Saturday 4 April

London Cornish 3s   13 - 17   Chobham 3rd XV

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

The league comes down to 10 mins and a 10-point deficit.

It would be unfair to all concerned on the day to not explain the title comments before the report, but where would have Chobham finished if it was not for that man Infante.

Chobham travelled the A3 “again” this weekend but with a purpose that was clear to see from the start of the week.

With 2 sessions in the week and thanks to Simon for his help again on Tuesday the Chobham 3s were ready for the biggest game in their history.   Titanic battles had got Chobham to the tabletop and close games against KCS and Cornish over the months had created this top of the table final league game title contender’s clash.   Cornish had smashed their last 2 opponents to shreds and had overtaken Chobham on points difference, Chobham had to win or draw to take the title, Cornish had to win to win.

Chobham lost a key player in Alex B on Friday night due to injury, Mikey PC Knight had changed the whole of Surrey police’s rota to make the crunch game, Scott B had travelled half the world on Saturday morning to get there but we were all there, 13.15 at the home of Quinn’s training and ready for a battle of all battle in 3rd team history.

Chobham lined up on a premiership style pitch with a gentle breeze to their backs but there was no gentle breeze running towards them, Cornish were ready and for the first 15 mins Chobham were well under the cosh.   Outstanding front 8 defence in tight and the first call was held up over the line.   The battle had started.   Chobham seemed to be on the back foot with the ref but let's leave that there shall we…

Cornish opened the scoring with a penalty from their 10 who had a quiet day but pegged Chobham back on regular occasions.

The 0-3 score line seemed to wake Chobham up and with Eugene taking a red ball crash and then a long clearance kick Chobham entered the Cornish half for the first time.   Chobham were almost firing but not quite there, Cup final nerves for the village team from Surrey.

Chobham drove and re drove and re drove only to be held up twice and was that the chance Chobham needed and would we pay the price later.   Chobham had a penalty chance missed right of the sticks by Davies but a snap drop goal went wide on a free ball and the scores were levelled with the no advantage gained called.  3-3.

Chobham deserved it and with the warhorse Kerr leaving the field of play after the 3rd time Chobham crossed the line errors prevented us scoring.   Vinny has been huge this year for the 3s and hoping you a speedy recovery to full fitness in 09/10 seasons.

Cornish came back and as half time approached the powerhouse 8 of Cornish decided enough was enough and he opened the game up from the base of 8 and scored with a fine solo effort and Cornish were going in to half time 8-3 to the good.   A missed conversion, which was to prove critical in the long run.

Chobham backs had very little ball in the first half but the forwards had torn the Cornish forwards to bits, every ball they went backwards and every time Chobham pushed harder and harder, controlled with precision by Richard B.

Second Half………………”we are Chobham”

Neil Gadsby has lead the troops all season and the half time talks have been quiet blue on occasions but this Saturday was different, controlled, quiet and passionate.   Ali Kendall departed for Steve fisher 2 huge stalwarts for the 3s this season…

The backs needed the ball but the black, black, red, red and green needed to be used better. (we all know what that means).   Cornish came out of the blocks flying again and within 10 mins Chobham were 10 points down.   The Cornish 8 was larger than life even though the Cornish boys stopped for the knock on and their 8 powered in from 50meters out.   Conversion missed.  3-13.

Tempers flared a little within the visitors and after some motivational talks between James and Steve, Chobham took the game by the scruff of the neck and the last 10 minutes could have been described as the finest performance of sheer determination that has graced a Chobham 3rd team in many a year….

Chobham drop kick off – regained the ball, recycled black ball, recycled red ball, green ball to 10, Davies offload to Wallace, he crashed through final offload to the huge larger than life Eugene and in he went under the sticks-  10-13. (here we go)….   The crowd went mad and the Cornish were going down ? Or were they.   Chobham had to push the game and after the same Japanese calls time after time not working was this the time it worked, Swanny at 8 had to go quick – he had fine game but we needed snappy ball from 8 to 9 out to yes you got it Matt I on the wing 70 meters out.   The final cards were on the table was it pontoon or bust, ball feed into the scrum through the 2nds channel, who were better than awesome and into the 8 hands, quick as you like into 9 and quicker again into the 11, run forest run, and he did not disappoint.   Chobham leading by 2 after Matt had skinned their winger, flanker and full back under the sticks leading by 4.   Davies converted.   How long sir, 90 seconds.   Cornish responded with high ball from the restart, collected by Campbell again huge all day, red ball, red ball, red ball, knock on by Chobham recycled by Cornish – 40 seconds to go, Cornish break loose, Chobham tie it up central field, held in, Chobham want the whistle, ref has a look, whistle to his mouth, small blow, “not coming out there Cornish, Chobham going forward, loud shrill of the whistle, time gents………………17 –13 to mighty mighty Chobham…and how mighty were they.   Huge.

There are names missing from the report but all 22 were massive in every way on Saturday, Sam who joined for the first time at CRFC was immense, Scott B on the wing again huge in attack and defence, Gareth Turner who had stylish 2nd half, Rips and doc, Julian, Neil t in the powerhouse, Neil g from the front leading the troops into battle ……this could go on for a while.

A fantastic effort and team performance by all concerned and the best team won the league by right in the end and Chobham 3rd can be so proud of their achievements this year..

See you all on the 18th to finish in style and the 25th for the final bash  - “players dinner“

What a great effort by all this season.   It was such a great effort by a great squad as its has been very difficult this season to pick the starting team as so many of this squad trained this year!!

My thanks go out to Kate for her support on the sidelines, and Simon, James and Terry for their support on Thursday and Tuesdays when we needed it.

What a season a few low but so many highs, which I will no doubt mention on the 25th April.

Again the difference between the two teams on the 4th was pure determination not to lose, what you have to remember chaps is that were on average at least 15 years older that the Cornish players but did it make us any less determined to win…. No way!!.

I have to finish by thanking Cornish for their excellent hospitality, as even in defeat they were wonderful hosts when they made the team and our wonderful supporters welcome, Steve Fisher said that we missed an opportunity to when the our front row should have taken off our shirts!!

No training this Thursday back on the 16th before our final game v Croydon 2s at home!!

Starting team – Hugh Campbell, Neil Gadsby (Captain), Ali Kendall, Dave Ripley, Tom Brooker, Neil Tilley, Andy Wallace, Matt Swann, Matt Infante, Richard Bolderson, James Davies, Vinny Kerr, Eugene Englebrecht, Scott Burnett and Gareth Turner.

Subs all used - Steve Fisher, Julian Davies, Mickey Knight and Sam Jaques

Chobham 3s players injured or missing from this game that made contributions to our winning season are were Alex Burrage, John Neill, Mark Hodgekiss, Sean Gates, Mark Spencer, Matt Archer and Dougie Mayger .. sorry if I have missed anyone.



























Saturday 7 March

Chobham 3rd XV   27 - 15   Esher 5s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

INFANTE SCORES ANOTHER 2 TRIES

KCS are one of those clubs who used to put out four strong teams but unfortunately now are only able to field two sides. On the day of our yearly trek over to Raynes Park we were aware that the 2nd team game against Cobham had already been cancelled so we knew that we were in for a tough game.

The conditions were perfect for rugby dry and slightly breezy and along with the fantastic level grass pitch this was a day for running rugby. The problem was that we were fielding a weaker team due to holiday commitments and injuries, which meant that I had to ask Scotty to play in the centres rather than the wing and call upon four players from the 4s (Devils) to help us out in our hour of need (big thank you goes out Dave Lambert for this).

The game kicked off at it seemed from the start that the packs were evenly matched in size and ability but the KCS backs probably had the upper hand for the first 15 minutes while the new centre partnership of Kerr and Burnett got into their flow. Around the 15 –20minute mark KCS managed to score from quick ball from the back of a scrum just inside the Chobham half m what was pleasing was the chance to the line which meant that the KCS back placed the ball down close to the corner flag than the goal post. So this meant that any kick would be difficult and with slight breeze I am please to say that it was missed 5-0 to KCS. My thoughts after this try were “Oh s**t” will we be strong enough to hold down the score.

I am pleased to say that this score rallied the Chobham 15 who all worked hard and managed to stifle all further attempts to breach the Chobham try line in the first half.

The second half kicked off and KCS made a few substitutions one being a rather large prop who was apparently has played at a higher level but was coming back from injury, once again the Chobham 3s pack held and along with some fine lineout work meant that Chobham started to take the game to KCS.

KCS continued to press and after some hard work outside the Chobham 22 they were rewarded with a penalty because the Chobham Captain came into the ruck from the side (sorry) the kick was to the right of the posts in a kickable position but thankfully for me it was missed still 5-0 to KCS.

KCS continued to apply the pressure and were awarded with a scrum abouit 7 yeards from the Chobham try line, we knew what was in store and the Chobham pack actually pushed the KCS back on what should have been a solid platform for an attack. The scummy gave the ball to his big back row who worked hard to get into over the line but some fine tackling from the lightest man on the field (Richard Bolderson) on the big prop meant that he was held up over the line and unable to ground the ball.

The next scrum the Chobham pack were outstanding as they managed to disrupt the scrum and turn over the ball and clear the ball. What a fantastic effort by all to keep the score to 5-0 with 25 minutes to go.  I have to admit my thoughts were that we lose this one and probably any chance of winning the league but obviously it was my job to rally the troupes.

At this point some would say that I made two brilliant substitutions when I brought on Julian Davies and Dave Ripley who instantly made an impact in the game by tackling and stopping the KCS back time after time. I guess Julian and Rips would say that it was about time as they were bored sh**less with just bringing on the water!!

With about 15 minutes to go KCS kicked long into touch inside the Chobham 22 yard line, Gareth Turner took it upon himself to not wait for me to trot over to take the line out but to throw the ball to himself which I must admit had me about to blow my top but he passed the ball to Jake Stokes who ran across the field inside our 22 yard line and passed to Scotty who evaded at least two tackles before he managed to pass the ball to Matt Infante just inside the Chobham half who then beat at least KCS and only because he heard me shouting at him to score under the posts did he score one of the best tries of the season you guessed it under the posts, what a Captain I thought to myself. The kick from James Davies was good 5-7 and still at least 10 minutes to go.

Matt’s score seemed to inspired the team who were once again outstanding in soaking up everything that KCS threw at them, the pack continued to put pressure on the scrums and lineouts and the backs tackled like demons, the clock was ticking down with about a minute to go Chobham found themselves inside the KCS 22 yard and after some fine work from the forwards resulted in a good platform for Bolderson to deliver a fine pass to Davies who found himself in the open and available to kick a drop goal to make it 5-10 which just happened to be the last kick of the game.

This was an outstanding come from behind win away from home against a strong 2nd team by a team who had 5 changes to the starting team from the previous week.

What a great team effort from everyone, which meant that we were still in with a shout, as we remain top of the Merit table.

Special thanks go out to the four Devil players that helped us out: Keith Rowe, Jo Williams, Jake Stokes and Mat Borman.

Starting Team Fisher, Gadsby (Capt) Kendall, Brooker, Rowe, Borman, Swann, Tilley, Bolderson, Davies, Williams, Kerr, Burnett, Infante and Turner,   Subs all used – Ripley, Davies, Stocks


Saturday 31 January

Chobham 3rd XV   38 - 12   Old Pauline 3s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

Chobham secure top spot with a 6 point lead.
 
Chobham welcomed Old Pauline to Chobham this weekend with more to prove than just a win, with the issues from the away game and the fact that Chobham have only lost to this team this season with a 7 points difference.
 
The first half had the Chobham team starting up the hill and it wasn’t long before the Chobham team scored when James Davies kicked a penalty into touch just inside the Old Pauline’s 22 yard line, Andy Wallace collected a fine line out throw which the strong pack worked well to move to the five yard line, Old Pauline held strong but when after two additional phases Eugene blasted through to score from about 7 yards out, conversion by Davies 7-0.

5 minutes later Chobham found themselves camped out on their own 5 yard line but after some fine defence by the whole team up popped Matt Infante who took the interception pass at his own 5 and sprinted the length of the pitch to score under the posts.
 
Chobham went on to score 2 more tries another to Matt Infante who seems to be making it a habit and a 4th first half try to Scott Burnett who scored under the posts after some fine play from Gareth Turner and the rest of the Chobham back line.   James Davies slotted 2 from 4 and Chobham went into the break 24 - 0 which against a solid Old Pauline’s team who are currently 3rd in the league was no mean feat.

A fine first half by all but mentions have to go to John Neill in the centre who took the ball going forward secured excellent ball throughout the half.   PC Mickey Knight who was back in flying style and had the game that we needed from him.   Dave Ripley was everywhere as always but his link up play from the forwards to the backs was outstanding.   The final mention has to go to the Chobham pack who were just too strong on the day and dominated the scrums (4 against the head) in the first half.

The changes in the second half were Gates for Neill at 12, Ali Kendall for Steve Fisher at 3 and Neil Tilley for Andy Wallace at 6.   The second half also started with uncontested scrums, which Mr. Kendall was best pleased with.

The second half started with Chobham down the hill and Old Pauline came out flying and scored a 5 pointer that they deserved.   26-5.

Chobham again woke up and with a further 2 tries and conversions with a try from the skipper who took a difficult pass from Dave Ripley but still managed to beat a number of defenders to score in the corner.

Alex Burrage came on for Kiwi with about 30 minutes to go and he once again gave a fine performance at 9, Chobham gave another try away but only after some bizarre decisions 1 meter out from the line.   Matt Infante made way for Lee Cobbett who used his skills as a full back to place some neat balls over the top of the Old Pauline’s defence to keep them on the back foot.   Final score Chobham 3s 38 Old Pauline 12 which was a well deserved win against a good Old Pauline team.

Thanks should go to the Old Pauline’s Captain who allowed Chobham to bring a replacement on to cover Alex Burrage who went off with a badly sprained ankle.

The 3s take on Vandals 2s next Saturday at home which may be an earlier kick off as England are playing Italy at 3pm with another tough game against Wimbledon who turned over Old Pauline last week.


 
Team: Campbell, Gadsby (Capt) Fisher, Ripley Booker, Wallace, Swann, Knight, Bolderson, Davies, Infante, Englebrecht, Neill, Burnett and Turner.   Subs (all used) Kendall, Gates, Tilley, Burrage and Cobbett.

Saturday 24 January

Chobham 3rd XV   48 - 0   Battersea Ironsides 3s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

Chobham march on with another merit cup win and top the table (once the leagues are updated)

Chobham welcomed Battersea to Fowlers Wells for the second time this year after the Battersea council decided that too much water and *** **** was on their pitches.

In the previous encounter Chobham failed to click but turned them over 30-0.   With every fixture becoming more and more important this one could always be a banana skin.   As it turned out this was not the case and Chobham deserved the 48-0 score line.

Chobham have worked hard over the last few weeks and with the tries scored against us in the last game at home, Chobham were keen to keep the points against to an absolute minimum.

The first try came tight in the left corner with good hands and Davies on his knees touched the ball down.   Matt who had his winger in trouble all day long gathered a fine final pass and kicked and chased through to score the 2nd wide out right.   The 3rd came from excellent work from Matt again and broke through all the irons defence with a fab solo effort.   17-0.   The fourth came I believe from either Vince or Scott breaking excellent lines and fending off would be tackles to score to the left of the sticks.   24-0.

With the game all but done the half time whistle went and with the changes being made.

So off went James Davies whose kicking out of hand was excellent and Richard Bolderson at 9 who also was on the top of his game, on came Phil Ellwood at 10 and Alex Burrage at 9.   The other change meant that John Neill who was playing in back row made way for Julian Davies.

In spite of these changes Chobham managed to play just as well and with the 3s playing down the slope it wasn’t long before Chobham scored after winning another ball against the head as Julian Davies picked up the ball at the back of the scrum to flop over from about five yards out.   Although Battersea didn’t give up they were no match for the more powerful Chobham forwards.

Other tries came from some excellent passing and hard running by the Chobham backs, two other changes were made with Gareth Turner replacing Vinny Kerr at 15 and James Jelly replacing Ali Kendall in the front row.

It wasn’t long before Gareth who was playing his first game for a while was catching high balls at 15 and breaking tackles, one particular run by Gareth from his 22 moved the ball through a number of phases and ended with Gareth scoring under the posts.   With Davies off the pitch the kicking duties were handed to Phil Ellwood who converted 2 tries and scoring one from some fine running from the Chobham back line.

The tackling from the whole of the Chobham team was excellent and time after time the backs and the forwards kept Battersea from the Chobham goal line and even with less than a minute left in the game and with Battersea inside Chobham's 5 yard line they refused to give up, tackle after tackle went in which resulted in the oldest player and some say the best looking player on the pitch sprinting making a text book tackle to deny Battersea from scoring in the last seconds of the game, final score 48-0.

But with Old Paulines losing to Wimbledon the gap at the top of the table has extended with Chobham and London Cornish leading the way.   When the league is updated I think Chobham will be 6 points clear with Cornish having a game in hand v KCS (come on kings)

Team: Campbell, Gadsby (captain) Kendall, Ripley, Wallace, Tilley, Knight, Neill, Bolderson, Davies, Burnett, Englebrecht, Gates, Infante and Kerr.  Subs (all used): Jelly, Burrage, Ellwood, Davies and Turner

Well done to all it was a great team effort, special mentions go to Neil Tilley, John Neill along with PC Knight and Matt Swann who both shared the number 8 spot for their tackling and ball handling.   As much as it grates me I have to mention the first half performance of Matt Infante who scored two and could have a third if the hooker (me) had released the ball (check pic on here and face book) but I didn’t, so live with it!!!!

Two sessions of training next week we should be ready to take on Old Paulines 3s who are the only team that have beaten Chobham 3s so far this season.

Saturday 17 January

Chobham 3rd XV   51 - 17   Guildford 3s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

At last the game takes place –

The original home fixture for Guildford was played but due to no referee being available the decision was that the game would not count as a merit game.   This meant that game was rearranged and it was to be played on the 17th Jan 2009.   Chobham's home fixture against Guildford was a casualty of the cold spell in early January,

This meant that with no available date to play the home fixture for Guildford both teams agreed that the Chobham home fixture would be a double header with the winning team taking 8 points.

Chobham had not run out for about 6 weeks due to cancellations and weather issues so the Christmas mince pies were still waiting to be blown out.   A good session on Thursday cleared the air in more than one way and it was time for rugby at 2 pm on Saturday 17th Jan.

Chobham once again played home advantage up the hill and with 3 tries and a penalty converted Chobham turned around at half time 17-5 to the good.   Excellent work across the team created tries for Scott, Kiwi, with Davies securing 2 conversions and also a penalty.

The second half message was quite clear from the Chobham captain as this game was not over by any stretch of imagination.   The goal was set at half time for Chobham to score two tries within the first 14 minutes so that the players on the bench could have their share of the game.

Well the Chobham players responded to the challenge with two kick tries so off went Kiwi who was replaced by Alex Burrage at 9 and Neil Tilley came on at the back row.   Neil's first touch saw him receiving a wonderful pass from yours truly set up a fantastic try that went from the Chobham 22 the whole length of the pitch.

Two further changes were made at this time which saw big Steve Fisher sprint off the pitch to be replaced by Dave Green who was playing his first game for Chobham, the other change meant that our much loved and respected Chairman being replaced by Phil Ellwood who was playing his first game after returning from an injury.

The next 20 mins resulted in several tries with the first coming from our new number 9 who when a penalty was awarded against a Guildford player interfering with young Alex!!   A quick tap from Alex gave Chobham another 5 points and this along with a fine run by Tom Brooker put Chobham 37-5 up.   Guildford then fought back with an interception try, and some good up front rugby by Guildford the gap closed to 37-17.

This called for some harsh words from the Chobham Captain, which included words such as “please and thank you” seemed to rally the whole Chobham team who played some very good rugby which included some excellent work by the whole of the Chobham pack.

A further try that was set by some fine interlinking from the Chobham forwards which resulted in Sean Gates scoring from just inside the Guildford 22 yard line, however it has to be said that Sean suddenly became deaf which must have been the reason that he failed to hear the rest of the back line, forwards and even the players on the bench shouting at him to pass the ball as there was a 14 man overlap!!.

Overall Chobham played well for 60 mins but that 20 min gap in the middle this could have been our undoing if the opposition were one of the teams at the top of the table.

Final score was 51-17 to Chobham but credit must go to Guildford who worked hard all day to score 17 points against a solid Chobham team that had only at that point given up a total of 53 points in 13 games.

Saturday 8 November

Lightwater   0 - 48   Chobham 3rd XV

Chobham make light work of it in the first 40

Chobham 3s were on the move again this weekend and with the long journey down the Lightwater bypass dealt with better this week we were all ready to go.   Chobham never looked backwards in the first 40 and played some fine rugby.

The tries in the first half were classic Chobham with simple hands – draw and pass, forwards and backs combining, and twinkle toes from all try scorers.

Matt on the wing in the first half scored a superb hat trick and with the ball going through the hands for two of them and a lucky bounce for the 3rd Matt deserved his 3.   Richard Bolderson scored a fine solo effort with excellent stepping close to the side line with a fine swerve of the hips twice and a lunging dive to the line Richard went over in the corner.   Another fine moment in the centres with Eugene Englebrecht taking a fine switch one and crashing through a number of the opposition players and scoring under the sticks.

There were more fine moments from the first half with Matt Swan scoring again this week and does this make him top try scorer for the season to date – he must be up there.

Chobham have worked hard this year and this game proved that hard work does pay off – with so much quality on the bench and still some on the injury list places are difficult to get.   At half time there were four changes in the back line and in defence of Lightwater they came back in the second half and played a much stronger game.

Chobham won the 2nd half 7-0 with a fine solo effort from Alex Burrage at replacement 9.   The game started to get a little naughty as did the weather in the last 10 but a fine game was played by all and a good result going into the real local derby on Saturday away to Guildford.

A thanks to Julian Davies and John Neill who played a half each for Lightwater and especially Julian who in the second half best one of his best games of rugby this season when he put on a green shirt!!.

There were 8 tries scored today and 4 conversions made (4 conversions and 1 penalty missed) – Matt Infante x3, Matt Swan x2, Richard Bolderson x1, Eugene Englebrecht x1, Alex Burrage x1.

Well done to all and see you Thursday.

Starting Team – Fisher, Gadsby (Captain), Kendall, Brooker, Ripley, Wallace, Julian Davies, Swann, Bolderson, James Davies, Englebrecht, Hodgekiss, Infante, Jayawardana and Turner.   Subs Gates, Burrage, Burnett, Neill (all used)

Saturday 1 November

Chobham 3rd XV   33 - 0   Battersea Ironsides 3s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

Chobham keep a clean sheet again !!!

It was cold, wet and very windy on Saturday afternoon at Fowlers Wells and Chobham 3s were at home but because of the Firework event the 3s played this home game on the orchard pitch rather than our much loved sloping pitch!!

We welcomed Battersea Ironsides who seem to be struggling this year in the merit leagues but this could have been a banana skin for the home team.   It was good to see the return of Vince Kerr and John Neill in the centres which was brought about due to the unavailability of our normal South African strike force all away due to family commitments.

Unfortunately Battersea were unable to field a front role so we had no choice but to go to uncontested from the of the game, this meant that a key part of Chobham's arsenal would not be as effective for this game.

The line out was better this week with Mr G hitting his men, we would have had a lot more if we did not have a ref that thought he was at the 2003 world cup final with the so called not straight rule.

Chobham scored 5 tries and with 3 down wind and 2 up wind a fine result.   2 tries to Matt Swan who came on for Mickey Knight who picked up an injury early in the first half, 1 to Scott who joined us from the twos on the wing and 1 try to Vinny who scored from a well executed move in the centres, Davies managed 4 from 5.

The weather was the winner on the most horrid Saturday afternoon and credit to Battersea who battled hard but the Chobham 3s are strong this year and continue to win.

Chobham are 3rd in the league but have a table topping clash coming up in early December against the mighty Cornish men which again to turn the table on its head especially with old Paulines still to play the Cornish I believe the week after.

Well done to all guys and see you all on Thursday regardless of the weather as we have a local derby game v Lightwater away.

Starting team – Campbell, Gadsby, Pinner, Ripley, Wallace, Knight, Tilley, Julian Davies, Bolderson, James Davies, Gihan, Infanta, Kerr, Neill and Turner.   Subs (all used) Brooker, Swann, Burrage and Burnett.

Notable mentions go to Alex Burrage who played at 9 for the second half (look out kiwi) , Scott Burnett for his hard running on the wing and Jay Pinner who stepped in at prop this week and played well with the ball in hand.

STOP PRESS – surprise result from 1st Nov.   Old Paulines 3s 14 Wimbledon 3s 41

Saturday 25 October

Old Pauline 3s   16 - 6   Chobham 3rd XV

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

All was good at Fowlers Wells at 1pm on Saturday, full squad all raring to go for the biggest game to date with 1 playing 2.   A quick run down the road to Thames Ditton game on and 4 points in the bag to maintain a well-deserved top spot.

Well that would be nice would it not – Chobham leave the home turf at 1-15 and arrive mainly between 3 and 3.30.   Ideal for a table crunching game – no not really.

Chobham opened the scoring with a clean strike by Davies at 10 and 3 – 0 up.   Chobham take it to OPs and big stuff in the front 8 make the visitors believe.

Chobham march on and with penalty after penalty being given for ‘sealing off’ Chobham take a 6-0 lead, Davies.   Then it all seems to go a bit hazy, OPs get two quick penalties and at half time it seems to be 6-6.

Some changes and Davies lets Archer take the 10 shirt and few other changes take place.   Chobham failed to get going in this game and with the 2 hour trip for 10 mile journey it was starting to get to the Chobham players.

Old Ps are a hugely improved team from last year and their front 8 stayed on their feet in the next 30ish minutes creating excellent ball and they secured a 3 point lead from inside their own half.   9-6.   Chobham worked hard and Mark at 15 was fighting the corner, Swanny joined the supporters with the help of the ref and OPs crossed the line to give them the lead 16-6.

Chobham did not deserve to win this weekend and we beaten by the better side  - the traffic did not help but Chobham have to accept that sometimes you are beaten by a better team on the day.

The loss will move the 3s from the top spot to 3rd place in Combination 1 behind Old Ps and London Cornish.   We are still in the league guys of course and only 2 points dropped when we could have turned round after 90 mins in the traffic and gave away 4 points.

This was the first defeat in 13 games if you take the last 6 games from last season into consideration; not a good feeling but a mark of a good team is how they bounces back from a defeat such as this.

Well we have few elements of our game that we need to work on when we get together on Thursday before our home merit match against Battersea Ironsides 3s on Saturday which kicks off at the earlier time of 2:30 pm.

Saturday 11 October

Chobham 3rd XV   67 - 0   Wimbledon 3s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

Chobham 3s take top spot in the league

Why do we do it – look at the results from last week – the dons visited Fowlers Wells this week and if we are all honest without the strength in depth at Chobham the game never would have taken place.   Dons arrived with 12 and Chobham topped it up for them to 15 – huge thanks to Dan, Paul and James.   Made a game of it.

Chobham never looked back in this fixture and the score line is a fair reflection of how we played – the front 8 battled hard and worked stealing ball after ball.


















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The backs did what we have been saying to do for weeks - ball in hand draw and pass.   Note the picture “yes that is Shawn passing to his fellow county mate coming on to the ball at pace.   Thanks to Malcolm and John for the pictures and Michael Knight who took some pictures that are on Facebook.

10 tries were scored and 3 of them were scored by Eugene, the others were scored by Matt Ifantee, Shawn, Gareth, Matt Swann, Gihan, Mark and ??   Forwards and backs scored, conversions were slotted and 67 points were racked up - a key win really with only 3 teams with 4 out of 4 record but only 2 on 16 points due to Cornish having a point deducted.   Check out the link guys it looks good. http://www.surreyrugby.com/pages/pv.asp?p=surrey9&fsize=0






















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Chobham has welcomed and visited the Dons on many occasions and this must be the best result we have had against them  - the solid front created excellent ball for the 9-15 players and the tries came pouring in.

A fantastic result and with 2nd in league Old Paulines next up on the 25th then Cornish on the 6th December a great platform to stay top spot.

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Notable mentions this week go to Neill Tilley who played his first whole game for the 3s at 2 in the line-out and flanker Neil stifled nearly all of Wimbledon’s line-outs.

The other mention goes out to the whole of the Chobham squad who showed the Wimbledon team at lot of respect throughout the game.   It's not easy to do this when most of the things you try ended in Chobham scoring.  So well done lads and well done Wimbledon for battling to the end.






















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Starting Team – Fisher, Gadsby (Capt) Kendall, Ripley, Campbell, Tilley, Davies, Wallace, Bolderson, Davies, Englebrecht, Gates, Infantte, Hodgekiss and Turner.

Subs (all used ) Swann, Brooker, Bailey, Jayawardana



























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I have been asked why are the 3s doing so well this year and my answer is that the main difference between this year and last year is TRAINING.   Last week we had over 50 players training with the 3s, Devils and the 5s and I believe it has been over 50 for the past three weeks.   So well done to all those who have committed themselves to training which this season includes Steve Fisher who has definitely benefited from the training sessions, two of the pictures on here show him passing and actually running!!!

Roll on the 25th when we take on unbeaten Old Paulines away.
























Saturday 27 September

Chobham 3rd XV   38 - 5   Farnham 2s

Chobham 3s were up against an experienced Farnham second team that play in the Surrey Alliance Leagues.

The warm up was interrupted when a referee assessor arrived and asked if I had seen James Davies, as he was here to assess James as he was supposed to be the referee.   The problem for me was that James was wearing the number 10 shirt for Chobham!!

Apparently there was a mix up and the person who James had cancelled with failed to pass this fact on.   As no other referee had been allocated to our game poor yours put old James under some slight pressure truly and after what seemed an eternity he kindly agreed to referee the game, a big thank you goes out to Mr Davies?

So it was left to me to ask for a volunteer to play 10 and to a man everyone of our courageous backs decided at that point to look down at the ground and, finally a voice mentioned that Henry can play 10 so with that I thanked Henry for volunteering!!

So with Henry at 10 the backs decided to run a few moves to attempt to get to know each other before the onslaught, the more experienced forwards used this time to stand around in what was a very good circle to practice throwing the ball to each other.

Chobham won the toss so we decided to play down the slope, I had set the team a goal of scoring in the first 10 minutes…… well the plan didn’t quite go right as we found ourselves 5 points down to Farnham who after a few missed tackles bundled the ball over using their much heavier pack.

So after 10 mins and a missed conversion we were 0-5 down to Farnham, I wont tell you what was going through my mind as I sprinted back to the restart as it could well offend but it was along the lines of  “oh dear, this is going to be a long day”!!

A few minutes later the ball was secured by the forwards who set up the ball by Mr Bolderson to spin it left and after going through a number of backs which resulted in Gihan going over to level the scores 5-5, unfortunately young Gihan decided to head butt one of the Farnham players boot which resulted in him leaving the field for a short period.   Conversion good (can not remember who) 7-5.

Good hard tackling by the back line and some hard rucking by the pack kept Farnham’s big pack from scoring.   Chobham's second try was scored after some fantastic defence work from the Chobham pack, Farnham were held up near Chobham's try line and the subsequent play resulted in Chobham stealing the ball which along with some good tackling and moving the ball through the backs resulted in Darren Bailey going over under the posts, conversion by Swann 14-5.

Michael Knight scored the final try of the first half on about 38 minutes when he took the ball in midfield and sprinted from just inside Farnham’s half to score under the posts, Swann converted again to make it 21-5 at the half.

The second half started with Chobham playing up the hill and with the changes to the pack and the slope giving Farnham’s much heavier pack a major advantage in the scrums.   For the first time this season and probably only the second time in two seasons Chobham's normally solid pack was pushed backwards.

The second half was a very scrappy affair with only three phases of memorable play, one being some fine running from Greg Clark which resulted in Eugene scoring to make it 26-5, conversion missed.

The second was when both packs were camped out on the Chobham 5 metre line for what seemed at least 15 minutes and two penalties in a row against Chobham.   This gave Farnham the opportunity to score but due to the some fine tackling by Chobham's forwards resisted the constant pressure from Farnham and stopped them from crossing the try line.

The final score came in the last 5 minutes of the half when once again Greg Clark broke a number of tackles when he ran out of his own 22 but was finally dragged down around the half way line, quick hands from the Chobham backs resulted in Gareth Turner scoring Chobham's final try, conversion missed.

Final score 38-5.

Farnham’s big pack along with the conditions were an ideal test for Chobham before they take on KCS 3s in a merit game next Saturday at home 3pm kick off.

Notable mentions this week go to the Chobham pack for their resilience who were constantly pressed hard by a big Farnham pack, to the backs for some fine tackling, Michael Knight for his try saving tackle in the first half and the subs Neil Tilley, Alex Burrage (first game for Chobham 3s), Alex Carey and Rob Hopson who came on and played extremely well.

Training on Thursday 7:15 for a 7:30 start and hopefully I will see enough of the 3s so that my job as Captain is made difficult once again when we go through selection on Thursday evening.

Starting Team – Spencer, Gadsby (Captain), Kendall, Brooker, Wallace, Knight, Harris, Swann, Bolderson, Cameron, Englebrecht, Gates, Clarke, Jayawardana and Turner.   Subs Tilley, Burrage, Carey, Hopson (all used).

Saturday 20 September

Esher 5s   13 - 30   Chobham 3rd XV

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

Chobham take a massive scalp early in the season

Chobham rugby has always had a tough afternoon at all levels against the national one club – with the Devils turning them over for the first time in many many years in the final a few seasons ago, Chobham 3s knew that this could easily be the fist L in the season as apparently this Esher 5s team hadn’t lost a game in a number of years!!!

Chobham travelled the M25 – A3 and prepared a little poorly if at all.   From the off it was clear to see that this was not going to be a fast flowing game with penalties being conceded in all areas of the park, the official really struggled to control the rucks and only when verbally assisted by 30 other refs did it seem to cause a blow on the whistle.

Chobham were up for this and no quarter was going to be given.   Chobham opened the scoring and with this we all realised the game plan was to move the ball away from the front 8 and get the backs moving forward.   0-7.   (Sean Gates, Davies converted)

Soon after debutant John Belchin had to leave the field with a blood injury which was bad enough to keep him from returning so Jake Stocks came on for John.

Esher came back and after an early scare they then did secure 3 points with the boot of their 10.

Chobham were always aware of how skilful these boys can be but with stirling work from Sean and Mark in the centres, Gihan was put in the corner to extend the Chobham lead.   Was it time to put the Esher 5s ghost to bed?   (Davies converted.)   3-14.

The first half finished and really the only area of concern was the ruck.   The next 40 mins Chobham had to secure that area of the game to secure a priceless victory in the merit cup league.

Chobham extended the score with a Davies penalty 3-17 but this seemed to spark Esher into life and they crossed the line much to the annoyance of the Chobham team 8-17.

Chobham then sensed a come back and with the rucks now secure a line out 30 meters out created the chance to secure a 2 score lead – finally we started to click in the line out when Bolderson received a great ball off the top which was passed to Davies at 10 which resulted in a great drop goal 3 points – 8-20.

Esher never gave up and battled hard and did cross the line again but it was all over by then, Gareth at 15 then brought himself to the party with 2 tries - one we have to question exactly how did he get from our 22 to the Esher try line with a kick and a miss, a kick and a fumble by them and then a 60 m sprint down the line.   13-30   (Davies missed the last 2)

The game finished on a high for Chobham with what has to be said could be the result of the season with 3 wins out of 3 and a record of 6 on the bounce to beat from previous years could this be the year Chobham 3s make their mark.

Although this was a great scalp and a good performance from the entire team there is still some work to do in the line out, rucks and mauls.   These areas of set piece have to improve if we are going to compete in this highly competitive merit league.

Special thanks this week go out to Johnny Lewis who kindly agreed to play for the 3s this week, Gareth Turner who although nearly threw his teddy bears out of his pram played a very good game at 15, Jake Stocks who came on after only 10 minutes and played a solid game on the wing, John Belchin who had a very short debut for Chobham.

Mr Gates who finally ran straight to score his first try for Chobham and finally but no means least Kate our wonderful physio who had her work cut out dealing with injuries to both Chobham's and Esher’s players.

Spencer, Gadsby (Captain) Kendall, Campbell, Lewis, Ripley, Knight, Bolderson, Davies, Jayawardana, Hodgkiss, Gates, Belchin and Turner.   Subs Fisher (55 mins), Tilley (65 mins ), Stocks (15 mins), Wallace (50 mins)

See you all on Thursday at 7.30 for preparation to face a Surrey alliance side – Farnham 2s.

Saturday 13 September

Chobham 3rd XV   41 - 3   Camberley 3s

The John O'Neill and Partners Reserve Leagues, Surrey Combination 1

Chobham 3s welcomed a new team to the merit leagues on Saturday in the way of Camberley 3s.   Opening day of a new league campaign, new faces, some old faces, same pitch but a new enemy.

Chobham had a good run out last Saturday against the feisty Feltham and this set Chobham in good mind for what in the past across the club has been a feisty affair.   Chobham’s back line was very different with the introduction of some southern hemisphere players for the first time in a long long time.

Chobham played up the hill first with not much wind to mention but it was there to say the least.   With a score line so much in the favour of the home side it is difficult to recall how the scores went.   I can remember turning round at half time with Chobham 14-3 to the good.

The pleasing aspect from the first half had to be the 20 minute onslaught that Chobham had against them by a very big pack no more than 15 meters from our line.   Penalties were given but with a ref that let it go and go Chobham battled hard and prevented the visitors crossing the white line.

The first half finished and Chobham knew that if the ball was thrown about a bit the scores were going to come.   Security of the ball was all Chobham needed and in the second half it came in plenty with Chobham putting another 5 tries together down the hill.   Some strong running from all departments but the backs linked well and the ruck support was excellent creating good 2nd and 3rd phase rugby, which took its toll on a good Camberley side.

A good day all round with forwards and backs combining well and securing a fine win over a side that is new to this league.

A few special mentions  - the way Richard controlled the game at 9.   Tom Brooker’s fine looping run to score his try and not take out the Chobham physio at the same time.

Chobham would top the table if the kicker of the day had his kicking boots on but missing 8 points has put them into 2 in the league on points difference.

Notable mentions this week go to Richard Bolderson who was picked by Camberley as their Man of the Match and Michael (aka Mark) Spencer for sound work in the scrum.

Another big merit game this Saturday away to Esher 5s which is always a tough match, so if you want to be picked then make sure you're at training this Thursday!

Starting Team – Spencer, Gadsby, Kendall, Booker, Ripley, Davies (Julian), Knight, Swann, Bolderson, Davies (James who was the kicker), Hodgkiss, Gates, Bailey, Jayawardana and Turner.

Subs Richards, Cameron and Tilley who all came on in the second half and gave good performances.

Scorers – Julian Davies, Tom Brooker, Gareth Booker, Michael Knight, Gihan Jayawardana, Richard Bolderson and Mark Hodgskiss.

Saturday 6 September

Feltham 1s   5  - 14   Chobham 3rd XV

Chobham secure a solid away win on the opening day of the season.

It has come round again so quick and with all the talk over and pre-season finished (if it ever started for some) Chobham 3s took to the road on the opening day.

Neil Gadsby leading the troops to his old stomping ground inside information was not ideal, watch these guys they will do what they have to win.

On a cold and windy day Chobham kicked off and with a blink of eye and 2 rucks Greg Clarke crossed the line.   Great start and James Davies took the extras.   0-7.   You will have to excuse the lack of names in regards to the 3 new players that joined us but they held their own in the prop, second row and centre positions.

The game never really got going and the half time score was 0-7 to the away side – Feltham made changes all day long and I think they had about 9 front row players.   The second half kicked off with Chobham going with the wind – Feltham changed their game plan a little and started moving the ball about, this created a penalty 10m out and their big centre came crashing through to cross the line 5-7.

This seemed to get the away side moving and ball retention was much better in the second half, better commitment in the ruck and maul created better ball for Greg at 10.   The game was getting messy by the minute and with 2 mins to go Chobham passed it about and with Birchy clean through with 60m to go a kick and chase started – Gihan came off the wing and sprinted to the ball that was over the line, he touched the ball and game secured for Chobham.   Davies added the extras and Chobham left the field of play battered and bruised but with a good solid performance.

Extra mentions go to Neil Tilley – playing his first senior game of rugby, who acquitted himself well in a rather difficult scrum.

Mark Hodgskiss – who has joined Chobham this season on a gap year from his native South Africa – a good performance in his first game.

Lastly Greg Clark – who has returned to Chobham during a break from Loughborough University.

Well done to all and see you all on Thursday.

Don’t forget first merit game v Camberley 3s at home so get to training, as the starting team will be selected from those that train!!!

Ali Kendall, Ali Richards, Michael Spencer, Neil Tilley, Richard Hoggins, Dougie Mayger, John Neil, Michael Knight, James Davies, Greg Clarke, Mark Hodgekiss, Simon Birch, Gihan Jayawardana, Lee Wharton, Gareth Turner.   Subs Dave Ripley, Neil Gadsby.