Borehamwood Has New Ground

Borehamwood RFC is pleased to announce that it has a new home. From the beginning of this season the Club will play at Pursley Football Ground, Shenley. Full details of the ground are set out below.

Borehamwood RFC

Pursley Football Ground

London Road

Shenley

Herts

WD7 9EP

Directions:

From M25 Jct 22

Head southwest on A1081 Bell Lane

After 1 mile, turn left at roundabout into Shenleybury

Go straight on at two roundabouts (Black Lion Hill), through the village (London Road), then straight on at a third roundabout (London Road).

The ground is 80 yards on the right.

From Stirling Corner

Head north on A1 and turn off at next junction (Moat House)

Take A5135 towards Borehamwood,

After BP garage, stay in right hand lane and follow signs for Well End / Shenley (Rowley Lane)

Go straight at the roundabout. Road then bends sharply to right, and to the left at Mops and Brooms pub (becomes Well End Road, then Silver Hill, then London Road).

The ground is just after the Tomten Kennels on the left.

England Counties Draw with France

France Amateurs 21 England Counties XV 21

Fylde wingman Nick Royle has scored in all three England Counties XV games during the FIRA/AER Rugby Festival in South West France, but the try in the sixth minute of injury time that brought the Counties a draw against France Amateurs in St Paul Les Dax was easily the best and most important of the trio.

Trailing by seven points and struggling to break free from the French grip on the game, England had reached panic stations, two simple opportunities going begging as the game moved into injury time.

But a nice piece of handling skill by replacement Jack Smales finally give Royle the sniff of an opening and he delivered a spectacular finish to race diagonally 45 yards through the heart of the French defence for a try that fly-half Tristan Roberts converted.

Having suffered a humiliating defeat earlier in the season, the French were bitterly disappointed to have victory snatched from them at the death, but closer examination will reveal that their place kicking let them down more seriously than their defence.

It was evident from the outset that the Counties expectations of the toughest game of their programme were fully justified, with France fielding a much more organised and powerful side than the one beaten 41-10 at Blackheath earlier in the year.

The French were quite content to take the Counties on up front and were rewarded after three minutes when England were penalised at a ruck and fly-half Phillippe Lafue kicked the first of his two penalties in the first-half.

The second came 27 minutes when lock Tom Bason collected a yellow card for killing the ball at a ruck under the Counties posts, fly-half Tristan Roberts matching him with a brace of penalties to keep the sides level after 32 minutes.

An ankle injury resulted in full-back Frankie Neale being stretchered off and replaced by Jack Smales, and England’s problems were then compounded when flanker Stanislav Durand scored at the posts after 42 minutes after a strong forward drive, Lafue converting.

There was still time, however, for England to win a footing in the French 22 and a smart tap penalty brought a try for No 8 Jim Jenner, who was lurking undetected on the flank, to leave France leading 13-11 at the break.

Playing with the slope, France continued to have the better of the game territorially and they extended their lead on 50 minutes when flanker Stanislav Durand scored on the left.

Roberts then cut the deficit again with a penalty before a drop goal by Phillippe Labrouche gave France a seven point cushion.

The sin-binning of wingman Tom Jarvis and French No 8 Bruno Rolland with 10 minutes remaining contributed to a more frantic finale, but having missed two simple scoring chances after kicking through, Royle slipped into top gear for the first time to supply the heartbreaking moment for the French and leave the Counties as elated as they were relieved.

England Counties XV: F Neale (Blackheath & Kent); T Jarvis (Stourbridge & Gloucester), C Malherbe (Wharfedale & Yorkshire), K Dench (Otley & Yorkshire), N Royle (Fylde & Lancashire); T Roberts (Cinderford & Kent), C Aikman (Halifax & Lancashire); D Jacques (Redruth & Cornwall), G Cooper (Redruth & Cornwall), J Tideswell (Stourbridge & North Midlands), T Bason (Blackheath & Kent), R Snowball (Otley & Yorkshire), M Payne (Henley & Oxfordshire), J Kellard (Blackheath & Kent), J Jenner (Stourbridge & Gloucestershire) capt.

Replacements used: P Joyce (Redruth & Cornwall), C Rowland (Stourbridge & Somerset), D Cooper (Durham University & Durham), D Archer (Henley & Hertfordshire), J Doherty (Wharfedale & Yorkshire), P Mooney (Otley & Northumberland), J Smales (Tynedale & Northumberland).

France Amateurs: R Ourak; J Delhaye, D Laborde, P Labroche, D Marque; P Lafue, L Frison; V Claireaux, F Marque, V Violle, L Robert, G Trotignon, E Serna, S Durand, B Rolland.

Referee: G De Santis (Italy)

Archer aiming high with England Counties XV

Hertfordshire RFU captain and flanker David Archer will make his debut for the England Counties XV against Spain in Morlaas, South West France, in the second game of the FIRA/AER International Festival of Rugby.

The Henley player was one of four players in the 26-man squad that sat out the opening 76-10 win over Russia in Fleurance last night (September 6), but in line with the agreed selection process, he will start against Spain and win the international cap that persuaded him to forgo a four-figure sum in wages to make the trip.

And even before he runs out against Spain, there are no regrets about the decision to make himself available for the three-match, 12-day visit.

He is quick to express his thanks to his colleagues at Carter Hatch Primary School in Enfield, whose support enabled him to have time off and to Gwyn Williams, the Hertfordshire Chairman, who nominated him for the Counties squad and gave him the opportunity to experience international rugby for the first time.

“I was extremely excited about being selected,” he says: “I was asked whether I would be available for the Russia trip earlier this year, but didn’t make the final cut, so to be involved now is a big thrill, as I know it is for Henley club-mate Matt Payne, who is also here for the first time.

“It has probably cost me around £1,000, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I spoke to team-mate Liam Wordley about it and he said the look on his father’s face when he came home with an England shirt was something you can’t beat. Obviously the pride of playing for your country and your family takes the experience to a new level.”

And has the reality lived up to expectations?

“Definitely,” he says: “From the moment you arrive at the team hotel and are presented with your England Counties kit to starting training twice a day – it’s just a different approach to training Tuesday and Thursday nights.

“We have ice baths at Henley as part of the recuperation process, but here we are weighed every morning to see that we are hydrating and eating properly. That’s quite an interesting process. I’ve always wanted to see what the professional rugby lifestyle was like and while there is quite a bit of waiting around to make sure that food is properly digested and also the travel time, it's a very professional environment and you settle into it.

“The club cliques that are inevitable at the start when players don’t know each other quickly give way to bonding within the group and a good spirit has quickly developed. I know I’ll have some lasting friendships when it’s over and I’m already looking forward to meeting the lads again when we play them in the league.”

And the problems of welding a team together in a short time?

“Obviously rugby is a game for 15 men and you can only play well when the 15 play together as a team, with all 15 involved,” he says: “What the coaches have tried to instil in us is the confidence to trust our experience as players and play heads-up rugby and also trust in each other and believe that we’ll have support inside and outside whenever we have the ball.

“There’s also the interaction with some very good players and that provides and added dimension to the learning process and also encourages you to think outside the box.”

Archer and his team-mates are also facing the added challenge of trying to play a much more expansive game than is generally found in the often stodgy club game where fear of failure conspires against adventure.

“We’re being encouraged to play a very idealistic style of game. It’s a different approach, but it also depends on the people you are playing with and in this team we have backs who can score from their own line and break tackles.”

The challenge facing Archer on Monday against Spain was intensified by the romp against Russia, which completely went according to the manager’s vision of what should be possible in the Counties XV environment.

Twelve tries, some stunning handling and support play and a clear belief in the time-honoured ethos of making the ball do the work set the benchmark for the programme.

The Hertfordshire man now knows that the Counties’ philosophy is not simply a pipe dream, but rather an achievable goal for teams who have the bottle to set their sights high.

Which is exactly why he showed so much commitment in making the trip in the first place!

Archer helps England to Win

Late rally is decisive for England Counties XV in France

England Counties XV 21 Spain 15

Two tries in the last eight minutes of a keenly contested encounter gave the England Counties XV the second win of their three-match programme in the FIRA/AER Rugby Festival in Morlaas, South West France tonight.

Having destroyed Russia with a 12-try rampage in their opening game, the Counties objective was to develop the enterprising, attacking style that had left their supporters and management in raptures only a few days previously.

There was never on doubt in the Counties camp that Spain, recently elevated to 20 th in the IRB international rankings, would present a sterner test than Russia and that perception was quickly reinforced.

The Counties contributed to their first-half malaise with a handful of uncharacteristic handling errors, while the place-kicking of fly-half Tristan Roberts fell some way below the standard that brought him eight successes in the opening match.

Spain were also much better drilled defensively and more street wise and physical at the breakdown, which left the Counties struggling to either create or find the space to move the ball with the freedom and fluency they showed in scoring 12 tries against Russia.

As a result, the action never really flowed and scoring was restricted to the place kicking of the fly-halves, Roberts landing two for the Counties and Mathieu Gratton finding the target three times for Spain to leave the Counties trailing 9-6 at half-time.

With prop Peter Joyce in the sin-bin for an offence at a ruck, the Counties were unable to impose themselves on the match in the face of staunch opposition and with fly-half Gratton and replacement Manuel Olivares both converting penalties to keep Spain in the driving seat, the game moved into the final 10 minutes before the crucial scores arrived.

On 74 minutes a catch-and-drive at a lineout finally gave the Counties the lead after a Roberts penalty had put them within striking distance, replacement hooker Glenn Cooper emerging with the ball to claim the try after a well-constructed maul.

Replacement Frankie Neale made no mistake with the conversion and the Counties wrapped up the win in the style that they had been chasing all night, when they finally created space for wingman Nick Royle to run at front-row forwards wide out and he left three players in his wake for the final try after 82 minutes.

England Counties XV: J Smales (Tynedale & Northumberland); N Royle (Fylde & Lancashire), K Dench (Otley & Yorkshire), P Mooney (Otley & Northumberland), T Jarvis (Stourbridge & Gloucestershire); T Roberts (Cinderford & Kent), J Doherty (Wharfedale & Yorkshire); C Rowland (Stourbridge & Somerset), D Bick (Blackheath & North Midlands), P Joyce (Redruth & Cornwall), M Owen (Manchester & Cheshire), T Bason (Blackheath & Kent) capt, J Kellard (Blackheath & Kent), D Cooper (Durham University & Durham), D Archer (Henley & Hertfordshire).

Replacements all used: G Cooper (Redruth & Somerset), J Darren Jacques (Redruth & Cornwall), R Snowball (Otley & Yorkshire), D Allen (Blackheath & Kent), C Aikman (Halifax & Lancashire), C Malherbe (Wharfedale & Yorkshire), F Neale (Blackheath & Kent).

Spain: C Sempere; M Tudela, M Mazo, R Turrion, P Martin; M Gratton, C Arenas; J Insausti, M Cidre, J Moreno, I Criado capt, S Souto, M Acena, C Hijar, J Tourtoulou.

Replacements used: M Serrano, J Recuerda, M Olivares.

Referee: P Guazer (France)