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Writtle Wanderers RUFC |
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Writtle Wanderers RUFC |
Report
The tour to Slovenia was one of the most action packed tours many of us have ever been on! A great game of rugby as a curtain-raiser to an international game, a white-water rafting trip in the mountains, an afternoon at the beautiful Lake Bled and a morning deep under the earth in a world famous cave system. Throw in a lot of very cheap beer and you have all the ingredients of a great tour...
Match Report
Rugby Klub Ljubljana XV v Writtle
Wanderers XV
Report by Mike Williams
WON 22 - 46
Scorers:
Tries: Campion 2, Janes, Morris, Smillie, Denenga, Hall, Girling
Convs: Janes, Hyett, Clackson
Man of the Match: John Smillie
Writtle Wanderers Touring Team arrived at
the ground in anticipation of a vigorous warm up before taking on their
opponents Ljubljana. The ground seemed somewhat unprepared with no white
lines indicating the touch line, and with several confused locals sitting in
the bar wondering what 31 men wearing tangerine and black were doing at
their local park. After a round of deliberations the realisation sunk in
that the players were in the wrong place, and not only did Ljubljana have 2
rugby pitches but they had 2 that were both next to driving ranges! The
weary Wanderers set off in a precession of taxis to their new venue, only to
realise on arrival it was a stones throw from their accommodation.
After a strenuous warm up of cigarettes and water the players kicked off,
whilst some of the lazier members of the club retired to the bar to sample
the local vodka and red bull. The hot weather meant Writtle adopted rolling
substitutes and plenty of water was needed. The host side looked to have a
fair deal of pace and skill in the backs. However the physical domination of
Writtle, especially in the front row, proved decisive. Tries were scored at
regular intervals, with Ben Campion notably handing off most of the
Ljubljana backs before crashing over the try line.
Jon Smillie put in a man of the match performance with some trademark
surging runs and No. 10 Tom Clackson looked composed as he began to run the
show, ably supported by his inside centre David Milburn. The biggest cheer
of the day was saved for Dean "Collina" Girling who managed to mark his
Wanderers debut by touching down for a try in the corner.
All in all the game was thoroughly enjoyable and both sides showed their
ability on the rugby field. The hot weather meant many of the Wanderers lads
had red faces by the end of the afternoon, none more so than Joel Simple!!!
The after match entertainment saw Ljubljana play against Lithuania in
another entertaining encounter, with the Wanderers side happy to cheer on
the victorious host nation. With Mexican waves being sent around the
capacity crowd at frequent intervals the Writtle players certainly left
their mark on Ljubljana. Again none more so than Joel Simple
Photo Gallery
To see a load of photos of the weekend, please follow the link below to the PhotoBox gallery: