17th February 2007
LONDON FIRE BRIGADE 7:8 EGHAM HOLLOWEGIANS

On a sunny day with perfect conditions, Egham Hollowegians were to play the first of three league games which are so crucial to our hopes of promotion. Some had love on their minds, others the tenderness of the lips of a beloved and others the cherished company of a beautiful creature. Nevertheless we were all aware of the importance of this game.

Egham started off very well. The tight five put immense pressure on the London Fire Brigade pack early on while the backrow stole several balls. These, followed by a number of good passages of play by the backs led to a fiery Harry scoring a well deserved try after 10 minutes. The conversion was missed.

Unfortunately, after this bright start, our performance began to decline. Suddenly the game wasn't flowing anymore and we ended up having a scrum every two minutes. At the same time people were being rather lazy around the park and this gave the opposition many chances to turn over possession. Concentration amongst the Egham bunch was short and this led to many scrappy rounds of play.

Sadly good ol' Guppy got into an awkward position in a ruck and ended up seriously hurting his right hand. He was very kindly helped out by the opposition Tight head Prop. We all hope for his speedy recovery. With the powers and intelligence of Guppy leaving the field our eyes were on a sole man. An eclipse appeared. The sky was sinister. We were left in darkness but a glimmer of hope still existed. Suddenly thunder stroke and from afar the bulky figure of a man known to many as Shugg the sheep &gger appeared before us. His impact was immediate, continuously disrupting LFB's attack by several crunching tackles and being constantly involved in the rucks and mauls. Could this be the turning point of the game?

Egham sustained the pressure on the Fire Brigade for much of the first half but wrong decisions were made on a number of occasions and Egham played some 'suicidal rugby' to quote the veteran Stevie. Eventually, this allowed LFB to make the most of a one man overlap and score under the posts with 10 minutes of the first half to go.

Half time: EH 5 - 7 LFB

After some serious half time talk by Captain Gavin Callander, Egham again started off very well and was on the offensive for much of the second half. The pack disrupted the play of LFB a few times in the lineout and scrum and this gave much needed livelihood to the team. Non-stop pressure from Egham resulted in a penalty being awarded to us at an acute angle to the posts. Then the rusty yet reliable boots of Fuzzey got us 3 points and we were ahead by just one point.

Egham continued to steal ball and attack. We had the opportunity to score a few times but the killer instinct just wasn't there. Especially on one occasion after a well collected lineout by the all mighty Ben May, the pack got together and after some successful driving, Fuzzey noticed a gap and ran with the ball for 40 metres before intelligently kicking it over the head of the opposition fullback and following it up with a good tackle which resulted in a scrum deep in the opposition's 22. Alas, despite the strong platform of the Egham pack, the next phase of play wasn't good and we ended up recycling and going backwards.

The last few minutes of the game were tense. LFB counterattacked and we found ourselves defending a lineout on our five meter line. Good work by Ben and Chis once again saved the day and after a few more important scrums, the backs took control and got us out of danger.

As the whistle went, hoorays sprang deep from our hearts and a great sense of satisfaction surrounded us. The front row of Keith, Stevie and Abtin, massively supported by Chis and Ben stood the test and came out victorious at decisive moments. The backrow did its job with the everlasting efforts of Gavin while especial mention should also go to Mark Lloyd Davies for several turnovers and non-stop running around the pitch. Our Happy Birthday wishes also go to him! Fuzzey and Josh linked up well and offered good ball to Sam who ran some effective lines creating much needed space for JK who interestingly enough only managed one knock-on but gravely confused the LFB defence with his swirling runs. Harry and Muff also put in several good tackles and slowed the momentum of LFB's back which gave time to the squad to organise and prepare for the next phase of play.

This was a sweet victory. Like a breeze caressing two embraced lovers on a sunny day. Though we must learn some lessons from it in particular when it comes to discipline and back chat. Positive talk is key to success within any group and the rugby field is no exception. So keep up at it and encourage your mates even if they make a mistake and work twice as hard to make up for it.

Abtin Pourgive, 18 Feb. 07