A trip down the A2 and with no coach – we squeezed into cars with the kit galore. With Dele going direct it was left to Louis Baker to use his Dadmobile and help get the heavy loads.
Strapped and ready to go from early you could feel the buzz. With the return of a few players like Charlie, Este, captain Sugar AND the win last week at Reigatians the vibes were vibesing.
The short but precise warm-up didn’t bode well. We were down 7 points in the first 5 mins! An unforced error leading to a scrum which allowed Gravesend’s hefty No.8 to have a pop at our back line and give an offload Sonny Bill would be proud of.
7 – 0
The next passages of play was ours. Dele putting his new and improved body to work allowing us to dominate up the field. Bulldozing runs from Louis Baker aided in what inevitable was going to be a try. Patiently we waited and within 10 minutes Charlie Baker dotted down just right of the sticks. Some silky footwork and great vision showing why he has transitioned from Forward to Back. With no extras due to some crafty Thames wind and some knowledge of the rugby playbook we were not level.
7 – 5
Multiple dominating scrums later and some good rugby played it almost looked like Gravesend were impenetrable. But some ill discipline from both sides put an end to that and OC’s received a penalty on the Gravesend 22 meter line. Napper slotting it home and bringing the scoring at half time to an end.
10 – 8
HT
A heated conversation under the sticks in the sun and some strong words exchanged the second half begun. Louis Baker continuously deciding to breakthrough the line and terrorise the Gravesend defence with Haggis Jr. even getting involved but to no avail began to tire as Gravesend pushed on the last 20 minutes showing us what they were capable of and really opening up to secure a bonus point win and extension of being undefeated.
The final score didn’t tell the the full story as for 60 minutes this was a tight affair. However nobody ever remembers who came second! Both sides wasted several opportunities but it was Gravesend who finished victorious.
Final score 36 – 8
MOTM – Louis Baker
