Super Seconds put in a quality performance against Colchester to win 46 - 0

So captain Cushy’s old hernia has finally been operated on so I write this as a supporter for once.
Eton Manor was able to pick quite a strong team for this game with injuries healing in time for the last game before Christmas.
The backs still had a new centre partnership in Woody and Daley but the hope is the more games they play along side each other the better they will become.

With 30mins left before KO the referee informed us that Colchester were still waiting on players to arrive so the KO would probably be put back. With 10mins left until KO out came the missing 5 Colchester players running across the field. Game on.
I had managed to pick one of my biggest packs of the season, but as per usual we were completely dwarfed by Colchester’s pack. They had 3 guys about 6.5 in the back row and the props were big lads also. I wandered if maybe our backs would be starved of the ball.

From the KO it was an even affair in the tight with both sides winning their own lineouts and scrums, but Eton Manor definitely looked quicker around the park turning over a huge amount of ball for the backs and my god did they use it. Fly half Brad is finally stating to believe in his own ability and at 18yrs old pulled the strings beautifully. The newly formed centre partnership of New Zealander Daley and 17yr old Charlie Wood absolutely ripped apart Colchester’ back line. Some of the tries scored were of the highest standard and left the second team supporters happily gobsmacked.

To be honest the try scorers were not as important as the performance. Jack Sullivan, Chris Vickers, Charlie wood, Martin Bashoff and Craig all crossed the white wash in the first half to leave the Manor 29 – 0 up at half time. Then in the second half Jack nabbed his second, as did Martin Bashoff and the scoring was finally rounded off by Barney to leave the final score 46 - 0

The pack put in hard days graft against a big and aggressive Colchester pack and with players suffering after their Friday night work Christmas parties the forwards were swapped and changed at regular intervals to let dehydrated players recover. Poor Paul Porter took a head butt and a huge right hander from his opposite prop off the ball but he took it like a man and carried on even though his nose had taken a funny shape. The poor soul has never had a fight in his life.
Scrum half Tharbish had another very good game and his passing was spot on all game.

The main difference between the two teams was Bravery!
Whenever Colchester got the ball they got hit hard, there is not a player in our team that is scared to make that big hit. But for Colchester it seemed like only half their team were prepared to stand up and be counted. Time after time one player would brush off 4 or 5 would be tacklers and then be off charging down the field either scoring or making a lot of ground in the process. The newly formed centre partnership was sublime. They ran the hard lines one minute and delivered stunningly soft hands to put support runners away the next.
New player to the Manor Daley is a real beast who is virtually unstoppable when on the charge and 17yr old Charlie Wood ran off of him perfectly all game. Charlie may be 17 but he is over 6ft tall and can run like the wind. I can’t wait to see what these two players are capable of once they get used to each other.

A truly memorable performance by quite possibly the best second team Eton Manor has ever had….definitely in my 22 years at the club anyway.
For years the difference between the first and the second team was gigantic and as I write this the first team are top of London 1 and playing a level of rugby that has never graced our pitches before but that huge gap is not so visible anymore for this second team led today by the excellent Adrian is also doing the club proud. It’s their first season in Merit League One and at Christmas they sit in second place having beaten third place Colchester 46 nil.

That’s some Christmas present lads. Well done.

Man of the match was no.8 Jack Sullivan but in all honesty everyone played brilliantly.

Our next Game is on Sat 4th Jan against Romford & Gidea Park.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.