Hi Guys,

Rugby date 28/11/09 away against Fylde Vandals score 36-12

Once again team selection made very difficult due to a lack of players at the higher levels, and I would like to thank those third team members that made the long journey down to Sandbach for the 2's. However the lack of players was not going to dishearten the spirits of the third team and with 13 players and 3 still to arrive we took to the field to face a very tough, well drilled experienced Fylde. With so many players missing the team looked very odd, Charles Page playing at hooker, Rousie at 8, Mike Holden at 9 once again. But the heavy weight Fylde pack didn't hold any mercy for the inexperienced Blackburn front row, made up of myself at tight head and Andy Gray at loose. Well under the cosh Fylde pushed hard 5 yards out and the pressure soon told with the heavy weights crashing over for the first of their try's. With the team behind the posts and our backs screaming for a ball we had hardly seen let alone had any sort of possession that we could of used, two reinforcements were seen jogging onto the pitch. The third team stalwart Andy Goodwin, who had managed to convince his friend that it would be fun to come and play for us, even though he thought maybe 10 minuets but played the full 80. And I would like to thank and welcome Ben Davies to the third team and hope his new found fondness of rugby continues with us down here at Blackburn.
Even though the welcome sight of our reinforcement's buoyed the team Fylde continued to dominate the first half going on to finish the half 31-0. The half time saw Andy Gray leave the park after a hard fought half in a tough scrummaging game, resulting in us going un-contested in the scrum. Dave O'Sullivan also arriving late after making a long journey from Carisle coming on to play in the forwards. A position he wasn't used to but putting in a worthy performance. So a rejigged Blackburn pack with Joe Holden now taking up the number 8 slot and a back line to die for, desperate to show what they could do if given a glimpse of the ball, the second half got under way. It was a little headless to start with and after many mistakes and knockons the team started to string together a couple of moves and showing just what we were capable of doing if we had managed to compete in the first half. A superb cross field kick from Eddie Holden setting up Marc Grimes for the first of our scores in the this half. Converted by Eddie, and some simply fantastic defencive tackling meant that pressure was starting to build on Fylde for the first time. However a sliced kick from full back John O'Ryan, gave Fylde who reacted quickly tacking a quick throwin five yards out and dotting down for their only score of the half. This blip in a otherwise superb game from John seemed to galvanise the team, and we were soon building pressure again that finally saw Eddie Holden cross the white wash to score our second try. with time running out a knock for Charles saw him leave the pitch and me in a very unusual position of wing forward. But it was all to late and the referee blew his whistle for full time leaving us wondering what if.
A game of two halves to coin the phrase, maybe some of the missing players would of helped us maybe not. But everyone that pulled on a Blackburn shirt once again gave their all till the last play. This for me makes me so proud to be your captain and I believe that the strength of this team can get back on winning ways. With this said we look forward to welcoming Fleetwood to Ramsgreave this weekend. Fleetwood currently 11th in the league just above us played 9 won 3 lost 6. As you can see this is a potential 6 pointer and so I ask as many players as possible to attend training this Thursday 7pm till 9pm, to give us a Chance to work on the good things we do and especially the bad. Also this weekends game is pirate day and everyone is reminded that they must have at least 2 pieces of pirate attire and talk like a pirate. This is all fun lads and will raise a few doubloons through fines, and we can all have a good laugh at those that get caught jumping ship, as they will be forced to drink grog and swab the decks. Ye have bin warned ARR!!!!

Regards Carlos (captain)

Hi Guys,

Rugby date 21/11/09 away against Marple 3's cup game score 38-5

Well guys let me start by saying how proud of all the lads who made the trip to Marple this weekend with myself missing I thought we may struggle to put 15 on the park. But on Thursday things looked promising, however a very poor turnout at training did give me cause for concern. I'll come back to that later, but the 2's looked in good form and there was chance of a couple of players coming our way. With P.G. Manning the phones I felt that things were looking good. And so gave the heavy mantle of captaincy over to P.G. for the weekend and sure enough Paul did a sterling job, with the help of Stuart. Whom I believe fell over the try line with the ball in hand and was awarded a try. Well done Stu, goes to show right place right time right decision tap penalty and look what can happen Mr Martin Johnson if only England had shown as much imitative. In talking to my 2 lieutenants I believe that 1 to 15 performed superb, again shame the same cannot be said for England. I must thank Mike Holden who not only provided us with young Joe, making sure that he was on time, but brought his own boots and due to some last minuet let downs from some of the second team players. Played at 9 for the full 80 minutes and did a sterling job, Mike you are penciled in for the remainder of the season. I would like to also thank James Fisher and Nick Archer, Nick back from injury who has been playing for the 2's this season and James who has also been doing a job for the 2's, for their efforts and hope that you play many more games for us. And as I said a big thanks to all of my regulars who gave more than I could hope for by all accounts the score somewhat flattered the Marple side.
Anyway here is P.G's thoughts on the game as my replacement I felt only right he should put a few words together.

This Saturday so a rest from the stresses of league positions replaced by a cup tie away at Marple 3Rd's. With no first team game we were hoping to field a strong side, however this idea soon vanished as the reality of 3rd team life struck home. We started Saturday morning with a flat 15 which at 11am reduced to 14 with a last minute cry-off. Many thanks to Mike Holden who not only stepped up to the mark but put in a full game at 9 and did a decent job to boot. We arrived at Marple an hour before kick-off but unfortunately our kit along with some of the team had travelled in Rousey's car which must have had Mark Thatcher as co-driver (very old joke) so we took to the field at the last minute and slightly UN-organized. Upfront the Blackburn pack started strongly and it soon became apparent that Marple had little appetite for rucking. However on a wet and windy day mistakes were inevitable and every restart saw us struggle. The scrum was not working at its usual high level and a re-shuffle was necessary to improve things, and the line-out was a disaster from start to finish. Missed calls, miss-timed lifts, poor jumps and wayward throwing meant we never won a single ball all day. This would highlight the need for all players to make an effort to get down to training, Thursday night is the time to iron out such problems not Saturday on the pitch. Marples strength lay in their back line, with 2 ex England rugby league players in the three quarters they made strong runs all day however some committed play from the Blackburn backs saw some good tackles and all the team worked hard all day to keep the score line down and try to seek out some points of our own. This endeavor was finally rewarded with a late try from one of the Blackburn pack after taking a quick tap from 5 yards out and power sliding through the mud to hit the line. The final score of 38 - 5 did not really truly reflect on the efforts made by all.

Moving on some big plus points to be taken from the day. As already mentioned good to see Mike Holden play well at 9, great to see Nick Archer in a 3rd team shirt again, MOM performances from both Jamie Elston and Joe Holden bode well for future, James Fisher also played well with some strong running. Also many thanks to the boys who played through the pain barrier to keep 15 on the pitch. If subs had been available we would have made at least 3 changes due to injury but those individuals played on rather than leave their team mates short, true third team spirit.

Regards

Paul Greenwood

Now back down to business, with this weekends fixture in mind, away at Fylde 5Th I would like your availability as soon as possible either to myself or P.G. Also a couple of things Paul picked up during the Marple game, that could be addressed at training if the numbers were present. I know that some people like myself work away or late on Thursdays. However when I get the chance I make an effort to get down even if I go direct with no togs, but still manage to show my face. The lack of numbers last week was pitiful, with 4 lads training the session was a waste no chance to work on anything constructive. Lads we must do better there is still plenty of work to be done on the training pitch. Fylde are hard adversary, and currently 8Th in the league won 3 drawn 2 and lost 5. This game if we were to win would be a massive boost to our season that seems to have stuttered of late with the last 2 leagues been called off for their own reasons. We must start to get our game back on track. Fylde will be buoyed after a good win against Sedgley Park this week in the cup so we have plenty to do, and I know you won't let me down.

Regards Carlos (captain)

HI Guys,

Rugby date 14/11/09 away against BAE Warton game postponed waterlogged pitch.

Well let me start first by thanking everyone that made the trip to Warton on Saturday, it looked as though after the problems of the previous week we would be able to field a decent team. With plenty of numbers available, OK we may of been missing key positions again but with the late arrival of Joe and Mike Holden things didn't look to bad at all. With 20 names on the team sheet we made our way out to Warton, looking to get back in to winning ways. Unfortunately Warton had not called to say that half their pitch was under water and when the referee looked at it he rightly decided that it would be unsafe to play on. If Warton had called us we could of changed the venue back to our place and had a game, however with everyone changed there was not time to get back to Ramsgreave. so a little game of touch just to have a run out was played then a bit of fun as we decided to go snorkeling and see who could get the furthest slide through the water. Anybody showing signs of rash or itchy skin, fever, chills, cough and muscle aches should contact their doctor as you may be dying of Schistosomiasis. No I'm only joking.
But we did have a bit of fun and we do have the rearranged fixture to look forward to, it also gave us chance to do a little team building and put some thoughts out there for your consideration like a mini third team tour. We can also look forward to this weekends game away against Marple in the Raging Bull shield. Marple are in division 4 south and currently second in that league played 9 won 6 lost 2 and 1 walkover. So a hard team and a hard game, as I said we must fulfill this fixture as a call off on our behalf also affects our league status. I am sure that the team that does make the trip will do a fine job and do us all proud if you can all let us know your availability a.s.a.p. It would help with selection.
As I said on Saturday there is a couple of dates for your diaries November 28Th Band night at the club tickets £5 see Rousie. December 5Th home fixture against Fleetwood pirate day, 2 pieces of pirate attire to be worn and pirate talk all day only. December 19Th home fixture against Ormskirk, Andy Boyes birthday and third team Christmas drinks. If I can think of any thing else I will blog and post in team news. That just leaves me to thanks again and good luck for this weekend as I will be in Twickenham hopefully watching a better English performance than the last 2 efforts.

Yours Carlos (captain)

Hi guys,


Rugby date 07/11/09 home against Preston Grasshoppers game called off

Totally unsatisfactory, that I feel sums up the weekend. Unfortunately we where forced in to crying off this weekends fixture against Preston due to circumstances beyond our control. Let me fill you in on a little background information. The way the league runs is that the first xv has to field a side, then the second xv then the third, we can not field a third team and not field a second string. the league would not award any points and would take a very dim view of us. That said, this weekend the first xv reported a record high in injured players, somewhere around 20 players not available. This therefore gave Andy Tom's one almighty headache, resolved by sending the majority of the second team up to fulfill the first xv fixture. However this resulted in him having to call upon the majority of the third xv to fulfill his second team fixture. And therefore resulting in us having to call our game off due to lack of numbers. I would like to point out that the league award one point for fulfilling a fixture, that's right turn up and even if you loose you still get a point. also the minimum number required to fulfill a fixture is 9, and the opposition have to match that number by no more than one extra player. i.e. we turn up with 9 they can only have 10 on the field at a time. And many times teams have turned up at our place with less than 15 and we have given them numbers to make more of a game of things so is the way of social rugby.
This All said we found our self calling off a home game, this I promise will not happen again. We have to field a team even if it all looks dark and gloomy and we haven't got 15, it does however mean a little more commitment to the third team. I know no-one wants to turn up knowing we are probably going to get beat, but that is not a forgone conclusion. And god forbid if we fail to fulfill fixtures we run the risk of loosing the third team forever, this is not an exaggeration you don't have to look far to see clubs folding and dropping teams, Lostock in our league LSH also struggling and many more. The third team is where I enjoy playing with good friends, but also it is a place for people who may not be a supper star, or maybe the players of the future to develop their skills and learn techniques be for going on to play in the higher teams. It is also a important piece in the social side of the club with many wives and girlfriends and children coming along to support their team and supporting many of the clubs functions. So with that in mind we must endeavor to do better and make sure that we fulfill our fixtures no matter how many players we have.
Now some well earned thanks for the players who where called upon by the second xv, Especially Paul Greenwood, Marc Grimes, Jim Colman, Andy Snape, Charles Page, Jamie Elston. All of whom put plenty of effort into the game some really shining, and even though we lost the score does some what flatter Rochdale 2's. They made as many mistakes as we did the difference was when they made a mistake we were 2 yards away when we made a mistake they capitalized. The only high point for myself was having Mark (Bully) Bullen rub my lower back with heat liniment which he managed to spill down my buttocks. Adding a little discomfort to a otherwise hard day aat the office, in which i was blowing chunks for the majority only getting my second breath ten minutes from time when someone mentioned a pie and pint in the bar.
This leaves us to look forward towards this weeks fixture away against BAE Warton, who may be struggling at the bottom of the league but manage to put a team on the field every week. A lesson there for us maybe.

Yours committedly Carlos (captain)

Hi guys,


Rugby date 31/10/09 away against Garstang 2's score 25-22

I often feel after a match beside drained, a little unsure if I had done enough through the game, if i had given every ounce and left my bloodied and battered soul on the pitch. Or whether I could of given more whether i let myself or even more so my mates down. This weekends game against a strong young and athletic Garstang however left me in no doubt that I along with 14 other players on the pitch and substitutes on the bench could give no more. Ferocious tackling, superb skilled handling and just damned right stubbornness was in abundance. The score does not even start to compliment the epic battle that this was.
It started with a front row issue with the dynamic Paul (Percy) Fielding, been pulled last minute due to ill health of a family member. We wish Paul's granddad well and quick recovery, however there was now a problem at loose head. And I think that the answer we came up with in the shape of Andy Grey a recent addition to the third team turned out to be inspired with Andy showing some true grit and determination to become a future cornerstone of Blackburn's third string. I can't thank Andy enough for putting his body on the line in one of the hardest contested scrummaging games this season. Also a very unusual replacement for Andy in the shape of Charles Page who normally feels most at home in the centers but this season has played in the back row and now the front row. Thanks guys. We new Garstang at home was going to be difficult but were up for the fight, and soon in the lead of a game where the lead was to change nearly as much as the weather. Henning Kabber playing at scrum half again slotting a testy penalty kick for three points. The game seemed flow along at rapid speed of knots with Garstang coming straight back at us, but almost as quickly as they scored we scored again. And so the game went on.
At half time I took a difficult decision not to make any changes and pressed on with the starting 15, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our substitutes I know how frustrating it is to stand on a touchline and not be considered. To have eagerness and willingness to throw yourselves into the affray and not to be called upon. However I felt rightly or wrongly the team on the pitch was the best chance of a win, and with the game so tight I decided to try all out for that win. The third team mantra is everyone can have 10 minutes, And without the subs on the bench we sometimes would struggle to finish a game. The subs are important to me and the team, I hope those involved are understanding in my decision.
As the game came to its finale we threw everything including the kitchen sink at Garstangs line to finish with the win, however Garstangs defence held up under a onslaught of might from the Blackburn pack and some good lines from our backs. And as the final whistle sounded the end of the match the cheer Garstang gave showed how close they thought the game was. With both teams totally drained after a gladiatorial effort. Blackburns superb tackling in defence with Dave o'sullivan, Jimmy Townes, Marc Grimes, Jim Coleman and Gerry throwing all their efforts into some bone crunching tackles and the packs dominance at the line out,ruck and maul we all felt that even in defeat we had won, this side is growing in strength and stature. And in true third team spirit we all walked of the pitch with our heads held high. There was however one instance that marred the efforts of the team and especially the player who put his all in to the game. Maybe a miss judgment from the ref, over a moving scrum. But at worst a re-scrum for us defending 5 yards out. Henning a referee himself however felt the ref on the day got the call wrong and proceeded to argue his case, only for the decision to be turned into a full penalty which Garstang took quick scoring under the posts with a conversion to follow. At this point we were leading the game and still quite dominate in the scrum, the loss of the 7 points at this stage just prior to half time was a uneedy episode. The management team would like to thank Henning for his superb performances so far, who is highly respected as a team member and hope he continues to play for us in the future, but just because we may not agree with the ref we do not loose our discipline and field any arguments through the team captain.
I would like also to thank all those that supported two club stalwarts in Mickey cottam and John Bank on their 40th birthday celebrations held in the club for Halloween. It was so good to see you all in fancy dress making an effort for the boys. Also this coming weeks fixture home against Preston Grasshoppers all players will need to wear a poppy in remembrance of those boys who have fought for our country. This weeks game will once more be a hard game and I am sure we all are looking forward to it. Preston currently three places above us in this very tight league having also played 8 won 3 and drawn 1. Preston who won at the weekend at home against BAE Warton will be a tough adversary. And I therefore urge as many players down to training on Thursday night 7pm till 9pm.


Regards Carlos (captain)