This is a short musing on the first five games in the new and exciting world of Midland 4 West (South), from now on called Midland 4 West (South), I could not shorten it and retain all the relevant info, sorry.

The first game was at Old Yardleians, actually in our sister league 4 West (North), in the first round of the Senior Vase. You never really know how level the leagues are until you play the teams. Upton have played a few of the teams in this league within the last 3 or 4 years so there was some small inkling of the standard. Anyway this was all irrelevant on the day because it rained a bit and much of game was played quite tight. Saying that, there were some prolonged passages of good rugby and the new look Upton team seemed to be melding together. A try ran in from a five metre penalty gave Upton the win and a tie with old rivals Wolverhampton in the next round. I say old rivals, Upton played them in the cup a number of years ago and ran them close, only losing by the odd 80 or so points. This time they have to come to Upton, this will make all the difference. In all seriousness Upton have progressed since then and looking at the results it would appear Wolverhampton have not, they play in the league directly above Upton .

So on to the first league game, a nice easy one against Ledbury. Not only local rivals, but also a team who had only missed out on promotion on the last day of the season. On top of that the game had to be switched to Ross Road because of flooding. It never rains but it pours, quite literally. None of this seemed to matter on the pitch as Upton took the game to Ledbury and ran out convincing winners, Midland 4 West (South) was not looking so daunting after all.

The next Saturday dawned sunny, blue of sky, no clouds and not a breath of wind. A fine day to visit a new club, Old Leamingtonians, situated a couple of miles out of Leamington. I spent an hour or so lounging on their patio area, perusing the latest Rugby Times, chatting to one or two of the locals, supping an ale or two. I was able to do this as I had been driven to the game, usually I have to do this myself and can only partake of the odd shandy. After chilling out on the patio I took my place on the touchline and then went home an hour and a half later, Upton lost the game, Old Leams had finished in the top half the previous year so I was not too disappointed, it had been a nice sunny day in very pleasant surroundings, I did hope the players were not taking the same relaxed view I was.

Southam were the opponents the following week and I was hopeful of getting back on track, no team is going to win every game in this league so the odd defeat is to be expected, it is of course how you deal with them that sorts out the men from the older men. Southam had drawn with a newly relegated Pershore side the previous week, it would be a close game. A 12-6 defeat was not exactly what I had in mind. After the try scoring bonanza of Ledbury to go two matches without one was a tad concerning, but not the end of the world. After all next week was away at Woodrush, games against them are always 15 man free flowing try-fests.

Woodrush RFC is situated in a very green part of the world wedged between the M42 and Birmingham. The pitch is on a slope and dives towards one corner to boot. It always rains when I go to Wales and Woodrush, no change this time. A breakaway try for Upton and a well worked try to Woodrush in the first seven minutes seemed to be the prelude to the usual Woodrush corker, wrong, a penalty for Upton was all we got in the next 73 minutes. The win was welcome and the drive back was made in happy mood, no chauffeur this week. For anybody not a Woodrush regular all games against them are close, low scoring games, not sevens type rugby but still exciting.

Before I come onto the last of the five just a note on the noisy goings-on I hear every Tuesday evening. These emanate from the field behind where I live at the bottom of New Street, sometimes called Collinghurst Meadow or the Playing Field or the Park, the last one is just my daughter to be truthful. These noises are, I hope indicative of much learning and going through of drills and running around and generally learning many new and exciting things with which to dazzle the gathered throng on Saturday afternoon.

Now onto the last of the five games, well six, I have included the game at Old Yards because I was not getting that wet for nothing. Our visitors for the next game were Dunlop, a side from Coventry. Upton had played them a couple of years ago in a play-off match for promotion and were easily beaten, it was a hot sunny day on a very hard pitch and Dunlops backs ran the ball most effectively. The conditions were not that much different this time around and considering Upton went into the game missing what I would consider an entire starting back row the result was a very satisfying one: 31-17 to Upton with two late tries for Dunlop topping up their score.. This result leaves Upton in a very solid 4th after five games in Midland 4 West (south). There might be even better news to come with some sort of inquiry into some front row shenanigans during the game with Southam.

I mentioned the gathered throng earlier and to put things into some sort of perspective I noticed in the Rugby Paper on Sunday that three or four games in National Three north and South garnered crowds of less than 200. I know there is some sort of admission price involved at that level but I think there was a fairly sizeable crowd for the game against Dunlop, perhaps someone should count at future games, just for the record as it were.

I have not gone into specifics in this rather long short musing, nor have I criticised. I am sure Coach Kelsey has done more than enough of that and as far as I am concerned it has been a good start to the season and there seems to be no lack of effort from all of the players.

If anybody reads this and feels inclined to swell the throng all the regulars would, I am sure, be glad to see you.

We move onto the next game, which as I mentioned is a re-match with Wolverhampton, OK it has taken seven years to get around to it, we move slowly in Upton. We have not had a Cup Run for a number of years and although it does mean playing more games, 13 in a row if this game had been won, it does add some variety to the teams played, also some prize money for each round won? I do not know if this is on offer, I will ask the Treasurer. There was the possibility of a trip to Spalding (where?) in the next round should a victory ensue, or a home game with Ledbury, sometimes the variety is not on offer. However all this turned out to be just talk as Upton lost a close game, no matter now they can concentrate on the league. I hope that does not sound too much like football talk!

The next week saw the team off to Kings Norton, now I am not saying it always rains when I go to South West Birmingham, yes I am! In the ten years I have been driving up and down the M5 to away games, other places do crop up occasionally, my coat has been the most valued piece of equipment and is rarely out of the boot. No rain this time but a biting wind which was not only uncomfortable for the crowd but did not allow for a game of running Rugby. Saying this both teams did play some good stuff and Kings Norton although struggling near the bottom of the table played with passion and not some little skill, it took twenty minutes for Upton to start playing together and only near the end did they stamp their authority on proceedings. It must be hard for the numerous clubs in this area to keep players who show promise or indeed the keenness to show up each week; more of this later.

Back at home for the next game, Shipston on Stour, I was happy not to be travelling up to Shipston for this game, the weather was a tad brisk. A nice gentle stroll up to the Pavilion and settle on the touchline for a cosy afternoon in the sun, Ha! After starting at close to arctic conditions the day soon turned a bit nippier and then worsened even more. Upton generally do not start games well, will someone correct me if this is not the case I might be imagining this. This is not to say they concede a host of tries in the opening exchanges, just that it takes a few minutes for them to come to the boil, witness last week at Kings Norton and also in the cup game against Wolverhampton. Once fully into the game it is also true that Upton are not a side that give away a lot of tries, take a look at the `against` column in the table. We will not mention the Old Leamingtonians game! Eventually the two points were banked and Upton maintained their place at the top of the table, all be it in fourth place on points difference. What happened to the Southam decision?

We now move onto the Edwardians game, another team from the rain belt of Southwest Birmingham, looking at the forecast I was a little concerned that my trusty coat would be needed. In the end it was just a typical November day, gloomy, not particularly cold and soggy under foot. That might have been due to the location of Edwardians pitch, under a bank? This bank did protect us from the wind that might have brought the rain but did not and the coat was left in the boot. Some of you who read this are probably aware that I usually travel with an added extra, not always needed but normally taken, a bit like my coat. I speak of my nine year old daughter, Chloe. She has actually played for Upton, admittedly at a slightly lower level, there are photos and everything, perhaps more of this later. Before this game there was a nice meal enjoyed by a number of Edwardians members and TWO of Uptons most fanatical supporters, well, Chris and Nigel. It should have been THREE at that meal but I had my added extra so it was a sandwich for me. We did have a look at some nice Christmas decorations at a certain garden centre, this does not make up for the lack of a nice meal, I would like to make that clear. Too much chat, perhaps, anyway Upton went onto win the game. Three league wins on the bounce to keep up with Dunlop and Wanderers at the top, we are now third on points difference. Conditions did not make for an exciting game and the result was never really in any doubt. This does not take anything away from Edwardians who are another team struggling to find the players needed to progress, the ones who turned out for this game certainly put in all the effort they had and indeed Upton did not find it easy.

All this is building up to the game that could be pivotal to the whole season, at home against Pershore. Last season they played in the Southwest division to balance the numbers, they were the nearest team, the league they played in was two levels above Upton . Yes, they were relegated but I think they were finding their feet towards the end of the season and they like Upton had flood problems to deal with.

All this build up is now meaningless, Mother Nature clearly has no regard to local rugby issues and thought it would be nice to let it rain for a day or so, thus rendering Collinghurst Meadow unplayable.

Upton have no League game on the 22nd November, as far as I know. On the 29th I am unable to attend the home game with Bedworth so I implore anybody who reads this to walk, drive, stagger or crawl to the game and give every last ounce of encouragement to the team.

I was lying about there being no game on the 22nd of November. After a blank week because of the flooding, Upton welcomed Stourbridge Lions to The Meadow. This was in the first round of the North Midlands Shield, the county cup for middle ranking teams. It is one level up from where Upton have played in the county cup for the last two years. Stourbridge play a level above Upton in the same league as Wolverhampton who we lost to in the National Cup a couple of weeks ago. A close encounter was expected and that was what developed. In the end, Upton ran out winners and progressed to the next round.

As I mentioned in my last piece, the next game was one I was going to miss. From memory I have not missed a home league game for…….. a long time! I cannot remember an exact game. On a more definite note I have not missed a league game of any description since Harbury away at the beginning of last season, amazing or sad depending on your point of view. Bedworth were the opponents, another team relegated last season and after a shaky start they have now pushed themselves up the table and are obvious promotion candidates. A close game was thought to be likely and apparently that was what transpired. Unfortunately, Upton came out on the losing side. No matter, I fully expect the league to be tight until the end of the season and no side will win every game from now until then. On a brighter note, Upton had picked up two points from the Southam game and the front row fiasco that ensued.

By the way, I missed the game for my sister's birthday party. It went very well and some nice food was washed down with some passable coke! I was driving.

The next week, Upton and their supporters travelled to Worcester to take on Wanderers. Looking at the results for recent seasons, Wanderers seem an unpredictable side who can win easily or struggle. The last time Upton visited, a number of years ago, they were easily beaten. This game was played on the new pitches that have been created just the other side of the road from Sixways. Not wishing to be uncharitable, I think the pitch could be a tad flatter, the muddiness was just the fault of the weather. I also wish I possessed a Land Rover or some such 4x4 to deal with the approach road to their car park, they are not alone in this deficiency. Perhaps I am just being overly critical, anyway, on with the match. A quick start from Worcester was followed by some hearty defence from Upton and, but for a score just on half time, Upton may have been closer at the end. As it was, Worcester ran out comfortable and deserved winners. One further loss from the game was Upton`s fly-half who will miss a number of games.

It was back to North Midlands Shield action the following week, this time against Oswestry. That`s odd, I hear you say, don't they play in the Northern Leagues? Yes they do but, as you also know, Oswestry is in Shropshire and therefore part of the North Midlands set up. Luckily, Upton had been drawn at home so no trek to North Shropshire. Oswestry are almost level in terms of points, place in the table and points scored so yet another close game was expected. That was what ensued. This time Upton prevailed and can look forward to a quarter final, probably versus a higher ranked team. Something to look forward to in 2009.

The last game before the Christmas break was one to look forward to, away at Pershore. I have been to many places over the last ten years to watch many different teams. However I have never been to Pershore, one of the closest. Mind you, Tewkesbury is also a missing link and Malvern was only visited for one of their games, nothing to do with Upton. I still have not been to Pershore`s pitch because it was a tad wet after another downpour. They have similar problems to ours with flooding. The game was switched to Upton, the word went out about the venue change and a sizable crowd gathered to watch another close game between two evenly matched teams. Well, for the first half an hour anyway. After that, Pershore's well drilled pack and accurate backs rather dampened the Christmas celebrations for Upton and their supporters to run out easy winners. To add insult to injury, Upton failed to trouble the scorers. Not the way to finish the year, three league defeats and the possible loss of Captain Chris for a couple of games.

Allowing for all that I think Upton can take heart and can push on in the New Year. I will take this chance to urge everyone who is able to attend home games to do so and remain positive in their support.

After the disappointing display against Pershore, it was perhaps a blessing that the Christmas break then gave Upton three weeks off. The weather during January was not at its best, cold and frosty. This led to the postponement of the game versus Edwardians on the 10th, so another week off. Would this be beneficial or just lead to rustiness and a lack of cohesion on the pitch?

The fixture computer decided to test Upton's preparedness by sending them to Pershore, you will remember the result before Christmas! For those of you who do not know where Pershore play, it is actually in Wyre Piddle, down a bumpy lane, near the mill. This explains why they have problems with flooding on a par with Upton. As I mentioned in an earlier report, Pershore was a place not yet visited by me, surprising given its proximity to home. After being dropped off by my driver, I strolled down the touchline to have a chat with some of Upton's other supporters and take in the nice country views on offer.

Once the game started it was clear the break had not lessened the ability of either teams and a close game was always going to ensue (yes I know I said this last time). However, this time Upton defended for the whole eighty minutes and unlike before Christmas, managed to score and run out deserved winners. A result to rank with victories at Keresley and Dudley achieved last season.

I did not stay for a post match drink as I was venturing to a hotel near Broadway for a well deserved night away from my small child. My wife and I enjoyed a very pleasant meal and a comfy bed too. Breakfast was excellent and we returned to Upton ready for a new week at the end of which Upton would visit another place new to me, Shipston upon Stour.

I have been to Shipston before, just not to the rugby ground. After a very pleasant drive up onto the Cotswolds taking in some splendid views, Chloe and I had a quick stroll around Shipston itself, a good place to visit might I add. An even bumpier road than at Worcester or Pershore led to a very fine clubhouse and, after a drink, I went to examine the pitch. To say I was a tad worried about conditions would underplay my concerns, nevertheless the game started and another close game unfolded. Now I do not usually mention specific happenings in games, an exception being when you play on two pitches in one game, bizarre. This did not contribute to a narrow defeat, last week's heroics could not be repeated.

Before we leave Shipston, I must mention the unfortunate injury to Ollie Banwell. Was this the last time we see him on the pitch? If so, a great loss.

On to the next game, finally back at home, against Kings Norton. On paper this would have appeared to be an easy two points. Upton had easily, well, soundly… OK Upton had won, up in Birmingham, mostly due to some good defence. Kings Norton had only won one match up to now but you never know in sport, that's an old cliché, I am allowed one per report! It was not the best advert for Rugby Union and all that can really be said is that Upton won and added two points to their league total to keep them pootling along in the top half.

Edwardians were the next opponents, again at home and again you would expect Upton to secure a victory. In the preceding week the south Worcestershire area had received what can only be described as……snow. Yes it snowed, not just an odd flake but actual proper snow which was visible on the ground and with which my daughter made a snow Dalek. There were perhaps as many as three games in the Midland region that day! Upton's was one of them, we did have to play on what is called the second team pitch. There was a giant snowball on the other and it was still a bit frosty around the edges. Conditions on the second team pitch were about as good as you are going to get in the winter and Upton played some controlled rugby to bank two more points and continue the pootling just above sixth place.

The last game in this group of five was in Coventry. Dunlop were the opponents. You will remember them as the team which beat Upton in a play off a couple of years ago and also as the team which Upton beat handily near the beginning of the season. The journey to Coventry was uneventful, well apart from having to negotiate the extremely complicated junction from the M42 onto the M6. It is probably just me but do they need to put so many signs and arrows and the like all over the road. Once into Coventry I passed the Ricoh Arena and managed to cross a large crossroads unscathed, us country folk get confused by too much traffic. A narrow car park at the ground did not allow for too much leeway with the parking, there was another rugby match taking place and a footie match. It does surprise me how many people willingly give up their own time to keep amateur sport going. Coventry is one of the places where I think you get more than the usual number of these people. Dunlop are quite good at home, who am I kidding, they are unbeaten in two years. When you add Upton's questionable record in Warwickshire and the fact that coach Kelsey was missing for the first time in a while a victory did not seem the obvious outcome. Ha! Upton won, even Van der Sar has to concede a goal sometime. Having said that there are six or seven teams in this league who could be in the top two and promotion will have to be earned and earned well.

Upton continue to pootle along, now in 4th. I look forward to the last third of the season, bring on Ledbury and Worcester.

Report from the front line:

We achieved a combined time of 1hr. 16 mins 54 seconds, which placed us second in the Sprint relay event.

Two comments before the start told us that we had the sympathy of the crowd - as we gathered around the registration desk before the start, the middle aged lady marshal looked at me like a sympathetic ward sister and said " Oh, and you're having a go too, well done you." It made us feel like deluded geriatrics. As I pushed my sturdy Claud Butler towards the transition area I heard someone say "Blimey, that must be a steel frame, well fair play to him for having a go!" In that classic British Bulldog moment of being motivated against the odds, I decided I need to get a better bike.

Mark got us off to a great start with the swim, during the 750 metres of which he claims to have used every stroke in the Amateur Swimming Association Handbook to cover the distance. His motivating war cry of "I can't see, I think I'm going to puke!" was just what was needed in the transition area to drive me to give the race my all. The immediate problem was that neither of us could see well enough to get the transponder band transferred from Mark's leg to mine, so a moment's panic.

The bike ride was 20 kilometres on familiar roads, and went better than I could have expected, playing cat and mouse with a couple of riders which kept the pace up, and benefitting from some welcome rain which was a good time to "attack." A very welcome sight was a huge banner stretched alongside the road where we turned left back down the A38 "Come On Grandad." with family standing yelling encouragement and insults, and the grandchildren wondering what sort of rugby match this was. The handover to Grant for the run came at the end of a red-mist sprint from the A38 to the Marina, resulting in me throwing the bike at Grant by way of handover and a repeat of not being able to see the velcro band for the transponder, but we managed and Grant was off.

It seemed like very little time before Mark and I saw our man heave into sight on the final run in towards the finish, so we decided to accompany him in to the line - it seems like Grant heard us but didn't actually see us at this point. Grant had attacked for the whole of the 5k, picking off about twenty shirts and only being overhauled by one or two. Thanks for the free mobile bar; excellent team backup.

It was a really good event to be involved in, and brought a bit of interest for the club, so it looks as though the challenge will be going out for next year!

Gallery: Click here.
Results: Click here.

Argeles-Sur-Mer Hosted the Daunat Beach Rugby Tour for its 2nd year, and a small contingent of junior section coaches entered the family tournament. They successfully reached the finals, and were honored to be joined by the French international player Vincent Clerc who kicked off for them, and later presented their awards.

The small French town was not only a fantastic setting, but were also incredible hosts. Not only was the competition free to enter, but the English team was welcomed with open arms and well supported throughout the day, by both the crowds and organisers.

Gallery: Click here.
Official Site: Click here.