Sat 20^th March 04
Olney 3^rd XV 31 - Ampthill Extras 27     

The wind and Olney too strong for the Extras 

A strong gale blowing forty five degrees didn’t really help either side in Ampthill’s encounter with Olney.  

Olney’s third team back line, on a day their first team did not have a match, was very strong. After about twenty minutes the visiting team were two tries down. The Extras decided to play a tight game and trudge their way back into the match. It was a case of short popping the ball and driving into the Olney defence. This was executed well and resulted in tries for Phil Stanton and Terry Nelson to level the half time try count. 

Starting the second half  against the wind it looked as if the Ampthill side would struggle to hold the Olney onslaught. The Extras pack stuck to their game plan, their efforts paid off when Terry Nelson completed his brace of tries. Soon after, centre John Kitchiner made a break with Matt Taylor on his shoulder. Kitch was tackled yards short of the line but managed to slip a pass to Matt who scored under the posts. 

Olney came back into the match and scored three tries to put them back in the lead. A second try for Phil Stanton levelled the try count for each team but the Extras lost out on successful conversions. Shaun Wood managed only on successful kick to Olney’s three.     

Tries:          Terry Nelson (2), Phil Stanton (2), Matt Taylor

Cons:          Shaun Wood