Three Wins from Three

In fact within minutes of arriving – a warm sun came out and local hedgehogs could be seen sunning themselves as they contemplated thoughts of hibernation.

It was another full turnout for the Under 13s with a squad numbering in the mid 20s – and we were delighted to see our favourite RFU referee, Diane Kendall, arrive to officiate. This was to be a game of four quarters, each half 25 minutes long divided into a 15 and 10 minute periods.

Slough were short of a second row – so after the necessary warm up to remind the players whether they were forwards or backs – a rolling substitution roster was created whilst Slough management searched for spare club colours.

The game began – and with the kick off whistle still ringing in our ears, Ensians’ Callum had scored the first try! Henry had a good attempt of a conversion – but just failed to make it. (0 – 5) Ensians continued to keep possession, with some great support down the line and within five minutes, Ben ran in the second try. Henry’s second attempt at conversion fell millimetres under the bar. (0 – 10) Two minutes later – with some great ball gathering by the forwards – the ball was passed down the line once more for Callum to collect on the wing and deliver the ball under the posts for his second try. John converted and another 7 points to Ensians (0 – 17).

There followed a strong burst by Slough – but they were thwarted by a staunch defence from Ensians. Then out of nowhere – Guy was on a storming run but unfortunately within 5 yards of the line lost the ball in a heavy tackle. With Ensians on a roll – and with the forwards constantly breaking down the Slough defence – Fergus expertly stole the ball from a maul and ran it straight through the posts. John converted (0 - 24)

The second quarter started with a scrum, and the Ensians forwards were regularly stealing against the head. Three minutes in – after another sterling effort by the forwards, Fergus added a 5th try right next to the posts, and Matt converted. (0 – 31) A combination of great catching on kickoff, good support from the backs and solid tackling when Slough had the ball led to the 6th Try by Callum after a wonderful dummy by Chris A. who then kicked the conversion. (0 – 38)

At half time – the parents continued their regular Sunday discussion about the role of the Church and the 19th century implications of antidisestablishmentarianism – a debate which looks set to last for some weeks to come! Although much of the argument was difficult to hear as the Slough ground is right underneath the Heathrow flight path (how we marvelled at the Emirates Airbus A380 as it spewed spent kerosene over the pitch).
The second half started with a limp kickoff from Ensians that failed to meet the 10 metre rule! (Culprits name escaped me!) – but we didn’t have to wait too long for the 7th try – the ball ripped from the opposition and carried magnificently over the try line by David Southworth!! Matt attempted a conversion from a difficult angle but was wide of the target. (0 – 43) The next 10 minutes saw some great defence from Slough as they continually frustrated Ensians from driving that last 5 metres. There were a number of opportunities – but poor handling and a number of dropped balls prevented another try and the third quarter ended. Several “constructive” comments were offered to the team by the coaches during the short break in an effort to stifle complacency.

Fresh from the encouragement by the coaching staff, a re-focussed Ensians team played like a finely tuned piano, leading to an early try by Chris A. on the wing after another example of excellent passing by the backs. Henry’s conversion strike slightly wide of the mark once more. (0 – 48) Five minutes later, the forwards delivered the ball to Shane who ran it under the posts. Andrew converted and another 7 points. (0 – 55) Two minutes later, Shane ran under the posts for the 9th try, once again converted by Andrew. (0 – 62) And finally – with two minutes to go – turned over by the forwards and following a sequence of quick passes down the line by the backs, Chris A. after pausing behind the try line to get tackled once more and practice his hand off technique placed the ball for another 5 points.

Kevin Southworth