‘Twas the match before Christmas
And, if you were walking your dog,
Could you find Minchinhampton in the thick December fog?

The flags were placed by the pitches with care,
In hope the Old Pats soon would be there

With the Minchinhampton coaches in their jolly santa hats
And the crowd all shouting “Allez les Pats!”

Jack Frost was lurking, we knew he was there,
At just 3 degrees there was a nip in the air

Away to the try line the Pats flew with a flash,
Crashing through bodies and scoring with a crash

Minchinhampton attacked but what should appear,
A wall of Pats shirts that kept them well clear

They ran and assailed, so lively and quick,
But ran into defence that resembled a brick

Then more rapid than eagles the Old Pats they came,
Rucking and scoring again and again

The crowd whistled and shouted and called them by name
“On Spartans, on Vikings, on Barbarians”, they came
They stretched their lead and were winning this game

The Pats gave a cheer as the ref blew his whistle
The hot dogs were waiting and starting to sizzle

The coaches exclaimed before we drove out of sight
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night

Many thanks to Minchinhampton RFC for their warm hospitality and a great fixture. We look forward to seeing you again in 2022!