Kilburn Cosmos 19 - Old Abbotstonians 20
The Kilburn Cosmos dug themselves further into relegation danger with a loss to fellow strugglers Old Abbotstonians on Saturday. The 20-19 loss leaves them with just 2 points and in 2nd last place on the table, 4 points behind Abbotstonians.
Hopes were high that this game would see a turn around in the seasons fortunes for the Cosmos. But despite a good build up and the importance of the game the team still lacked urgency from the kickoff, conceding a converted try after just 3 minutes when a high ball into the Cosmos 22 was allowed to bounce, toed through into the ingoal and pounced upon by an Abbotstonian player.
Abbotstonians went another try up after 15 minutes with a brilliant lineout move in the Cosmos 22.
This finally woke the Cosmos up and they piled on the pressure for the next 15 minutes. A massive size advantage in the midfield looked to be the key for the Cosmos but numerous breaks by centres Peter Donaldson and Richey Cunninghame were shut down by scrambling defence and some costly turnovers.
After 30 minutes the pressure finally told and the Cosmos managed to make use of an overlap in the backs to send wing Mo Taguri in for a try out wide which was converted by fly half Andy Allan.
The turnaround was shortlived with Abbotstonians kicking a penalty 5 minutes later. The resulting kickoff was poor from the Cosmos giving the Abbotstonians a chance to run from mid pitch. A bad missed tackle by Cunninghame allowed them to break through and score in the corner taking the score to 20-7 which it remained at halftime.
The Cosmos still felt they had a huge chance in the game, feeling they were easily the better team but knowing they had to focus on a basic game plan of dominating possession and territory.
This paid dividends when captain Aly Bursey stormed over after 10 minutes in the half. The conversion by Allan taking the score to 20-14.
The Cosmos joy was shortlived soon after as after using their 2 subs at half time Kilburn were reduced to 14 men when lock John Fenlon ,who had been having another storming game, went off injured.
Immediately after Kilburn looked to be in huge trouble when Abbotstonians excellent No8 made yet another break from halfway and looked to be certain to score and take the game away from the Cosmos but a brilliant chase and tackle from Donaldson saw him hold up the Abbotstonians player 1 metre from the tryline. Under huge pressure on their tryline things suddenly got a lot worse for the Cosmos in the very next play when captain Aly Bursey was sent to the sin bin for killing the ball, leaving Kilburn with 13 men and facing an Abbotstonians 5 metre scrum. Excellent defence saw the Cosmos stop the attack then turnover the ball and clear to the halfway in what should have been a game turning moment. Fenlon bravely came back on and eventually Kilburn were restored to their full complement and looked set to take the game.
Big wing Gav Smales, in his comeback, looked set to win the game when he intercepted the ball in his own half and raced down the sideline only to get hauled down with 15 metres to go and give away a penalty for holding on.
With less than 10 minutes to go more pressure from Kilburn saw Andy Allan crash over after a 5 metre scrum to make it 19-20 and give himself a shot winning the game but unfortunately his conversion narrowly missed.
The last few minutes saw the Cosmos attacking from all over the pitch but in their quest for the winning points players found themselves in the wrong positions and passes going to the wrong people and again the final whistle went with the Cosmos agonisingly close to pulling off a victory but not good enough.
Player of the day went to veteran No 8 Shayne Whyte, who was playing his 50th 1st XV league game, a massive effort by the club stalwart. Fellow veteran Richey Cunninghame and his centre partner Peter Donaldson received the other MVP points. Top performances were also turned in by Hayden McKenzie and Chris Protherough in the front row, Paul Ledington and Fenlon in the second row and as usual flanker Aly Bursey who was captain for the day. Tom O'Connor also made an impact as a sub in the second half and Gav Smales looked a likely attacking weapon when given the ball.
Unfortunately the best player on the pitch and the key to the result was the Abbotstonians no8 - brilliant running, punishing defence, turnovers, killing Kilburns ball - well played
Kilburn 19 (Mohammed Taguri, Aly Bursey, Andy Allan tries, Allan 2 cons, pen)
Team: Hayden McKenzie, Chris Protherough, Ben Zaug, John Fenlon, Paul Ledington, Shayne Whyte, Aly Bursey, Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Andrew Allan, Karlos Gordon, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Mohammed Taguri, Chris Coane. Res: Tom O’Connor, Gavin Smales
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Harlequins Amateurs - 6th Dec 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 10 - Harlequins Amateurs 15
Different opponent, same result for the Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV as once again they lost a close game that was theirs for the taking. This time they went down 15-10 to top 4 placed Harlequins Amateurs on the boggy ground of Tiverton Green on Saturday.
Kilburn were confident of a good performance but once again a poor start left them chasing the game. Within the first ten minutes good field position gained by Quins saw them attack the blindside in the Cosmos 22 and a miscommunication saw 2 defenders tackling the flyhalf who off loaded to the unmarked winger who cantered in for a very soft try and opened up an early 5-0 lead to Quins.
Kilburn replied strongly but could never really get a roll on. Promising moves quickly broke down with bad passes, dropped balls or turnovers from isolated players and lack of support.
A raid into Quins territory saw the Cosmos with an attacking lineout deep in the Quins 22. Unfortunately the lineout ball was tapped down by Tom O’Connor straight into a Quins loosies hands. A poor attempt at a ball and all tackle by centre Richey Cunninghame allowed Quins to quickly move the ball to their backs who had a 2 man overlap with Cunninghame and fly half And Allan out of the picture after having to tackle the Quins forwards. The Quins backs used this unexpected ball brilliantly to score in the corner 80 metres down the field despite howls of protests over the last pass being forward. This was converted to leave the score 12-0 to Quins.
Bouncing back another Cosmos foray into the Quins 22 resulted in a penalty which Allan duly knocked over to make it 12-3 and finally get the Cosmos points on the board.
Apart from the 2 early tries the Quins offered little in the backs that troubled Kilburn but they themselves could make little headway with messy ball coming to fly half Andy Allan which hampered the backline. The most significant player in the first half was the Quins flyhalf who kept turning the Cosmos around with an excellent kicking game. Using the low sun he gave the Cosmos back three a very testing time and constantly got Quins into Cosmos territory.
With the half time score 12-3 Cosmos definitely felt like they were still in the game and were confident they could come back for the win.
The second half was pretty even with Kilburn dominating with the ball in hand but Quins still able to relieve the pressure and gain territory with their excellent kicking game and they got an early penalty to extend their lead to 15-3.
Eventually the Cosmos had reward for their toil with concerted pressure on the Quins line resulting in fly half Andy Allan bursting through for the try which he converted himself to make the score 15-10.
Kilburn had another great chance soon after when a charge down saw Peter Donaldson scoop up the ball on the Quins 22 and offload to Cunninghame but good scrambling defence and a lack of pace quickly saw him chopped down, ever present flanker Aly Bursey toed the resulting ball through but it just went dead in goal before he could reach it.
The last 15 minutes saw Kilburn mounting frenzied attacks to score the winning points but they could not find the try they were looking for and another win went begging.
The forwards played well once again with an excellent scrum dominating the opposition but did not seem to quite have the urgency they had displayed in recent weeks. It was only towards the end of the game when they really started to threaten with their fast paced offloading game with Aly Bursey and Declan Magee at the forefront.
The backs looked dangerous at times but a lack of good ball coming to fly half Allan and some poor options and hands did not help. Dan Riley, while having a difficult day with the high ball, popped up with some excellent runs and wings Wilson, Coane and Taguri looked threatening with the limited ball they received.
Injuries affected the Cosmos second half with halfback Liam MacManus having to be replaced after suffering a torn hamstring, prop Ben Zaug injuring his shoulder, no 8 Kurt Shrubsole having to go to the bloodbin and Cunninghame spending the last 20 minutes halfblind but these were no excuse for not coming through for the win.
The man of the match and 3 MVP points was given to flanker Aly Bursey for a typically industrious game with big John Fenlon getting 2 MVP points and Scott Aitken in his return from a nose job 1.
The loss leaves Kilburn with only one win from 8 and second last on the table with one game to go before the half way point.
Kilburn 10 (Andy Allan try, con, pen) Harlequins 10
Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, John Fenlon, Tom O’Connor, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken(c), Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Andy Allan, Hayden Wilson, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Chris Coane, Dan Riley. Res: Phil Morgan, Paul Ledington, Mo Taguri
Different opponent, same result for the Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV as once again they lost a close game that was theirs for the taking. This time they went down 15-10 to top 4 placed Harlequins Amateurs on the boggy ground of Tiverton Green on Saturday.
Kilburn were confident of a good performance but once again a poor start left them chasing the game. Within the first ten minutes good field position gained by Quins saw them attack the blindside in the Cosmos 22 and a miscommunication saw 2 defenders tackling the flyhalf who off loaded to the unmarked winger who cantered in for a very soft try and opened up an early 5-0 lead to Quins.
Kilburn replied strongly but could never really get a roll on. Promising moves quickly broke down with bad passes, dropped balls or turnovers from isolated players and lack of support.
A raid into Quins territory saw the Cosmos with an attacking lineout deep in the Quins 22. Unfortunately the lineout ball was tapped down by Tom O’Connor straight into a Quins loosies hands. A poor attempt at a ball and all tackle by centre Richey Cunninghame allowed Quins to quickly move the ball to their backs who had a 2 man overlap with Cunninghame and fly half And Allan out of the picture after having to tackle the Quins forwards. The Quins backs used this unexpected ball brilliantly to score in the corner 80 metres down the field despite howls of protests over the last pass being forward. This was converted to leave the score 12-0 to Quins.
Bouncing back another Cosmos foray into the Quins 22 resulted in a penalty which Allan duly knocked over to make it 12-3 and finally get the Cosmos points on the board.
Apart from the 2 early tries the Quins offered little in the backs that troubled Kilburn but they themselves could make little headway with messy ball coming to fly half Andy Allan which hampered the backline. The most significant player in the first half was the Quins flyhalf who kept turning the Cosmos around with an excellent kicking game. Using the low sun he gave the Cosmos back three a very testing time and constantly got Quins into Cosmos territory.
With the half time score 12-3 Cosmos definitely felt like they were still in the game and were confident they could come back for the win.
The second half was pretty even with Kilburn dominating with the ball in hand but Quins still able to relieve the pressure and gain territory with their excellent kicking game and they got an early penalty to extend their lead to 15-3.
Eventually the Cosmos had reward for their toil with concerted pressure on the Quins line resulting in fly half Andy Allan bursting through for the try which he converted himself to make the score 15-10.
Kilburn had another great chance soon after when a charge down saw Peter Donaldson scoop up the ball on the Quins 22 and offload to Cunninghame but good scrambling defence and a lack of pace quickly saw him chopped down, ever present flanker Aly Bursey toed the resulting ball through but it just went dead in goal before he could reach it.
The last 15 minutes saw Kilburn mounting frenzied attacks to score the winning points but they could not find the try they were looking for and another win went begging.
The forwards played well once again with an excellent scrum dominating the opposition but did not seem to quite have the urgency they had displayed in recent weeks. It was only towards the end of the game when they really started to threaten with their fast paced offloading game with Aly Bursey and Declan Magee at the forefront.
The backs looked dangerous at times but a lack of good ball coming to fly half Allan and some poor options and hands did not help. Dan Riley, while having a difficult day with the high ball, popped up with some excellent runs and wings Wilson, Coane and Taguri looked threatening with the limited ball they received.
Injuries affected the Cosmos second half with halfback Liam MacManus having to be replaced after suffering a torn hamstring, prop Ben Zaug injuring his shoulder, no 8 Kurt Shrubsole having to go to the bloodbin and Cunninghame spending the last 20 minutes halfblind but these were no excuse for not coming through for the win.
The man of the match and 3 MVP points was given to flanker Aly Bursey for a typically industrious game with big John Fenlon getting 2 MVP points and Scott Aitken in his return from a nose job 1.
The loss leaves Kilburn with only one win from 8 and second last on the table with one game to go before the half way point.
Kilburn 10 (Andy Allan try, con, pen) Harlequins 10
Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, John Fenlon, Tom O’Connor, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken(c), Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Andy Allan, Hayden Wilson, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Chris Coane, Dan Riley. Res: Phil Morgan, Paul Ledington, Mo Taguri
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Abbotstonians - 15th November 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 25 - Old Abbotstonians 30
Kilburn Cosmos were sunk by a last minute try in a close encounter with Old Abbotstonians on Saturday at Tiverton Green.
Despite dominating the set piece, stealing much of the oppositions’ ball, and generally getting off to a good start, Kilburn could not capitalise and failed to put points on the board early.
In a physical, end to end game, Kilburn’s opening play saw them push the visitors right back to their own line, only to lose the ball and quickly be driven back to their own 22 where an eagle-eyed Abbotstonian player took sharp chance at a drop goal and put the home side three points down.
Kilburn hit back straight away and levelled with a penalty kick from 30 metres, slotted by fly half Chris Garvey. With the upper hand in the set pieces thanks to hooker Declan McGee, props Scott Hughes and Phil Morgan and lock John Fenlon, Kilburn were establishing a dominant position in the game and were quickly up to 6-3 when the visitors conceded another penalty in range of Garvey’s boot.
Kilburn lost their edge though after notching up another 7 points when Garvey converted McGee’s brilliant solo try which came from a powerful burst through the middle of a ruck on the Abbots 22m line, giving him a clear run at their try line. Almost as soon as Kilburn sat back, the visitors fought their way up the field and took two soft tries and a penalty. Kilburn rallied, with a Hayden Wilson try from long range, again converted by Garvey.
With the narrowest of leads running up to the interval, Kilburn suffered the loss of Garvey and Fenlon in an unlucky head clash, both being hospitalised. The scores at half time were a precarious 20 points to 18.
Kilburn toiled in the start of the second half, their scrum weakened by the loss of Hughes and Fenlon. Replacement prop Ben Zaug and McGee put in a huge effort to shore up the scrum and eventually Cosmos were firing again after a decidedly shaky third quarter. Aly Bursey answered the visitors opening score of the second half with an uncoverted effort of his own, keeping the home side up 25-23.
For the last 20 minutes the game reached a rare level of intensity, with everything still to play for. The ball moved from end to end with everyone putting in everything they had. Kilburn came close to scoring again when prop Phil Morgan made a 30 metre break down field to set up a move well inside the opposition’s half who had to scramble back to stop a try. In the end though it was the visitors who found the extra energy to burst over with a last gasp try to sink Cosmos 25-30 in the dying seconds.
Kilburn 25 (D Magee, H Wilson, A Bursey tries, C Garvey 2 conversions, 1 penalty, S Whyte penalty) Old Abbotstonians 30
Team: P Morgan, D Magee(C), S Hughes, J Fenlon, A Butcher, J Trout, A Bursey, K Shrubsole, L MacManus, C Garvey, M Taguri, H Dawkins, H Wilson, C Coane, D Riley. Reserve: B Zaug, M King, S Whyte
Kilburn Cosmos were sunk by a last minute try in a close encounter with Old Abbotstonians on Saturday at Tiverton Green.
Despite dominating the set piece, stealing much of the oppositions’ ball, and generally getting off to a good start, Kilburn could not capitalise and failed to put points on the board early.
In a physical, end to end game, Kilburn’s opening play saw them push the visitors right back to their own line, only to lose the ball and quickly be driven back to their own 22 where an eagle-eyed Abbotstonian player took sharp chance at a drop goal and put the home side three points down.
Kilburn hit back straight away and levelled with a penalty kick from 30 metres, slotted by fly half Chris Garvey. With the upper hand in the set pieces thanks to hooker Declan McGee, props Scott Hughes and Phil Morgan and lock John Fenlon, Kilburn were establishing a dominant position in the game and were quickly up to 6-3 when the visitors conceded another penalty in range of Garvey’s boot.
Kilburn lost their edge though after notching up another 7 points when Garvey converted McGee’s brilliant solo try which came from a powerful burst through the middle of a ruck on the Abbots 22m line, giving him a clear run at their try line. Almost as soon as Kilburn sat back, the visitors fought their way up the field and took two soft tries and a penalty. Kilburn rallied, with a Hayden Wilson try from long range, again converted by Garvey.
With the narrowest of leads running up to the interval, Kilburn suffered the loss of Garvey and Fenlon in an unlucky head clash, both being hospitalised. The scores at half time were a precarious 20 points to 18.
Kilburn toiled in the start of the second half, their scrum weakened by the loss of Hughes and Fenlon. Replacement prop Ben Zaug and McGee put in a huge effort to shore up the scrum and eventually Cosmos were firing again after a decidedly shaky third quarter. Aly Bursey answered the visitors opening score of the second half with an uncoverted effort of his own, keeping the home side up 25-23.
For the last 20 minutes the game reached a rare level of intensity, with everything still to play for. The ball moved from end to end with everyone putting in everything they had. Kilburn came close to scoring again when prop Phil Morgan made a 30 metre break down field to set up a move well inside the opposition’s half who had to scramble back to stop a try. In the end though it was the visitors who found the extra energy to burst over with a last gasp try to sink Cosmos 25-30 in the dying seconds.
Kilburn 25 (D Magee, H Wilson, A Bursey tries, C Garvey 2 conversions, 1 penalty, S Whyte penalty) Old Abbotstonians 30
Team: P Morgan, D Magee(C), S Hughes, J Fenlon, A Butcher, J Trout, A Bursey, K Shrubsole, L MacManus, C Garvey, M Taguri, H Dawkins, H Wilson, C Coane, D Riley. Reserve: B Zaug, M King, S Whyte
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Chiswick IIs - 8th Nov 2008
Kilburn 12 - Chiswick 38
Kilburn 12(J Horsfall, H Wilson tries, Horsfall con)
Team: C Smith, E Horn-Smith, B Zaug, L Porter, J Trout, D Magee, D Loftus, K Shrubsole, L MacManus, J Horsfall, T Ross, H Dawkins, G Bothomley, A Gbinigie, H Wilson. Reserves: R Cunninghame, A Nolan, A Koporo, N Coghlan
Kilburn 12(J Horsfall, H Wilson tries, Horsfall con)
Team: C Smith, E Horn-Smith, B Zaug, L Porter, J Trout, D Magee, D Loftus, K Shrubsole, L MacManus, J Horsfall, T Ross, H Dawkins, G Bothomley, A Gbinigie, H Wilson. Reserves: R Cunninghame, A Nolan, A Koporo, N Coghlan
Friday, November 7, 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Old Actonians IIs - 1st November 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 5 - Old Actonians IIs 45
The 2nd XV lost heavily to a good Old Actonians side in terrible conditions at Tiverton Green.
Gary Bothomley scored Kilburns try and Mike King was judged Man of the match
Kilburn 5(Gary Bothomley try)
Team: Chris Smith, Jon Church, Phil Brides, Andy Butcher, Kurt Shrubsole, Ed Horn-Smith, Mike King, Shayne Whyte, Jesse Foden, Willie Wyrill, Andy Gbinigie, Hayden Dawkins, Gary Bothomley, JP Le Rouzic, Hamish Harris, Ben Larby, Leon Dunn, Anthony Koporo
The 2nd XV lost heavily to a good Old Actonians side in terrible conditions at Tiverton Green.
Gary Bothomley scored Kilburns try and Mike King was judged Man of the match
Kilburn 5(Gary Bothomley try)
Team: Chris Smith, Jon Church, Phil Brides, Andy Butcher, Kurt Shrubsole, Ed Horn-Smith, Mike King, Shayne Whyte, Jesse Foden, Willie Wyrill, Andy Gbinigie, Hayden Dawkins, Gary Bothomley, JP Le Rouzic, Hamish Harris, Ben Larby, Leon Dunn, Anthony Koporo
Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Millhillians - 1st Nov 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 63 - Old Millhillians 7
Rampant Kilburn ran in 11 tries as they finally notched their first league win of the season by thrashing basement side Old Millhillians 63-7 on Saturday.
The Cosmos were clearly the stronger side in all areas, dominating the scrums and taking a record 13 tightheads, while their handling was excellent in difficult conditions.
Almost every put-in by an understrength Millhillians side ended up at the feet of Kilburn No 8 Tom O'Connor and the locks and loose forwards all sparkled with the ball in hand.
O'Connor and Aly Bursey made numerous breaks and the Kilburn backs all used the ball to good effect, moving it wide for the wingers to score - even if sloppy forward passes cost them the chance to run in even more tries.
John Fenlon dominated the lineout, ably supported by Ben Zaug and Ehi Alonge, while Mo Taguri was the Cosmos' top points-scorer with a hat-trick of tries.
Declan Magee added two, while Andy Allan, Chris Garvey, Chris Coane, Peter Donaldson, Paul Ledington and Matt Fenlon all got their names on the scoresheet and Garvey completed four conversions.
Millhillians never gave up but, although their staunch defending at the start of the second half denied Kilburn for nearly a quarter of the game, they were thoroughly outclassed by the visitors' superior team effort.
Fly-half Andy Allan was voted MVP for an excellent game directing the team around the paddock while Mo Taguri and John Fenlon were equal 2nd
Kilburn 63 (Mohammed Taguri 3, Declan Magee 2, Andy Allan, Chris Garvey, Peter Donaldson, Chris Coane, Paul Ledington, Matt Fenlon tries, Garvey 4 conversions) Old Millhillians 7
Team: Zaug, Magee, Alonge, J Fenlon, Ledington, Bursey, Aitken(C), O'Connor, MacManus, Allan, Taguri, Cunninghame, Donaldson, Coane, Garvey. Replacements: Trout, Riley, M Fenlon.
Rampant Kilburn ran in 11 tries as they finally notched their first league win of the season by thrashing basement side Old Millhillians 63-7 on Saturday.
The Cosmos were clearly the stronger side in all areas, dominating the scrums and taking a record 13 tightheads, while their handling was excellent in difficult conditions.
Almost every put-in by an understrength Millhillians side ended up at the feet of Kilburn No 8 Tom O'Connor and the locks and loose forwards all sparkled with the ball in hand.
O'Connor and Aly Bursey made numerous breaks and the Kilburn backs all used the ball to good effect, moving it wide for the wingers to score - even if sloppy forward passes cost them the chance to run in even more tries.
John Fenlon dominated the lineout, ably supported by Ben Zaug and Ehi Alonge, while Mo Taguri was the Cosmos' top points-scorer with a hat-trick of tries.
Declan Magee added two, while Andy Allan, Chris Garvey, Chris Coane, Peter Donaldson, Paul Ledington and Matt Fenlon all got their names on the scoresheet and Garvey completed four conversions.
Millhillians never gave up but, although their staunch defending at the start of the second half denied Kilburn for nearly a quarter of the game, they were thoroughly outclassed by the visitors' superior team effort.
Fly-half Andy Allan was voted MVP for an excellent game directing the team around the paddock while Mo Taguri and John Fenlon were equal 2nd
Kilburn 63 (Mohammed Taguri 3, Declan Magee 2, Andy Allan, Chris Garvey, Peter Donaldson, Chris Coane, Paul Ledington, Matt Fenlon tries, Garvey 4 conversions) Old Millhillians 7
Team: Zaug, Magee, Alonge, J Fenlon, Ledington, Bursey, Aitken(C), O'Connor, MacManus, Allan, Taguri, Cunninghame, Donaldson, Coane, Garvey. Replacements: Trout, Riley, M Fenlon.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Kilburn Ladies vs Marlow - 26th October 2006
Kilburn 10 - Marlow 15
In their third league game of the season, Kilburn suffered a disappointing 15-10 loss to league new-comers Marlow.
They had several key players unavailable, and were unfortunate to lose winger Millie Paakkola to injury during the warm-up with a painful dislocated shoulder.
Kilburn started the game strongly, matching Marlow for pace and defending well, resulting in a frustrated opposition giving away several penalties within the first twenty minutes. Although the forwards looked strong in rucks and set-pieces, they failed to capitalise and the score remained 0-0.
Halfway through the first half, however, Marlow managed to get the ball out to their pacey winger, and despite a valiant attempted tackle by Cosmos' rookie Louise Challenger, she managed to slip through and score Marlow's first try. A second breakaway try followed soon after, and as the half-time whistle blew, Kilburn looked disconsolate.
After the break, however, Kilburn came out fighting and for the first ten minutes Marlow could not get a glimpse of the ball, despite their best efforts.
The Kilburn forwards looked well-drilled in attack, powering forward and getting the ball out to player of the day Lucy Zaug at centre, who sprinted past the Marlow defence to run the length of the pitch for the Cosmos' first try. Jen Spano narrowly missed converting.
This gave the Cosmos' the kick-start they needed, and for the next ten minutes all the play was in the Marlow half. Again the forwards made ground, with Lee Sinclair at half-back getting quick ball out to Ariana Ropiha at fly-half, who passed out to the aptly named Suzanne Marlow at outside centre. She made a storming run and was only five metres from the try-line when a crunching tackle pushed her out into touch. Despite a great line-out from hooker Liz Frankiln, Marlow had numbers out in the backs and again scored a breakaway try at the opposite end. After the re-start, Kilburn again showed grit and determination with the forwards making ground and exploiting a tiring Marlow side.
Once again it was Suzanne Marlow who used her pace to outrun the opposition, capitalising on a slick pass from lock Kay Smales to run in their second try from the half-way line. Jen Spano's attempted conversion hit the post.
Despite the loss, Kilburn remain third in the league table after 3 matches, and host bottom club Slough in a fortnight's time.
In their third league game of the season, Kilburn suffered a disappointing 15-10 loss to league new-comers Marlow.
They had several key players unavailable, and were unfortunate to lose winger Millie Paakkola to injury during the warm-up with a painful dislocated shoulder.
Kilburn started the game strongly, matching Marlow for pace and defending well, resulting in a frustrated opposition giving away several penalties within the first twenty minutes. Although the forwards looked strong in rucks and set-pieces, they failed to capitalise and the score remained 0-0.
Halfway through the first half, however, Marlow managed to get the ball out to their pacey winger, and despite a valiant attempted tackle by Cosmos' rookie Louise Challenger, she managed to slip through and score Marlow's first try. A second breakaway try followed soon after, and as the half-time whistle blew, Kilburn looked disconsolate.
After the break, however, Kilburn came out fighting and for the first ten minutes Marlow could not get a glimpse of the ball, despite their best efforts.
The Kilburn forwards looked well-drilled in attack, powering forward and getting the ball out to player of the day Lucy Zaug at centre, who sprinted past the Marlow defence to run the length of the pitch for the Cosmos' first try. Jen Spano narrowly missed converting.
This gave the Cosmos' the kick-start they needed, and for the next ten minutes all the play was in the Marlow half. Again the forwards made ground, with Lee Sinclair at half-back getting quick ball out to Ariana Ropiha at fly-half, who passed out to the aptly named Suzanne Marlow at outside centre. She made a storming run and was only five metres from the try-line when a crunching tackle pushed her out into touch. Despite a great line-out from hooker Liz Frankiln, Marlow had numbers out in the backs and again scored a breakaway try at the opposite end. After the re-start, Kilburn again showed grit and determination with the forwards making ground and exploiting a tiring Marlow side.
Once again it was Suzanne Marlow who used her pace to outrun the opposition, capitalising on a slick pass from lock Kay Smales to run in their second try from the half-way line. Jen Spano's attempted conversion hit the post.
Despite the loss, Kilburn remain third in the league table after 3 matches, and host bottom club Slough in a fortnight's time.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Lord Thorpe announces retirement
In a sad note Lord James Thorpe, esq. announced his retirement(for the 3rd time) after Saturdays game after injuring his troublesome knee playing touch in the warmup and then aggravating a neck injury during the game.
Thorpey is one of the longest serving clubmen for the Cosmos and has been an excellent wing/centre/fullback with a great tryscoring record.
Hopefully he will spend his Saturdays quaffing gin on the sidelines of DS Park and cheering on his teammates rather than in the Thorpe Empire corporate box at Sixways.
We look forward to the retirement/engagement party at Thorpe Manor in the near future
Thorpey is one of the longest serving clubmen for the Cosmos and has been an excellent wing/centre/fullback with a great tryscoring record.
Hopefully he will spend his Saturdays quaffing gin on the sidelines of DS Park and cheering on his teammates rather than in the Thorpe Empire corporate box at Sixways.
We look forward to the retirement/engagement party at Thorpe Manor in the near future
Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Actonians - 11th Oct 2008
Kilburn Cosmos 14 - Old Actonians 17
The Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV continued their frustrating season with another close loss to a team that was there for the taking in a narrow 17-14 away defeat to Old Actonians on Saturday.
Kilburns exasperating ability to let teams back into the game and failure to take advantage of their strengths were on show once again with an early 7-0 lead to the Cosmos turning into a 17-7 halftime deficit.
The first 20 minutes was all Kilburn and they should have managed to put more points on the board than a solitary converted try. Centre Pete Donaldson just about scored a sensational try after 10 minutes, beating half a dozen players and dragging 3 over the line before losing the ball. He made amends 5 minutes later bursting through some weak midfield defence, beating the fullback and scoring under the posts. This was converted by Chris Garvey to give them a 7-0 lead. At this stage Kilburn were well in control, the backs were making breaks everytime they touched the ball and were ably supported by the loosies Aly Bursey, Chris Protherough and Shayne Whyte.
Actonians saw the threat and reacted by keeping the ball in their forwards for the next quarter. They tightened the game up and took control. Driving mauls and one off runners saw them control possession and territory and camp in the Cosmos 22. Several attacks were defended well by Kilburn but an unfortunate mistake by Garvey from a mark saw Actonians mount an attack from a scrum close to Kilburns line and a forward crashed over for the try which was converted and the scores tied at 7-7 all after 25 minutes.
Actonians kept up their forwards orientated tactics for the rest of the half and aided by some elusive running from their fly-half close to the ruck controlled the game well. Eventually they scored another converted try from close range through the forwards and a late penalty gave them a 17-7 halftime scoreline.
Kilburn had to strike back immediately in the second half to have a chance and they did just that. Centre Richey Cunninghame ran on to a well weighted kick by Aly Bursey which was left to bounce by the As backs. The ball was quickly shifted out to the wing where hard running replacement Mo Taguri went through his opposite to score. Garvey converted and it made the score 17-14.
With Donaldson and Taguri creating havoc every time they touched the ball it seemed only a matter of time before Kilburn would score again to take the lead. However scrappy ball from scrums and lineouts meant the backs were not given the ball they needed to win the game. No 8 Shayne Whyte was forced to tidy up and run most scrum ball in the 2nd half that should have been given to the backs.
The Kilburn forwards also seemed to run out of puff during the second stanza with ball runners left isolated by their teammates which allowed Actonians to steal what should have been certain Kilburn ball. The Kilburn backs were also guilty on occasions of not protecting the ball when making promising bursts which led to turnovers. These mistakes and the lack of fitness are the difference between Kilburn winning the tight games or continuing with their run of frustrating narrow defeats.
The penalty count was very even and discipline was much improved on last week but a telling statistic was the fact that Kilburn gave away 3 penalties 5 metres out from the opposition try line and another 2 within the Actonians 22. These penalties were killer blows to Kilburns chances.
Despite spurning these attacking opportunities Kilburn had 2 great chances to win or at least draw in the last 5 minutes. A scrum 8 metres from the As line had fly-half Andy Allan and Cunninghame certain they had the match winning try lined up between then but again the ball didn’t get to the backline. Then a penalty from concerted pressure in the As 22 gave Garvey the chance to draw the game but he just pushed his kick wide.
So once again Kilburn couldn’t do enough to get the 2 points with the score remaining 17-14 to Actonians at the final whistle.
This leaves the Cosmos stuck with fellow cellar dwellers Old Abbotstonians and Old Millhillians on 0 wins from 4 games and a lot of work to do to avoid relegation.
The forward pack had a solid game but lacked a bit of aggression to take the game to Actonians and were a bit slow at times to the breakdowns. Flankers Protherough and Bursey had excellent games and replacement flanker Mike King produced some excellent hits in the second half.
The backline looked good throughout the match but suffered from a lack of good ball in the second half and some sloppy handling and lack of variety at times. Gavin Smith had a very solid game on the wing in his 1st XV debut and Mo Taguri looks like he could be a dangerman out wide with his powerful running.
Man of the match was centre Peter Donaldson who broke the line everytime he touched the ball and was solid on defence. There was a three way tie for 2nd shared by hard running winger Mo Taguri, flanker Aly Bursey and captain Declan Magee who turned in another excellent game.
Kilburn 14 (Peter Donaldson, Mohammed Taguri tries, Chris Garvey 2 conversions) Old Actonians 17 (2 tries, 2 conversions, 1 penalty)
Team: P Morgan, D Magee(C), H McKenzie, A Butcher, J Fenlon, C Protherough, A Bursey, S Whyte, L MacManus, A Allan, G Smith, R Cunninghame, P Donaldson, J Thorpe, C Garvey. Reserves- R Nunes, M Taguri, M King
The Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV continued their frustrating season with another close loss to a team that was there for the taking in a narrow 17-14 away defeat to Old Actonians on Saturday.
Kilburns exasperating ability to let teams back into the game and failure to take advantage of their strengths were on show once again with an early 7-0 lead to the Cosmos turning into a 17-7 halftime deficit.
The first 20 minutes was all Kilburn and they should have managed to put more points on the board than a solitary converted try. Centre Pete Donaldson just about scored a sensational try after 10 minutes, beating half a dozen players and dragging 3 over the line before losing the ball. He made amends 5 minutes later bursting through some weak midfield defence, beating the fullback and scoring under the posts. This was converted by Chris Garvey to give them a 7-0 lead. At this stage Kilburn were well in control, the backs were making breaks everytime they touched the ball and were ably supported by the loosies Aly Bursey, Chris Protherough and Shayne Whyte.
Actonians saw the threat and reacted by keeping the ball in their forwards for the next quarter. They tightened the game up and took control. Driving mauls and one off runners saw them control possession and territory and camp in the Cosmos 22. Several attacks were defended well by Kilburn but an unfortunate mistake by Garvey from a mark saw Actonians mount an attack from a scrum close to Kilburns line and a forward crashed over for the try which was converted and the scores tied at 7-7 all after 25 minutes.
Actonians kept up their forwards orientated tactics for the rest of the half and aided by some elusive running from their fly-half close to the ruck controlled the game well. Eventually they scored another converted try from close range through the forwards and a late penalty gave them a 17-7 halftime scoreline.
Kilburn had to strike back immediately in the second half to have a chance and they did just that. Centre Richey Cunninghame ran on to a well weighted kick by Aly Bursey which was left to bounce by the As backs. The ball was quickly shifted out to the wing where hard running replacement Mo Taguri went through his opposite to score. Garvey converted and it made the score 17-14.
With Donaldson and Taguri creating havoc every time they touched the ball it seemed only a matter of time before Kilburn would score again to take the lead. However scrappy ball from scrums and lineouts meant the backs were not given the ball they needed to win the game. No 8 Shayne Whyte was forced to tidy up and run most scrum ball in the 2nd half that should have been given to the backs.
The Kilburn forwards also seemed to run out of puff during the second stanza with ball runners left isolated by their teammates which allowed Actonians to steal what should have been certain Kilburn ball. The Kilburn backs were also guilty on occasions of not protecting the ball when making promising bursts which led to turnovers. These mistakes and the lack of fitness are the difference between Kilburn winning the tight games or continuing with their run of frustrating narrow defeats.
The penalty count was very even and discipline was much improved on last week but a telling statistic was the fact that Kilburn gave away 3 penalties 5 metres out from the opposition try line and another 2 within the Actonians 22. These penalties were killer blows to Kilburns chances.
Despite spurning these attacking opportunities Kilburn had 2 great chances to win or at least draw in the last 5 minutes. A scrum 8 metres from the As line had fly-half Andy Allan and Cunninghame certain they had the match winning try lined up between then but again the ball didn’t get to the backline. Then a penalty from concerted pressure in the As 22 gave Garvey the chance to draw the game but he just pushed his kick wide.
So once again Kilburn couldn’t do enough to get the 2 points with the score remaining 17-14 to Actonians at the final whistle.
This leaves the Cosmos stuck with fellow cellar dwellers Old Abbotstonians and Old Millhillians on 0 wins from 4 games and a lot of work to do to avoid relegation.
The forward pack had a solid game but lacked a bit of aggression to take the game to Actonians and were a bit slow at times to the breakdowns. Flankers Protherough and Bursey had excellent games and replacement flanker Mike King produced some excellent hits in the second half.
The backline looked good throughout the match but suffered from a lack of good ball in the second half and some sloppy handling and lack of variety at times. Gavin Smith had a very solid game on the wing in his 1st XV debut and Mo Taguri looks like he could be a dangerman out wide with his powerful running.
Man of the match was centre Peter Donaldson who broke the line everytime he touched the ball and was solid on defence. There was a three way tie for 2nd shared by hard running winger Mo Taguri, flanker Aly Bursey and captain Declan Magee who turned in another excellent game.
Kilburn 14 (Peter Donaldson, Mohammed Taguri tries, Chris Garvey 2 conversions) Old Actonians 17 (2 tries, 2 conversions, 1 penalty)
Team: P Morgan, D Magee(C), H McKenzie, A Butcher, J Fenlon, C Protherough, A Bursey, S Whyte, L MacManus, A Allan, G Smith, R Cunninghame, P Donaldson, J Thorpe, C Garvey. Reserves- R Nunes, M Taguri, M King
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