AwarmwelcometoeachandeveryoneofyoutoEastGrinsteadRFC. Anespecialwarmwelcometoourvisitorstoday,KCSOldboysandEastbourne 2's.
Afteragoodshowinglastweekendagainst3rdintheleague,Twickenham,our 1stXVwillbelookingtotakethatmomentumandbuilduponit.
Our2'sarebackinbusinesswithbolsteredranks includingafewdebuts.Keepaneyeoutfor youngsters,NathanOliverandTommyNastawhoare bothsteppinguptoplaytheirfirstseniorfixture.
Onbehalfofallattheclub,wethankyouforbeingpartoftheEastGrinstead rugbyfamily,andwelookforwardtoanexciting gameahead.
Theweeklynewsletterthatkeepsyouuptodatewithourrugbyfamilyrightacrossour wonderfulclub. PleasesignuptoreceivethisNewsletterviaemail,pleaseemailm.marriott@btconnect.com andwewilladdyoutothelist.
SENIORRUGBY
Our1XVdisplayedgrittyresilienceinTwickenham.Comingawaywithanarrowloss41-33
NextSaturday,the1’shostKCSOldBoys,andthe2’sfaceEastbourne.OnSunday,our WomentakeonHove.
JUNIORRUGBY
StormAshleythreatenedSunday,butourU8s,U9s,andU10sbravedtheweatherin Worthing.
U10’s:GreatgameswithstellarperformancesfromCassiusBates-Wells,JudePullen,and TheoMichael.
U9’s:Strongtacklingandoffloadingdrewpraisefromcoaches.
U8’s:Threeteamscompetedwell.
Nextweek,U7,U8,andU9haveahomefestival,whileU10andU11travel.Volunteers needed—reachouttoyourcoach!
INTERMEDIATERUGBY
OurU15sclaimeda38-24victoryatUckfield,withstandoutplaysfromDeclanHodgeanda crucialtacklefromEthanNorris.
SHOP@EGRFCThanksforstoppingby!Newkitandordershavearrived.PlaceyourpreordersforcustomrugbyballsandwintergearbyOctober27forChristmasdelivery.Email Shop@egrfc.comwithquestions.
BIGGAMERETURNSTHISCHRISTMASCatchHarlequinsvs.LeicesterTigersatAllianz
StadiumonDecember28.Limitedearlybirdticketsfrom£36.
Financialplanningisaboutmorethanjustnumbers.It'sabout understandingyou,yourdreams,yourfears,andyourvalues.That's whywe'reheretobuildalong-termrelationshipwithyou,notjust manageyourinvestments. Wedothisbymakingfinancialplanningmorehuman.
KO15:00PM
1XVGameMatchReportVSTwickenham
Thisweekwasnotthetimetosugarcoat things. Off the back of a disappointing collapse at home against Sussex rivals Hove, injuries andunavailabilityhadforcedthe2s to forfeit their home game against BurgessHillwiththe1stteamgiven the daunting task of an improved showingagainstpromotionhopefuls Twickenham. With hooker Ben Tottman stepping up as an emergency tighthead prop, Noah Robertsreprisinglastseason’sroleof reluctant scrum half and DOR Dan Poultoncalledoutofretirementfor the second time this season, we headedtoTwickenhamwithnobacks on the bench. After some midweek soul-searchingandsomehardtruths deliveredbeforethewarmup,itwas all positivity from then on as the coachessentusonwithonecommon goal-atrybonuspoint.Givenour combinedtotalof18pointsagainst Twickenhamlastseason,thiswasno smallchallenge.
Twickenham have never had trouble scoringtries,anddespiteapromising startfromEG,thehometeamstruck firstoffthebackofadominantscrum to score down the opposite wing. Havingmissedapenaltykicktotake anearlyleadonourfirstentryintothe opposition’s22,wemadenomistake secondtimearound.Awell-executed lineout on the 5m line saw captain RylandThomasescortedtothetryline atthebackofamaultolevelthescore at5-5.
Unfortunately,therestofthefirsthalf was all Twickenham on the scoreboard. Three more tries and a penaltygavethemacomfortablehalf time lead of 29-5, but a physical defensiveeffortfromEGhadforced thehomesidetoemptytheirbenchin the first half hour. The second half would give us the advantage of the wind,andwehadtobelievewewere capableofthreemoretries.
Despitelosingthefirstattackinglineoutofthe half,atackleandjackalturnoverfromsecond rows Ollie Toogood and Sam Lindsay-McCall producedfrontfootballthatsawusturningup thepressureinTwickenham’s22m.Whenaknockonlostpossession,NoahRobertspouncedona labouredboxkicktorunitbackintothe22m. Patience and pressure in the short phases eventuallysawJakeRadcliffeunleashedonthe oppositewing,andadifficultconversionbyLuke Makerreducedthedeficitto29-12.
10minuteslater,Radcliffewasoffhiswingand pouncingonlooseballoffanattackinglineoutto breakthroughseveraltacklesbeforeoffloadingto MaxCrawley-Mooretobounceoffonedefender andskippast2moretoscoreundertheposts.The following restart was gathered by the EG forwards,withafewshortphasesfailingtomake ground before scrum half Roberts exploded throughapoorlyguardedruck.Escapingthegrip ofonedefender,agrubberkicktrickledpastthree scramblingdefenderstoallowhimtoregatherthe balltocompleteastunningsolotry.At29-26we hadsecuredonebonuspoint,andhad20mins lefttogoformore.Wasacomebackonthecards? Unfortunately,no.Consecutivepenaltiesgaveup territoryandpossessiontoTwickenhamasthey wrestledbackmomentumfortheirfifthtryanda 10-pointlead.Showingastrengthofcharacter thathasnotbeenevidentthisseason,EGkeptup thepressureevenasbodiestired,andthenext10 minswerespentintheTwickenhamhalf,probing thedefensivelinebutnotbreakingit.
Afterlosingtoptry-scorerAliMoffattto injury,number8DanBillinmovedtoinside centrebutthereshuffledlineupcontinued to control possession and territory. However,Twickenhamstruckbackwitha powerfullinebreakdowntherightwing thatsealedthewinforthehomeside. Inthefinal5mins,EGcontinuedtoplay with intent in the opposition 22 and remainedpatientanddisciplineduntilTed Hardistysqueezedintothecornerfora consolationtrytoendthegame41-33. This team is in no doubt about the mountain they have to climb, as other resultsinthisfinelybalancedleaguesawus pusheddowntothebottomofthetable. However,thisgamefelttoallinvolvedlike asignificantturningpoint.Havingscored just3triesinourprevioustwoencounters, 5triesagainstTwickenhamwasabigstep forward,andourhighestpointstallysofar thisseason.
Thephysicalstrengthandthestrengthof character shown at Twickenham proved what this squad is capable of, what a difference it could have made in our defeatstoLondonCornishandHove,and what we have to replicate against 9thplacedKCSOldBoysathomeonSaturday.
WesetofftotheChannelIslands,atavery darkandearly4:30am,onSaturdayforour muchanticipatedJerseygame.Theboys left in high spirits and were loving the prospectofthisawayfixture.
Theteam,despitethelongcommute,took itseriouslyandpreparedthemselvesfor thegameaheadaswellasI’veseen.This wasevidentinthewaywestarted,fierce tacking and even playing the patterns, which was soon rewarded by an early penaltyfromNoah.
Wethenconcededasofttrybutthelead was restored by sustained pressure allowingAlitopickandgoandscorefive metersfromthepost.Aftergrowinginto the game our confidence grew and our pressure again was rewarded with an excellent taken penalty from Noah Roberts.
AlateunconvertedtryfromtheChannel Islanders took us in to halftime 13-12 ahead.
Thiswassomeachievementconsidering wehadtwoflankersonthewingsanda coupleofimports,itwasagoodshowing byEG.
Thesecondhalfdefeatliterallycomes downtotheinjurieswepickedup(down to13)thefacttheyhadanextensive benchandthereplacementsbeingbetter playersinsomecasesthanonesthey replaced.Oneofthesereplacementsa great young prospect made an immediate impact when he broke throughnumeroustacklestoscoretwice inquicksuccessionthesecondwasmade easier by a momentary lapse in concentrationfollowingapenalty.
With20minutestogowefoundourselves threetriesdown.
Thankfully Molly patched up Rory Evans enablinghimtocomebackonandcomplete his MOM performance shoring up our defencesandquietingthehomesupportwith agreatindividualtryfromNoahRoberts. The game finished with us chasing them down for more trys with real heart and determination.
OnthewholeIwasimpressedhowseriously the players took the game before cutting looseandhavinganepicnightputonforus bytheJerseyRoyalboys. Thankyoutoallatbothclubswhomadethis trip possible. I can’t wait for the return fixture!!!
