Warwickshire Seniors Double Header - another happy house at the BPA

We've come to scream in the happy house

We're in a dream in the happy house

We're all quite sane -ane -ane, oh

This is the happy house, we're happy here

We've done no wrong with our blinkers on

It's safe and calm if you sing along

Sing along, sing along, oh-oh

This is the happy house

Happy House - Siouxsie and the Banshees

In his programme notes, Warwickshire President Steve Wilkes hoped that the afternoon would be 'an example of everything that is fine about County Rugby'.

Although I don't know enough of the game at that level to know whether this was, indeed, the case, the double header down at the BPA definitely proved to be fantastic entertainment.

Both games went right down to the wire to keep everyone watching holding their breath right up until the final whistle(s).

Two games and two of the tightest finishes I've watched for some time, the women somehow holding on to a 24 -19 lead, this despite being down to 13 players in the last few minutes, and the men just falling short after looking down and out of it at half time.

Two terrific games then and for just a couple of quid.

I can't help but feel Warwickshire RFU sold themselves a bit short there really as I don't think any of those attending would have quibbled over a £8-10 admission, even those who qualified for the concessions as I did. As it happened, I'd just got a bit of shrapnel on me as I assumed it would be card payments only as is the case for Cov games. For this game though it was cash, no cards.

Had it been any more than two pounds to get in, it would have meant a quick trip to the petrol station across the way and the charge alone for using the hole-in-the-wall there would have covered the £2 entrance near enough. Crazy.

That said, I'd like to think Warwickshire RFU made a few bob from the gate as all four teams put on one a hell of a show.

First off, the, were the women who were playing East Midlands in Div 2 Pool 3 of the RFU Gill Burns Cup. Now I have to admit that this was my first experience of watching live women's rugby and I had absolutely no idea as to what to expect. The last couple of seasons I've followed the Lionesses closely on the box but I knew this would be very different and I went to the ground with a fairly open mind.

From speaking to a couple of people before the game, I believe all the players in the Warwickshire Women's squad were from Tier 3 or below - counties have the choice apparently of selection from Tier 2 (as Leicestershire do, I believe), but Warwickshire haven't taken this option. (In the men's game, it's Tier 5 and below).

Apologies if this is incorrect - I'm dependent on my memory which is growing increasingly unreliable these days.

(Apologies also for the poor quality of the images I've included {other than the one by John Coles} - I left a memory card at home so had to use my phone 😂😂😂)

The passion and commitment of the women playing yesterday was without question. I watched Warwicks go though their pre-match routines and they were definitely fired up - vocal and energised and seemingly enjoying playing on a bigger stage.

It was interesting to see the forwards go through some of the lineout drills - coming from different club sides brings with it problems, but in fairness this wasn't immediately obvious. Whilst there appeared to be some last minute coaching being done at times, it all looked pretty slick and very well organised.

As for the game itself, I was surprised by just how quickly I stopped thinking of it as women's

rugby and was instead drawn into the game simply as a rugby contest in itself. The gender of the players soon became an irrelevance. There were obvious differences given it's the third Tier of the women's game - the speed, the skill levels, technical difficulties at the set piece (especially the lineout), the distance the kickers can kick and so on - but for the most part this was a really close, hard fought encounter that was always in the balance until the final whistle.

John Coles' brilliant photo of another big hit from the first of the two games at the BPA yesterday. Some hit that, even it might be 'cardable'

Both teams left everything out there and no one could fault the ferocity of some of the hits and tackles from both sides.

Warwicks got their noses in front early on and never went behind after that, although on three occasions East Midlands leveled the scores. Whilst Warwicks had the better of the first half, for much of the second they were having to defend, their line under siege for long periods.

And with the penalty count mounting up all the time, they found themselves down to 14 players with 8 minutes of the game left and then 13 just two minutes later. The remainder of the game was 'edge of your seat' stuff, with the visitors twice being held up over the line

The referee signals to show the ball has been held up over the line and Warwick survive another strong East Midlands attack in the final minutes of the game

The photo (left) shows the frustration on the faces of the East Midlanders as well as the huge sense of relief of the Warwickshire players as the home side hold off another East Midlands attack.

The noise from the crowd was noticeably louder as the game entered the final quarter. I'm not very good at guestimating numbers, but even for the earlier game I should think there were 250-350 watching and they certainly made themselves heard.

In fairness, it was hard not to get drawn into the contest given the outcome was always in doubt.

A couple of tries were from the top draw too, notably those scored by the two 13s, both very different but both equally dangerous. The East Midlands outside centre looked the most dangerous runner on the pitch and always threatened when she had the ball - in fact she probably could have done with being a bit more selfish at times, choosing to pass the ball out wide rather than back herself. The Warwicks 13 was more of a powerhouse and she looked to go through, rather than around the defenders but she was equally as effective, if not more so.

The last few minutes of the game seemed to take an age to complete and from being just an interested bystander, by the end I'd become fully engrossed in the spectacle of these two teams fighting it out. I stood pitch side for much of the game and was surprised (I'm not sure why in retrospect) at just how vocal the players were and they weren't shy of making their feelings known at times either.

As an introduction to my first live women's game it was ideal and I'll certainly be watching more now.

One heck of an encounter...

Final score 24-19.

Fifty minutes later it was the turn of the men, this time against Oxfordshire in the RFU Bill Beaumont Senior Men's County Championship. It was another close encounter that was the reverse of the women's game. Thoroughly outplayed in the first half and down 10-21 at the end of the first 40, Warwickshire were much the better side in the second half and fought back to within 3 points, arguably deserving more from a game in which they struggled early doors to get any real foothold.

With the women's teams having use of the main changing rooms, the men had to make do with the executive boxes at the top of the main stand - the first time I've seen that happen - entering onto the pitch via the steps opposite the half way line

Take away the first couple of plays and the last couple and the rest of the first half was dominated by Oxfordshire. Whilst Warwicks looked a little disorganised, the away side looked far more disciplined and played with more pace and fluency. Warwicks, though, made things hard for themselves by kicking the ball out on the full on at least three occasions and making some basic errors which mean they were seldom able to get into the Oxford half, let alone their 22.

For Warwickshire it was a case of lacking the 'bare' necessities...

The crowd had grown a little by the time the second game began, nearer the 600-700 mark I would imagine and again there was plenty of noise. I've not watched much rugby at Tier 5 and was surprised how well it stood up to comparison to some of the National One rugby (Tier 3) that I remember from the Maynard era, pre-2016. I'm not sure they are necessarily as physically fit, but there were some very useful players at the BPA yesterday afternoon.

In the end, Warwickshire's fairly uninspiring first half display left them with just too much to do in the second half and there were some disappointed faces on the final whistle.

In the end, too little too late.

Warwickshire had opportunities in those final few minutes to win the game and had the home side been a little more clinical in the red zone, they would have. That said, East Midlands defended well and despite giving away too many penalties in those final minutes, they were able to prevent Warwicks from scoring until the last play of the game.

Final score 32-37 (I think).

Although Oxfordshire RFU's website as it down as 32-36. Either way, it was very close.

Unfortunately, there was no scoreboard available so whilst it was clear that Warwickshire had lost, no-one seemed sure by how much. I saw four different scorelines on Twitter in the minutes immediately after the game - rather disappointing in view of its importance. I'm not sure whether it's Cov's responsibility to provide a scoreboard when leasing out the pitch or the 'home' team's, but it was a shame there was so much uncertainty both during and after the game - even one of the players, when asked by a supporter from the stand, gave out the wrong score.

It's not a great look really, especially when there's no in-game or pre-game announcements either.

I know I was enthusing about what good value the double header had proven to be, but even so...

Scoreboard apart, this was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon down at the BPA. The Butts Park Arena has been a 'happy house' for Cov supporters pretty much all season and yesterday, despite the men's team losing, so it proved again.

I'll certainly be back to watch any County games there in the future - both men's and women's.

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