The Inaugural Stratford Audi Charity Touch Trophy at Banbury saw a fantastic day’s rugby culminate in a deserved victory for Northampton Old Scouts who were crowned champions & with the event as much about fund-raising for the British Heart Foundation & faces old and new to the club both on & off the pitch coming together it has to be deemed an outstanding success. Over £1200 was raised for the charity on the day & over 300 people came up to Bodicote Park for what could become a regular fixture in the Club’s calendar.
With the threatened deluge failing to materialise, & the rain stopping just after Bodger & Grant had marked the pitches, the tournament got under way & it quickly became apparent that the Old Scouts side would be the team to beat as their experience in the Northampton Touch Leagues stood them in good stead. A feisty encounter with Banbury Colts illustrated that the rugby would be keenly contested and as the group stages got played out it was apparent that it was a case of who would be joining Old Scouts in the tournament semis.
Stratford Audi All Stars, a team containing 5 former first team captains - Bomber Thurlow; Rob Cockerton; Will Brooks; Matt McNally & Andrew Collett - plus other former first teamers Andy Noyce; Stuart Viggers; Simon Brown; Mark Clark & Will Deeley, just edged out the Colts in the group 1 decider while the two Banbury Senior Sides Noahs Ark Raiders – containing Pete Flemming, Simon Brand, James Taylor & Pete Papenfus - & Clarks Cavaliers – who included Nick Clark & Sean Bannister – made up the top competition foursome.
The Cavaliers were despatched by Old Scouts in the first semi-final but the second match between the Raiders & the All Stars set the tournament alight as firstly Matt Goode stepped through to equalise for the All Stars on the final whistle to set up sudden death extra time and Goode repeated his trick moments after Keith Steptoe had just failed to hold onto a pass from Simon Brand that would have seen the Raiders through.
The Colts, having beaten the club’s under 16s in a clash that wonderfully illustrated the talent coming through the junior ranks, then faced The Supreme Concrete Dream Team, Banbury’s vets side, in the Plate Final. The Colts showed how well they had adapted to the requirements of the non-contact version of the game repelling all that the Old Nicks could throw at them with former first team captains Dave Hebden & John Baker to the fore & ably led by Steve Mascall who provided one of the moments of the day as a deftly placed (and thoroughly illegal) cross-field kick to Phil Stone revealed a skill well hidden for the last 3 decades! The colts ultimately came out on top 3 tries to nil but with talent aged 17 to 50 on show it was the perfect warm up to the Cup Final.
Old Scouts were quickly into their stride with skipper James Nimmo setting up 2 tries in the first 2 minutes & it looked like a repeat of the 6-1 group stage drubbing for the All Stars was on the cards. However the All Stars had also adjusted to the demands of the game & a line break by Andrew Collett reduced the arrears & although Old Scouts made it 3-1 just before half time the game was by no means a foregone conclusion. Will Deeley, dummying as if in his heyday, looked to have reduced the arrears further but was called back for the faintest of touches, & then Mark Clark dived over in the corner after the deftest of passes from Rob Cockerton & another dose of extra-time excitement seemed likely. However, Old Scouts then showed their class & understanding of the game, keeping possession for the last couple of minutes & secured the trophy with 2 well-crafted late tries deservedly winning 5-2.
A huge list of thank you’s need to be extended to those that made the day possible. Firstly Phil Stone at PSM did a fantastic job in providing the playing shirts, up until 3am on the Saturday morning to ensure they were complete. The shirt sponsors Noah’s Ark (Pete Flemming); NDC Carpentry (Nick Clark); Supreme Concrete (Steve Mascall); Jamie Briggs Transport (Julian Briggs); Woodway Packaging (Jason Inwood) all ensured that the day had a unique feel & a big thank you goes out to Pete Nottingham at Stratford Audi for providing the Winners Trophy as well as sponsoring the All Stars. As ever we couldn’t have played without the referees & Andy Thompson did a great job stepping in “supported†by quite a few nurofen, as did Grant Holmes who played; ref’d & marked out the pitches!! Thank you also to all the players, some of whom hadn’t laced up boots & strapped up joints for quite a while, for turning out, particularly our friends from the Old Scouts who supported the day in great numbers & as ever in great spirit.
The day helped us (Barry Lalanne; David Phipps; Andrew Collett; Jon Wilson; Rhydian & Simon Purnell) generate a great amount of money towards our Charity Bike Ride – London to Paris – in September & there will be other events that will be run to help generate even more for a fantastic cause. Thank you for your support & roll on Paris!!