Kilburn Cosmos 58 Old Millhillians 5
Kilburn regained form on Saturday to crush the hopes of fellow Herts Midd 1 strugglers Old Millhillians in a 58-5 rout.
The game was slow starting however and favourites Kilburn were frustrated by good OMs forward play until hooker Declan McGee smashed over the line 15 minutes into the game. He was followed 5 minutes later by skipper Scott Aitken. OMs answered immediately with a try of their own, and for the rest of the half, both sides toiled in terrible conditions on a rain affected pitch. Despite two scores to keep them ahead at half time, for much of the first 40 minutes Kilburn were faced down by a spirited OMs side, determined not to let up the pressure on the home side.
The pressure was on Kilburn until after half time, when OMs began to flag and Kilburn took control of the game. The Kilburn counter attack was led by man of the match, prop Hayden Mackenzie, who was devastating in both attack and defence. With Ben Zaug and Declan McGee, and later with replacement prop Ehi Alonge, Mackenzie overcame a good start by the OMs front row to dominate their pack in scrum and line out play as well as out-playing comprehensively in loose play and taking a try himself as the game swung to the home team.
The one way second half traffic also saw tries from Scott Aitken, Dan Riley, scrum-half replacement Chris Protherough and two for winger Gavin Smales. Kurt Shrubsole scored a brilliant forwards try from a 5 metre scrum, but try of the game went to winger Mo Taguri who took a long pass from Fly half Shayne Whyte and sprinted through the defence from 30 metres out to touch down. 4 of the tries were converted by fly-half Shayne Whyte.
The game saw excellent work from number 8 Shrubsole, front row replacement Alonge and number 10 Shayne Whyte. Hayden Mackenzie however, turned in a personal best game and was awarded MVP. Aly Bursey took the 2 points and Kurt Shrubsole 1.
Kilburn Cosmos 58 (Scott Aitken 2, Gav Smales 2, Declan Magee, Mo Taguri, Dan Riley, Chris Protherough, Kurt Shrubsole, Hayden McKenzie tries, Shayne Whyte 4 cons)
Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, Paul Ledington, Tom O'Connor, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken(C), Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Shayne Whyte, Gav Smales, Richey Cunninghame, Chris Coane, Mo Taguri, Dan Riley. Res: Ehi Alonge, Chris Protherough, Karlos Gordon
Friday, January 30, 2009
Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Belsize Park 2nd XV - 24th Jan 2008
Belsize Park 2XV 0 - Kilburn Cosmos 2XV 8
Kilburn Cosmos 2xv gave their fightback in the Middlesex Merit Table a boost with an 8-0 win over local rivals Belsize Park.
The scrappy game was notable for excellent defence by the Kilburn backs and gritty performance by the forwards who took on Belsize up front and gave no ground in the loose play, even if they were outweighed in the scrums.
The 2xv back line, ably led by veteran centre duo Dan Loftus and Rohan McNaughton punched holes in a weak Belsize defence and peppered their full back with high kicks. Kilburn debutant Full Back Chris Hocking put in a brilliant display, running the ball back at Belsize and forcing some desperate cover tackles.
Dan Loftus eventually rounded off the first half with a try which saw several attempts at the Belsize line fail due to eagerness and over enthusiasm rather than lack of determination but the performance of the half belonged to Rick Nunes who rampaged around the pitch and forced the Belsize forwards backwards with every run.
The second half saw a more determined Belsize attempt to pull back a score to dr
aw level but great defence by Kilburn kept them out. As the clocked ticked by the effort and desperation mounted and on more than occasion the match descended into handbags. A last minute drive by Belsize was undone by Kilburn, who applied pressure to the attacked and earned a penalty, which Chris Hocking slotted to make it 8-0 on the final whistle.
Great credit should go to Jon Church who led the Kilburn 2xv to a rare victory!
Kilburn 8(Dan Loftus try, Chris Hocking pen)
Team: Phil Morgan, Jon Church(C), Phil Brides, Andy Butcher, Rick Nunes, Dave von Dadelszen, Ed Horn-Smith, Charles Winstone, JP Le Rouzic, Dan Boyle, Gav Smith, Rohan McNaughtan, Dan Loftus, Sebastian Bisley, Chris Hocking. Res: Simon Huxtable, Ben Thorne, Niall Coghlan
Kilburn Cosmos 2xv gave their fightback in the Middlesex Merit Table a boost with an 8-0 win over local rivals Belsize Park.
The scrappy game was notable for excellent defence by the Kilburn backs and gritty performance by the forwards who took on Belsize up front and gave no ground in the loose play, even if they were outweighed in the scrums.
The 2xv back line, ably led by veteran centre duo Dan Loftus and Rohan McNaughton punched holes in a weak Belsize defence and peppered their full back with high kicks. Kilburn debutant Full Back Chris Hocking put in a brilliant display, running the ball back at Belsize and forcing some desperate cover tackles.
Dan Loftus eventually rounded off the first half with a try which saw several attempts at the Belsize line fail due to eagerness and over enthusiasm rather than lack of determination but the performance of the half belonged to Rick Nunes who rampaged around the pitch and forced the Belsize forwards backwards with every run.
The second half saw a more determined Belsize attempt to pull back a score to dr
aw level but great defence by Kilburn kept them out. As the clocked ticked by the effort and desperation mounted and on more than occasion the match descended into handbags. A last minute drive by Belsize was undone by Kilburn, who applied pressure to the attacked and earned a penalty, which Chris Hocking slotted to make it 8-0 on the final whistle.Great credit should go to Jon Church who led the Kilburn 2xv to a rare victory!
Kilburn 8(Dan Loftus try, Chris Hocking pen)
Team: Phil Morgan, Jon Church(C), Phil Brides, Andy Butcher, Rick Nunes, Dave von Dadelszen, Ed Horn-Smith, Charles Winstone, JP Le Rouzic, Dan Boyle, Gav Smith, Rohan McNaughtan, Dan Loftus, Sebastian Bisley, Chris Hocking. Res: Simon Huxtable, Ben Thorne, Niall Coghlan
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Abbotstonians - 17th Jan 2008
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
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
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