South Wilts Rugby Club

Barbarians versus Bradford-on-Avon IIs, Saturday 27th September 2008

South Wilts Barbarians take on Bradford-on-Avon II in what promises to be an early test of the promotion aspirations of both sides. Bradford visit Skew Bridge (1500 kick off) having won both their previous Dorset & Wilts 3 West fixtures thus far this season, starting with an impressive 38-19 defeat of Wincanton which was followed up with a 19-17 victory at Corsham IIIs last week.

 

Anthony Gibson powers towards the line against Westbury with the pack in close support

 

The Barbarians themselves have a game in hand on the early pace setters, having not played last week but will be keen to build on an a superb opening day win over Westbury as well as pre-season form which included a good win over Pewsey IIs to follow up victory in the Plate at the Pewsey 10s tournament.

   

Players celebrate with the Plate at the Pewsey 10s

Particularly pleasing for player-coach Zak Thorpe is the wider number of scorers in the side with trys coming from all positions, a stark contrast to last season when the Barbarian’s early season run at the top of the table saw tries from the same three or four players over and over (indeed it was very nearly Christmas before a winger crossed the line).

Barbarians 45 Westbury II 7

South Wilts Barbarians got off to the perfect start to their league campaign in Dorset & Wilts Division 3 West, with a crushing 45 points to 7 win against Westbury at Skew Bridge. The Barbarians opened the scoring when intricate switching between Michael Roberts and Jonah Wright opened the visitors defence for the latter to open the scoring. Westbury put out a strong attack but it was solidly defended by their hosts.  Jim Barker managed to crash over the through the Westbury defence and over the line to bring the score up to 12.0.

 Barbarians forwards power over the line at the Pavillion End.

 

Barbarians were taken down to 14 men after a questionable tackle and Wesbury  took full advantage of the extra man advantage to break the Baba’s defence and pull the score back to 12-7. 

Shortly after half time, George Dicker restored the points gap with a fantastic solo run through several tackles to put the 1^st try of the second half down. This was then followed by Ben Coombes scoring on the end of a punishing overlap created in the backs.  Michael Roberts then managed a try off of a 5m line out before Polish centre Sebastian Popeye crashed through. Anthony Gibson followed up his scoring debut the previous week with the final score minutes before full time.  Final score 45.7

The visit the Frome the following week was cancelled to allow players from both clubs to attend the Help for Heroes match at Twickenham. The Barbarians next fixture now being the visit of early pace setters Bradford-on-Avon to Skew Bridge for another 1500 kick off.

Can you design the next banner for the Ba'ba's website?

As you can see, the South Wilts Barbarian's website is slightly out of date with last years banner. Clearly we need to update it to include the new kit and the new name. If you want to have a go at designing the replacement, please right click on the banner above to save it as a size template then design your suggested alternative and post it on the forum pages. The committee will then pick the best to be the new banner for www.sberfc.typepad.co.uk

Barbarians 31 - Pewsey 5

Debutant Anthony Gibson made history less than ten minutes into his first ever game of senior rugby by becoming the first try scorer at Skew Bridge, the new home ground of South Wilts Barbarians RFC.

The lashing rain during the build up to the fixture could not dampen the mood as a new era began for the club formerly known as Salisbury Barbarian Exiles RFC. The rain cleared in time for the kick off. The home side, resplendent in a new bright red kit, sponsored by www.xtremerugby.com got the game under way playing towards the Church end.

Early pressure from the home forwards, led by new skipper Zak Thorpe at Number 8, meant that play was kept in the Pewsey half for the opening minutes and the Barbarians supporters thought they had got the moment they had been waiting for when Ben Coombes crossed near the right corner flag however the referee disallowed the try due to a forward pass. South Wilts were not to be denied for long however. Centre Michael Roberts charged down a clearing kick on the five meter line and the rest of the backs spread the ball left to Gibson who evaded two tackles with dazzling acceleration before getting the ball down in the corner.

Minutes later a tap penalty ten yards out was passed to open-side George Dicker who powered through the visiting defenders to double the advantage. Roberts added the extras before scoring a try of his own to take the score to 17-0 at half time.

Having been denied in the first half, Ben Coombes got his name on the score sheet early in the second having switched to his more familiar left wing position.

Pewsey’s forwards started to get on top throughout the second half and a long spell of pressure led to their try half way through the half. South Wilts stepped up however with impressive work from loose-head Tom Prutz and lock Ben Spragg. The fifth and final try capped an impressive debut for scrum-half David Hanson.

The league season gets under way at Skew Bridge next Saturday when Westbury are the visitors for a 14:15 kick off. The club are hoping that the new ground will prove popular with visitors and supporters alike and look forward to welcoming new fans in the bar after the game. Further details can be found at www.sberfc.typepad.co.uk.

Opening game this Saturday

After a good pre-season, the newly titled South Wilts Rugby will kick off their first game at their new home, this Saturday with a friendly against Pewsey (kick off 1500).

The move from the Westwood and the change of name were announced at the beginning of the summer and work has been going on behind the scenes ever since to ensure the success of the venture with the South Wilts Sports Club.

The new ground is just off Wilton Road (A36), just north of Salisbury.

South Wilts Rugby are looking for teams to participate in the second South Wilts CC Corporate Golf Challenge.

 

The first event in 2006, organised by Russell Rowe, was a huge success raising valuable funds for the Salisbury & South Wilts Sports Club Clubhouse Project. This year’s event is booked for Wednesday 24^th September 2008 again at High Post Golf Club, who supported us so well last time. It will be a shotgun start at 1.00pm.

 

The progression of the Clubhouse Project means that the build is intended to start in April 2009.  South Wilts are the Premier Cricket Club in the

Salisbury

area, with the first eleven competing at the highest level of English Club Cricket. In addition we have a terrific youth set up and provide coaches for a number of local schools, performing a very important role in local community youth sport. The cricketers, together with the Golf and Hockey clubs, have this year been joined at Skew Bridge by the rugby players formerly known as Salisbury Barbarian Exiles RFC.

 

The addition of a top class facility, such that the new clubhouse will provide, can only be beneficial to the

Salisbury

community as a whole.

 

Please feel free to contact Robert Wade with any questions or suggestions on 07799 627861 or at [email protected].

Historic changes at Salisbury Barbarian Exiles RFC

In a historic move, members of Salisbury Barbarian Exiles RFC voted unanimously at the AGM (8th June 2008) to become full members of South Wilts Sports Club. The club will move ground for the forthcoming season to a pitch which is currently being prepared at the western end of the ground at Skew Bridge, next to the A36 as it departs Salisbury to the north. Chairman Phil Griffiths, delighted that the committees’ proposal had been accepted by the membership, said "this is a great moment for the club, it gives us the opportunity to develop team orientated rugby in South Wiltshire through improved facilities". Griffiths, affectionately known as Taffy to those who know him, continued "this move is does not just benefit the players who are here, or, indeed those who will come in the future, we now have a far better offer for visiting players, supporters and our sponsors". As part of the decision, the club will have a change of name to 'South Wilts Rugby'. The first team will retain the name Salisbury Barbarian Exiles for the 2008/09 season, however this will be changed to South Wilts Barbarians in 2009/10.

AGM

Notice is given of the Annual General Meeting of Salisbury Barbarian Exiles RFC. To be held at the south wilts sports club, Skew Bridge, Salisbury. On the 8th of June 2008 at 6 o'clock. A full agenda is to follow. Nominations for the positions as an officer of the club must be received by either the Secretary or Chairman no later than 7 days before the meeting, all existing officers are standing for re-election. Proposals for any other business must also be received no later than 7 days before the meeting.

Club Dinner - Change of venue

In a change to the previously advertised arrangements, the annual club dinner will take the form of a barbeque at the South Wiltshire Sports Ground on Friday 6th June, starting at 1830. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children.

Barbarians on Facebook

The Exiles now have their own group on Facebook. Simply search for 'Salisbury Barbarian Exiles Rugby Football (Union) Club or follow this link:- Exiles on Facebook