Youthful Wimborne face stern Lytchett test
“You never win anything with kids”; thus famously - and ultimately erroneously - remarked Match of the Day’s Alan Hansen in 1995, following Man Utd’s season opening defeat to Aston Villa. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side went on to win the league that year with the second youngest squad ever to do so!
This ‘round ball’ analogy could be applied to this season’s Wimborne 2nd XV where, consistently, there is more than a nod to youth. Head coach Barry Maidment confirmed the importance of the younger members of the club, “Developing good, young players is key to our club’s overall success at senior level. Training regularly with the excellent coaching available at Wimborne, will only see these young players – and the club – continue to flourish.”
This weekend’s local derby with Lytchett Minster will provide a useful barometer for ‘Barry’s Boys’ to assess their league challenging aspirations. Unbeaten Lytchett sit one place - and 2 points - behind 2nd place Wimborne having played one game fewer, both sides breathing heavily down the neck of current league leaders, Yeovil.
The incredibly consistent Ollie Hann leads the team from No. 8 where fellow forwards Jay Stokes, Vinnie Brooks and Charlie Hill will be hoping to maintain their excellent early season form. Behind the scrum, Ollie Richardson has been like an electric eel at 9 this term while emergent fly-halves, Phil Papwoth and Will Courage, continue to ‘conduct the orchestra’ with a maturity well beyond their callow years. Out wide, fliers Jacob Squire, Greg Hart and the aptly named, Woody van der Flier will be hoping to create havoc amongst the Lytchett rearguard.
Consistency of selection this season within Wimborne ranks is something which 2nd Team Manager, Nick Hawkes, believes has significantly contributed towards their success and continuity on the pitch. “We travel to Lytchett this weekend with a squad showing few changes to that which overcame Dockers last time out. The potential within this squad is huge and we hope to continue to prove on Saturday that we are very much title contenders.”
While Wimborne’s 1st team squad welcome a recuperative rest this weekend, the 3rd XV welcome Dorchester 2nds to Leigh Park for what should be a keenly contested affair. Manager, Simon Torvelle, confirmed, “Dorchester sit two league places above Wimborne, having played a game more, but we can hopefully leapfrog them with a win this weekend”. With some key players returning from injury, lead coach, James Muir is confident his Badgers side can secure a home win, “Our backline this Saturday has some real pace but we know that it will be a difficult test against a strong Dorchester side.”
Both 2nds and 3rd team matches, at Lytchett RFC and Leigh Park respectively, kick off at 1430hrs on Saturday and all support is wamly welcomed.
