News

Saturday November the 24^th brought West London RFC to Bramley road, and against a Saracens 1^st XV side determined to re-establish themselves as genuine title contenders in the league. Playing in the unfamiliar white strip (paid for by the Colts team) and in front of a fair sized crowd the stage was set for a gripping contest.

 Beginning the first half brightly Sarries were on the board first with an Adam Smith penalty. However West London were able to impose a period of sustained pressure on the Sarries line, leading to a try from close quarters. With a referee sharper with his whistle than a gaggle of builders to a busty blonde the game was never pretty, and struggled to get past the 3^rd phase on most occasions. Special mention in the first half must go to Radders, who showed a distinct lack of Christian charity with a massive hit when faced with a three on one. Going into the interval the game was finely poised, with less than a score between the two teams and it was to remain so for most of the second half. The turning point of the game came 10 minutes from the end when Tommy G took exception to the actions of a particular opponent and decided to forego more diplomatic measures to express his dissatisfaction, resulting in his banishment to beyond the touchline. With 14 players and still 2 points behind the true character and strength of the team had to come to the fore in order to gain the win. With time running out, (indeed it was to prove the penultimate play), and camped on our own 5 metre line the 7 man scrum, which had creaked earlier in the game, put in a monumental shove allowing James “spider legs” Rawlinson to win a scrum against the head. This set off a glorious length of the field try, where the fast hands and even faster legs of the whole backline was finished off under the posts by Adam Smith, which was ultimately to prove the decisive score, leaving the final score at 27-21.

 The game certainly did not lack entertainment value, indeed it could easily rival any of Houdini's finest work and it is certainly thrilling to play in a team that does not simply go gently into that good night, more dominating displays will be called for in the future to help our progression up the leagues. We were all too often bullied in the tight and did not always make as effective use of our speed and mobility as we could have done. With three games remaining before Christmas we must be aiming to win all three, and help make the mince pies taste all the sweeter!

 Tom Weir
(1^st XV reporter & No.8)

On Sunday the 18^th of November the Saracens Colts side put in a focused and assured display to beat a strong Bury St Edmunds side 26-12. Having lost narrowly the previous week to Hertford, the mood in the changing room was one of focused determination to make amends and get the job done this week. Playing on our home turf with a sizeable crowd in support all boded well for the team that day.

Unusually for a Saracens side we started well with some good link up play leading to second row Dan powering over for a try. Despite conceding a try we went into half time one try to the good due to a textbook driving maul from 20 yards, finished off by Sean Hughes Jnr. Special mention of the half must go to Jack “the dummy” Girdlestone for both a massive Boom on his opposite number and a crucial try saving tackle on a flying winger, surely an early contender for Golden Balls of the season

The second half was a similar story to the first, with Saracens dominating possession and territory. Phil Tipping was able to finish off a beautiful team try, where almost every player touched the ball through at least 5 phases of continuous quick possession. High tempo, high intensity rugby at its finest! The strength in depth of the squad was shown as all the subs came on and played an important role in the victory, most visibly the ball carrying strength of Orrieso Agbareh who gained a huge number of yards. The opposition were fortunate to gain a try after a defensive lapse before the victory was rounded off by a length of the field effort from Phil after cleanly catching an ill judged cross kick, despite the swirling winds. As an assessment the win was built on a solid forward platform from line-outs and scrums, where we dominated. The backline was mostly effective in defence, (other than one or two lapses through the 12 channel due to position inexperience) and looked dangerous in attack particularly the back three, where debutant Yousef had a strong outing.  

Our next national cup fixture is at home against Rosslyn Park, a game we must win to progress to the last 16. I'd like to thank all the supporters who turned out despite the weather and cheered us on.  

Tom Weir