Last September sixteen rugby players over 35 years of age were selected and then cajoled, pleaded with, or just kidnapped to make up the OPM Veterans Rugby Team to play in the Windsor RUFC Veterans Tournament at the beginning of the Season. In desert heat and rock hard ground, with aching muscles, bursting lungs and sinews strained to the limit the OPM team dragged themselves onto the pitch for the first of their games. Their opposition was Fullerians, the winners of the previous years competition.

Within minutes Steve Luffman had scored a try, the opposition falling for dummy passes left right and centre. Despite pressing the opposition OPM’s could not cross the line and the score remained as 5-0 up to half time. In the second half Fullerians came back and scored from a driving maul. Both teams had further chances but no further points were scored with a final score of 5-5.

This was OPM’s only dropped point in the competition. The team gathered their second wind and sometimes their third and fourth wind and went on to win games against Windsor Heavies in the group stage and High Wycombe in the semi-final. Just about managing to gather 15 players for the final, OPM’s took on Marlow Veterans. The team were immediately on the front foot with a crunching tackle by Julian Eccles on Marlow’s hard running centre and with strong running from Jim Melville and Mark Osbourne OPM’s turned out convincing winners taking home the first trophy of the season.

Many of the same players and a few new, but not much younger,  ones will be returning to Windsor to defend the trophy they won last year.  This year we will be accompagnied by wives, partners and girlfriends and staying at the musc more salubrious Copthorne Hotel.  Please contact Simon Adams if you would like to join us.

"Come on the Galleons"

Martin Finlay.