2nd XV

The season’s corresponding fixture against the Nomads, at Park Lane in November, ended in narrow win for the visitors – this time out it was the same victor, and similarly a great game of rugby to be involved in.

Having played a friendly at Ironsides last week, the ‘second leg’ at Reigate felt somewhat like a film sequel, but whether it was to be Godfather II or Jaws 2 [the Revenge] remained to be seen.

With the league visit to Tiffinians cancelled, it was important for ORs A XV to keep momentum building, after the previous weeks’ vibrant outings, so a friendly fixture was organised [thanks to Ed Bartlett] as a replacement.

This game can be filed in the ‘last minute.com’ folder, alongside the season’s opening match against Dorking and the Farnham pre-Christmas contest

There are those rugby days that stay long in the memory, and this will definitely be one of them! On a bitterly cold afternoon, at Whiteley Village, the AXV managed to bring warmth and a cheery glow to all Reigatians involved – players and supporters alike, with a performance that was, if not quite a perfect 10, a very strong 9.5.

The old line, ‘Try everything once, except folk dancing and incest,’ should have ‘watching two games of rugby on adjacent pitches, simultaneously’ added to the list of things not to do. It is a feat somewhat over and above my skillset.

The composer Rossini wrote about Wagner’s music, ‘Beautiful moments but awful quarters of an hour’. This looked as though it would be a fair summation of the AXV’s performance at KCS on Saturday, but somehow the boys turned what was heading towards a damp squib into a spectacular firework display.

Following the deluge of the previous week, the sun shone at Park Lane, giving opportunity for an entertaining game of rugby, which is what spectators and players alike were afforded. Although the weather was fine, a picnic was never on the cards, and the question would be whether the previous two victories had been a false dawn or the start of our journey forwards.