THE Ellingham & Ringwood All Stars took on a Nick Carlyon Memorial XV at the weekend in memory of the former Verwood player who died in 2001.

There was a minute’s silence before the kick off, yet once underway, it was a competitive affair played in a great spirit at Ellingham’s Raymond Brown Memorial Ground.

The participants ages ranged from young players in their mid 20s to veteran 65 year old prop Bob Teale, who travelled from his home in France to play the game.

He was joined by fellow veterans Steve Benson and Paul Grubb in a 182 year old front row.

Played in front of a large crowd those who turned out were treated to some entertaining rugby on a warm spring afternoon.

The memorial side took an early 7-0 lead with a converted try, but the Ringwood side came back strongly with tries from Tom Sampson and Duncan Soden to lead 10-7 at the break.

In the second half the Ellingham & Ringwood side were able to get on top, despite some great defence from the memorial side – and they added two further tries from Andy Sherrin and David Budd. Yet the memorial side also crossed for a further try to make the final score 22-12.

Back in the club house there were speeches from both captains and it was agreed to make it an annual fixture. The post match activities then went on late into the night, particularly with the veterans who enjoyed sharing stories of past games and events.