Old Alleynians RFC

The OAs 2nd XV can look back on the 19/20 season with some satisfaction. The Kent Invicta 1 league is the top level in the south east for 2nd team rugby and provides a tough rugby environment with little step down in quality from the Level 7 of our 1st XV.

A sizeable 64 different players represented the 2nd XV during the course of the season. Whilst that caused some heartache and pain for selectors, the major advantage was that the whole squad benefitted; from a number of regular 2s players seamlessly stepping up to gain 1s caps, to 3s regulars like Jake Edgar and Lawrence White who often stepped up to the 2s and performed strongly every time.

The Kent Invicta 1 league has faced some issues in the last couple of seasons, primarily around a lack of balance in participating teams as some of the clubs involved have 1st XVs operating as high as Level 3. This manifested itself in the 19/20 season with three teams (Beckenham 2s, Old Colfeians 2s, Old Elthamians 2s) all dropping out of the league at various stages of the year. Kent Rugby’s plan for next season is to split the league in two and bolster the number of clubs involved, with OAs 2s joining the higher league which will continue to push us forward in this challenging environment.

The year got off to a strong start as a positive pre-season including a tough friendly against Belsize Park 2s set us up for the year ahead. First up in the league was a 38-17 win at home against OCs. Next was a testy 6-28 win away at Beckenham, which saw a hat-trick from Tom Marvin and an incredible defensive shift in the blazing sun as OAs spent most of the game down to 14 men after Will Malins decided to clothesline everyone in sight. Next up the 2s made it three wins out of three, running out 43-38 winners against Old Elthamians with Tom Marvin getting the MotM nod for the third game in a row. The first loss of the season came away at Westcombe Park with our weakest performance of the season. WP had a very strong side out but we weren’t at the races and were out-muscled in the contact area. The positive takeaways were a much improved second half performance and notable try success from catch and drive lineouts, a consistent trend throughout the year.

With fixtures starting to become very irregular, OAs arranged an away friendly at OCs and whilst the team never really got out of third gear, we ran out comfortable 12-21 winners. The biggest test of the season lay ahead as we travelled to eventual league winners Sevenoaks. Whilst we ended up losing 38-12, the game was considerably closer and the team had much to be proud of against a particularly slick opposition. Promising young winger Kelland Thomas-Smith looked dangerous throughout and Sam Lindsay put in a MotM performance with some bruising carries and hits in midfield.

December began by hosting Tonbridge Juddians at home, and after a dominant pack performance behind tries from Ed Taylor, Tom Pickett and George Konstam, and a MotM performance from Fraser McIntosh, the 2s ended comfortable 33-19 winners. The calendar year closed out with a disappointingly close bonus point 22-19 loss away at Dartfordians, as poor discipline throughout eventually led to the opposition fly half slotting a kick to win the game.

After an incredible near 6 week layoff without a game, OAs travelled to a sodden and underwhelming Tunbridge Wells in January. Behind another strong performance in the pack led by debutant Dan Bingham, Luke Sullivan was able to waltz in for four tries and lead the team to a one-sided 0-38 win. Next up was the return fixture against Westcombe Park and despite a vastly improved performance from the away fixture, OAs narrowly lost 12-17, despite a barnstorming performance from another debutant, Dan Burnham.

Due to more vagaries in the fixture list, mainly due to poor weather, OAs then played Medway two weeks in a row. In the home fixture OAs won 41-17 in a physical match characterised by tries from Haydn Oakley, Rory Cardwell and Raj Ghosh, a hat-trick from Luke Sullivan, and a MotM performance from George Konstam who’d really hit a vein of form as he reached true match fitness. The following week in the midst of a gale, the 2s again narrowly lost 17-12 as Medway were vastly improved and our poor discipline led to countless penalties for offside. The main highlight was OA’s dominant lineout as the opposition were completely unable to deal with the athleticism of Rory Cardwell and George Konstam.

After another two week lay-off, OAs returned for a rescheduled home fixture against Tunbridge Wells in what would end up being the last game of the season played by any OAs senior team. Clearly anticipating the impending lockdown, OAs ran riot with a 52-10 win. The points were almost exclusively from the backs, led by a wonderful inside-out step from Tom Downie, 17 points from the hand and boot of Frank Plummer, and MotM Charlie Halpin who was cruelly denied a hat-trick by cynical Luke Sullivan. Biggest shout out to centre Gethin Evans who played 80mins then darted off to do his Paramedic shift at the NHS front line.

Across the course of the season, there are numerous call-outs and thanks to be given. Jamie Childs and Ned Barker for their captaincy throughout the year, ably supported by Rob Monteith, Dan Goodrich and Jon Lineham who all captained the side for an individual game each. After an early season glut of tries for flanker Tom Marvin, top try scoring duties were led by winger/full-back/centre Luke Sullivan who had a strike rate of 11 tries in 11 appearances, often by refusing to pass to players who had easier run-ins. Mike Harris ably marshalled the side from fly-half with some big carries, slick distribution and hefty boot. Week-in, week-out strong performances from experienced players like Phil Dibble, Butch Hanyane, Rory Cardwell, Fraser McIntosh, Ned Barker, Alex Hargreaves and Frank Plummer, who often formed the spine of the team. And big callouts to two young newcomers this season: Haydn Oakley for his strong scrummaging and carrying, and George Konstam who developed a real engine for big hits and carries, as well forming a highly successful lineout duo with Rory.

Overall, including the fixtures against sides who dropped out of the league (and were therefore not included in the final standings), the OAs 2s won 8 and lost 5, and bar one performance against Westcombe Park, were in it for every single game of what was a very successful season.

• Player of the Season – Luke Sullivan
• Newcomer of the Season – George Konstam