On another weekend where the rain Gods staged a major show of strength, the Colts took on Longlevens. We had to move to the 4G at Hartpury college as all grass was under water. Not great weather for our fast-paced offloading game then. In addition, Longlevens are comfortably the biggest team we face with some massive players all over the pitch. We would need to commit physically to the cause and move the ball if and when we could.

The game started with a knock on from the kick off, setting a pattern of handling errors from both sides. A penalty, lineout and subsequent maul established their attacking ideas: Use the big blokes to shove us around. They did it well and we were 5-0 down looking at a long afternoon. Storm in-coming literally and metaphorically.

This squad is made of tough stuff though. Lead by skipper MSJ, the pack made big hits all over the park, teaming up when necessary to hold up the opposition. Our pressure forced a penalty in midfield and a nice positioning kick from Hoggy put us in the red zone. A pre-planned lineout move saw our back row combine to crash over. The kick was victim to the gale, however, we were level.

The relentless pounding continued however and from another penalty we were again kicked back to our line. No surprise, the maul formed and began its relentless progress. We were adjudged to have illegally impeded it and a penalty try and yellow card followed. Not a very creative attacking strategy but definitely using their strengths effectively. 12-5

Not willing to capitulate however, we staged a concerted attack through multiple phases eventually releasing Barney into space to score in the corner. The conversion attempt was accurate, dropping agonisingly short to make it 12-10 at the half.

A tale of two styles then. Could we get enough ball to use our greater mobility? Could we maintain our defensive intensity to withstand the size differential? As the wind and rain worsened ( if that were even possible) the second half was a sodden arm-wrestle with both defences forcing errors as the cold fingers and slippy ball made handling difficult.

Nearing the end of the half, Longlevens finally passed the ball wide of the inside centre channel, having pounded us close to the ruck for several phases. Their winger made the line in the corner for a 2-score lead. Could we come back in the gathering gloom?

The rain, now illuminated by the floodlights continued to pour down but we had the ball and a series of forward thrusts carried us near the line. Charlie H, as he has multiple times this season, saw a gap and had the strength to get through it to the line. The kick was successful but we were still behind by a mere two points as the final whistle blew.

A loss, but an extremely proud and brave performance nonetheless. This squad are building and bonding week by week. Soaked and battered but with heads high, we move on to next week. Allez les Pats!

Tom Perris