The day was bright and dry, the pitch was soft but not as bad as we were expecting; the weeks training in very wet conditions was good preparation. The pre-match tactics discussed and a solid warm up had 1871 focussed for the Kick off.

A solid start with set piece dominance (1871 pack were outstanding all afternoon) and defensive sets gained field position resulting in early penalties conceded by OH which were duly slotted by Vidz! A try from Wreck-it-Reggie (who carried hard and made yards all day, cashing in with two tries for his efforts ) toward the end of the half had 1871 14-0 ahead and in control. Two penalties put OH back in our 22 and they reduced the deficit with a try of their own on the 41min mark, still 14-7 at half time with the control we exhibited was good.

1871 seem to have a knack of making life hard for ourselves in the 5mins before and after half-time and today was no different!! OH came out blazing and we didn’t meet fire with fire and after they scored another try 3mins into the second half to take them within two points their confidence grew, throwing the ball around (something we struggled with in the backs all day) spreading the
1871 defence, feeding off individual errors, breaking tackles in midfield, winning the referee back with good discipline plus some very friendly refereeing decisions saw them score two more tries and take a 10 point lead with 15 minutes to play!

I’ve said this before this season and it was very evident in this match, when the chips are down and you need your senior players to really stand up and take control, show depth of character, have faith in your teammates, trust processes but most importantly have a never give up attitude until the final whistle, is the hallmark of would be champions! This was epitomised with a brave decision in the final 3minutes as 1871 won a penalty 30 meters out in front of the posts; skipper Lewis
(who led stoically all day) made a tough call to ignore the coaches call to tie the game with a three point penalty, instead opting to trust Vidz to put a kick in the corner and back his forwards to
deliver a catch and drive for the try……..his team did not let him down!!! Wreck-it-Reggie peeled off a great catch and driving maul absolutely destroying the unfortunate individual who tried to stand
in his way and the five pointer. Great call Lewis (applause)

So a hard fought victory 26-24 against a spirited OH team that are worthy opponents (we wish them well naturally against Finchley but in general as they play hard).

AND ON THE GREEN ARMY MARCH…………