Herald - Issue 416

v WE’VE BEEN YOUR LOCAL SINCE 1994 v Page 76 • The HERALD • 9th December 2021 SPORT IN THE HERALD Fawley RFC 1st XV in Contention the Battle for Promotion to Hampshire Premiership HARDLEY RUNNERS EMBRACING RACING… AND MORE! Fawley RFC have had a strong start to the season in Hampshire 1 and have their sights set on promotion to the Hampshire Premiership for the 2022/23 season. Like many teams, the impact of COVID-19 hit the squad hard and a rebuild was needed for the 2021/22 season. During the lockdowns Hardley Runners kept themselves motivated with challenges that could be undertaken alone, but nothing compares to running with others whether to train, socialise or race. From beginner courses to marathons, the Hardley Runners are enjoying their newfound freedom. Start at the beginning - Beginner’s Course made a late start in July. Meeting in Dibden Enclosure on a Monday evening for 10 weeks, there were 16 ladies taking part in the ‘Couch to 5k’ sessions. As always this was a relaxed and fun course, led by experienced England Athletics quali ed Run Leaders, where individuals taking part progressed at their own pace. Never has a Beginner’s Course come to an end with so much jubilation. As the light and evening sun was fading 11 ladies all completed their familiar 5K route around Dibden Enclosure. Training has resumed and runners can’t get enough of it! - Training with the Hardley Runners is unique, working as one group with 3 di erent running abilities, making for an evening of hard work but fun! Meeting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6.30pm outside Applemore Recreation Centre, the training sessions vary each week. Each session is led and supported by an experienced England Athletic (E.A.) Run Leader and E.A. Level 3 Coaches. Great to be back at the Great South - Sunday 17th October 2021 saw the return on the Great South Run, the South Coasts’ biggest 10mile event. Hardley Runners were well attended with 16 club members taking part; Dan Latham was the rst home in 1:02:15. First lady home was Poppy Tanner nishing 27th in her age category with a great time of 1:09:06. Running for all - Hardley Runners are committed to providing running training and events for runners of all abilities and goals. Racing is a big part, with runners taking part in the historic Hampshire Cross Country League, Hampshire Road Race League & the R R 10 league which is a series of organised races by running clubs in South West Hampshire. ere’s also the much treasured ‘Social Runs’, runners meeting each week to run socially and enjoy the New Forest. If you would like to discuss taking part in a session to see if this is for you, do check the website: www. hardleyrunners.co.uk Alternatively contact Chris Harris at: energybar6@btinternet.com With a fresh-look coaching set up of Gareth Tucker, Gareth Friend and Head Coach Leon Phillips, the Waterside team started the season with a string of wins including a 57-0 triumph against Overton RFC 1st XV in the season opener. Fawley pushed themselves into top spot but a close fought battle against the experienced side United Services Portsmouth on 13th November saw Fawley su er only their second defeat this season, now occupying the second position seat in the table. As the season draws in to the halfway point and the Christmas break, Fawley look to test themselves with away xtures on the Isle of Wight and with home xtures against an equally strong Fareham Heathens side. Fawley RFC play their senior xtures at their home ground of Newlands Park opposite Gang Warily and supporters are welcomed and encouraged to enjoy rugby. Senior mens training takes place at 1900hrs every Tuesday. Fawley also run a social 2nd XV open to players of all abilities be they new to rugby, returning from time away or for those that want to enjoy the sport for it’s inclusive social element. Walking Rugby (non-contact) runs on ursday evenings at 7pm where many veterans of the team and new players take the opportunity to engage in the sport without the intense physical demands of the full 15 game. Regular readers will also be aware of their fantastic Junior teams as well. If you are interested in watching, playing or volunteering please email: enquiries@ fawleyrfc.co.uk e Beginners Group and Run Leaders in the beautiful New Forest Captains Challenge Trophy An initially foggy and rather cool day on ursday 11th November saw 44 New Forest Golf Club Seniors drawn in teams of 4 each led by a past, present or future Seniors Captain, compete for this, the penultimate trophy of 2021. e fog soon cleared and the sun even shone for some of the time as the 11 On ursday 7th October 2021, under heavy skies with a touch of drizzle at the start, a large eld of 40 New Forest Golf Club Seniors sallied forth in this strokeplay competition o the white tees. An occasional strong breeze blew some balls o course, but generally con- ditions were very good. Seniors Vice Captain Barry Nicholas scored an excellent nett 65 to lead Division 1, but Philip Walker in Division 2 emerged 1 stroke ahead of him with nett 64 to claim the Des Harvey Tro- phy. Top results: Division 1: 1st Barry Nicholas – nett 65, 2nd Ross Matthews – nett 66, 3rd Jim Worsley – nett 67. Division 2: 1st Philip Walker – nett 64, 2nd Hugh Marchant – nett 67, 3rd Colin Firth – nett 67. Trophy winning Past Captain Rob Young flanked by his team members Colin Firth (left), Pete Bennett (right) and Ian Tyrrell further right. teams played Stableford format o the white tees with their scores aggregated to determine the winner. Second place went to the team led by Richard Hammond with 140 points, with Rob Young’s team scoring 141 points to win the Trophy. 1st Rob Young, Ian Tyrrell, Pete Bennett and Colin Firth, 2nd Richard Hammond, Mike Fawcett, David Jones and Terry Gordon. DES HARVEY TROPHY Trophy Winner Philip Walker e days are getting shorter and the weather more unpredictable but the ladies of Bramshott Hill golf club carry on regardless. Although the competition season is coming to a close it’s now time to start the ‘fun’ games. Congratulations go to the yellow peril winning team of Margaret Shepherd, Julie Bailey and Jo Wiseman who not only managed to keep track of the yellow ball in all the autumn leaves but posted a great score of 82 points. e three clubs and a putter fun competition posed a di erent set of challenges, and le most wondering why they usually play with a full set of clubs. Despite this and a delayed start due to fog the scores were very impressive. Div 1 Winner: J Weatherdon , 2nd H Troupe , 3rd L Compton ; Div 2 Winner: E Thomas , 2nd P Kellaway , 3rd P Colmar ; Div 3 Winner: J Wiseman , 2nd C Beech , 3rd L Bell . 9 HOLE SHORT COURSE WINNERS Ladies continue to play quali ers on the short 9 hole course at Dibden and congratulations go to Cilla Woodason who on the 14th October beat Pat Greenham into second place by 4 points. e 4th November saw a very close match when Maureen Parry won by just 1 point over Liz Moor . Further results from the 18 hole competitions. 14th October Maximum Medal: Div 1 Winner: S Rothwell, 2nd H Troupe , 3rd S Lewis ; Div 2 Winner: J Physick , 2nd H Bell , 3rd M Tennant ; Div 3 Winner: C Beech , 2nd J Wiseman , 3rd M Annetts ; 21st October Stableford Quali er: Div 1 Winner: J Howells , 2nd L Compton , 3rd J Renyard ; Div 2 Winner: P Comlar , 2nd M Tennant , 3rd C Davis ; Div 3 Winner: D Campbell , 2nd J Wiseman , 3rd N Lowman ; 4th November Stableford Quali er: Div 1 Winner S Lewis , 2nd H Hanmore , 3rd J Weatherdon ; Div 2 Winner: E Thomas , 2nd C Davies , 3rd J Merrett ; Div 3 Winner: M Annetts , 2nd L Bell , 3rd D Ryan . As the seasons move into winter the Bramshott Seniors are nding that they have to adapt their game to the changing conditions, the air is heavier, the fairways are damper and the trees are shedding their leaves. e changing conditions however do not deter the seniors from their Monday golf match and on 8th November 34 players took to the Dibden course. Obviously the conditions were taken in to account and some decent scores were returned, the results were: Division 1: 1st Alan Rogers, 2nd Johnny Hooper, 3rd Barry Walker; Division 2: 1st Gerard Murphy , 2nd John Gordon , 3rd Brian Cox . e qualifying matches are now nished for this year due to deteriorating weather and course conditions. However, this does not prevent the Bramshott Hill Seniors from continuing to play for fun on Monday mornings. On Monday 15th November they played a Medford game. For those unfamiliar with this competition it is as follows; e front nine holes are played under Medal rules and half of the players total handicap is deducted from his score. e back nine holes are played under Stableford rules and the players Stableford points are deducted from the front nine nett score, thus giving a nal players nett score. It sounds much more complicated than it really is and is most enjoyable. e nal scores were: Division 1: 1st Peter Paine , 2nd Mark Eve , 3rd Kevin Rothwell ; Division 2: 1st Terry Wiseman , 2nd John Manning , 3rd Eddie Moseley . Autumn Leaves are Falling but Not the Scores Bramshott Hill Seniors Results