The cold wet weather of the morning thankfully gave way to dryer conditions before kick-off and we were urged to go out and express ourselves, which is exactly what we did.

Last season we were given a good test by this team and we knew we’d have to be on our game today. Happily, the intensity was there from the start and our strong pack had the upper hand.

Conor, granted the freedom of the back row today, was having the time of his life with a series of massive carries. Cam, running great support lines, was available for multiple off-loads and the pack was making ground at will. Behind all this power, Aiden was having an armchair ride as he repeated his new role at 9.

When the backs were finally released, some lovely handling from pre-planned moves cut through a distracted defence and we were up two tries in fifteen minutes. Harry finishing off a delightfully worked move that was so slick even the opposition were impressed!

The dominant scrums gave us a perfect platform to launch attacks with Ollie picking up and charging into space. A knock-on from his offload spoiled the first chance but there was no stopping him the second time as he ran straight through their 10 who frankly, didn’t fancy that collision!

A fourth try of the half came after more strong carrying amongst the forwards and George showed great determination to stay on his feet and get the ball down under heavy pressure.

Three successful conversions meant we turned round 26-0 ahead. A halftime attempt to persuade the referee to manage the breakdown didn’t seem to have the desired effect as a string of increasingly baffling decisions went against us and we rather lost our shape for a while. It seemed we weren’t allowed to compete for the ball at all after a tackle but were regularly penalised for holding on. An adjustment to tactics was required, and simply driving the opposition off the ball with a counter-ruck resulted in more possession and less penalties.

Without the frequent interruptions, we were again able to up the intensity both in attack and defence and spent more time in the Stratford 22. A turnover at a ruck deep in Stratford territory allowed the clearly delighted captain Cam to crash over near the posts to scenes of wild jubilation.

More pressure saw our maul drive over in the corner but the robust defence held us up over the line. The resulting goal-line dropout hung in the air invitingly. Sadly for the opposition, it dropped into the arms of Ben Shaw, perhaps the most naturally gifted runner I’ve ever seen in a Pats shirt (amongst strong competition for that honour), and he glided, almost nonchalantly, past five would-be tacklers to touch down under the posts for his second of the afternoon.

The Stratford captain exhorted his troops to regroup and with a little complacency creeping into our play, they forced over from a maul to get on the scoreboard.

This wake-up call resulted in us regathering our efforts and two more tries were scored past a tired defence.

Sam still had his kicking boots on and slotted his sixth conversion from seven attempts resulting in a 47-5 final score.

What was most satisfying was that every one of our players, whether starter or sub, fitted into the game plan seamlessly and gave their all. The increasing levels of confidence that result from playing regularly in a team with your mates is clear to see and many lads are reaching standards that previously they were not. I’ll not single out individuals here, as the whole squad was superbly committed today but the coaches are delighted at the continuing development we are seeing from all the boys

Post-match we were made most welcome by our hosts, and some very fetching head-gear was worn, signifying the unique contributions that Conor and Cam made to the game (We are unable to show those images here)

We march onward to Minch and the league next week – I think it might even be St Crispin’s Day!

Tom Perris

(Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental)