Fantastic season in danger of derailing

So....it's been a while (awkward tension). 


I apologise for not being more active but I have been distracted by a fairly major factor - all will be revealed in due course!


But what has happened in the meantime? Well, our glorious and magnificent season is in grave danger of becoming a train-wreck. A terrible string of results and uncharacteristically lackluster performances have lead to a debilitating tumble down the league table. And it all started with an away trip to the Herts/Essex border...


We approached the Bishops Stortford game with genuine optimism. Despite an embarrassing loss to Civil Service, we were convinced we could repeat our momentous away win to our Herts rivals. But things, inevitably, didn't go according to plan. For 20 minutes, we were in the game but then the tide turned...and apparently we forgot how to tackle.


Stortford deserved to win the game as we weren't at the races. But we weren't really allowed to be at the races. A truly baffling and inept refereeing performance meant we could not get a sniff at the breakdown area. As the defending team, we weren't allowed to even think about competing for the ball. If we did, instant yellow card. 


Frustration soon boiled over and we lost our cool. 45-10 the final score with three yellow cards and a red. This was a serious dent to our season but, more importantly, to our confidence and belief. 


And then the snow came. Our home fixture against Tonbridge was postponed due to the weather so we had two weeks of stewing and gym circuit training instead. When the ground finally thawed, we hosted Maximuscle's Staines.

The Rangers prepare for a scrum against Staines

We knew from previous games against the Middlesex side that they always push us to the limit. We were not expecting an easy game as their league position would naturally suggest. And we were not disappointed. They brought a fiery physicality and a desperate determination to push out of the bottom three. 


Despite going behind early, we managed to dominate large parts of the match. We were behind at half time but the tricky conditions meant we were still in with a shout. A tense but thrilling game was settled by a moment of genius from Scott Browne. A pin-perfect chip to the corner straight into the gleeful hands of Titch Roberts followed up by a crucial touchline conversion gave us the lead. The forwards kept Staines pinned down in Tring Corner until the final whistle blew. A tense 13-11 win to restore faith.


Just a week later, however, and we were faced with a problem. The home fixture against Tonbridge had been rearranged on a week that had been marked as free. This meant many people had already made plans and were unavailable so we were forced to field an under strength side. 


Now, to many this may seem like an arbitrary point - if there's a game you play as simple as that. But behind any amateur, semi or even full professional Rugby player is a long suffering partner. If plans have been made, it is very difficult/unfair to cancel them at the last minute - or risk spending the rest of the month sleeping in the dog house, which is no way to prepare for a game! I wasn't able to play in this game, but a 44-17 loss was all anyone needed to know. 


We had previously targeted the away fixture to Bracknell as a must/should win game. A match to rebuild our confidence and push on to triumphant unbeaten run to the end of the season. But last weekend was probably our lowest point. We totally capitulated. Our defence was weak. We coughed up the ball time and time again due to stupid and reckless offloads. And we were duly punished. 


We were taught a valuable lesson in Berkshire. For much of the game we dominated and played some excellent phases. The scrum was solid and our lineout was excellent. But we weren't nearly clinical enough. Like birds following a trawler (ooh I've gone all Cantona!), Bracknell lived off our scraps and made us pay.To be honest, we looked rusty and bereft of ideas under pressure. We were too flat and predictable in attack and too high and noncommittal in defence. 


A final score of 38-3 against a team we were expecting to beat shows we are a team at crisis point. It is easy to look for excuses - bad refs, illness, injuries and absentees - but we have to take ownership of these results and learn from the mistakes. We need to lick our wounds and regain some belief and confidence.


London Irish Amateur will be visiting Cow Lane this weekend and we know we are due a big performance. Or else face our season coming totally off the tracks. 


One final point, lamp-post impressionist David Shotton has decided to leave the club and start a new adventure in Australia. You never know, it might improve his chat! Good luck, mate. 

Four out of five for October keeps Cow Lane rocking

Hard fought wins over Staines and the once mighty Bracknell have continued our fantastic early season form and kept our place at 4^th in the league. But it has been far from easy pickings. In an emotional couple of weeks for the club, the boys showed real character and self-belief to earn these last 10 points.  

First item on the agenda - an away trip to sunny Staines. The Middlesex club has always been a very physical side. Last year, they punished us both home and away, brushing aside us forwards with a brutal contempt. We knew they had lost a few players but they still had the notorious Junior Harrison in their ranks. The biggest man in the league - cousin to Strictly star Audley…who apparently boxes as well.

We started the game poorly – perhaps a hangover from the Tonbridge Juddians beating the week before. The team was not gelling and we turned the ball over far too many times.

Staines were happy to capitalise on our mistakes and accomplished Fly-half Michael Forster kicked two penalties to establish an early lead. As we continued to misfire, Centre Wilmott crashed over to pile on the misery. We offered very little in a disappointing first half and went into the break 11-0 down.

Despite a Graham Henry-style ‘Rark Up’ from Jon, the second half started abysmally. Smashed off a scrum, flustered errors at lineouts, uncharacteristic knock-ons…it was as if we hadn’t played before! And a further score from Backrow West really put us under pressure.

16-0 behind, we had a mountain to climb. We finally came round from our daze and started to string phases together. Unbelievably, we only scored our first points after 69 minutes, Chennells crossing the line following an excellent driving lineout. Straight from the kick off, Newton was put into space by Ben Criddle and finished with aplomb. Suddenly, it was 16-14 and the comeback was on.

Heading to the lineout against Bracknell

Two further penalties from the home side re-established their lead, but by this time we had the bit well and truly gripped between our teeth. We must give credit to fitness specialist Steve Bumstead – as we grew and grew in confidence, Staines faded quickly. The final result was an inevitable formality…but slippery-healed Newton chose to wait until the final play of the game to dance under the posts to wrap up a breath-taking win! 

But celebrations were cut short. During the week, club legend Malcolm Rose tragically passed away. He had been a corner stone of the club for many years and his legacy lives on through his son Chris. 

We were determined to honour Malcolm’s memory with a strong performance. A well-observed minute silence focused our thoughts.

It did not start particularly well. Despite a solid and dominant start, the visitors took the lead through a penalty. We also lost Winger Ben Selwyn to a torn hamstring.

But, we were the stronger side throughout. A stable scrum gave us an excellent platform and Papa Bear was on hand to take a pop from Newton to cross the line. Another flowing move quickly resulted in Sam ‘The New Gas Man’ Clapham dived over in the corner. A further score from the Mateai Express gave us an impressive 19-6 lead at half time.

The scoreline did not do justice to the visiting side. They were a strong a powerful side. But their discipline cost them dearly. We punished their two yellow cards with further a try and penalty from Chennells, and a spectacular drop goal from Papa Bear.

The game ended on a sour note - Radders given a straight red for a left-hook, which would have rocked David Haye. Iit was clear and blatant and can’t be defended. But there is no way Nick would have reacted iin such a way without provocation.

Bracknell clawed back a consolation try but the final score was 32-18. Another bonus point win on an emotionally charged day for the club.

We now have a weekend off and a much needed opportunity to recuperate. So far, this season has been fast and furious but somewhere we’re keeping up with the pace!