Rugby v Monmouth

After a dreadfully disrupted build-up, the 1st XV won a truly epic encounter in the most dramatic fashion imaginable. Poor defending saw us concede two early tries, but explosive running by Dominic Bracher in the second half gave us our first points. Excellent work in the loose by James Huxtable set up Luke Gavin for our second try, and with the game on a knife edge at 14-12, Huxtable dropped back into the pocket for the winning drop goal. An heroic performance showing true determination and character.

A weakened 2nds faced an uphill challenge against unbeaten and physically powerful opposition. We conceded three tries in the first half, all from lineout catches and drives from five metres, but we played much better in the second half to deny Monmouth any further scoring opportunities. An awesome defensive display by the 3rds drove the opposition to despair, but unfortunately late injuries to Alex Dathan and George Hall reduced us to 13 men, and Monmouth ran in several tries in quick succession.

The Senior Colts put in a courageous performance against much bigger opposition, and were able to control the game for long periods, but were unable to capitalise on the pressure created. Technical slips in defence cost us dear. The Bs tackled their hearts out against huge opposition, and at times created pressure. Unfortunately this pressure was not converted into points.

The Junior Colts failed to deal with the opposition's star player, and he eventually ran in four tries. We rucked well and dominated possession, resulting in some excellent tries - Archie Watts had an excellent game in the loose, and Jake Fleming performed well at blindside. The Bs found themselves outgunned by a large and impressive Monmouth side.

The Under 14s turned in an outstanding team performance against unbeaten and highly rated opposition, to notch a winning scoreline of 36-7. Paddy Cartwright crashed over for his first try of the season, and shortly afterwards Blaine Tottle finished off some good handling to leave the score at half-time 12-7. We really turned up the heat in the second half to score several more tries, the final a real classic with Will Potter screaming through the middle and passing unselfishly back inside for Jack Holmes to score under the posts. The Bs, weakened by injury, put up a good fight against useful opposition, Albert Healy the standout player.