Match Reports

Millwall Lions Roar in impressive showings

2nd November 2008

Millwall Lions lifted their performances on Sunday with two impressive showings on Millwall Park. The U17s were victorious over Upper Clapton 19-12, while the inexperienced U15s gave a scare to visitors Braintree before going down 27-21.

Centre, Charlie Jackson was first to score for the U15s with a run-away try under the posts after visitors had scored two early tries. Jayson Thompson converted and the home side went into the break trailing 10-7.

U15 Captain Charlie Brennand put his side on the front foot in the second half with a break-away try of his own, with Thompson again converting to the give the U15s a 17-10 lead.

Braintree hit back with a try of their own before giving away a penalty close to their line. Thompson's penalty kick hit the post but several Braintree players were soon found in offside positions.

From the ensuing scrum, forward Ashfaq Uddin crashed over to set the score at 21-17 with under 10 minutes remaining.

The more experienced Braintree weathered the storm however and grabbed a try soon after to lead 23-21. With a large crowd willing the home side on, Millwall tried valiantly to regain the lead. Their defence was solid until a missed forward pass sent the Braintree winger away for a try on the final whistle, sealing an away victory 27-21.

Despite the close loss, coach Scott Vinnicombe was delighted with his team's performance:

"I have to keep remembering that this is only their second ever match! They showed a massive improvement today and the enthusiasm and energy was very pleasing to see."

"A victory is just around the corner for us, I think, and I think that will really inspire the boys to do better," he said.

Millwall U17 went one better in the following match of the day, ending their losing streak and proving to their coach that they have what it takes to play as a team.

Facing off against Upper Clapton, it looked as if old habits would die hard when the visitors ran in two quick tries to lead 12-0.

But some inspirational play from forward Karl Storey lifted the home team spirits as he crashed over in the corner on the back of a 20 metre run.

Prop and Pack Leader followed next with a dominant run to score under the posts to continue the fight back. Both tries were converted by Captain Oliver Jardine.

After defending their line valiantly for a prolonged period, the young Millwall men looked to clinch victory at 14-12.

Jack Darbey put the result beyond doubt with a 25 metre try following some great lead up work from fly half Anthony Donovan.

Coach Chris Davis expressed relief following the match:

"The effort was definitely there today and the boys looked like more of a team" he said.

"Hopefully this will be the start of our build towards the Essex U17 Cup at the end of November."

Both the U15s and U17s will again feature at home on Millwall Park next Sunday.

Pics by Laura Masi

Millwall U15s Vs East London

19th October 2008

The game started very quickly with alot of early runs from east london, the inexperience of the young lions was clear and with a few missed tackles East london quickly established themselves as the dominant side. With heads held high the lions kept the game alive and started to make some runs of their own.

Some supurb tackling from the forwards lead to turnover ball and gave the backs a chance to attack a well drilled east london backline. Millwall then went down to 14 men with winger Daniel Sameuls-Perry making a try saving tackle inside Millwall's 22 leaving him with a injury to his shoulder, with no subs available the players pulled together and played out the remainder of the first half a man down.

With a quick half time talk and a boost of confidence from the cheering Millwall crowd the Lions started the second half strong, a quick tackle breaking run from scrum half Josh Coote left captain Charlie Brennand with just 3 east london defenders to beat, with a strong drive he made it across the line for the first ever Millwall U15s try.

The next twenty minutes saw a defensive display with great tackling from both sides. Brennand and Coote led the way with Danny Mcgee and Ashfaq Uddin making some crunching tackles in the forwards.

In typical local derby tradition there were several heated moments but for the most part the players kept their cool and played smart rugby.

The final score was 57-5, Millwall's lions fought hard the whole game and could proudly hold their heads high. Everyone in the crowd including some U17s players were very inpressed with how well the team had come together soo quickly and proudly wore the Lions colours.

Todays game against East London showed the progression of the youth section under the managment of youth chairman Matt Shorrock. This time last year we struggled to field an under 16s side without a few younger players helping out, this year the under 17s are looking like an established side and the under 15s fielded a full 15 for the first time.

A big well done to all the players and a thankyou to everyone who helped out on the day.

Man of the Match:
Josh Coote

Scott Vinnicombe
U15 Head Coach

Millwall building rugby dynasty

19th October 2008

Rugby interest in Tower Hamlets is exploding as Millwall Rugby Club fielded two new sides on the weekend.

Millwall 4 th XV took on Woodford V's on Saturday while the junior section, named the Lions, put out an U15's team for the first time ever against East London on Millwall Park on Sunday.

Youth Chair Matt Shorrock, who also took on the reigns as Fourth Team manager said it doesn't end there:

"We are well progressed with our plans to field an U9 and U11 team as well, to compliment our U15s and U17s"

"This season has just been exceptional in terms of the number of players pulling on a Millwall jersey across all sections of the club".

Led by founding members Larry McCabe and Jamie Rockman, Millwall's 4 ths headed to Woodford for their first match of the season.

Despite fielding a scratch side made up of 'old boys' and youngsters, the 4ths fought hard against much bigger opposition for the duration of the match.

Tries from debutants Aaron Dean and Jimmy Clode kept the visitors in the match, along with some superb kicking from Billy Gray, but in the end the home sides forward dominance saw them victorious 32-5.

Meanwhile on Sunday, a host of Isle of Dogs local boys pulled on the Millwall jersey for the first time to become the Millwall U15s team against East London U15s.

The inexperience was evident but enthusiasm and determination earned the boys respect from both their opposition and from the large crowd of supporters gathered along the sideline.

East London jumped to an unsurprising early lead after many Millwall missed tackles, but the youngsters kept their heads up and bagged a try early in the second half.

Scrumhalf and man of the match Josh Cooke broke free from the scrum and mad a tremendous break before offloading to his captain Charlie Brennand to barge over the line with East London defenders hanging off him.

(View a video of Charlie's try here)

U15s Head Coach Scott Vinnicombe, who is also the Tower Hamlets Rugby Development Officer was not worried by the result:

"They have to start somewhere and I thought they did really well despite coming together for the first time today"

"With some more training, I'm confident we'll be a force to be reckoned with in the not too distant future."

Millwall Lions are looking for boys aged 12 and 13 to join a newly developed U13's team. Anyone interested should contact Matt on 07884012678 or email youth@millwallrugby.com , training is on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

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Back: (Left to Right) Sandra Timothy (Team Manager), Josh Cooke, Danny McGee, Luke Pidgeon, George Cooper, Jacob Lajolie, Aime Mukadi, Wesley Gamblin, Scott Vinnicombe (Head Coach)

Middle: Tyler Canning, Charlie Brennand (Captain), Ashfaq Uddin

Front: Charlie Jackson, Jayson Thompson, Nadif Hussein, Daniel Samuels-Perry, Yaseen Alsaber.

Millwall RFC vs. Charlton park RFC 0-22

12th October 2008


This game was the rematch against a well drilled Charlton side. From the performance last week they showed good rugby both in the forwards and backs. This meant a big week of training for this rematch.

From kick off the worst possible start happened, Charlton managed to score within a minute! This was a crucial blow the preparation leading up to the game. With the help of Captain Oliver Jardine and pack leader Dave Hayward they managed to refocus the lads and went full out for the rest of the second half. The defence game was immaculate by the lions with only a few yards lost in what was a full out attack from Charlton. The pack was cleaning out the balls and both securing the ball and the occasional still was made by impressive rucking. The line of defence set by the constant sound of Ricky Feeney and skipper calling the defence where it was needed. Getting the ball through the line was a different matter

The weather decided to play against us, with torrential rain and winds both backs and forwards found it difficult to hold on but with quick reaction time the lions were able to regain the ball and with captain Ollie having a storming kicking game got us out of trouble on more then one occasion. The second try in the first half was a quick penalty and the lions were caught of guard.

The second half was a totally different story; the lions seemed to lack the necessary grit and determination to hold up Charlton's attack. The lions were on the back foot through out the second half but due to the ever so impressive defence through out the game the lions managed to only let in two tries.

Chris Davis, under 17's head coach:

"The final score, in no way represents the performance by the lions".

"The lions put on an amazing show of team work, determination and heart!"

All of the lions had good games, but for those who stood out deserve to be mentioned. At Millwall Lions we have a point system whereby the players are award a number of points for them to add to a total at the end of the season. I would like to award Jake Vinnicombe 3 points for a bone crushing performance, with his pace and good tackling ability managed to nail the opposite fly half every time causing him to go to the wing to get more room!!! Well done Jake. 2 points go to our Captain Ollie for a good performance. Both Ollie's kicking game and ability to restructure the back line was spot on. The final point goes to George Mulock who travelled a long way to play for us and put in a storming performance in both defence and attack.

I would like to thank my team manager Al Jardine for driving the lions to the game and also Scott Vinnicombe (under 15's head coach) for helping me with the lads.

Written by Chris Davis, Head coach for the under 17's Lions

Millwall U17 show first match promise

28th September 2008

Millwall Lions under 17's showed plenty of spirit in their first match of the season at Millwall Park on Sunday despite losing 26-5 to Charlton Park.

The home side were on the back foot early with the hard running Charlton Park centres making easy in roads up the mid-field.

Lions centre Freddee Lewis fought hard to turn the tide with some strong runs, while Captain Oliver Jardine provided a superb kicking game at fly half.

Trailing 12-0 at half time, the Isle of Dogs youngsters looked to spark a comeback.

Speedy wingers Charlie Nagle and Jack Rowland demanded that their team mates get them the ball and they responded almost immediately.

First, prop Steve Corleys unleashed Nagel up the left sideline and the young winger brushed aside two would be tacklers before being bundled into touch close to the try line by the scrambling Charlton Park defence.

Then Rowland followed up a Jardine bomb that led to centre Lewis charging forward but again pulled down inches from the line.

The Lions finally cracked the scoreboard when a wayward Charlton kick landed in Nagel's hands and the athletics champion side-stepped his way to score with ease.

Jardine's conversion narrowly missed and as the final whistle blew, head coach Chris Davis paid tribute to his sides' effort:

"For the first match of the season, that wasn't a bad effort, I think our defensive line needs a bit of work thought," said the first year head coach.

"Charlton Park are a well drilled side and we can take a lot away from this loss"

"There are a few other things that we need to work on but overall, I'm happy enough with the performance to see improvement on the horizon."

The U17s won't have much time to think about their defeat this week, when they travel to Charlton Park on Sunday for a return match.

Meanwhile, the Millwall Lions other age group squads continue to prosper with attendance numbers increasing weekly.

The Lions run teams in U11, U13, U15 and U17. All teams are currently looking for new players of all abilities.

Anyone interested in playing rugby for the Lions should call Matt on 07884012678 or email youth@millwallrugby.com

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All photos are copyright of Danny Van Der Weijde ( dannyvanderweijde@hotmail.com ) and credit should be displayed when images are used.