1st XV Merton 36 London Fire Brigade 0
A win that confirms promotion and sees us go up as League champions. Having said that, we still looked like we were suffering from a hangover from last week, the first-half, in particular, seeing us go into contact and either get turned over or lose the put in at the subsequent scrummage. The Brigade proved to be very adept at wrapping the ball up, either through fair means or foul, which only seemed to frustrate our boys as, a lot of the time, the official failed to ping them for their misdemeanours.
When we managed to release the ball from the shackles of the forwards we looked dangerous, the point being proved as all our tries came away from rucks and mauls. Brigade, on the other hand, played the game almost exclusively through their forwards, which gave the boys plenty of tackling practice around the fringes. After the initial sparring, the first time we moved the ball out wide we scored, great handling seeing the ball reach James E, mysteriously turning up in the outside centre channel, but he made good ground and, when the ball was recycled, it was popped up to Man-of-the-Match Dan S, who dived over for a well-worked try.
This proved to be our highlight of the half, despite strong running from Satoshi on the wing, we failed to cross the whitewash again in the opening period, our only points coming from the boot of Frankie. Coach Burf had a few wisely spoken words at the break, and we started the second-half eager to move the ball about and play to our strengths.
It did not take long for us to score our second try, Conor at last breaking his duck in his Munster shorts with a soft shoe shuffle down the left which saw him dot down. Frankie's conversion came back off the woodwork which proved to be his only miss of the afternoon. Our next two tries came from similar moves, Scotchie breaking back inside his man and then doing the full-back for pace to go over for a brace next to the sticks.
This moved us comfortably clear, but our normally rock solid lineout was still struggling, the swirling wind playing havoc and making this sphere a lottery for both teams. It was left to the breakaways to secure the loose ball, Dan S, Tim and Chuck snaffling the majority and giving us a platform to work from.
Injury then forced Chuck to leave the field, Steve slotting in at no.8 and proving a capable asset in both loose and tight. We also gave James E a bit of a breather after his exertions of Friday evening, his tag team partner Deano taking over in the front-row. Our final try came against a tiring Brigade side, Tim, once again, darting in the distance, but this time he was within range of the try line and just about made it for a deserved score.
Another victory, but we know that we must step up a few gears if we are to finish the season with a flourish. With most of the boys taking a week out to recharge their batteries, we resume League action on the 14th before the Bowl Semi-Final on the 21st against Reigate, which promises to be a tough encounter. Just to focus your minds, there are no individual medals for winning the League, but there are for the Bowl!
Scorers: Craig Millan 2T; Dan Somerset 1T; Conor Hayes 1T; Tim Rossiter 1T; Frankie Murray 4C 1P
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