blois themselves only once – in 1987 – and then to last-minute drop goal!
In spite of various wine-tasting and gastronomic excesses – an obvious French ploy to try and weaken the opposition ! – Lewes nevertheless took to the field in their first match on Easter Saturday against local side, Bracieux, in high spirits. In muddy conditions, the Sussex side soon got into their stride, and eventually dominated the game in almost all areas, eventually running out easy winners by 44 – 0 with tries from Rocky Matatumua, Steve Mills, Sam Hutchinson, Tom Tudor, Ben Hanny (2), Chris Gorbell, and Matt Blunt, with 2 conversions from Matatumua.
On the Monday, and in fine, sunny, conditions, Lewes took on Blois' second XV – their 1st XV now being a Federale 2 semi-professional side, due to considerable support, financially and otherwise, from their local and regional Councils, and thus now too strong for the Sussex side who play several divisions lower in their equivalent league structure.
But the difference in standards between the Clubs was not obvious during the game itself, as Lewes quickly got onto the scoreboard after only 6 minutes when flanker Tom Tudor attacked on the right side of the field before passing the ball out wide to winger James Halpin who ran around the defence to score under the posts for a fine try, converted by Nick Sharp, to take the lead at 7 – 0.The next ten minutes saw the sides evenly matched, with Lewes attempting to play wide to their speedy wingers while Blois concentrated on the strength of their forwards. After 23 minutes, however, Lewes increased their advantage to 12 – 0 with a similar attack to the one which resulted in their first try, but this time with full-back Sam Hutchinson coming into the line to take advantage of the overlap for the visitors' second, unconverted, try. Just before the half-time whistle, Lewes were penalised in front of the posts for not rolling away from a ruck, but Blois's fly-half missed the kick, enabling the Sussex side to go at the break with a clear lead.
Five minutes in to the second half, pressure from Lewes on the half-way line saw them win possession, working the ball out to No. 8 Rupert Arbuthnot who then crashed through three tackles before off-loading to skipper Ben Hamer for a great try under the posts, converted by Sharp, to pull away at 19 – 0.
Lewes were now playing attractive, open rugby, their team-work and support impressing the large home crowd as they restricted the home side to within their own 22 metre zone for long periods. On 73 minutes, Lewes were rewarded with another try under the posts from Hutchinson after a fine, flowing move through the centre, Sharp's conversion seeing the visitors take a commanding 26 – 0 lead.
But Lewes saved their best for last, with a fantastic spell of rugby which saw the ball pass though almost every player's hands before Sharp touched down under the posts for the final try, which he also converted, to round off the match at 33 – 0. It was a credit to Lewes that the home crowd immediately stood and applauded such a fine example of champagne rugby, played in the French style but by a team from England ! It was almost impossible to pick put any single player after such a team performance, but after much deliberation, the judges from both countries awarded the Man of the Match Award to Rupert Arbuthnot.
Lewes Squad: Williams, Mason, Read, Horscroft, Gorbell, Hamer (Capt.), Tudor, Arbuthnot, Blunt, Terry, Mills, Sharp, Bell, Halpin, Hutchinson, Hanny, Wythe.
On Saturday, 10 April, Lewes visit undefeated and run-away League Champions Tonbridge Juddians for their last game of the season, k.o. 3.00pm.
The ladies
Lewes women vs Blois women
Score: 20 - 5
Match report by Rab Willis
Images courtesy of Alexa Kent
Lewes women's rugby club returned from French twin-town Blois after a successful, if a little messy, Easter Tour. The ladies were welcomed with open arms by Blois Rugby Club, the mayor and the twinning association, a testament to a 30 year-old relationship between the two clubs and a 47 year-old relationship between the two towns.
Following an impeccable welcome on the Saturday night and the men's game against local team Bracieux, the women kicked off a game of 12-aside. Blois ladies are a relatively new side and, used to playing 7s, are in their first season at 12s. Lewes, expecting a backs running game, decided upon a forwards strategy of bashing through and setting up the rucks, rolling the mauls. It took the first ten minutes for Lewes to organise themselves effectively, in which they gave away Blois's one and only try. However, it became clear that the tour spirit of togetherness was on their side as, for the first time in several games, Lewes began to move forward consistently as a team. Some excellent footwork from the backs was firmly halted as Blois's flawless tackling allowed no breaks. But after the first quarter, player of the match Ros Gilchrist saw a gap down the wing and exploited it for her first try. After this, and despite a little stomach trouble, she had a taste for it. Lewes's strategy seemed to be paying off as more and more Blois players got sucked into the forwards play leaving another gap for Gilchrist before half time.
Some valiant runs in the second half from Blois centres almost conceded more points, a particular threat being chips and chases over the defence from scrum-half Capucine Auger. Lewes veterans Jo Murray and Sonya Da Silva rescued and ran these back, strengthening the assault on the home side who struggled to retain possession.
Winger Cat Wiltshire's impressive attacks down were again halted on many occasions. But it was the backs quick hands and fast-thinking that allowed her the space to break through the strong defence. The last two tries, within 10 minutes of each other sealed the home team's fate.
A big big thank you to Blois Rugby Club, and in particular Les Kipiks ladies team and their captain Capucine Auger for a warm welcome and a good hard match. We hope to welcome you to Lewes next year for a re-match! A thank you also to the tour sponsors, Societe Generale.
The ladies are playing a friendly at Lewes this Saturday 10 April against touring Sheffielf University - 2pm kick-off, please come and support!
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