Rugby Union: Baa-Baas' blow-out victory
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.East Midlands. .59
Barbarians. . .77
SANDWICHED between international and league Saturdays, this latest Mobbs Memorial Match was enough to give everyone galloping indigestion. Yesterday's fare saw a record win for the Barbarians in the fixture, which dates back to 1921. A total of 136 points were clocked up, 22 tries scored and pounds 3,900 donated to English youth rugby.
As a colleague remarked: 'There are rather too many being ushered through holes than clogged', though the 4,000 at Franklin's Gardens did not appear to object to what was but a passing shadow of the real game.
What Edgar Mobbs, the Northampton and England captain who died at Passchendaele during the First World War, would have made of the latest action, heaven knows. Here, prisoners were being taken and as Fred Howard, the referee, said: 'When did you last see the losing side score 59 points?' To which there was no answer.
Those present had only 40 minutes of Rupert Moon and Adrian Davies in harness at half-back, a partnership being talked up in Wales with the team to face France in Paris on Saturday week due out tomorrow. Suffice to say, there was little to make of the exercise.
Even then, Davies took the precaution of taking himself off at half-time having suffered a calf injury, leaving Richard Moon to play alongside his brother for the first time. Both troubled the scorers, as they say, though not quite so much as Simon Geoghegan. The Irish wing ran in four tries and generously gave up a fifth which would have equalled another Baa-Baas record shared by David Duckham, Peter Thompson and Cyril Holmes. Ah well, you cannot have it all.
East Midlands: Tries Ward, MacNaughton 2, Pask, Alston, Wilkinson, Shelford, Penalty try, Webster; Conversions Tubb 6, Mansell. Barbarians: Tries Woodland, Geoghegan 4, Hunter, Rodber, Packman, Adamson, Wallace 2, Back, Richard Moon; Conversions Davies 2, Packman, Rupert Moon 3.
EAST MIDLANDS: J Wilkinson (Ampthill); J Chandler (Bedford), S Glover (Rugby), R MacNaughton (Northampton), B Ward (Northampton); S Tubb (Northampton), D Elkington (Northampton); L Mansell (Bedford), M Howe (Bedford), C Allen (Northampton), G Webster (Northampton), J Etheridge (Northampton), P Alston (Bedford), W Shelford (Northampton), P Pask (Northampton, capt). Replacements: S Foale (Northampton) for Etheridge, h/t; S Webster (Northampton) for Glover, 53.
BARBARIANS: I Hunter (Northampton); S Geoghegan (London Irish), F Packman (Northampton), H Woodland (Neath), R Wallace (Garryowen); A Davies (Cardiff), Rupert Moon (Llanelli, capt); M Linnett (Moseley), N Meek (Pontypool), H Williams-Jones (South Wales Police), S Lloyd (Moseley), L Adamson (Saracens), T Rodber (Northampton), G Weir (Melrose), N Back (Leicester). Replacement: Richard Moon (Rosslyn Park) for Davies, h/t.
Referee: F Howard (Liverpool Society).
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments