Bec Old Boys III vs Quintin II 5 - 52
A gusty but warm day saw the 2nd XV complete with 3 subs arrive in Earlsfield on Saturday. Having had our spirits lifted by walking through the old clubhouse full of Canadian and American female Lacrosse players, we were soon brought down to earth as we made our way to the new clubhouse where we were greeted by the Old Becs boys already throwing a ball around.
The opposition couldn't provide a referee so Gordon majestically stood up to take the reigns as always and we thank him for that. From a squad of 18, we had about 7 Centres, 1 front row, 6 back row players, 2 fly halves and 2 locks. This was going to always be a running game of hard rugby. In the changing room it was discussed and in true Quintin spirit Mc Ian and Chris Higgins both agreed to playing out of position and in the front row on the proviso that if we heard a squeal we would revert to uncontested scrums.
Far from it! The scrums were tough to start as all the front 8 players found their positions and settled into them. We were being literally driven right off our own possession. But then led by the experience of Lee Creaser, Mc Ian and Chris all dug deep and all of a sudden our forwards dominated. Wheeling and driving, it was starting to really be a magnificent performance. Old Becs were stunned. Having gone from a side that thought it would have to go uncontested, now the Quintin front row were piling on the pressure allowing Sam Shutt to get clean ball out to our rugby league style back line strategy.
Now the scrum was in place and formed almost like the Air Force clearing a path, it was now down to the British Army to send in the troops. Pete, Robbo and Paddy all Her Majesty's servants and rugby league dominators made no exception with this slightly more elegant of games that we call Rugby Union. Like the Powerhouse in a rowing 8, the Centres were our ticket to brutal success in this game. Pete found his kicking boot and fed Robbo and Paddy who both powered through the Old Bec midfield running in 6 tries between the 3 of them. Pete was the victim of his own success however and fluffed an absolute sitter of a kick in front of the posts much to the amusement of his regimental comrades. We cares though! We were giving them a good seeing to!
Flash and Lee Creaser both went over which would have put us over the 60 point mark only to be disallowed by Gordon which of course Sam Shutt was not amused with and in typical scrum half John McEnroe style almost got sent off. Gordon next time bin him!
Angry man was superb in the 2nd row and held his own and spoilt the opposition throw in wonderfully and throughout gave his usual angry but consistent performance and commentary. A great effort! His partner in the 2nd row was Chris Higgins' mate Jimmy who brushed away a nasty blood injury to his nose. Something I would have requested an ambulance for and taken time off work but not our Jimmy! It is only after I found out that Jimmy was ex Foreign Legion. No wonder. What a hard man!
The back row with Dylan, myself and Rob covered well and some big hits stopped their massive number 8 performing what ended up being the only tactic they had which was his peel and charge up the centre.
Kiwi Russell had his first game for us at Full Back because Ollie was on his way back from disgracing himself at a wedding the night before and so was running late. Pretty quickly Russell had shown his Kiwi flair and rugby league power and had run in a try and then came on later to replace Robbo and scored again. It seemed like a breeze in the park for Russell and who only knows what this man can do when he gets a full 80 minutes on the field. Looking forward to seeing that!
Nick, Coxie and Alex all were solid playing on the wing and tackled hard and ran some good lines. Alex had his first experience of mounting a fellow player and in an attempt to tackle was carried about 20 yards before finally downing the opposition before our try line. A great game by all three. Ollie finally came on at Full Back but in his own words "only got the ball once". That shows the calibre of the side if Ollie only got the ball once and we still won by such a huge margin.
Dykes got a brief airing and came on to show us all how it was done. He makes a fantastic difference to any side! Shakes got a run out at the end and as always was solid and provided some experience to a side that was new to playing with one another. A couple of great tackles and there was more in him to show but sadly the whistle blew and it was all over.
The Final Score was 52-5 but as my profile suggests on the web: " I am re- taking my GCSE maths" and as such I cannot get the maths to add up. As I remember it,the try scorers were: Robbo 3, Pete 2, Kiwi Russell 2, Sam Shutt 1, Paddy 1.
Special mentions to Jimmy and Kiwi Russell for it being their first game and great performances. Other special mentions to both Paddy and Pete.
Man of the Match and top try scorer with a Hat trick: Ben Robinson
Girl of the match: Ollie Holcombe for turning up late
Many thanks go to Gordon for doing a sterling job as referee and also to the whole first team who came and supported together with their other halves. It was the most support all season and made a huge difference. It was great to see such a wonderful Quintin atmosphere and unity.
Here's to next week and a Merit league game!
Well done all