Old Brentwoods 10 - Eton Manor 39

For those you not present we beat Old Brentwoods 2nd team 39-10 on Saturday. The game was played in a ferocious wind and on a pitch of which 60% was swamp with standing water on the surface. We got off to a much better start than last week but for the first 15 minutes or so did everything in slow motion, not helped by the fact that they had a set of big three quarters who decided that they were going to test out our midfield defence – all to no avail as John keen and Tony O cut them down. Then there was a dropped ball a fly hack or three from new back Sean (another South African called Sean – has that country got no imagination? We have Mad Sean, we used to have Sane Sean – anyone want to pick a nom de plume for the new boy? All I could come up with was beardy) and John Keen dropped over on it over the line. 15 minutes of pressure and OBs were 5 nil down (Jeff missed the conversion). We then picked up another score as Tony ploughed through the middle, handing off and dropping over the line near the posts. Jeff converted this one and we were 15 nil up (we’d also kicked a penalty). OBs came back late in the half scoring a try after about 10 successive penalties defending our line which also brought Hollis to a peak of rage and a long argument with the referee. Half time was 15-10, I expect OBs half time team talk was something like, we’ve got them boys, just cut out the errors etc etc

The second half saw 3 excellent and well worked tries from Lovett which showed poise, strength and balance but he was unlucky in the conditions also, sometimes giving knock on’s, crap passes and dropped balls – yet still he won the man of the match vote. The funniest moment of the game was from one of their kick offs (which were pretty much all low skiding kicks) it started about 2 foot off the ground bounced a couple of times and then flew through the most bow legged legs on the pitch, yes those belonging to Private America. I swear he even lent over and looked back through his legs to see the ball run into touch. No prizes for guessing who won the Makowski moment of the match. Sandwiched in between Lovett’s scores was one from a bullocking run from Ralf – I say that but I don’t think a bullock could have left the trail of devastation in its wake that Ralf did 2 players laying injured and a hole the size of a football where he head butted the ground in the act of scoring.

OBs kept sending their big runners at the pack from open play and around the fringes of rucks and the likes of Makowski, Thomas and Stevens kept dumping them on the their arses. It was a comfortable win in the end in poor conditions capped by watching John Keen (3rd in the man of the match vote but the 2 above him Pete 2nd and Lovett 1st were both driving) trying again to drink a pint of cider while Lovett had to do push ups on the floor