
Marlborough 12 – 23 St Austell
Spring had sprung! Just a couple of days after the equinox and The Common had started to look a little more welcoming than it has during the long winter. This was to be the penultimate game for the 1st XV and something of a ‘must-win’ match for the boys.
However, from as early as the training session on Thursday evening, it became apparent that this would likely be an uphill struggle. The squad was depleted – through a mixture of injury, planned absence, and late-notice duty commitments for some of our Armed Forces players. It meant a team sheet that boasted three backs on the bench and no front-row replacements. This would not be a great situation against a team like St Austell – typical of our opponents in the south-west, with plenty of ‘farmer strength’ up front! The coaching staff and all the players were under no illusion about how tough this would be…
Marlborough started badly. In the first three minutes, we conceded two penalties. St Austell seized the advantage and kicked a goal from the second one to go three points up. But the men of Marlborough struck back right away, building up the pressure through the phases and gifting fly-half, Sione ‘Jay’ Matakaiongo, a breakaway run. He is a really strong runner and slipped a neat off-load in the tackle to our big centre, Kevini Tuaimei’api, who powered further up-field, popping the ball back to Jay, who threw an accurate pass to winger and vice-captain, James Adams, who went the last few metres and scored a great try in the corner. Sadly, and out of keeping with his usual accuracy, Jay could not add the extras from the tee. But it was Marlborough 5-3 St Austell inside ten minutes.
St Austell came back with gusto, and applied a considerable amount of pressure. Their set-piece was better than ours and so they had a constant advantage at the scrum and line-out. From an attacking line-out, they went through several phases, using their forwards to punch into the Marlborough defence. Eventually, it was their blindside flanker who went over to score, but their kicker missed the conversion. A quarter-of-an-hour played, and it was Marlborough 5-8 St Austell.
For the next twenty-five minutes, the large crowd was treated to some high-quality and fast-paced rugby. Both sides were working hard to develop the momentum to break through the other’s defence, but both sides stood firm. Neither side was taking any chances in a cagey period of action. Finally, Marlborough got the break-through! We went through the phases, with the forwards picking and going short distances from each breakdown, before scrum-half, Manatu Leileifi, whizzed a pass to the backs. The ball went through the hands to full-back, Akariva Seruvatu. He took the ball on the half-way line, and then did what Aka does best – sprinting! He went down the touchline, out-pacing the entire St Austell defensive back-line, and touched down under the posts – at the Chairman’s feet, to boot! Jay stepped up and added the extras with ease.
Half-time: Marlborough 12 – 8 St Austell
During the half-time break, the coaches and senior players sought to ‘steady the ship’ and to instil the right frame of mind in the squad. With several key players missing and with a number of the boys having to play out of their usual position on the field, the consistency and coherence that counts for so much in modern rugby was missing. We needed to focus and to settle, so that our second half challenge of playing up the slope would not overwhelm us.
Our defence held firm from the re-start and, even though they had the slope advantage, St Austell were not able to find the kind of tempo they would need. However, under pressure, the Marlborough scrum started to suffer and our forwards were penalised repeatedly… On the fifty-minute mark, the pressure told and St Austell scored an unconverted try through another attacking line-out from a penalty kick to touch. Clean ball, and then good phase-play by the forwards and strong running by their backs paid off. Marlborough 12-13 St Austell… knife-edge stuff!
Marlborough responded in the right way – and we came very close on a number of occasions, including what seemed like a sure thing under the posts, but we just couldn’t finish it off and the points went begging. St Austell were better drilled and used the slope and their line-out proficiency to good advantage, pressing home two more tries – one on 73 minutes and one on the last play of the game. Whilst neither of these tries was converted, the second one meant we could not secure a losing bonus point, and so came away empty-handed.
Final score: Marlborough 12- 23 St Austell.
So, real disappointment on The Common. It was a very good game of rugby to watch and our opposition were ‘good sports’ and stayed on in the Clubhouse for a noisy match tea, players of the match awards and a few beers – great rugby community stuff. We suffered from late-season player availability, and the need to play a number of the boys out of position. All credit to tight-head prop, Keli Livai, who put in a massive shift – especially noteworthy given he had not played in the front row before this season and only made the big step up from the 2nd XV in the previous match against Ivybridge. Aka and James Adams were both out of position; Jason Uipi went from hooker to prop during the game.
On a much more positive note, it is difficult to overstate Jay’s contribution. He’s a very young player (just 18 years old) and has played at 9, 10, 12, and 15 this season, without complaint. He has also taken on kicking duties, just to add to the pressure…! And, not to put too fine a point on it, we saw a 1st XV debut from Vili Vunipola – the latest in a long line of high-class rugby pedigree now playing in the black and gold of Marlborough! Our future is bright!
When you lose, it can be difficult to identify a ‘player of the match’ as the whole team shoulders the burden of the loss. Luckily, in rugby, no matter what the result, there are always prizes and awards made by the two teams in the Clubhouse afterwards. The St Austell captain graciously nominated our own captain, Chris Diamond, for this award… the penalty for which – in true rugby club style – is to down a pint of our finest beer!










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2nd XV (The Nomads) v. Royal Wootton Basset III (away)
On the back of their first defeat this season, on Saturday 1 March away to Colerne, the Nomads were looking to come back stronger than ever. That loss – by a mere two points had dented the 2nd XV’s chances of having an undefeated season, but they stayed top of the table in a commanding position. Thus, the short trip over the hill to Royal Wootton Bassett was eagerly awaited by the boys.
With the 1st XV depleted through injury and absence, the Nomads had given up some of their usual players and, like the 1st XV, were obliged to field some of the players out of position. But a robust and fully-focussed warm-up ironed out the creases and we were good to go! From the off, it was clear that the Nomads meant business. Good, consistent, and coherent play that saw forwards and backs linking well put centre, Taine Pollinger, over for the first score of the afternoon after just six minutes! Fly-half and vice-captain, Roko Waicolayawa, stepped up and added the conversion and we were 0-7 to the good.
Just six minutes later, we scored another try, through a smart move and some fine handling through the backs to put our flying winger, Aisake Natui, over for a try; Roko couldn’t make the conversion, but the boys had their tails up! Scarcely two minutes later, we scored again – our blindside flanker, Poseci Rokoua, powering over for a great score! This afternoon, Roko was unusually inaccurate from the tee and missed the conversion.
In order to give him a little more practice, our forwards went through the phases again and released the backs at speed. Centre, Waisake Laulaba, smashed through to score. And, yes, Roko added the extras! RWB 0-24 Marlborough and we’d only played a quarter of the game. Fine stuff from the Nomads.
On the half-hour, Bassett were rewarded with a decent try by their Number 8, which was neatly converted by their fly-half. But the Nomads came right back, building the pressure through the phases and then unleashing our powerful back line. Laulaba it was again, scoring out wide; Roko couldn’t quite get the angle from the tee, but it had been a first half all in favour of the Nomads as the referee blew up for the break.
Half-time: Royal Wootton Bassett III 7- 29 Marlborough 2nd XV
From the re-start, the Nomads came out firing on all cylinders, scoring almost immediately through another fine run down the wing by Natui; not converted, it brought the scoreline to a healthy RWB 7-34 Marlborough. We then had a period of some fifteen minutes of back-and-forth rugby, with neither side gaining an advantage to exploit… Marlborough broke the deadlock just before the hour mark, with a try for our other winger, Ratu Dereduadua, who put the ball down with some ease, gifting Roko and easy conversion kick. RWB 7-41 Marlborough. Come on, you Nomads!
A try a minute later for full-back, Josefa Rokoua, and another five minutes after that for Laulaba – his hat-trick! Although neither of these tries were converted by Roko, the Nomads had established an unassailable lead with just fifteen minutes to go. RWB 7-51 Marlborough. But then we obviously had a ‘senior moment’ and took our collective eye off the ball. A yellow card meant we were down to fourteen men, and Bassett seized the opportunity, scoring twice in quick succession and bringing the scoreline to a more respectable RWB 21-51 Marlborough with some minutes still to play. Keeping the pressure on and maintaining their momentum in the dying minutes, Bassett scored again on the last play of the game – well-deserved. – but it was the Nomads’ afternoon as the referee brought things to a close. The Player of the Match accolade went to Laulaba – for his strong performance throughout.
Final score: Royal Wootton Bassett III 26 – 51 Marlborough 2nd XV
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YOUTH SECTION
What is it that they say? “If you want something doing, give it to a busy person!” This could not have been more accurate for our Chair of Youth, Amanda Palmer, on Saturday! Not only did we have the 1st XV at home against St Austell, and all the hosting and other activities that go along with our 1st XV fixtures, but we also had touring sides from Chiswick and Wimbledon! These visitors lined up against our Under 9s, our Under 12s, and our Under 14s in a massive ‘festival of rugby’ that was so big, it threatened relegating our senior men’s fixture to second billing!
As it was, a fabulous morning of rugby was had by all. In the highlight of the day, a match between the Under 12s, Chiswick came away victorious – three tries to seven – in a hotly-contested encounter that was thrilling to watch. Even better, all the children stayed on after their lunch and formed a fabulous tunnel for the senior teams to run on to the pitch through – quite the spectacle!
On Sunday (as if Saturday hadn’t been enough for Amanda!), many of our Minis were away to Chippenham for their ‘ChipFest’, whilst our Under 15s hosted Corsham on The Common in a league fixture. Defending #FortressMarlborough against powerful opposition is a tough ask, and our boys played really well, coming back from a 7-24 deficit at half-time to record a narrow defeat 24-38. Well done to all these young players – they are, after all, the future of our great Club!
It was a genuine pleasure to have had so much activity over the weekend. Whilst all the volunteers, coaches, parent helpers and other staff needed a good lie down on Sunday evening (!), seeing so many smiling faces and hearing all the cheering is wonderful and speaks volumes about the fine rugby community we have going on here at Marlborough.
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OUTLOOK
Well… this coming Saturday 29 March, our high-flying Nomads host Lytchett Minster on The Common in a quarter-final match in the Counties Cup competition. Lytchett Minster is the side the Nomads beat in the final at the very end of last season to claim the trophy… so we all expect they will be back and looking for revenge! The game kicks off at 2 p.m. and we will be delighted to have you with us.
In addition, the Women’s 6 Nations moves to Round 2 and on Saturday, we will be showing the Wales vs England match on our BIG screen – it kicks off at 4.45 p.m. so see you there!
Then, on Saturday 5 April, we have our final games of the senior men’s league competitions. The Common will see both the 1st XV and the Nomads playing at home, against Lydney and Devizes respectively. We will be well into Spring by then and we reckon the weather will be fabulous! So come on up to your Club and support these fine young men in their endeavours!
5 April will be another busy day, with the unveiling of our anniversary wall at lunchtime as well! Rugby was first played on the pitches on The Common that we play on today in the 1934 season – that’s ninety years ago! If you would like to purchase an engraved brick and be part of this unique memorial, please see Marlborough Rugby – …celebrating our history and securing our future… on the Club’s website.






St Michael’s raises bumper funds for Comic Relief and Down Syndrome Association


