John Harrop Cup
6th October 2018
Venue: Bath University
Final Score Bath 8:22 University
Bath put to the sword by impressive University outfit.
The John Harrop Cup, played annually between the University and City club in Bath is a good competitive “opener” to the season and a great opportunity for both teams to advertise themselves amongst the new student intake. The game provides an early opportunity to win some silverware and get the all-important bragging rights.
2018 saw Bath LC outplayed, outpaced, out-thought and outclassed. Just some of the words that come to mind when looking at this game with a critical eye, and for the majority of the time that was certainly the case.
The University are a good outfit, fit and strong, and they looked like a team, whereas Bath didn’t appear to know who was playing alongside themselves.
The university build up to this game has been three weeks of intensive training and matches, some against Premiership opposition, getting ready for the BUCS season. The City side has been hit and miss with poor turnout for training; hardly a recipe for competitive lacrosse.
To be fair, the City side, which would normally boast half of the players on the University team, was by its makeup, always going to be a mixture of First and Second team players, and Captain Luke Wilmot can take solace that, for SEMLA games he will have more to choose from. Games like this help him assess the level of some of the fringe players. Plus, unavailability through injury of a full string of midfield further limited his choices on the day.
There were positives, at Face, Alex Hustler and until injury Mark Jeffrey, came up with a lot of the ball; sadly, only to then literally throw the ball away.
The defence got a lot of knock downs, but could not clear the ball up field, resorting to long passes or kicking it in some instances.
The University got off to a blistering start, moving the ball well and exploiting the cross-field slope with great effect. The City looked like rabbits in headlights, and instead of rolling their sleeves up and getting stuck in, resorted to blame and bicker. No surprise the University took a 6-goal lead in the first 15 minutes.
It took a big hit from Mark Jeffrey on Matt Stamp to finally spark some life into the team in Red. Jeffrey followed up with Bath’s first goal and although the University scored two more, the signs of some fight were certainly there, Asher Brindely finishing a good move to get the second for Bath. 8:2 down at the quarter, light at the end of the tunnel.
The next two periods saw the game get feisty, City managed to drag the game to 10:7 by midway through the third quarter, it looked as if shear physicality and hard work might pay off, the students wobbled, and started to get involved in complaining rather than playing. Josh Yeoman, the University captain saw the signs and called a much-needed time out, this did the trick; the University stepped back onto the field as a unit and took control again. Superior fitness and team work the big factors, 4 goals to end the quarter saw the boys in blue enter the final 20 minutes 14:8 up, and in no mood to allow the City any glimpse of a comeback.
Helped by the fact that the City started to throw caution to the wind and chase the game, the students turned the screw, scoring 8 in the last quarter without reply.
The final score of 22:8 is the biggest winning margin for the students in this fixture, and one would have to go back to 2008 for the City to claim a similar margin (20:2). The games are normally tight with little between the sides. This might well be the beginning of a long period of dominance by the students.
Bath University can now concentrate on the BUCS season and the City on the SEMLA leagues and Flags. For some players at the University there’s a lot to play for.
Hit of the day – Jeffrey on Stamp – “I heard that in defence, didn’t sound good” was the quote from Sam White. To give Matt credit, he got up and congratulated Mark Jeffrey on a “nice hit”. It was Jeffrey that ended up leaving the game with a recurrence of mild concussion.
Quote of the day – pre-faceoff by Alex Hustler “you’re doing quite well mate! What do you want to try next?”
This game is important to the City of Bath for several reasons: it is right to remember the founder of the club, made the more poignant by the passing of Penny Harrop this summer. The link between the two sides is vital, the city provides much needed game time for new students on the second team and the students provide much needed manpower on the first team. Over the years the club has provided coaching and sticks to the University cause; this link for the club now also extends to the women’s team.
One initiative from England Lacrosse this year sees 26 University Liaison Officer (ULO) posts created across the country, and Bath’s Chris Mills is the current Bath University ULO. Part of his role is to sign post Students to clubs, particularly on graduation, and to help develop community links. Bath already benefit from a strong link and welcome any further enhancement, it can only help to further develop Lacrosse in the City of Bath.
Quarter Scores
1st quarter Bath University 8:2 Bath
Jeffrey, Brindley
2nd quarter Bath University 2:3 Bath
Hustler, Carey, Carey
3rd quarter Bath University 4:3 Bath
Jacques, Morey, Morey
4th quarter Bath University 8:0 Bath
Final Score Bath University 22:8 Bath
Scorers
Mark Jeffrey 1
Asher Brindley 1
Alex Hustler 1
Mike Carey 2
Tom Jacques 1
Craig Morey 2
Referee
Nik Roberts (Bath)
CBO
Paul Bown (Bath)
Past results
| Team name | date played | Type of game | Goals for | Goals against | Bath team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath University | 25-Feb-95 | Division 3 | 5 | 10 | Seconds |
| Bath University | 01-Jun-96 | Friendly | 20 | 16 | Seconds |
| Bath University | 19-Jan-02 | Division 2/3 | 20 | 1 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 05-Oct-02 | Division 2/3 | 18 | 6 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 01-Feb-04 | Division 2/3 | 12 | 15 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 02-Oct-04 | Division 2 | 20 | 3 | Firsts |
| Bath University 2nds | 11-Dec-05 | Friendly | 9 | 8 | Seconds |
| Bath University 2nds | 30-Sep-06 | Friendly | 9 | 1 | Seconds |
| Bath University | 13-Oct-07 | West Div 1 | 16 | 4 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 26-Jan-08 | West Div 1 | 20 | 2 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 27-Sep-08 | Friendly | 13 | 1 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 02-Oct-10 | Friendly | 12 | 1 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 29-Jan-11 | Friendly | 6 | 3 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 06-Oct-12 | Friendly | 17 | 0 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 29-Sep-13 | Friendly | 7 | 6 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 27-Sep-14 | Jon Harrop Cup | 9 | 8 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 19-Sep-15 | Jon Harrop Cup | 8 | 9 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 08-Oct-16 | Jon Harrop Cup | 9 | 15 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 07-Oct-17 | Jon Harrop Cup | 8 | 4 | Firsts |
| Bath University | 06-Oct-18 | Jon Harrop Cup | 8 | 22 | Firsts |