Saturday was the first of our ‘return’ leg fixtures and saw us welcome Old Reigatian
RFC to Horn Park. I think I’m right in saying that since we’ve been in the same
league, neither team has won the away game – ORs were certainly looking to buck
this trend. Similar league positions at the wrong end of the table meant that for both
sides, much like the Dwarf working behind the meat counter in Lee Green
Sainsburys, the steaks were high!
A good warm up and large, well-oiled crowd fresh from the Christmas lunch boded
well for a strong Colfeian start. Wrong. Lethargic defence and spritely running and
offloading enabled Reigatians to score within the first 3 minutes. 5-0.
Whilst OCs were able to gain much of a platform from lineouts throughout the day,
the scrum was very strong and allowed us to put pressure on opposition ball and
gain penalties.
Once OCs got their second wind, we were able to gain momentum and after several
phases from the forwards, Shay Storey was able to break through in midfield,
feeding Charlie Nagel to finish in the corner. 5-5.
A well worked lineout move and break from Charlie Baker, then led to some neat
interplay and offloading with Tom Rameaux going over from approximately 7 metres
out (including a big bosh on an unsuspecting defender). Spaczil added the extras.
12-5.
OCs purple patch was now in full flow and 2 further tries followed. One from a strong
maul and the other from Shay Storey. At 24-5 up, one could be forgiven that OCs
would remain in control and see out the half – but that just isn’t how we like to do
things in SE12. Both wingers went off with hamstring injuries, leading to a rejigged
backline.
It was now time for ORs’ purple patch and two tries meant the half time score was
24-19.
It was said at HT that the first score would be crucial. Thankfully, Skipper AOM,
heeded his own advice and bundled over from a quick tap penalty.
It’s fair to say that with Christmas round the corner, the referee was more than happy
to get into the festive spirit and hand some cards out! A lack of discipline (becoming
recurring theme this season) led to 3 second half yellows for OCs – unfortunately
piling more OR pressure on, this time adding 3 points from the tee, quickly followed
by a fourth try for the away side.
Colfeians opted then to play tight rather than the loose wide game that had suited
Reigations. Leo Cunningham finished a well worked try and then Andy scored his
second. Bringing the score to 43-37.
Again, rather than seeing out the game, OCs prefer to keep supporters on the edge
of their seats. With ORs aiming for 5 points rather than 2, by marching down the
pitch through a series of penalties, OCs were able to steal a crucial lineout in our
own 22 before Victor could boot the ball into the sea of supporters.
A real basketball-style match but an entertaining one for our last home game of
2024.
Next week sees us travel away for the 321 derby – looking forward to it!
MOTM: Jack Griffiths (strong defence)
Alacadoos: Andy OM (usual solid self and 2 tries)
OR vote: Dele (destructive scrummaging)
