Redingensians win over three thirds

Coaches observations; As a coach one always gets a tad nervous when the opposition coaches drop phrases like; "our front row is really struggling this season" and "I am very short up front", followed by "I have a key player missing, but I hope he will be here shortly" Bring on the Beast.

Redingensians 32 Camberley 19.

You can’t start a match report without making some comment on the referee Lee. Paul mentioned that he was wearing some particularly tight shorts today and the duly went off to ‘warm up’ on the far side of the pitch…..alone and face down! The tight shorts didn’t impact upon his performance but clearly added a new experience which he may have enjoyed! One or two players needed to remember that referee is never wrong and Paul did an excellent job of putting them right…along with the odd parent!!

Having been cornered by Bernie, like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a juggernaut, to do today’s match report I had to ‘cough’ that I was not as familiar with squad names as I should be…….apologies for any errors in advance:

It was a clear day, with excellent visibility and no obstructions…apart from Camberley. Ensians were able to field a pretty strong squad with few omissions although one did manage to turn up an hour late despite the clocks going back!! We had good parent support many of whom should be able to corroborate my account.

First third 0 - 12

With the game set for three twenty minute periods Ensians made a steady start. We were strong in the forwards supported by some excellent line-out play from Matt Hunt and Hugo Lu. As is sometimes the case with our play we showed Camberley a little too much respect early on and gave away two soft tries by not closing down at defence and putting in the tackles. Despite the 0-12 score line at the end of the first third spirits were good within the team who kept strong particularly in forward play with Matt Hunt closing down and making some great tackles.

Second Third 5 – 7

Having established that our boys can be slow to wake up, even with an extra hour in bed, it was great to see a real change in defence. Kieran was really starting to take control making some decisive kicks when under pressure. Sam Wild made some startling runs from deep in defence, as if he had taken a swig from Pete’s beer and nearly been caught! Jake Wareham really started to shine with some physical rucking and mauling. Ensian’s frist try came from some excellent line-out work starting with a solid two handed catch by Matt, driving through allowing Wareham to score our first try. There was a short period of silence when Camberley brought on their own version of ‘The Beast’ into the front row. Not only was he built like a tank he had speed. Having taken the ball from open play Sam Wild put in an excellent tackle but was unable to prevent him from scoring a try which was later converted. I think the only people intimidated by this huge prop were the parents because the players put in some big tackles and pretty much kept him out of the game.

Final Third 27 – 0

Some subtle changes for the this third swapping Elliot with Sam Wild at full back , putting Sam as scrum half and Liam at outside centre. Elliott made some awesome runs, keeping straight and running through the defence. I think he had taken Pete’s beer and was not going to give it back! Jake, now really into his game, scored after Elliott had taken the ball into a maul, on their twenty two, and drove through supported by the forwards. Jake, as usual, secured the ball from the maul and touched down.
Another two handed take down from the line-out by Hugo secure good ball for Liam who scored his first try of the game. Ensians were in their stride now. Kieran was bossing the backs keeping a solid defence. Sam Wild was all over the place confusing the opposition and breaking up their defence. Strong play from the forwards again secured good ball for Liam who showed their defence a clean pair of heels, just outside their 22, and touched down. Liam was on a roll and again took a great ball to score from just outside the twenty two splitting the Camberley defence despite having an overlap with Elliott and George. To cap it all an excellent run along the wing, by Sam, with a kick and chase tying up the full back with an excellent tackle allowing Hugo to deservedly get his name on the sheet. Justice was done when Sam converted with a drop goal. Camberley did make some changes to their squad for the final third but I think the score reflects our dominance and they will feel they should have been stronger in the first two thirds to have secured an overall win.

Final combined Score 32 -19

It was difficult to mention the names of all the players today because it was a real team performance. We were dominant in the scrum, taking a couple against the head, along with strong rucking and line-out play. This season has seen some excellent progression with coaches able to make significant substitutions without weakening the team. Some really aggressive forward play supported by tackling from the backs has been very impressive. This bodes well for the forthcoming league matches. Well done to the Coaches who should be proud of the results of their hard work!

Well done to man of the match Hunt.

Coaches final observations; One often knocks the southern hemisphere, but you have to wonder if it may be more appropriate to match players on size not age as we do in the Northern hemisphere. When the opposition produce a 6 foot 17 stone prop with a reasonable turn of speed (aged 14!) one wonders if this mismatch may end in tears. Thankfully it didn't today with several player including Wild and MacDevitt showing that if you get your technique right you can fell anything!