Ipswich Rhinos Rugby League Club

Ipswich vs South Norfolk 27th May 2000

Ipswich 34 - 24 South Norfolk

Ray French gives his thoughts on the East Anglian Derby:

I am always given a big welcome when I visit East Anglia for these local derbies. I was particularly delighted to see Paul Fletcher of Leeds Rhinos re-opening links between the two clubs hosting a TRY RUGBY morning for the youngsters before the game.

Ipswich are a progressive club, and are working hard to develop the game at grass roots level, hence the duty which gave me the most pleasure today was to present club secretary Barbara Peachey with a Certificate for £4382 from Sport England for youth Rugby development.

And so to the East Anglian Derby: On current form Ipswich with no wins so far this season were given no chance against South Norfolk unbeaten this term. A rampant Rhinos outfit upset the form book at Rushmere on Saturday when they sent their fierce derby rivals, South Norfolk Saints, crashing to their first defeat of the season. The result means that Ipswich have now won the last three East Anglian Derbies following last season`s two thrilling encounters 21-20 at Ipswich and 34-36 at South Norfolk. Overall Ipswich hold a 3-2 lead following the fifth Conference meeting between the sides.

First, however, Ipswich had to contend with the silken skills of Saints outstanding half-back Nick Greenhall before they could finally celebrate this well-earned victory. The Saints midfield maestro provided a hat-trick of tries for pacey winger Burt Reynolds, courtesy of his sleight of hand passing and his judicious kicks to the corner.

And it was his precision passing along the line which helped brother Mark and powerful full-back James Shanahan on their ways to tries in the first half, when the Rhinos were struggling to achieve total control. However, for all the guile of Greenhall, the industry of hooker Paul Lumley and the energy of loose forward "Taff" Roberts, the Saints simply made far too many errors ever to put too much pressure on a confident Rhinos outfit.

Though seemingly none too confident of achieving a result against their as yet unbeaten neighbours before kick-off, Rhinos halves Paul Thurston and Richard Pollard had other ideas. With the rugged Thurston difficult to hold around the scrum, and with the lively Pollard always alert for an opening, the Rhinos roared into an early 12-6 lead thanks to tries from powerful loose forward Lee Birch and Thurston himself - centre Peter Le Marquand adding the first of his four goals.

And it was two tries from giant centre Le Marquand and another from his equally impressive centre colleague, Ollie Barclay, which sent the Rhinos into their first win of the season. The Saints did hit back hard, despite the loss of influential full-back Shanahan who sadly was stretchered off at half-time with a nasty back injury. With Aussie prop Adam Welch leading from the front, and with hard working forwards Stuart Bradshaw and Henry Ackerman always to the fore, the Rhinos had no intentions of missing out on victory.

They stormed upfield to provide lively full-back Sean Griffin with the opportunity to hold off the attentions of three would-be tacklers and crash over at the corner for the match-clinching try.

A vital derby victory which will no doubt set up the Rhinos for the season.

Ipswich: TRIES: Pete Le Marquand (2), Shaun Griffin, Paul Thurston, Lee Birch, Ollie Barclay. GOALS: Lee Birch, Pete Le Marquand (3)+ 1pen.

South Norfolk: TRIES: Shannahan, Reynolds (3), M.Greenhall. GOALS: Lumley, Shannahan.


	Ipswich vs South Norfolk 27th May 2000 Ipswich 34 - 24 South Norfolk Ray French gives his thoughts on the East Anglian Derby: I am always given a big welcome when I visit East Anglia for these local derbies. I was particularly delighted to see Paul Fletcher of Leeds Rhinos re-opening links between the two clubs hosting a TRY RUGBY morning for the youngsters before the game. Ipswich are a progressive club, and are working hard to develop the game at grass roots level, hence the duty which gave me the most pleasure today was to present club secretary Barbara Peachey with a Certificate for £4382 from Sport England for youth Rugby development. And so to the East Anglian Derby: On current form Ipswich with no wins so far this season were given no chance against South Norfolk unbeaten this term. A rampant Rhinos outfit upset the form book at Rushmere on Saturday when they sent their fierce derby rivals, South Norfolk Saints, crashing to their first defeat of the season. The result means that Ipswich have now won the last three East Anglian Derbies following last season`s two thrilling encounters 21-20 at Ipswich and 34-36 at South Norfolk. Overall Ipswich hold a 3-2 lead following the fifth Conference meeting between the sides. First, however, Ipswich had to contend with the silken skills of Saints outstanding half-back Nick Greenhall before they could finally celebrate this well-earned victory. The Saints midfield maestro provided a hat-trick of tries for pacey winger Burt Reynolds, courtesy of his sleight of hand passing and his judicious kicks to the corner. And it was his precision passing along the line which helped brother Mark and powerful full-back James Shanahan on their ways to tries in the first half, when the Rhinos were struggling to achieve total control. However, for all the guile of Greenhall, the industry of hooker Paul Lumley and the energy of loose forward "Taff" Roberts, the Saints simply made far too many errors ever to put too much pressure on a confident Rhinos outfit. Though seemingly none too confident of achieving a result against their as yet unbeaten neighbours before kick-off, Rhinos halves Paul Thurston and Richard Pollard had other ideas. With the rugged Thurston difficult to hold around the scrum, and with the lively Pollard always alert for an opening, the Rhinos roared into an early 12-6 lead thanks to tries from powerful loose forward Lee Birch and Thurston himself - centre Peter Le Marquand adding the first of his four goals. And it was two tries from giant centre Le Marquand and another from his equally impressive centre colleague, Ollie Barclay, which sent the Rhinos into their first win of the season. The Saints did hit back hard, despite the loss of influential full-back Shanahan who sadly was stretchered off at half-time with a nasty back injury. With Aussie prop Adam Welch leading from the front, and with hard working forwards Stuart Bradshaw and Henry Ackerman always to the fore, the Rhinos had no intentions of missing out on victory. They stormed upfield to provide lively full-back Sean Griffin with the opportunity to hold off the attentions of three would-be tacklers and crash over at the corner for the match-clinching try. A vital derby victory which will no doubt set up the Rhinos for the season. Ipswich: TRIES: Pete Le Marquand (2), Shaun Griffin, Paul Thurston, Lee Birch, Ollie Barclay. GOALS: Lee Birch, Pete Le Marquand (3)+ 1pen. South Norfolk: TRIES: Shannahan, Reynolds (3), M.Greenhall. GOALS: Lumley, Shannahan.