Not Posh vs Beccs
After a succession of long journeys to the far flung regions of Surrey it was good to be at home even if it was against probably our closest neighbours, Old Becchamians. We had not played them for a number of years and it proved to be a very good and tight contest played in an excellent spirit throughout.
After the usual lack-lustre warm up punctuated by “they look big” comments, the boys yet again were at it from the off. Beccs had a really big pack and were trying to punch holes in the centre whereas we relied on getting the ball out and wide as quickly as we could where we had the edge. Tackling was again for the most part excellent and rucking much improved given the size of some of the boys we were up against. Judah was really up for the fight given he was playing against many of his school friends and opened the scoring when he carved through the centre of their defence to touch down under the posts which Ellis converted. From the kick off they kicked to Josh A who returned the favour with a huge kick which he chased and was then the recipient of a good bounce of the ball which enable him to streak clear under the posts for a 14-0 lead which he then converted. We continued to pile on the pressure with quick line speed and tackling and from a further period of pressure Ved went over from close range for his first Whits try - a proper prop’s try from 2 yards out. Beccs came back strongly with a strong run from one of their big players leading to a try under the post which was converted for a 19-7 lead at the end of the first period.
Beccs came into it in the second period and put us under a great deal of pressure - the boys by and large tackled well and remained organised despite a number of changes to keep them at bay, although our passing dropped off a little which would have eased some of the pressure. Their big forwards continued to press and one lapse of concentration allowed a relatively unchallenged try to reduce the deficit to 19-14. Game on.

We came back out in the third period with renewed energy and started to pass better which led to a further try form Sam in the corner to stretch our lead to 24-14. But in a nip and tuck game, we found ourselves again near our own try line and an interception led to a further try and a score of 24-21 with around 5 minutes to go. Beccs got possession and mounted another attack but Ellis did what Ellis does and intercepted a pass to run under the posts for a final score-line of 31-21.

This was a really close contested game which swung one way and then the other but we stayed clear due to our excellent start followed by strong defence when we were under pressure.

Positives
• Attitude was hugely improved – we inevitably made mistakes but criticism was very limited and the whole atmosphere was largely supportive, And it showed in the fact we stayed together to win the game despite being under considerable pressure
• Tackling, rucking and line speed against a really big team was excellent and we even pushed back their pack at times in the scrums. Well done
• We tried to pass the ball in the backs and get the ball out wide. This led directly to at least one of the tries and gained us loads of ground on frequent occasions.
Areas to work on
• Decision making was not always as sharp as it could have been. We were sometimes throwing risky passes when it would have been better to take the tackle and keep possession
• Support play needs to improve – we often left runners isolated – on one memorable occasion when we had a penalty near their line where Josh M ran in with the ball and then we lost possession because no-one went with him. Hunt in pods boys.

This was another good performance but what pleases me most is the improved attitude the boys are showing. I hope they can see how this impacts the performance on the pitch in close matches. Thanks to the rather excellent ref who didn’t as it happened need his mobility scooter.