Mothers Day Treat
Some mothers get flowers, some get chocolates but for the Mums of Old Whits and Guildfordians, it was a 12 o’clock kick off on a grey day in Croydon. But lucky Mums I say as they were treated to an epic struggle between two unbeaten teams in the Waterfall Cup which finished all square after a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing.
Both teams were not at full strength as we lost boys to Surrey Schools 7s – why on a Sunday!! – but this was balanced by a loss of Guildfordian boys to Duke of Edinburgh. From the off it was clear why they were unbeaten as they drove holes in the middle and then went wide for a very early try in the corner. We feared the worst given that a number of our players had not played much together and we were quickly under pressure again. But we withstood the pressure and an interception took us up the other end of the pitch and from the resulting pressure Josiah – who was playing at centre - went in for an equalising try. From then onwards it was pretty even – our tackling and teamwork was first rate and we were making some ground when we went wide. And we were pushing them backwards in the scrum impressively. But we went into the interval at 5-5 with all to play for.

Judah came on for the beginning of the second half and immediately scored a fantastic try from his own half which was converted by George to give us a 12-5 lead. It looked like the momentum was in our favour as we seemed to have the edge in the backs and the advantage upfront but Guildfordians were having none of it and pushed us back again to score a well worked try. The conversion was missed but Guildfordians were now on op and another close range try which was converted put them into a 17-12 lead. But our heads never dropped and pressure following a kick into the in-goal area led to a missed grounding and a try from George put us back to 17-17 with all to play for. 10 minutes to and further pressure led to a penalty for us near the Guildfordian line when the long frame of Issac stretched over for a 22-17 lead with a few minutes to go. But to their credit Guildfordians came back again and another try led to the scores being equal with a couple of minutes to go. We pushed again at the end and missed a possible opportunity to go wide and win it but we knocked on and the ref blew for full-time. A draw was a very fair result between two well matched teams who played the game in an excellent spirit.

Positives
• We were really great up front with excellent scrummaging and rucking meaning we kept the pressure up at all times
• Tackling was heroic and there were no unchallenged runs which has not always bene the case in recent games
• But the highlight for me was their positive attitude. Heads could have gone down a few times and we know that they have not always been supportive of each other when this happened. But not a bit of it today – always supporting each other, a really positive attitude and no talking back to the ref. And they kept coming back even when under the cosh and no moaning at me when I was making substitutions. Damian and I have never been prouder of them than we were today – thank you and well done.

Areas for improvement
• First tackles – while our secondary tackling was good, we were not always up quickly enough and missed some first tackles which puts us under pressure. Hunt in pairs boys.
I thought this performance deserved some individual assessments – I don’t always have time to do it
Ved – what a great addition to the squad solid scrumming and tackling and made ground with aggressive running
Bobby – part of the really good scrummaging unit and great throwing
Christian – energetic around the pitch with great tackling. Always very keen
Josh M – really solid scrummaging and a major reason why we rucked so well.
Freddie Y – another solid game and really contributing to the excellent pack performance
Tommy – tackling machine as always – a player to have with you in the trenches but needs to read the offside rule!
Charlie – brave as a lion and made a few great runs to gain us ground. Needs to be further up in line speed though as he is one of our best tacklers
Micah – solid as always – some great runs, big tackles and played on after taking a few knocks.
Jude – an excellent game at scrum half – always getting to the breakdown and getting the ball away. Great tackler too given his size.
Josh A – really good performance at full back. Solid under kicks and a great counter attacker as well as making a number of last direct tackles.
Freddie H – had a really excellent game at fly half. Kept the backline moving and let very little through.
Josh E – made a real difference when he came on. Made the opposition very wary and sucked in defenders whenever he had the ball. As well as an excellent try.
Sam – led from the front, made good ground with the ball and is growing into captaincy
Issac – got a well deserved try, locked up his wing and looked dangerous with the ball.
Josiah – was a little reluctant to play centre but what a game he had – scored a try, tackled superbly and made ground whenever he had the ball. A headache as to his best position now!
Jack – good to see him back and scrummaged well with accurate line outs.
George – just keeps improving every week. Tackles well, makes ground with the ball and his speed made sure he got to a loose ball for an excellent try
Amarii – locked up his wing when he came on and did all that was asked of him.
Archie – a real team performance. Came on in three different positions and never complained once. Just knuckled down and did what was asked, Thank you
Jimmy – added his strength to scrum and rucking and was part of the excellent forwards performance
Toby – great performance at flanker. Part of the great tackling. But needs to stand closer to me so I know he needs to come on!
This was a great team performance against the odds and I am not sure we would have won this a couple of months ago. John said they were a pleasure to ref and really noticed they are growing in maturity. Well done boys and sorry to the Mums for missing Mothers Day lunch – I hope you all get spoiled over the rest of the day