27th January 2007
EGHAM HOLLOWEGIANS 1st XV 6:14 OLD OUNDELIANS

After a solid and well attended training session on Tuesday, the mood was positive heading into Saturday’s game against Old Oundelians. This was a side that had beaten us quite heavily in the early part of the season so we were determined to put in a decent performance.

The first chance for Egham Hollowegians came only a minute into the game. The kick-off was caught by the opposition’s ex-Harlequins player Rory Jenkins who immediately tried to fend off the defence with a high elbow. In what may have been his last appearance for Egham before returning to Wales to fulfil a childhood ambition of joining a male voice choir, left wing Dickie slotted the penalty with ease. It was a valuable contribution that kept the home side ahead well into the match. Dickie was unfortunately off the pitch soon afterwards thanks to a bloody nose, and we hope this injury will not affect his baritone.

The first half saw a very evenly contested match with both sets of forwards retaining good possession and relatively clean ball for the backs. Defence was solid from both sides with the Egham back row of Seb Warner, Mark Hyndman and skipper Gavin Callister containing the opposition advances very effectively. Through a combination of solid set-pieces and clean ruck ball (Ed Kidson being instrumental throughout), Egham were able to mount a few good attacks – running 3 or 4 smooth moves from what can only be described as quite a suave back division. Notable moments came from Clap who made a superb run, looping round from right wing and taking Josh Burdett’s pass flat on the gain line between the centres. He broke the defence and set up an excellent platform. Later in the game Macca ran a hard straight line through the centre also. However, the defence was tight and very hard to break. Sam Walker was composed as ever at 12 and scrum half Dave provided a good passing performance as well as a lot of encouragement to the pack.

After some elusive running from their full back, Old Oundelians gained territory and finally equalised with a penalty of their own. A further blow came to Egham when captain Gavin Callister (Neapsy) was sin binned for killing the ball. Egham held on with some dogged defence and went into the break with all to play for.

The second half began in a similar tit-for-tat style, neither side gaining much advantage. The opposition strung together several phases of play and pinned Egham into our own half for much of the remainder of the game. One break up field and a subsequent penalty allowed Macca to put the hosts up 6-3 but this was to be the last of the points for the home side. Egham weathered a sustained period of good attacking play as the Old Oundelians started to mix it up with punchy moves around the fringes as well as more expansive back play. They eventually equalised with another penalty but were finding no holes in a commendable Egham Hollowegian defence. Nick de Ujfalussy and Sam Walker bossed the centre defence while Lux, coming on for Hugh, was as dependable as ever on the wing.

A key moment came midway through the second half when the Egham stalwart Mark Hyndman was left in considerable pain after a ruck, clutching his lower back. At first it was feared that a new John Hopoate might be lurking in Surrey 4 (http://wesclark.com/rrr/hopoate.html) but it turned out that it was a muscle strain. Mark was forced to leave the field and the momentum was now ebbing away. Ross Wiegold, on for Mark, and Tim made excellent contributions while the front row of Kieth Tomasso, Aptin and Ed Kidson continued to work hard in the scrum.

In the dying moments Old Oundelians finally broke the Egham line and scored a scrappy but valuable try in the corner. A last gasp penalty eventually sealed the game for them.

Egham Hollowegians can be proud of a dogged performance, particularly in defence, and will be a tough side to beat in their coming games.