Difficult to believe, but Saturday 5 April brought the final two league fixtures of the 2024-25 season. The Common did us proud, with some of the sunniest weather we’ve ever seen up there! Notwithstanding, there was a stiff and chilly breeze and the ground was as hard as concrete, but apart from that, things were set fair! Our 1st XV and Nomads were well-prepared for their respective oppositions – Lydney RFC and Devizes IIs.
Marlborough 36 – 25 Lydney
Lydney was the first Club the 1st XV played way back in September 2024 at the start of this, our first season in the South West division, albeit our second season at Regional 1 level. Back then, it was a draw at 23 all, so both sides were looking to gain an upper hand, even at the very end of the season.
Thanks to the D&W walking rugby festival taking place at the Club and the unveiling of our 90th anniversary wall of engraved bricks, we had quite a crowd on the touchlines. And everyone was looking forward to a fast-paced game of rugby… Marlborough to play down the slope first.
Marlborough weathered considerable early pressure from Lydney and, against the run of play scored first – much to the delight of the home crowd! From a good solid scrum on the half-way line, our super-powerful Number 8, Jonasa Tabua, picked the ball up from the base and stormed forwards. He linked up neatly with his scrum-half, Manatu Leileifi, who passed to on-rushing flanker, Lotu Vunipola, running a great supporting line. Vunipola smashed over to score a fine try, which was expertly converted by fly-half, Will Grant. Marlborough 7-0 Lydney after 13 minutes.
From the re-start, Marlborough came under pressure from Lydney, but the defence held firm, allowing the boys to re-set time after time and even create their own attacking opportunities. When Marlborough was awarded a penalty on the 20-minute mark, Vunipola seized the chance for a quick tap-and-go, powering through a Lydney defensive line scrambling to get back the 10 metres… from Vunipola, the ball was quickly shipped through the hands to flying winger, Dylan Davies, who dashed the last few metres to score! This try was not converted, but the 12-0 lead felt justified.
We now had a really exciting game being played in good conditions. To add to the excitement, Lydney scored one of their own, through their powerful winger (Dunn) who was starting to give our back line a deal of trouble. Not converted. Marlborough 12-5 Lydney. In response, Marlborough extended the lead further with another quickly taken penalty after some good build-up work by our forwards. Leileifi spotted a narrow gap and went for it – scoring a great try right under the posts, which was converted by full-back, Sione ‘Jay’ Matakaiongo who had assumed kicking duties from Grant. Marlborough 19-5 Lydney and all looked good with just five minutes left in the first half…
As if by magic, the men of Marlborough chose this moment to ‘switch off’ a bit, much to the coaches’ annoyance! We were guilty of some extremely poor defending and this meant that Lydney scored twice – both times through their fly-half (Harrison); whilst neither try was converted, we went into the break with our lead much-reduced and some stiff words from the staff at half-time…
Half-time: Marlborough 19 – 15 Lydney
The pep talk obviously worked, and Marlborough came out of the blocks for the second half with purpose. With forwards and backs working well together, we made our way slowly but surely up the pitch. Loose-head prop, Simon Pilkington, picked up the ball from the base of the ruck and stormed over for a good try after scarcely five minutes of play. ‘Jay’ added the extras and we started to breathe again. Marlborough 26-15 Lydney and a try bonus point in the bag!
And we scored again straight from the re-start! Vunipola caught the ball and made a fabulous 20-metre break before off-loading to Leileifi who beat two defenders and went the distance to score a spectacular diving try, easily converted by Jay. Marlborough 33-15 Lydney after eight minutes of play in the second half. Barely a minute later, and Jay was on the scoresheet again, nailing a penalty goal from some distance and against the cross-wind – expertly done! Marlborough 36-15. In the bag, surely…
But you can’t turn your back on the opposition in rugby, and Lydney were keen to prove their worth, scoring two well-worked tries within the space of about five minutes – Broady first and then Alford. Both tries were ‘gifts’ from the Marlborough defensive set-up and missed tackles; neither was converted. Marlborough 36-25 Lydney and, with twenty minutes left to play, things were looking tense…
But we weathered the storm and held our nerve. The home crowd cheered loudly as the referee blew up to end the game and the league season for the 1sts. A try bonus point win at home in the sun was all anyone could have wished for!
Final score: Marlborough 36- 25 Lydney
What an exciting game! We did make life more difficult for ourselves than was necessary, and it came closer than we would have liked, due to some unforced errors and a lack of concentration in defence at times. But a win is a win is a win, as they say and the overall feeling was one of elation. We saw a decent collective performance from the boys, and some fine individual showings from Lotu Vunapola (who was our Player of the Match), Manatu Leileifi (who since joining has not had a bad game!), Sione Tamale (played his best game since joining the Club, with some big carries and hard tackles), and Kieran Brown (who came off the bench and made a real impact in defence). Also a special mention and a massive Marlborough “thank you” to hooker, Jason Uipi, who returns to the USA – you will always be welcome on The Common! Finally, although he ended up in Swindon A&E, we now know that our winger, Akariva Seruvatu is not seriously injured and we wish him a speedy recovery.
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2nd XV (The Nomads) v. Devizes II (home)
The Marlborough 2nd XV has had an outstanding season. Top of the Counties 2 table, having played 17 games and only lost one and having notched up more than 720 points scored so far… This was to be the Nomads’ final game of the league this season, and so it was a delight to have them also at home and alongside their 1st XV brothers on The Common. Devizes II have had a difficult season, but were determined to play this fixture, even though the odds were stacked against them
As the final score was an eye-watering Marlborough 121-5 Devizes, it is probably easier simply to list the scorers and highlight a few key points from this game:
- Powerful centre, and Player of the Match in the previous fixture, Waisake Laulaba scored a fine hat-trick inside 25 minutes, before graciously agreeing to be subbed off!
- Winger, Ratu Dereduadua, was set free on a number of occasions and made good his running line to score a hat-trick for himself – one each side of half-time and a third in the dying minutes.
- Skipper for the day and outside centre, Seb Grew, scored a hat-trick – all three in the second half!
- Blindside flanker, Tevite Tuisue scored a brace; as did loose-head prop, Keli Livai, who has only played in the front row since the start of this season!
- Ed Mills came off the bench and scored. Ed was wearing a Nomads shirt alongside his father, Stuart, also on the team sheet! Returning veteran Nomad and Number 8, Ben Beanland, got himself on the scoresheet; as did fellow back-rower, Wate Kuli. Sam Tokatokavanua, off the bench, scored a great try.
- Young Vili Vunipola, at fly-half, scored once and went on to be named Player of the Match for a fine 80 minutes, bossing the scrum and backs alike.
- And ‘the golden boot’ went to scrum-half, Ratu Viniivi, who scored a try himself and converted seven of the Nomads’ 19 tries! Not far behind was full-back, Josefa Rokoua, who added the extras to five of the tries!
All-in-all a very satisfying afternoon for the Nomads on The Common. These boys are now in contention for promotion and to win the Counties’ Cup. On Saturday 12 April, they play Oakmeadians RFC on The Common to see who gets promoted to Counties 1 for next season. Then, after Easter, there will be a Cup semi-final against Wimborne on The Common, and (fingers crossed) a Cup final in the offing…
Please come to support the Nomads – they work hard in your name and deserve great credit!
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Walking Rugby
Before the two senior men’s games got underway on The Common, the Club hosted the Dorset & Wiltshire RFU walking rugby festival. With teams from rugby clubs right across the counties, we had Marlborough, Trowbridge, Amesbury, Wheatsheaf, Royal Wootton Bassett, Melksham, Chippenham, Devizes, and Salisbury all vying for the silverware!
On the day, although the walkers from Marlborough won six of their eight matches, it was the squad from the Wheatsheaf that took the prize and the Cup was passed to them from last year’s winners, Chippenham. A great day in the sun for all.
Walking Rugby is a simple version of rugby and is suitable for ex-players, injured players, and non-players of all ages, abilities and gender who enjoy an active and physical and, above all, competitive passing game using a rugby ball. The health benefits of walking rugby are widely acknowledged and appreciated by all who join in. Our club reps will be happy to hear from you if you would like to become part of the team!
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Youth Section Action
As ever, Sunday was a busy day for the Club’s Youth Section. Some of our teams were travelling to Newbury for joint training and competitive matches, other squads were training on The Common, alongside the Under 13s and Under 14s who were hosting teams from Cheltenham Tigers and Supermarine respectively.
The Under 13s coaches report that Tigers are a well-known and very good team, so the game was predicted to be a tough one. At the final whistle, the score was Marlborough 2 tries – 3 tries Cheltenham. Whilst the boys were disappointed, it was a thrilling encounter, played in exactly the right spirit. The Marlborough boys can be proud of their defensive play and of their performance at the breakdown. All the tries in the game were scored in the first half and so, whilst scoring opportunities went begging for both sides, the second half was a taut yet exciting affair. Well done to all the boys for their efforts.
The Under 14s team management are delighted with a win! Once the Marlborough boys ‘woke up’ and got into their stride, it was a good performance from the whole team. It was fabulous to see everyone playing with smiles on their faces and in the warm April sunchine! The final score was Marlborough 46-24 Supermarine. A great win! Well done to all the boys and to the parents who supported from the touchlines!
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Club Life
This weekend was an especially busy one for the Club! With the crowd up for the Dorset & Wiltshire RFU walking rugby festival, all of those who came to support the senior men on Saturday, and all those encouraging the younger ones on Sunday we probably had a thousand people through the doors of the Club!
We were very fortunate to have had the Town Council with us for the unveiling of the wall of engraved bricks on the exterior of the Clubhouse marking the 90th anniversary of us playing rugby on the pitches on The Common where we play today! We are especially grateful to the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Emily Trow, who cut the ribbon on the wall in the presence of a good number of people – Town Councillors, the Club Committee, former players and Club officials, other long-time supporters and Club stalwarts, and the many members and supporters who have purchased bricks that will form an enduring memorial to rugby on The Common.
There are a limited number of bricks left to purchase – please see the form here for more information: Marlborough Rugby – …celebrating our history and securing our future…
As mentioned above, the Nomads have more rugby to play. Please come up to The Common to support them in their fixtures against Oakmeadians RFC on Saturday 12 April. The kick-off in this all-important play-off for promotion game is at 14:30. The, on Saturday 26 April, the Nomads go again against Wimborne RFC in the Counties Cup semi-final match. The kick-off for that game is at 15:00. Support your local club – you know it makes sense!
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90 years on The Common and counting – Marlborough Rugby unveil memorial wall of granite bricks
