With the last game of 2022 called off due to the Arctic conditions, it was touch and go whether we played this game given the monsoon conditions of the last few days. We ended up playing on the second team pitch to protect the waterlogged first team pitch.

With a squad of 22 players, we won the toss and opted to play downhill with the wind behind us. Given the flowing, high scoring rugby that we have become accustomed to from our talented lads, it was hard to see this game being anything other than a muddy slug fest dominated by the forwards. In these conditions we probably needed to be one or two scores up at half time as it was likely we would be pinned in our own half for much of the second half.

The early part of the game was characterised, unsurprisingly, by handling errors from both teams due to a combination of the slippery conditions underfoot and perhaps running off the remains of the Christmas turkey. There were several noticeable attacking efforts from our lads however we were not able to turn this pressure into points. These included an audacious chip and collect from fly half Barney Heath Smith who was returning from a long injury lay off.

Talented lock Charlie Houlston took a great lineout catch setting up a powerful driving maul which we were not able to capitalise on. A particularly memorable interplay came via seriously skilful Angus Walker’s deft handling getting the ball to charging winger Charlie Langmaid who took the tackle and then offloaded inside to omnipresent Charlie Houlston who was well tackled snuffing out a scoring opportunity.

There were also numerous brave defensive efforts including tough tackling winger Dan Coolican Davies who never lets our team down. Sam Woodward has noticeably filled out and he made his physicality count on numerous occasions. Henry Brock also put his body on the line and it was good to see the return of Gladiator Maximus (aka SJ to his friends) who was typically abrasive in defence and attack. Perhaps through frustration, there was some back chat to the referee from both sides which was dealt with assertively. It was a reminder of the old aphorism about what happens when you try to shear a pig – you get a lot of squealing and not a lot of wool!!

It was disappointing to get to half time at 0-0 and the cliché of this being a game of two halves was never truer. The first half was muddy, the second half was going to be even muddier!!! With the game even, we sent on our super subs and moved other positions with the anticipation of being under the cosh for the next 40 minutes as we were now playing up hill and into the wind.

Early on we go pinned in our 22 which was now like a quagmire. After several attacks and some resolute defence from our lads, Stow managed to turn their pressure into a try right in the very corner. Their kicker then skilfully drew the ball in through the sticks for the extra 2 points.
0-7.

To our boy’s credit, they remained upbeat and positive despite being on the back foot in terms of the conditions. The conundrum for us was that Stow pinned our boys into the soggy 22 and clearing our lines was tricky given the wind. How to break out of this trap? To our boy’s credit, they worked incredibly hard on several occasions, methodically making their way through dogged phase play up the field into the Stow 22.

All our lads contributed to this effort including forward Josh Hansen who had a number of powerful surges running through defenders like an icebreaker making its way through the pack ice. Importantly when he was cut down our support runners were always close at hand to secure the ruck meaning we did not often lose our own possession. Josh’s more ‘offensive defence’ was also noted with some crunching tackles. Strong man Charlie Davies, coming back from injury, also made his presence felt with some bone jarring tackles including a try saving tackle in the bottom corner. It was good to see strong running centre Aidan Bartlett returning from illness with another solid performance in the mid field.

Other notable performances included charismatic and muddy looking utility forward Ben Lord who had some charging rhinoceros like runs and was never afraid to put his body on the line for his team. Scrum half Johnnie Hogg had his work cut out playing up hill in the mud but was ever reliable with his distribution and decision making whilst Harry Burridge had a short cameo on the wing looking dangerous in attack. Lock Kai Sherrington was in the middle of everything and, as always, made an impact with his physicality.

The game ended up being abandoned with five minutes to go after a potentially serious neck injury to our Captain Marvellous and centre Alex Moore. We now know that he has been given the all-clear which is a great relief and we look forward to seeing you back soon Alex.
Our next game is at home against Old Cryptians on Sunday 15 January, but may be away depending on our pitch condition. Training will be at Old Pats on Wednesday from 6 to 7pm.

Several special mentions, firstly to Ed Critchley who was sadly injured training with Gloucester. Ed, we were all very excited about you making your highly anticipated debut for Old Pats today and this injury setback will be a big disappointment to you and all of us – we wish you a speedy recovery. Also, a mention to Phil Walker for generously donating our squad 6 touchline jackets to keep our subs warm – thank you. Referee Dave Carter had a difficult job to do under the conditions and contributed to an enjoyable morning. Finally, a massive thank you to all of you for your calmness, kindness and support at the end of the game to Alex and his granny Sue. It was amazing to see the Old Pat’s family mobilise and rally around so quickly at a time of need.

Hein le Roux – Team Manager