As seems the norm for Old Reigatian teams, there was the underlying murmur of how big the opposition were, but realistically it should have been them being concerned at how skilful the OR’s players were.
Once again the match started at a furious pace and a quick score from Ali putting Esher straight on to the back foot. But with the pace came a few early errors, and the ball through the backs was getting lost due to over eagerness. Esher maximised on this and came back with their own score and a conversion pushing them 2 points ahead 5 – 7. So, was this going to be how the match was going to proceed? Score for Score?
After a few minutes of OR’s finding their feet and controlling the abundance of adrenaline surging through the squad, you could see the control snap into place and the flood gates opened. Esher were under pressure from all angles. They weren’t allowed to have much ball and when they did they were unable to break the OR defence and were unceremoniously scythed down in hard tackles from everyone.
Then the points started coming – the forwards were winning against their larger counter parts and giving the backs the opportunity to stretch their legs and find the spaces.
Zak pulling out the next 2 tries with some deft skills and footwork including chipping and picking up his own kick. Then Will got in on the act. 1, then 2, then 3 tries. Only for Tom to have a go between the posts, only for Will to jump back in to grab his 4th try of the afternoon. Not to be out done, Tom managed to get another try, and what with a couple of conversions from Ali and Tom adding 4 of his own, and after a well taken interception from Esher and the conversion, it was up to Benji to finish off the points with a score for the forwards.
It is very hard to play against a side who play expansive rugby and are not one dimensional relying on individuals or the backs or the forwards. This team play very supportive rugby. The forwards are strong in attack and defence, and the backs have good hands, speed, change of direction and accurate kicking. When they are on it, it is lovely rugby to watch.
Big thank you to Richie Andrews, who came down to give the forwards some direction and show his support. Esher were never out of it, and they never dropped their heads.
Final score – 62-14
Final score – 62-14
