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The bizarre reason why a seventh tier rugby match in England is making national headlines

Pinley in action against Spartans last week. (Photo / Jodie Wilcock)

A club match in the seventh tier of the English rugby pyramid wouldn’t normally attract nationwide headlines, but an encounter between Pinley Rugby Club and Sutton Coldfield side Spartans has done just that.

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The two Midlands 2 West (South) sides played out a 0-0 draw at Wyken Croft in Coventry last week, an occurrence which is so rare that it has only happened seven times at international level since the end of the Second World War.

The last time a test match ended scoreless was in 2004, where African minnows Togo and Nigeria played out a 0-0 tie in an African Championship D2 fixture in Lome.

Prior to that, the next most recent scoreless stalemate came 47 years ago, when Italy and Portugal couldn’t register on the scoreboard in their 1972 meeting in Padova.

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Given how uncommon 0-0 draws are in rugby, questions are being asked of how neither Pinley nor Spartans couldn’t score any points last Saturday.

Nevertheless, Pinley president Gary Marks maintained to the BBC that the match – which featured six missed penalties, including one from right out in front, a yellow card and a dropped ball five metres from an open tryline – was a lot more entertaining than the scoreline suggests.

“The game had everything except points,” he said.

“We had a yellow card, all those missed penalties and one hit the post.

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“The conditions weren’t actually that bad. It was cold but the rain held off and our pitch held up well. It was just that the two defences won the day.

“The people on social media saying it was dull obviously weren’t there.”

It isn’t the first time lower level English club rugby has made headlines this year, with Worcestershire club Bromsgrove capitalising on a two-man advantage to score 36 tries against South Leicester in a 240-0 thrashing in their fifth-tier Midlands Premier clash last month.

However, Pinley’s bizarre stalemate with Spartans sits at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

“It wasn’t a bad game at all,” Marks said. “But, if they’d played on for another 30 minutes, nobody would have scored. It was that kind of day.

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“Spartans had three penalties in the last 15 minutes and missed them all. The last one hit the post and bounced back.

“It has to be said though, there was a lot of laughing at the final whistle among both sets of players and a good spirit.”

Marks said the result lifted Pinley out of the relegation zone, as they now sit in 10th place in the 12-team league with seven points from as many games.

Spartans lie one place above them on 11 points.

Both sides will be in action again this weekend, as Spartans host sixth-placed Silhillians, while Pinley will travel to Bob Coward Memorial Ground to take on fourth-placed Barkers Butt.

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SteveD 2 hours ago
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“The Boks were on their way out in both quarters”?? Considering they scored three tries in the first half when Manie was on the field, and he converted two out of those three, but only scored one in the second half when Pollard was on the field, that he converted plus a penalty, I think you’re maybe thinking about the wrong match? And as far as I remember it wasn’t raining?


The English semifinal had pouring rain, and the play was in the forwards and Pollard did his job well kicking penalties although Manie did get one, too.


The final against the NZs was also forecast to be raining and so Pollard was presumably chosen for that reason and with a 7-1 split on the bench we have nothing to judge what would have happened if Manie had been there. I believe that he would have helped the Boks to a far bigger margin than they got but obviously Rassie had to make decisions based on what the forecast said.


But I’ll never convince you, will I. Have you ever played a lot in the rain and cold? Being a pom who played his best rugby in the Eastern Free State, I can tell you - and Jake White who refused to listen and has got the deserved boot - it makes a big difference and I fully agree that Pollard is good for that type of game, but when either Manie or Sacha get their chance to prove me right once again, hopefully next Saturday or whenever - especially RWC2027 in Oz but not in NZ in the so-called Rugby Championship in September - maybe we can talk again.

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