Having had a very festive break and beingledtobelievetheboyshadagood Thursdaysessionleadingintothematch, runningoffalltheChristmaspudsand QualityStreets,theboysendedawell rehearsed warm up with a quiet confidence.
Withaslightlychangedteam,giventhe newnotrainnoplayrule(agreatnew addition), we welcomed a debutant DanteMaynardrecentlygettingapproval fromhisdaddytoplayfortheseniors. Weybridgewiththekickoffhadthegame very quickly underway, attempting to stickwiththeirquickflowinggamestyle, weremetaggressivelybytheGrinstead team,whowheremeetingtheWeybridge runners and stopping them in their tracks.Itwasforaverysmarttapandgo penalty by the Weybridge 9, that eventuallyleadtothefirstscoreofthe
game,asGrinsteadscrambledtogetback on-sideandthesmartthinking10found an overlap and a mismatch out wide whichhelpedtheVandalstoeasilyrun overtheline(theplacekicktocome,saw thekickerendupflatonhisbackand miss-silverliningsandallthat). Therestofthefirsthalfseemedlikeit couldhavegoneeitherway,bothteams hadtheirplayersdoingtheirjobsandit was a great contest to watch, the forwardsputtinginsomelovelybighits namelyRoryandDave,thebackspushing up as a line in defence keeping their structureandmakingtheirhitswhenit mattered. We even had a Brimo break which was exciting to watch until he realisedhehadanother30meterstorun andlookedforthecontact.
In a first half that saw Weybridge put ontoateamwarningwithinthefirst10 minutes,itwashardluckbutfair,that Grinstead ended up receiving the first yellowandithadtobedebutboyDante forahowlingerrortakingaplayeroutin theairwithhischin,the8milkeditforall
Thehalftimeorangesallconsumedand the coaches speeches completed, the gamewassettorestartwiththescoresat 3-5withalltoplayfor.
Thesecondhalfstartedasfranticallyasit ended with both teams attacking and defending for their lives, penalties allowingeachotherintotheothershalf with kicks for touch and the forwards jostlingforpossessionaroundtheirline out,itwouldunfortunatelybearedcard thatprobablydecidedtheoutcomeofthe game,withGrinsteadbeingputdownto14 menearlyintothesecondhalf.
The team however continued with their effortsanditstilllookedlikeitcouldhave goneeitherwayuntilanotherWeybridge scoredanothertryoutwideastheboys werebeginningtogetstretched.OliBillin, backinthe10shirt,keptthefirealive though through his trusty left boot, slottingtwomore3pointerstokeepthe Grinsteadboysinthegame.ALeggattryin the75thminutebroughtthescorescloser still,butalthoughtheboyspushedforthe winner,itjustwasn’ttobe.
Withafinalscoreof14-20itwillbeasore reminder of what could have been especiallywiththeperformancetheboys putonintoughconditionsagainstvery tough opposition. A losing bonus point against top four opposition is a small consolation.
EG have been on the wrong side of narrowscorelinesthisseasonsoeven at26-36therewerenerveswhichwere compoundedbyerrorsatthelineout givingawaytheball.Thegameended withatryforEastbournewhichearned them two bonus point, but job was donefromEastGrinstead’sperspective witha33-36bonuspointwinonthe road against their rivals getting the seasonbackontrack.
The performance turnaround started againstTwickenhambutwasconverted intopointstodayandthere’safeeling aroundthesquadthatthisisasideon theup.Theywillneedtobeattheir bestwhentopofthetableTrinityvisit nextweek.
2ndXVMatchReportVSJerseyRoyals
WesetofftotheChannelIslands,ata verydarkandearly4:30am,onSaturday forourmuchanticipatedJerseygame. The boys left in high spirits and were lovingtheprospectofthisawayfixture. The team, despite the long commute, tookitseriouslyandpreparedthemselves forthegameaheadaswellasI’veseen. Thiswasevidentinthewaywestarted, fierce tacking and even playing the patterns,whichwassoonrewardedbyan earlypenaltyfromNoah.
Wethenconcededasofttrybutthelead was restored by sustained pressure allowingAlitopickandgoandscorefive metersfromthepost.Aftergrowinginto thegameourconfidencegrewandour pressure again was rewarded with an excellent taken penalty from Noah Roberts.
AlateunconvertedtryfromtheChannel Islanders took us in to halftime 13-12 ahead.
Thesecondhalfdefeatliterallycomes downtotheinjurieswepickedup(down to 13) the fact they had an extensive benchandthereplacementsbeingbetter players in some cases than ones they replaced.
Oneofthesereplacements-agreatyoung prospect - made an immediate impact whenhebrokethroughnumeroustackles to score twice in quick succession the secondwasmadeeasierbyamomentary lapseinconcentrationfollowingapenalty.
With20minutestogowefoundourselves threetriesdown.
ThankfullyMollypatchedupRoryEvans enabling him to come back on and completehisMOMperformanceshoring upourdefencesandquietingthehome supportwithagreatindividualtryfrom NoahRoberts.
On the whole, I was impressed by how seriouslytheplayerstookthegamebefore cuttinglooseandhavinganepicnightput onforusbytheJerseyRoyalboys. Thankyoutoallatbothclubswhomade thistrippossible.Ican’twaitforthereturn fixture!!!
