Cool heads in the hot sun

'If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs...' - Rudyard Kipling

It was all in the numbers for us this weekend; a eye-rubbing 9am start; a three and a half hour coach trip complete with one pit stop; a 40 horse sweepstake for the Grand National; 18 degrees in the hot early Spring sun; a resounding 30-19 win; five league points; £10 in the whip and an extremely enjoyable return journey!

I make light of it but this was by no means an easy win - we expected a tough, physical game and were not disappointed. What North Walsham lack in flair and panache they more than make up for in grit and determination. They have come from behind to beat us on a number of occasions, including turning over a 17-0 deficit at Cow Lane earlier this year. But we had trained well and were riding high on an excellent run of results.

The home side were missing a few players and had made a some last minute changes. But we too were missing some key influencers - front row stalwart Mason Wallace and fly-half Rory ‘Quadzilla/Squadron Leader’ Wood. But such is the strength of our squad now, both players had able replacements who stepped up as required.

Any hint of complacency or lethargy from a long bus trip was soon knocked out of us in the opening few minutes. A mistake from the kick off and a scrambled clearance put us under pressure immediately and before we had a chance to catch our breath we were 5-0 down. Such a disappointment after keeping a clean sheet against Diss to throw it away so quickly.

Once we had regained our composure and implemented the gameplan, we showed how easy the game it can be. A few phases to suck the forwards in before shifting the ball wide into the spaces. It does help having a destructive backline who make it look so simple. An attack down the left saw an impressive interchange between Tim Loughnan, Tom Newton and John Preston before Loughnan crossed over - the extras added by the ever-present Liam Chennells.

North Walsham took the restart quickly and Nathan Lambden, showed stregnth with a clean take and offload under pressure. More slick inter-passing between Tom Newton and Chennells - surely both obvious selections for Hertfordshire - meant two scores in as many minutes and we were back in the groove.

At half-time we held a slender 12-7 lead. We had played some fantastic rugby but had also made some elementary errors which were keeping the home side in the game. The scrums had been a real problem with several penalties going against us - I’ll be honest the ‘dark arts’ of the front row are something of a mystery to me so I’m afraid I can’t tell you what was happening! The lineouts had been disappointing as well and the breaks downs scrappy.

After the break, we continued to find our feet and composure, another try from 'points machine' Chennells further extending the lead to 17-7. And then the fight back came. Walsham’s set pieces were strong and they had a number of muscular runners who were able to put them on the front foot. Our rugged goal-line defence has been a strong point over the last few months but was sliced through with ease as hooker McCall crashed over to make it 17-14.

Liam Chennells' 'reward' for his hat-trick

However, rather than panic and run around like decapitated poultry, we kept a cool temperament in the balmy sun. We stuck to our gameplan, slowed the play down and kept it tight when we needed to and our fitness levels won out in the end. Chennells completed his hat-trick - eight tries in two games now! - and a break away score by John Preston sealed the win. A penalty with the last kick of the game put the cherry on top at 30-19.
It was an excellent win as it such a tough place to get a result. Going on this performance, North Walsham are unlucky to be going down.

The bus trip was a predictably joyous celebration. More than a few eyebrows were raised as we clocked up over £200 worth of liquid refreshments from the good people at Norwich Asda. And so the standard mayhem ensued all the way back to Tring; new ‘caps’ singing their introductory song of choice - uncovering Jamie ‘Boycey’ Brown as something of a crooner; a few obligatory drinking games; and a couple personalised new verses to the ‘Tring Rangers’ some penned by yours truly!

In summary, a mature and assured performance produced a superb away win which was celebrated in style. Bring on Hertford at Fortress Cow Lane!

All roads lead to North Walsham

"If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, why do they keep score" - Vince Lombardi

There are just two league games left in a long and hard-fought campaign. With our league status already secured and the sun out, the temptation is to sit back on our laurels and just enjoy a light run in knowing we’d ‘done out bit’. But, to coin an American colloquialism, that’s not how we roll! A string of unexpected results have made this league very tight and we are keen to win our last two games to push further on up the table. North Walsham and Hertford stand in the way of our highest finish yet.

Tomorrow’s crusade to East Anglia will be eventful. Over the last two seasons, away trips to Walsham have been overshadowed by more other factors. In our first season in the league, we lost a tight game which was frustrating enough. But we were told we would have to replay the game as they didn’t have the required number of front row replacements.

Inexplicably, we weren’t given the points…nor were Walsham punished. In fact the game was rearranged…for Easter weekend. A three and half hour bus trip may seem like the ideal way of avoiding the family but, in all seriousness, the game caused an understandable amount of resentment. Now…there have been a lot of games and bumps on the head between then and now so the details are sketchy but we established a commanding lead only to see it slip away and lose in the last minute. These last ditch losses were heart-breakingly regular in this first season and made this particular trip all the more desperate.

Last season was a tough trip too. A bad tempered game resulted in a number of injuries and a comprehensive 22-0 loss. So it is not exactly a happy hunting ground for us. But we are determined to put this right. Buoyed by our run of four wins from five matches and knowing relegation has been safely navigated, the pressure is off and we can look to enjoy ourselves. This does not mean take it easy but means we can concentrate on us and getting the win and not worry about other results.

The plus side of these long away trips, win or lose, are the bus trips home. The extended coach journey is something of Rugby legend. A chance for the team to bond, sing a few obscene and offensive songs and drink a shed load of booze procured from the finest local establishment. There is also an occasional pit stop - a coach load of already well lubricated Neanderthals descending upon an unsuspecting local pub for an hour of chaos before disappearing as quickly as they arrived.

Resident rapper Chris Rose entertains the bus!

We had another week off last week so we are all champing at the bit to get out there tomorrow. We’ve had a excellent session on Tuesday which put is on the right track. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, I couldn’t make Thursday night but this has made me even more frantic to play. There are only so many highlight clips of Super XV you can watch without wanting to get out there and give it a go. So it might just be Sonny Bill Warren tomorrow!!

SBW shows us all how its done