Fixture

Back in 1996, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner sang about 30 years of hurt detailing England's lack of a major tournament win on the football field. The same could be said about Oakdale's fortunes against their near neighbours but the league structure certainly put paid to the opportunities to record another victory against Blackwood, the last being on the 26th of December 1994, 29 years ago. Yes, there had been three or four opportunities since we both found ourselves in Division Two (East) but narrow losses in each of those games seemed to have deepened the wounds a little more.

That is why when the 2023/2024 fixtures were released last Summer, everyone's eyes were drawn to the 30th of December 2023, a festive home fixture against Blackwood which would rekindle those days of old when everyone came out on Boxing Day to watch the bloodbath that was Oakdale v Blackwood. In the days leading up to Saturday everyone had the BBC weather app on speed dial and things were not looking great. Double drops of the wet stuff were forecast to fall just before the game was about to start and there was already enough water sitting on the field to keep an African country happy for a day or two.

On the Friday the players forked the ground but it was not until the Saturday morning when there were more forks than you would find at a Chubby Brown concert and two ton of sand to go with it that the game was scheduled to proceed which was ratified with an early inspection by the referee, Stever Curtis. Fair play to Blackwood, they were as keen as Oakdale to get the game on and even offered a switch of venue to ensure that it did. The Oakdale Treasurer, when he stopped shaking, was having none of it and credit to those who turned out on the morning of the game who without their endeavour, could have meant a totally different day for the village. The weather though did dampen the motivation of both sets of supporters and although a decent crowd attended the Recreation Ground on the day of the match, many decided that a day in front of the TV was a much more comforting option.

Those who did attend saw Oakdale start the game with a pretty poor drop out which Blackwood thought would not go the required ten metres. Giving up on the ball they failed to see that it had crossed the line and Oakdale swooped to take possession. Captain, Scott Hoskins took it up the blind but Blackwood was there to usher him into touch. A clean take at the lineout saw Blackwood set their backs in motion but a simple pass from 10 to 12 did not go to plan and the ball fell to the floor. Oakdale were quickest to react and Trevor James hacked the loose ball through. With the Blackwood 15 out of position it was left to David James to slide from 15 metres out, gather the ball and he sailed over the line for the first try of the day, scored in under two minutes. Danny Dog couldn't fail with the conversion in front of the posts to take Oakdale into an early 7-0 lead.

As Blackwood tried to find a way into the game they were continually repelled by a resolute and tenacious Oakdale defence, time and time again they were forced into errors. The Oakdale eight showed a togetherness to disrupt every scrum, often gaining penalties in the process which were sent down the field for a lineout re-start. This though, is where Blackwood had the upper hand and whilst ensuring their own ball was successfully won, they often stole Oakdale ball to scupper the yards gained from the previous penalty kicks to touch.

On 25 minutes Oakdale nearly extended their lead further when Trevor James took the ball at 10 from a scrum and drove at the defence. As he took the contact he had the nous to pop the ball to his brother who dashed over the line only to be brought back by the referee for a forward pass. Trevor took offence to the high tackle that prevented him from getting through the gap and his reaction brought him a yellow card as did the lad who he threatened to pummel. On 36 minutes after Blackwood conceded their sixteenth (yes sixteenth) penalty of the first half and Danny Dog fancied his chances of a shot at goal. The wind though had other thoughts and Prosser's attempt sailed to the left. The resulting drop out was sent long and Oakdale gathered and went looking for the hard yards.

When contact came the ball spilt straight into Blackwood's possession and they let their backs cut loose looking for the wide spaces. Their winger gathered the ball and he cut inside two Oakdale players and the pitch opened up for him. There was a straight line between him and the goal line and there was no-one with the speed to catch him. The conversion was successful and Blackwood drew level at 7-7. It wasn't until the last play of the half that Blackwood actually managed to get into the Oakdale 22 for the first time. That is apart from their 50-yard solo try. It was testament to Oakdale that with the wind against them, they managed to quell the Blackwood attack and spent the majority of the game taking the game to their opposition. Blackwood though, managed to stay in character and proceeded to give away their seventeenth penalty of the half to bring an end to their solitary foray into the Oakdale 22.

Half time; Oakdale 7 v 7 Blackwood

With Oakdale playing up the slope in the second half, they had the comfort of having the wind at their backs and when Blackwood kicked off to start the second 40 minutes it didn't take long for them to concede their next penalty infringement. Danny Dog probably put in his best kick of the game to take the play from just inside the Oakdale 10 metre line right up to the Blackwood's 5 metre line. A knock on by Blackwood at the lineout gave Oakdale a scrum base to launch their next attack and when a Blackwood player put in a no arms tackle it gave Prosser the opportunity to slot a three pointer between the posts, which he duly did to take Oakdale back into the lead at 10-7. 

Blackwood sent the re-start long and was well collected by Morgan Yemm. Yemm fed Prosser who launched another one of his bombs looking for touch but this one failed. Blackwood gathered and set their backs in motion but the Red Wall was strong and stopped the attack just inside the Blackwood half. Oakdale were more committed in the ruck and managed to force a penalty which David James put himself forward for another potential 3 pointer. Unfortunately for the Dale, James's kicking boots hadn't been dialled in and his kick sailed well wide but a crazy attempt at stopping a chest high ball with a foot by a Blackwood forward saw the ball ricochet off and trundle over the dead ball line to give Oakdale a 5-metre scrum much to the home supporter's delight.

Blackwood mustered all their might to push Oakdale off their own scrum ball but Dylan Jones managed to scramble the ball out to Trevor James at 10. James grubber kicked through but possession changed hands long enough for Blackwood to desperately kick the ball away from their line. The wind threw the ball off its intended trajectory baffling Prosser and forcing him to stick a leg out in the vain hope of not looking like he had completely bollocks up his attempt to retain possession.

Now, I have never seen Dan play crazy golf but once leaving his foot the ball moved through both sets of players changing direction on more than one occasion. Fortunately, Dan had the sense (which I never thought I would use those two words in the same sentence) to follow the ball and he hacked through two further times and was there to drop on the ball to score Oakdale's second try of the match. Not many people saw the conversion as all the talk was about coach, Kris Moses, leaping around like a leprechaun after the try was scored but I can assure you Dan completely hooked the ball leaving Oakdale to move into a 15-7 lead.

Blackwood managed to close the gap on 53 minutes when a well worked lineout on Oakdale's 5 metre line saw them maul their way over the line, the conversion fell short but losing margin was reduced to a 15-12 scoreline. On 65 minutes Blackwood were penalised and marched back 10 metres for back chatting to the Referee with Prosser stroking the ball up into the Blackwood 22. Dowden threw an air ball which sailed over everyone in the line out and the ball trickled into no man's land. With Trevor James at 10 acting first he dinked the ball forward and the Blackwood full back raced towards the ball. Like the Portuguese superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, Trevor did several step overs completely bamboozling the poor lad before hacking through a second time to take the ball over the line which he placed his considerable weight on to score Oakdale's third try of the game. Prosser stuck over a fine conversion from just outside the 15-metre line to take Oakdale further ahead with a 22-12 scoreline.

With the minutes ebbing away Blackwood continued to spread the ball as wide as they could without considering the conditions. As admirable as it was it was not a style of play that suited a cold Saturday in December and time and time again the ball was knocked forward. Their perseverance though did pay off in the 85th minute when they finally managed to breach the Oakdale line for a second time. With the game already won, Oakdale allowed the try scorer to run under the posts unopposed to make sure of the conversion with the Referee bringing the game to a close immediately after.

Final Score: Oakdale 22 v 19 Blackwood

COST OF ENTRY TO THE GAME - £3.00, none of that big town bollocks, this is Division Two (East) not the Premiership. Look after your supporters, not your bank balance.

QUALITY OF MATCHDAY PROGRAMME - One of the better ones in the division this year. Full of current information, clubhouse announcements and great quality. Pity the lad on the front cover is made of china.

QUALITY OF THE AFTERMATCH MEAL- You have to ask yourself which one. A choice of Sausage, Beans and Chips or Sausage, Curry and Chips, we push the boat out at Oakdale. Crispy chips, peppery sausages and smoky curry sauce. Pity not all of the Blackwood players came back to feast on our banquet.

FINAL THOUGHTS - The day started at 09:00 when a merry band of Dale-ites gathered to sort the pitch out. No way was this game not going to go ahead and with a couple of pitch forks and plenty of sand the game kicked off at 14:30. It wasn't a classic, far from it, but the conditions dictated the style of play to be followed and Oakdale didn't stray from the game plan. It could be said that Blackwood was a little naive that the pacey backs could win them the day but they failed to consider the thickness of the mud we have up here and no-one was pacey on the day, not even Edar running onto the field with his 1st aid bag. This was a good day for the village, a win didn't move us off the bottom spot but kept us in contention with the three teams directly above us. Momentum now needs to build and a game against Caerleon next Saturday is exactly what is needed, whisper it quietly but a win next week can move us up three places. Now, we're off to ask for the Chris Holland trophy back, that naivety from Blackwood must have made them forget to bring it up with them for the game on Saturday. Viva la Dale!!!