THE OLD HABERDASHERS' R.F.C.
Report for the 1986/87 Season

President Peter J Stevenson Captain Martin Baker

Until Christmas (12 wins and 6 defeats) the 1st XV appeared set to give Martin Baker a third consecutive outstanding season, to vie with the late J Eric G Moody's 1926-9 season when 68% was achieved. This in spite of the loss of Nick Churchman, the leading points scorer of the previous two seasons, in November.

During January, however, injuries ruled out David Baldwin and Peter Bates, to be followed by John Blundell and Adrian Possner - in all four first choice backs and a leading contender for loose-head prop. With the "A" XV undergoing a poor season after two excellent ones, there was not sufficient lst XV calibre backs to plug the gaps.

Nevertheless, two outstanding performances were achieved against Old Alleynians and Old Blues, both matches being lost 4 - 7 with a dropped goal being the vital score in each instance. In the latter game, Adrian Possner suffered his injury (20 minutes from time) but a breakdown in communications had failed to ensure the presence of a replacement - the usual custom in merit table matches.

In the early part of the season, lack of support had witnessed the cancellation of the projected 32nd Old Boys Sevens tournament. Instead the lsr XV played a strengthened old Crossleyans XV, a Yorkshire team, which had supported the sevens tournament for the last few years. Unfortunately four of the previous days side were unavailable and a light-weight pack found itself on the retreat. Nevertheless, the midfield defence was in good form and in spite of a preponderance of good ball; the Crossleyans were held to two tries and a score of 6-18.

The first merit table game, against Old Dunstonians, saw Nick Churchman available, but he was unable to make the remarkable switch-over from cricket of the previous season, when he was mainly responsible for the annihilation of these opponents. Instead, injury time arrived with a lead of only 7-3, when bad defensive blunder allowed a centre to score under the posts for a 7-9 defeat. The following week at Farnham, two interceptions (by the same opponent) meant a score of 3-15 at the break. It was virtually one way traffic for the second half, Nick Churchman contributing 22 points, in a tally of 30-18.

A week later, in the presence of some 45 past players, the side brought off the best win of the season, beating KCS (9-3) for the first time since1975/6. This was a committed performance by the whole side, but the pack made the win possible by denying good ball to their opponents. The following day, with only two wing threes unavailable, OMT trounced us 0-35 in the Middlesex Cup. We were given an object lesson in close support by the loose forwards at breakdowns, so that however well the midfield defence tackled, there were usually two or three OMT forwards to carry on the movements.

Against Rutlishians, the turning point of the game came just before half-time, when Jerry Gibb had to depart with an injured knee. It had apparently been impossible to contact the replacement, so that a seven man pack was continually on the retreat in the second half by when we were already 0-6 down (two penalties). Good wins followed in the next two merit table games against Old Paulines (9-3) and Old Cranleighans (13-0), while Old Elizabethans and Harrodians provided a sequence of five victories, before a side missing Mark Archer and Alun Stevenson in the pack and John Blundell in the backs, went down 9-23 to Grammarians. With Archer back for the Millhillians and University XV matches, two more victories made the tally 12 wins to 6 losses.

Immediately after Christmas, we again faced OMTs, who had won all their merit table games and, in fact, finished the season with a 100% record from ten matches. A rather better performance was achieved, but the margin was still 4-20. In this part of the season, only one other result is worthy of mention, Barclays Bank being beaten 13-3.

The last game before the 51st Easter Tour was our final merit table match against Haileyburians. Against a strong wind, we were down 3-13 at half time, having lost Mark Archer with a gouged lip ten minutes previously. For the third time we travelled without a replacement! Nevertheless, although now beaten in the tight, the forwards played well in the loose and the gap soon narrowed to a single score. Hereabouts some penalties were run from our own half, whereas 50/60 yard kicks (easily made with the wind) would have kept Haileyburians under pressure in their own '22'. The final score was 19-25, so that we proceeded on tour all square, rather than with a slight cushion of 17 wins to 15.

It is probable that the homily delivered by the then President elect and the Chairman, after the two disastrous games against Old Crossleyians (who were 0-6 down with 15 minutes remaining - final score 24-6!) and Pocklington, had been digested in view of the committed football played against York on Easter Monday.

Otherwise, there is the factual story of a fanatic, twice-a-week trainer (it used to be the norm) who had just two halves of beer with his lunch, after working a Saturday morning and found it took most of the first half to get into a "C" XV game! As far as one can remember after 35 years, it did not happen again.

Football-wise the memories of the 51st Easter Tour will be of the spirited performance in the final game and Alun Stevenson's remarkable personal achievement of completing 400 appearances for the 1st XV in only 14 years and 80 days. This was against Old Crossleyans, where he had to leave the field with a shoulder injury some half hour from the end, taking no further active part on the tour. His only predecessors are his father and Nigel A Fuller.

At the AGM in April, Ray M Kipps (1947-55) was elected President of the Club and Andrew Charles (1974-81) Captain, with Richard A Lynch (84-) as Vice Captain of the 1st XV. All three must surely wish to extend a heart-felt welcome back to David B Griffiths.


The seasons results were:

Results