And so, we welcomed the New Year the same way we welcomed the start of the season: facing off against Gosford All Blacks. Once again, it was a wet and muddy day that led to a wet and muddy game!
A full Littlemore complement lined up for the starting whistle, including some of our more esteemed members, who lept at the chance to pull on the mightly blue and white jersey. Despite this, we did find ourselves somewhat lacking in both pace and stamina throughout the game. Consequently, our defence was stretched right from the start.
Having secured the ball from kick off and cleared our lines, Gosford were able to get the ball repeatedly to their big runners – an effective strategy given the conditions. Although we put in some outstanding tackles, cutting larger men down with textbook technique, the barrage eventually forced holes in our defensive line. Our defence of their back division proved much stronger, pushing up quickly and forcing Gosford to take the long way around. More often than not this led to missed passes and dropped balls. In the first half particularly we struggled to make ground in attack and our set piece was under pressure.
A half-time talk from our knowledgeable coach, Lynn Evans (now an author, too!), helped to settle us and we found good resolve heading into the second half. We proved much more of an attacking threat and there was excellent work put into the scrum. There must have been 20 or more scrums during the match, with both sides failing to control the ball for more than a few phases at a time. This is not a great position to be in as a forward, as it saps the energy greatly. Therefore, our pack deserve a lot of credit for standing up to a well organised Gosford pack. From that stronger base, the backs were able to force their way past Gosford’s defence on several occasions. Von Sims (Outside Centre) and Trevor Wilson (Full-back) ran excellent hard lines to break the gain line. We were able to pressure Gosford back to their own 5m line but couldn’t make the last few metres, which are the ones that count!
A tough day at the office in terms of the scoreline, but we all had a great time getting back to playing rugby and representing Littlemore! Gosford were welcomed the clubhouse after the match for some dinner and to watch the end of the Harlequins game, with drinks being handed out to some select individuals.
Final Score
Littlemore 0 – 70 Gosford
Man of the Match
Taff Jenkins, who put his body on the line despite being significantly out of practice!
Honourable Mentions
Zac Champion, who practiced his kicks at goal throughout warmup and then didn’t take a single one during the match
Russel Hixon, who had definitely not expected to be lifted in the lineout when he got out of bed yesterday morning!