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1XV  36  vs   Minety   27   Saturday 5th December 2009
 
Pictures from Dave Fowler
Try clips disabled at the request of the Coach
 

Playing the team just above them near the bottom of the league, this was a game that Ivel needed to win. However, because of the car crash on the return from last week's game at Tadley, five players were unavailable. The club is pleased to report that all five are recovering well and hope to play soon. Furthermore, some of the younger players in the squad were unavailable because they were involved in the British Colleges Trials over the weekend.

Ivel came out blazing and soon after the start Rusiate “Bruce” Vuetanatotoka ran three quarters of the length of the field to score under the posts, which Lee Jones converted. The Ivel forwards were on top and a break by David Clegg set up Joe Stelmaszyk to score a try, but this time the conversion was missed.

Thanks to “Bruce”, Ivel were soon on the score sheet again with a converted try. Mike Ellis was next to score a try which Lee Jones converted to bring the score to 26-0. As encouragement to the team, the electronic scoreboard which had not worked for several weeks, sprang to life to display the score. Unfortunately, double try scorer “Bruce”, who up to this point had been Ivel's star player, had to leave the field with a knee injury and this seemed to give Minety hope. After some poor tackling by Ivel Minety scored their first try which was closely followed by a penalty. Ivel were unable to re-establish their earlier dominance and the visitors were gaining in confidence, scoring a converted try to bring the half-time score to 26-15.

The second half started well for Ivel with Troy Fowler, playing out of position on the wing, going over for a try but the conversion was missed. Soon after, Ivel were down to 14 players when one of the forwards was sin-binned for foul play during a maul and at the same time Lee Jones had to leave the field with a shoulder injury. Another try by Minety narrowed the gap to 4 points and the Ivel supporters were fearing another defeat looming. However, when Ivel were back to a full team, they managed to regain control, especially in the forwards, and spent most of the remainder of the game in their opponents' half.

Just before the end of the game Joe Stelmaszyk broke from a maul to score a try but the conversion was narrowly missed. However, this was enough to settle the score at 36-27. There were jubilant cheers from the crowd, especially as this was only Ivel's second win of the season.

Joint Man of the Match award went to Mike Ellis and Joe Stelmaszyk

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Minety  19  vs  Ivel  0  -  Saturday 20th March 2010
 
Pictures from Dave Fowler
 

Ivel travelled to Minety knowing that a win today was vitally important for survival in Southern Counties South. This was especially so playing against the team next to them at the base of the table. Ivel needed to field their strongest possible team, but they couldn’t. The 2XV match was cancelled as they had to provide players for the senior squad. Even this didn’t prove to be enough as late calls went out early on Saturday morning. One call resulted in Harold Williams, the 60 year old Club Chairman, having to find his boots to act as cover on the bench. Senior Coach Martin Cole was forced to name himself in the starting line-up.

The first half was one of Ivel trying to defend and attack as a team.  Alex McGuinn, playing out of position at full-back, was a prime example of someone showing the talent available. Captain Alex Gillies was also evident with his defensive tackles and attacking opportunities. Unfortunately it was not enough to prevent Minety producing some flowing play to score a try under the posts. The try was successfully converted. After twenty minutes Ivel’s hooker Troy Fowler was replaced by Mark Gibson. Joe Stelmaszyk came in from the wing to his normal position – as hooker. Ivel suffered a further setback when forward Jason Dunn was involved in a collision. He was momentarily knocked out. Dunn was later taken to Cirencester and Gloucester Royal Hospital. He was discharged that evening. Dunn was replaced by Neil Jackson, and left the field suffering from what appeared to be mild concussion. Ivel managed to restrict their hosts to the only points of the half. 

Half-time     Minety   7         Ivel Barbarians 1XV   0

The second half started well for the visitors. Joe Stelmaszyk took possession of the ball from the kick-off and went sprinting down the wing. He was stopped just short of the line by some stout defence. In what was going to be repeated throughout the half, the support from Stelmaszyk’s team-mates was not quick enough in getting up to him. The ball was turned over and Minety managed to clear. Minety then scored a pushover try without converting. The next, and final points, came from Minety. The home fullback took the ball and broke three tackles to score under the posts. The conversion was successful and allowed Minety to run out deserved winners. A bonus for Ivel was Roger Maliszewski managed to tackle Minety’s flanker and send him back and down onto the pitch.

Full-time     Minety  19         Ivel Barbarians 1XV   0

An Ivel spokesman said: “We needed a strong team today to win this extremely vital match. But we were let down by those who pulled out at the last minute today and those who didn’t appear to be interested in this being vital for survival, in this league, for the Club. The players who did turn up today defended and attacked at every opportunity, but unfortunately we didn’t have the clinical finishers we needed to win the match. It’s going to take something unbelievably special for us to stay in Southern Counties South with just two games to go.”