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  <h2 id="pageName">Vets Match Reports 2009/10</h2>
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    <h3><a name="20091229" id="20091229"></a>Medway Vets 10 Anchorians 12</h3>
    <p><img src="../images/20091228-small.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="161" class="reportimageleft" />Monday 28 December saw the return of a Medway Towns festive event &ndash; Medway versus Gillingham Anchorians  at Priestfields Rochester. The Three Counties Evergreen Plate( first round ) game was the prize &ndash; but all   knew &ndash; it was local bragging rights that were at stake for the rest of the season. Two strong squads turned out along with a crowd of over 200 to watch the old boys run off the Christmas excesses of food and drink.</p>
    <p>As expected both teams gave nothing away and strong defensive work meant no points went on the board until well into the first half with a penalty kick to Medway. With the slope and solid scrum possession ( secured by front row Duggan, Gutteridge and Shaw ) Medway had a prolonged period in the Anchorians half, but poor finishing meant no points were added to the scoreline. Encouraging debut performances from Dominic Collins( flanker )  and Chris Thomas ( man of the match at centre for Medway ) produced some flowing rugby with fine support  play.</p>
    <p>Anchorians made some front-row changes at half-time and the loss of Gavin Green put the Medway pack under pressure in the set piece. It was a long time coming &ndash; but in the end a well worked move out wide to the left put Anchs in for a try, converted to put them 4 points ahead.</p>
    <p>Medway &ldquo; old uns&rdquo; , bolstered by the Davies trio of Bob, Gary and Dave , playing together for the first time in 12 years showed great spirit throughout.</p>
    <p>It was hestitation in defence ( following what Medway thought was a forward pass ) that  brought the winning score for Gillingham &ndash; again out wide on the left.</p>
    <p>Medway, however, made sure they had the last say. Quick ball from a lineout allowed Stuart Cullen to break through and beat 4 players from within the Medway half. He then off loaded to Geoff Kempt who took the ball on an angled run that beat the last line of defence and he ran in close to the posts &ndash; then converted his own try.</p>
    <p>A closely contested game played in great spirit sees Anchorians progress to the quarter-final stage of the competition. </p>
    <h3><a name="20091031" id="20091031"></a>Medway Vets 17 Old Dunstonians 24 </h3>
    <p>Medway old boys progressed to the next round of the  Evergreen  Plate competition with heads held high on a wet and windy first day of November. Close to Churchill`s 1941 ( 28 th year anniversary )  address to Harrow school, the damp fields of Medway echoed to the rallying call to never ever, ever give up. So it was that the ( 13 ) Medway vets that will forever be remembered gave everything for the name of Medway Rugby Club.</p>
    <p>An experienced Old Dunstonians team ( 3 leagues above Medway ), with the wind behind them took an early lead with a converted try under the posts after just 2 minutes. It was then, that Medway vets rose to the rallying call from skipper Gary Davies to put their bodies on the line and make a game of it. Fantastic defensive tackling from Andy Green, Gary Clark and George Cook meant that Dunstonians had to work much harder for their second try 25 minutes into the game. Another lucky bounce from an opportunist kick ahead by the visitors put Medway further behind. It was then that Medway ( wondering why colleagues had let them down and failed to turn up on the day )   took it upon themselves to shock the visitors. With some clever  counter attacking from Stuart Cullen, supported by Graham McManus ( I`m never offside ) and John Duggan , Medway pressed into the opposition half and quick lineout ball supported by Paul Medhurst allowed Simon ( Chesney Hawkes )  Forde to score just ahead of the interval.</p>
    <p>With the wind on their backs the Medway Vets took the game to the visitors who could not believe they were struggling against so few. 1879 was the year , but 130 years later the spirit of Rorke`s Drift was alive at Priestfields Rochester  when against all odds Geoff Kempt put Medway closer to a win with a score early in the second half. Nick Thomas,John Duggan  and  Nigel Gutteridge worked hard in the front row to secure possession and press deep into the Dunstonians half of the field. Quick handling along the Medway backs line and some strong running from Scott Ratcliffe brought him a deserved try for Medway Vets. It was then that Dunstonians ran in the winning try, with a 2 man overlap that even great cover tacking from Geoff Kempt could not counter.</p>
    <p>A wet and windy first day of November 2009 that will forever be remembered by those that turned out for Medway Vets &ndash; as a day that so few gave everything for the name of Medway Rugby Football Club.</p>
    <h3>&nbsp;</h3>
    <h3>Medway Vets win shield to make a great start to Club`s 09 -10 season. </h3>
    <p><img src="../images/2009_MedwayVets-small.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" class="reportimageleft" />Medway old boys made the now annual pilgrimage down to Ashford for the Vets Rugby Tournament ( and Beer Festival ! ) .  A squad of 19 players traveled down early morning for what proved to be a long and successful day of rugby and drinking.</p>
    <p>Medway`s opening game against Lordswood  got off to a poor start through some loose passing  deep in our own territory. However, the early deficit was put right through 2 fine tries from winger Brian Packer ( proving that heavy training in the summer pays it`s just rewards ! ). Full back John Gilbert made the winning pass after joining the line at pace. Front row Nick Thomas, Nigel Gutteridge and John Duggan secured good scrummage ball and proved a strong combination for most of the day.</p>
    <p>Ashford proved much harder opposition in the next game. Early pressure failed to produce points as Medway found securing the ball in the contact areas difficult to maintain. Stuart ( I`m from Liverpool, can I tell you a story ? ) playing his first game at outside centre linked well with winger Chris Green and second row Dave Davies, but again the final pass lost what should have been a win for Medway. Replacements Paul Medhurst ,George Cook and Trevor Howard all worked hard down the left flank to support Stuart Cullen`s solo run of over 60 metres in the midday heat to bring Medway close to the opposition line. However, good counter attacking from Ashford brought them deep into Medway`s 22m .  In the end even fierce tackling from Gavin Green and Graham Smith could not prevent Ashford from scoring from a lucky charge &ndash;down.</p>
    <p>Eventual cup winners Romford and Gidea Park brought out the best rugby of the day from Medway. In a physical encounter Medway rocked the confidence of the tournament favourites . Greater commitment at the breakdown, led by Gavin Green and Gary Davies gave Medway more possession and kept Romford under pressure. Points for Romford had to be earned  through some excellent rugby in their toughest game of the day.</p>
    <p>The shield semifinal pitched Medway against Tunbridge Wells in baking conditions contrasting with the blizzard the last ( Evergreen ) cup encounter was played in over 5 years ago. Tries from centre Daniel Harding and replacement Hooker Mark Williams progressed Medway through to the final.</p>
    <p>Local rivals Maidstone provided the opposition in a closely contested final that had produced no points by the interval. It was a piece of individual brilliance from fly-half Geoff Kempt that gave Medway victory. From within his own half he collected  a loose kick , broke two tackles and used his pace to cross the line. Team manager Graham McManus then felt it was time for his own cameo performance, selling 5 dummies in only two touches of the ball !</p>
    <p>Medway Vets &ndash; victorious at the start of the season &ndash; have now set the tone and thrown down the gauntlet for the younger boys to follow in their footsteps !</p>
    <h3>&nbsp;</h3>
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