New Milton Advertiser 18th December 2020

Friday 18th December 2020 · 23 Sport

email: news@adt.press / advertising@adt.press · tel: 01425 613384

Joy for local rugby clubs after go-ahead

Golf

Ivor steps down after 14 years

AFTER 14 years serving in various key positions at New Forest Golf Club, Ivor Griffiths has stepped down from his remaining roles as secretary and press officer of the seniors section. Ivor was appointed head of marketing and director for NFGC in 2007, a role he enjoyed for 10 years during which he and his wife Lesley were instrumental in the design and development of the club website. Ivor has won many trophies in his time at New Forest – he is a five-time winner and five- time runner-up of the Seniors Championship, and he won the Winter League three years running with his playing partner Mick Wheeler. During his time at the club, Ivor has sunk three holes-in-one. Ivor first showed his natural sporting abilities as captain of his school football team. He then played for Middlesex County in the mid-1960s before training with Brentford Football Club’s professional squad for three years.

LOCAL rugby clubs are back playing after the government gave the green light to return at the grassroots level, subject to adaptations. As part of the Covid law variations released by the RFU, there will be no scrums or mauls in a bid to mitigate risks by limiting prolonged face-to-face contact. Clubs have been unable to play matches or train full-contact since the first lockdown began in March. Due to the restrictions on close-contact sport, the 2020/21 season was cancelled with the new season expected to start in September 2021. In a bid to continue playing, the RFU released rules for a 10-a-side non-contact game called Ready4Rugby. It enabled two teams of up to 10 players to train and organise non-contact fixtures with other clubs. New Milton Rugby Club secretary Nick Hanmer said: “We considered trying to arrange touch games with other clubs, but after consulting with players we realised there wasn’t much enthusiasm. “Once contact rugby can resume, I think interestwill rise considerably. Unfortunately, there will invariably be some players who will prefer to wait for next season and some older ones who may decide to retire. “Our youth section, which is one of the biggest in Hampshire, are very keen to return to playing and arrangements are being made. We saw some of the older boys found football teams to join to keep themselves active and we’re waiting to see if they

Two of the teams put in out- standing performances with convincing victories over Poole Town and Christchurch, with the third narrowly losing to Hyde. The Falcons team which en- tered the U12s league secured an 180-run victory over Poole Town. Starting at 200, Poole never got going thanks to tight New Milton bowling. The stand- out performer was Poppy Dunn who took a wicket in the first over and three more in a later one. Poole finished on 250 with the Falcons girls taking eight wickets. The Falcons showed their class with the bat, with each pair scoring plenty of runs. Mil- lie Bence and Poppy Dunn hit the ball hard and ran brilliant- ly to score 86 runs from their four overs. Hettie Puckett and Swara Urankar then took the score to 352 with both girls hitting majestic straight sixes. There was no let-up in the fi - nal pair with Evie Hayward and Jasmine Wills adding 78 runs. The total run tally was 430 for just one wicket. Not to be outdone, a slightly older team playing in the U11 Open Indoor League defeated Men’s captain Sam Botting decided to compete in the Men’s Open 500 metres in an incredibly strong field that in - cluded a world record holder. Sam put down a very credible 1:30.4 in his race to secure 26th overall against opposition from across the world, including Ita- ly, Sweden and Germany. Many of the junior squad did themselves proud with mid- pack finishes in incredibly com - petitive fields. Jack Mans competed in Sixth Form Boys 2,000 metres, Ellie Potter in the Sixth Form Girls 500m, Seb Mills and Annabelle Wilkinson respectively in the J16 Boys and Girls Six Minutes, JC Aphin, Callan Wallis and George Roche in the Boys J15 5 minutes event and Sol Cham - berlain in his first race in the Year Nine Boys 500m. Junior captain, Jane Wild, said: “It was great to see so many of the youngsters staying motivated and competing in these tough times against very strong international competi- tion.” Youth cricket but in the meantime, we have the opportunity to return to the field, with structured guidance on what we can do safely.” Ellingham & Ringwood will be the first local side to play a match under the law variant when they play tomorrow (Saturday) against Blandford RFC as officials, coaches and players get to grips with the new changes. Ellingham & Ringwood director of rugby, Mark Johnson, said: “Games will be played under the new rules in mini-cluster tournaments in both Dorset and Hampshire from 23rd January. “I hope we will be able to open up the clubhouse for both our supporters and those from visiting teams by then. “The club embraced the RFU’s Ready4Rugby initiative and held tournaments against other teams from across the New Forest. “We have done all this within the guidelines to ensure we keep all our players and supporters safe. We have managed to find the right balance between the huge benefits of taking part in the sport against infection risks. “I’m in favour of the temporary changes to the laws, and I played front row for the club, so I speak from someone that naturally enjoyed scrums. It is far better to play 70% of the game than none at all. “There are also benefits for all players in having to adapt to something new. Many of our players have improved aspects of their play already through the Ready4Rugby games.” To read the full Covid law variations visit bit.ly/34azcVN

Ivor Griffiths

With lockdown temporarily suspended, seniors captain Ian Coundon presented Ivor with a framed caricature portrait depicting some of his many interests including his MGB, football, ballroom dancing, keyboard playing and, of course, golf.

Ellingham & Ringwood in action before the restrictions

There is some concern about what this means for a few positions, namely the front five, but I genuinely believe all positions can be catered for and a good coach will involve all the players.” There is no obligation for players and clubs to play the 15-a-side adaptations and clubs will still be able to play Ready4Rugby matches beyond 18th December if they choose to do so. Donovan added: “Our ladies are back training every Wednesday and we’re excited to be launching our youth and mini section in February, which will train at The Grange school in Christchurch. “I’d expect there will be a return to normality next September for the new season, WITH no on-the-water compe- titions currently taking place, 10 rowers from Lymington Row- ing Club focused on the British Rowing Indoor Championships. This year the championships, despite its name, included extra competition from overseas. Due to the current pandem- ic-affected climate, this year’s championships were hosted remotely with each event on- line. Although the competition lacked the atmosphere of racing at the venue, the club had many outstanding performances. The club’s best performer was Pippa Homewood, who took the silver medal in the Year 10 Girls five-minute race, where the goal is to cover as much distance as possible within the allotted time. Her final score of 1,312 meters was enough to secure second place. The race was a close-run affair with Pippa finishing just 23 meters off eventual winner Emily Downing (Great Marlow School). She also faced stiff competition for her place beat- ing Millie Hurrell (Great Brit- ain) by just three metres. Saints link up with Milford YFC MILFORD-on-Sea Youth FootballClubhasannounced an exciting new partnership with Saints Foundation, the charitable arm of Premier league’s Southampton FC. The partnership will see the Saints Foundation coaches assist Milford YFC to develop players and coaches and provide a whole host of further opportunities for the players associated with the club as they progress. Speaking on the partner- ship, Milford manager Joshua Mantock said: “This is great news for the club. “We have been working hard to continue to grow our club. “This link with Saints will give a great insight into further coaching and a lot of other things that come with Saints Foundation. “For example, weekly sessions from the coaches to our team to their Soccer Schools and a wide range of other things — great to take this step forward and become a partner club with Saints Foundation.”

“While the Ready4Rugby format was useful and kept our players engaged, I think it’s fair to say every player has been looking for a return to the game, or as close as possible. “We have started training already and are back into the swing of things. However, I feel caution should be taken with jumping back into games so soon. The RFU has advised games can be played from the 18th December, but we will wait until the new year before playing fixtures. “The new format sees scrums and mauls removed from the game which, on the grand scale of things, is a small sacrifice to ensure we can return to the field and move on from Ready4Rugby.

come back immediately or continue with football for this season. “Since the initial lockdown inMarch, the club has followed government instructions, and everything ceased on the pitch, in the bar, everywhere. Financially we are down on previous seasons, but we run a frugal ship, so we’re not having to go into debt so far.” Clubs have been allowed to train with the adapted rule variants since 2nd December and many will be able to take part in local friendly fixtures from 18th December. Christchurch RFC secretary, Donovan Lynaghan, said: “It was great news to receive from the RFU as the contact aspect is ultimately the critical feature of the game.

Evans saves best for last WALHAMPTON Golf Club senior section’s Charity Plate four-round competition was won by Richard Evans who saved his best performance for the last round. This seemed to be the case when lead golfer Leo Pearson returned his lowest score of the competition giving him a total of 146.

Richard Evans, who started the day in second place, produced his best score to provide him with a winning total of 153.

Sometimes in sport, the person in the lead fears losing more than anything, while the chasing pack play without fear.

Fishing

Harmer finishes on top in season opener

Rowing Fordingbridge’s festive foodbank gesture FORDINGBRIDGE Rugby

FOR the first competition of the new season, members of Lymington & District Sea Fishing Club’s Large Boat section headed to a mark just west of the Needles, aboard Art Savage’s Private Venture. Some welcome sunshine mitigated a keen northerly breeze, and the day remained dry. Fish came in steadily throughout the day. This included rays, some decent- sized whiting and dogfish. Jumbo pout was a welcome addition, but, as usual, strap congers were a constant nuisance which ruined the prospects of catching cod, which remained as elusive as ever. Results: 1, Arran Harmer, 87 points; 2, Derek Smith, 79 points; 3, Roland Blomfield,

Lymington rowers place well at indoor champs

BALLARD School has received The FA Girls’ Football Partner- ship Award after demonstrating its commitment to girls’ foot- ball. The independent New Milton school has been recognised by the nationwide scheme which aims to make football mainstream as much for girls in schools, as it is for boys. Through this initiative, the FA is working towards giving every girl equal access to the sport in school games lessons by 2024. The FA partnership initiative includes extended training for staff at Ballard, training activities and challenges. It also involves forging links with local clubs such as Mudeford, Sway, and Hythe to encourage more Ballard schoolgirls into the sport, both in school and in the community. This partnership work has been developed by school voluntary community officer Megan Smith, who played for Chelsea FC Women and in the USA, and PE teacher Abbie Vernon. Megan has also been a coach and worked in roles developing women’s and girls’ football. Megan Smith said: “Women’s Club has donated over 220kgs of food to the Ringwood, Fording- bridge and Verwood Foodbank to encourage their young play- ers to support those in need. Players in the mini and jun- ior sections were encouraged to bring food they felt families would appreciate at Christmas, such as treats, small gifts and essentials. Mini section chair Edward Murphy said: “We are a com- munity club and it’s important for our players to feel that too. At Christmas, young children can often get caught up with ‘want’, so it was great to see them so enthused about sup- porting those in need. Many of them have been doing a reverse advent calendar where each day they find an item to donate from their kitchen cupboards.” The food will be used to sup- port vulnerable local families at a difficult time of the year. The food is enough to feed 14 fami- lies, three meals a day for three days. Players at the Fordingbridge Rugby Club are delighted after Youth football

Arran Harmer

50 points; 4, Mark Duncan, 46 points; 5, Alec Harmer, 41 points.

∙ BRIDGE RESULTS ∙ BRIDGE RESULTS ∙

(10/12): 1, John Taylor and Andrew Bing- ley, 63.89; 2, Moya Abbott and Muriel Frend, 63.89; 3, Peggy Bennet and Frances Alex- ander, 62.50. (11/12): 1, Marion Wicks and Hilary Turner, 69.32; 2, Andrew Bingley and Yvonne Moor- es, 66.94; 3, Tim Macaire and Dee Jones, 60.94. (12/12): 1, Denise Moore and Sally Muir, 65; 2=, Richard Willsteed and Mike Clarke / Jack- ie Kershaw and Tony Elliott, 64.

Highcliffe Duplicate Bridge Club (Greystones)

(9/12) Stepbridge Pairs: 1, Jo Phillips and Hugh Gallacher, 57.78; 2, Michael and Eryl Hardwick, 57.38; 3, John Lee and Moya Abbott, 56.98. Lymington Bridge Club (9/12): 1, Mr and Mrs Robot, 62.04; 2, Heather Tarbard and Christine Thomas, 58.80; 3, Jo Morrow and Andrew Bingley, 58.80.

the RFU issued Covid law variants of the 15-a-side game allowing clubs to get back playing the game they love. The club runs training for all youngsters aged U5s-U11s

every Sunday at 9.30am on Fordingbridge recreational ground. All abilities welcome, for more information contact frfcminis@ outlook.com

NewMilton Falcons’ happy return NEW MILTON Falcons had a busy return to cricket action with three teams playing at the Dorset Indoor Cricket Centre, and 18 girls taking part.

FA honour Ballard School for inclusive sports commitment

have formed teams which will compete each week in circuits, set drills, and small-sided games in their PE lessons. The eventual winners will lift the Girls’ Power Trophy at the end of the term. Director of sport, Justin Whitbread, said that girls playing competitive football is a key component. He added: “We have fixtures and festivals planned to establish Ballard as the home of independent school football in the area for girls. “We already provide the opportunity to play mixed football until Year 8, and some girls have played for the boys’ teams in friendlies and the Jersey Festival of Sport. “At Ballard, we believe all sports are for everyone, girls and boys, of all ages and abilities. “The benefits of taking part are enormous. Sport keeps us healthy, develops our communication and team skills, and builds our resilience and character – that’s why we feel it is vital that sports are all- inclusive and equal access at our school.” To find out more about Ballard School, visit www. ballardschool.co.uk

New Milton Falcons U12s (clockwise from back left) Hettie Puckett, Poppy Dunn, Swara Urankar, Jasmine Wills, Millie Bence, Evie Hayward

Year 4 girls playing football

ful hitting saw the duo smash several straight sixes. The Christchurch bowlers stuck at it admirably, but they could not restrict the Falcons who scored 236 for four wickets in 12 overs. The Falcons restricted the Christchurch batting, and a smart run-out from the quick-minded Erin Grimwood preceded her well-taken wicket to close out the match. Tilda Mowat took a wick- et maiden in the middle of the innings, but the outstanding bowler was Ruby Hindell who bowled two of the Christchurch boys in one over to put her side in a winning position.

Christchurch Boys B Team by a comprehensive 137 runs. After losing the toss, the girls batted first and got off to a lightning start with Tilda Mo- wat and Erin Grimwood run- ning brilliantly in the first few overs. The innings was pegged back with two quick wickets, but Til- da continued to strike the ball powerfully to finish on a mas - sive 62 not out, retiring twice. She was joined in retirement by Lilly Shrubb (30), Amy Herbert (29 not out) and Charlotte E (25). All the players ran smartly, but Amy and Lilly’s power-

football has grown enormously in recent years and it is so important that girls can play and enjoy the sport from a young age. Ballard is leading the way in making sure all their pupils can take part in football – not just the boys.” Girls’ football is now a significant part of what Ballard offers pupils, alongside the traditional sports of hockey and netball. There are opportunities to learn and play the game in extra-curricular clubs and for girls in years three to eight in their PE lessons. For example, girls in years three and four