Fixtures in bold denotes a Middlesex Merit Table 3 game.
Match reports
Nomads 31 – 8 Old Actonians 2s, report by Ed Bracken….
Nomads: 1 Dave, 2 Nick W, 3 Lapin (James E), 4 Bas, 5 Josh, 6 Moff (JT), 7 Nick Mc (James P), 8 Matt Mc, 9 Matt T, 10 Chris, 11 Andrew, 12 Jake, 13 Ed, 14 Greg (Aidan), 15 Stu.
Tries: Bas, Jake, Stu 2, Matt T.

Our first league game of the new season, and we were chucked straight in at the deep end against a big and strong-looking Old Actonian’s 2’s side who were unlucky to have been relegated from Division 2 last season. After running up cricket scores in our first couple of matches, this was clearly going to be a very different test on another boiling hot day in the Park.

We kicked off down the hill and immediately stormed into action. The first scrum set the scene for what turned out to be a truly immense forward effort – we won the ball against the head and drove the bigger OA pack back in a brutal display from the front row of Dave, Nick W and Lapin. OA’s (who we later found out had turned up expecting to comfortably beat us) were duly stunned and were left frantically defending their line, and after we went close with a number of phases, quick thinking from Matt T with a penalty under the posts saw a rampaging Bas stomp over from 5 yards out to give us the perfect start. 5-0. The game soon settled into a pattern of the hefty OA forwards picking and driving, and our pack steaming into contact – Moff and Nick Mc tackled relentlessly, while Josh and Matt Mc were at the bottom of every ruck and seemed to come out with the ball time and again. Chris at fly-half kept things mixed up well in the backs, and Andrew had a couple of lively breaks down the left as we looked to increase our lead, but some harsh refereeing kept us pinned back and eventually OA’s profited with a penalty under the posts (clearly not brave enough to run it) – 5-3. Our response was immediate, however, and after another series of surges through the middle, new-boy Jake (who tackled like a maniac throughout) picked the perfect line to drift inside the defence and stroll over under the posts. 12-3. However, OA’s weren’t going down without a fight and a series of penalties gave them position in our 22 from which they scraped over the line despite some heroic defending. 12-8. There was still time for another new boy Greg to make a tasty burst down the right but the half finished with us narrowly in the lead.

At half-time we talked about maintaining the work-rate but cutting out some of the indiscipline as we got the feeling that the oppo fatties would eventually tire of playing 10 man rugby on such a hot day, but the first 10 minutes of the second half were going to be key, and so it proved as OA’s charged into us with the advantage of the hill (and the benefit of a couple of suspiciously large subs coming on – yes, their 1’s didn’t have a game…). We spent long periods in our own 22, but the level of commitment and defending, particularly in the pack, was nothing short of ferocious. More than once, OA’s put together 6 or 7 phases, only to be constantly beaten back. Eventually they realised there was no way through the middle so tried to spread it, and two tries in quick succession from the Boy Racer himself killed the game. The first came after another increasingly desperate OA attack saw a wild midfield pass intercepted – James P showed his pace and awareness to support through the middle, and he timed his pass perfectly to allow Stu to fly over in the corner. 17-8. A few minutes later we gave them a lesson in back play with 2 perfect phases – the first was boshed up the right, and then Chris changed direction with the second, and Stu’s perfect line allowed him to smash through the midfield and steam over under the posts. 24-8. With James E and JT coming on to get stuck straight in with the rest of the pack, suddenly we had some space out wide. Aidan had his dancing shoes on and put together a moment of magic with a shimmy down the left, and we had more chances as OA’s tired and we started to show our superior fitness (despite the fact they train together every week). Another series of surges saw us control the ball at a ruck under the posts and Matt T capped a memorable performance (together with a huge hit on the hefty OA centre) with a gleeful plunge over the line from point blank range. Final score – 31-8.

A seriously satisfying result given the size and strength of the oppo (and their ringers), the number of new faces we had and the bizarre refereeing. The work-rate and commitment was immense, particularly in the forwards, and we took our chances brilliantly in the backs. A great first win, but this is just the first step….

Man of the Match: the pack were immense on the day, particularly with the defence in our own 22. In the backs, Stu deserves mention for his key brace and Jake, Greg and Aidan all showed plenty of promise on their debuts. However the award this week is shared by the new VC’s Matt T and Josh for their outstanding displays – although the less said about their camp attempts to see off a dirty pint after the game the better….

Old Actonians 2s 17 – 18 Nomads, report by Ed Bracken….
1 Jamie (Matt P), 2 Lapin, 3 James E, 4 Josh (Jim), 5 Moff, 6 James P, 7 Jazzy, 8 Matt Mc, 9 Mark H, 10 Chris, 11 Andrew (Pete), 12 Alex J, 13 Eoin, 14 Ed, 15 Stu.
Tries: Jazzy, Matt Mc, Mark H

Another fiercely contested game against our old rivals Chiswick 2’s which we controlled for long periods and clearly deserved to win, but very nearly threw away with a couple of lapses of concentration. You’d pay good money to watch this level of entertainment, perhaps we should start charging the newly crowned Nonads (our very own WAG equivalents)…

We won the toss and chose to play with the wind in the first half, and immediately camped ourselves in Chiswick’s half. On a small pitch against another hefty pack, it was always going to be tough to play our usual fast, open style but we showed our adaptability by driving round the fringes and making the hard yards. Jamie, Lapin and James E initially competed well in the scrum and were always showing for the ball in the loose, and Moff and Josh were everywhere as always. The luckless Josh got a heavy bang in the chest and was replaced by the returning Jim, who added some grunt round the fringes. In the backs, Mark showed his flexibility by calling the shots in the unfamiliar position of scrum half, and Chris mixed the play up nicely at fly half, inviting Alex and Eoin to crash it up in midfield time and again. But a combination of several things – an inability to string a series of phases together, some cheap loss of the ball (particularly when kicking for touch from penalties) and turning down a number of kickable penalty chances – meant it was still scoreless after half an hour. We thought we’d made the break-through when Matt Mc burst from the back of the ruck and offloaded to Mark, who looked like he’d got the ball down over the line, but in the first of a series of bizarre decisions the ref initially gave it and then changed his mind. However, after winning another penalty on the 22 straight in front of the posts, we finally went for points and the deadlock was broken at last – 3-0. Andrew made a couple of tasty bursts down the left, Stu made the most of limited opportunities out wide to show his pace and strength in contact, and after some frantic pressure on the oppo defence in the Chiswick 22, Jazzy was rewarded for his commitment and never-say-die attitude when he charged down a desperate attempted clearance and gleefully plunged over the line. The kick went wide but we went into the break 8-0 up.

At half-time, it was a similar message to last week – keep up the work-rate, but try and cut out the little mistakes that were costing us so badly. Initially, it worked perfectly. We re-jigged the pack, James P showing his versatility by slotting in at hooker with Matt replacing him in the back row, and together the Plaistowe brothers staked an early claim on the traditional Brothers’ Wrestling at the Christmas dinner with their crazy pace and tackling. Pete came on to add his weight and clever angles of running in midfield after Andrew succumbed to a very unlucky broken finger. Again, we were soon camped in the Chiswick half and we increased the lead when Matt Mc made the latest in a series of storming runs to pick up and go from the base of the scrum and pile over in the corner (despite the efforts of one Chiswick defender to decapitate him with a high tackle). Another missed kick meant it was 13-0, but looking pretty. Or so we thought, as the game was almost turned on its head with a couple of moments of madness – the first came when we lost possession after trying to run it out our own 22, and the next came when a misplaced pass in midfield saw them intercept and score under the posts. Before we knew it, the lead was back to one point – 13-12. Credit to us, we stayed calm and kept doing the basics. With the set piece now firmly back on track, we again enjoyed plenty of territory and after a couple of attempts at the line (including Chris being brought down agonisingly short), Mark cleverly went blind from a scrum and picked the perfect angle to sweep over in the corner. Yet another missed kick (albeit into the wind – ahem) meant we were less than a converted score up, but as the minutes edged by, it looked like we’d done enough…until a crazy couple of minutes saw us give away possession several times (unforgivable in the circumstances) and then, almost surreally, Chiswick burst up the left and their winger strolled through some weak tackles to score near the posts. It looked like we’d fvcked it up right at the end, and we could only stand and watch as the Chiswick fly-half stepped up for what looked like an unmissable conversion. Fortunately, amazingly, he’d taken the sausage from my boot and put it in his, and with the last act of the game he hooked it wide – the look on his face said it all, and we held on for a win we clearly deserved but had so nearly chucked away.

Overall, another performance of genuine desire and commitment – the work-rate was first class yet again, and once we become a bit slicker in attack (which will come as we gel, I’m sure), we will go from strength to strength. We’re still unbeaten this season, and that’s the main thing for now. A magic session of boozing (and fines – no names mentioned) followed, anchored in their usual style by Bill and Adam.

Man of the Match: in the backs, Mark produced a very clever performance and scored what turned out to be the winning try, and Alex made a welcome return with his physicality in midfield. Again, the forwards put in a fantastic collective effort, but the one stand-out player this week was Matt Mc for his constant surges in the loose and impeccable defence, as well as scoring another key try. Outstanding.