Depleted Kingswood Inflict 1st Defeat Of The Season On Old Richians

Kingswood put on the performance of their season so far to overcome a previously undefeated Old Richians. With 7 1st team regulars unavailable for selection, Hooker Mark Oakley had to start at Outside Centre. There were also 9 call ups from the 2nd XV.

The home side had conceded over 80 points in their last couple of matches and were low on morale, but with a tactical overhaul, what Old Richians were greeted with was a sterling defensive performance from Kingswood.

A stalemate first half finished 0-0, but it was the visitors that eventually grabbed the lead, going over in the corner early in the 2nd half. However, Kingswood failed to let their heads drop and battled hard to gain territory against strong opposition.

Perhaps a draw would have been a fair result, but when Captain Nick Coe powered over the line to level the scores for the home side, a calm Ashley Honeywell slotted home the extras to give Kingswood side a much needed boost for the season.

Quote of the week: "In the 2's that would have been considered a good tackle" - Shaun Carey after his late hit.

Director Of Rugby's Report.

When I awoke on Saturday morning, I had no inkling what seismic activity the rugby world would bring to my doorstep. Working backwards from Saturday evening; unbeaten Northampton Saints went down to a rampant London Irish - a team floundering at the foot of the table whose backroom and playing resources have been decimated over the closed season; Exeter Chiefs spat gloopy phlegm in the face of the Haute-Couture brand of swaggering rugby so successfully peddled by Harlequins. Yet, the biggest surprise was the heart pounding display of cussed endeavour displayed by each and every lad who pulled on the KRFC shirt at the Deanery Road playing fields at 3pm that day. Unfazed by a raft of eleventh hour changes and led by our rampaging snarling-dog of a skipper, bent on eating the oppositions lunch, and savaging them if they dared protect it, we scrapped our way to an ugly, but oh-so-beautiful win against the unbeaten Old Richians. While equal praise is merited throughout the squad, some noteworthy points came from both ends of the spectrum of experience. Stan Bailey brought typical guile and direction to the party - snaffling balls from beneath bewildered noses, while Ashley Honeywell played a mature game at fly-half, pulling strings nicely with a meagre credit-crunch proportion of possession. Jason Willmott continues to impress at loosehead, seemingly putting the opposition scrum to the sword at-will in the last quarter of the match.

So, in the spirit of "The Art of the Possible", I appeal to those who enjoyed so much the taste of victory, to ceaselessly pester, badger and harangue your colleagues to maintain the momentum with solid training attendance. Let's fulfil our potential this weekend, and give Ashley Down a bloody nose. Oh and by the way - let’s do it with the same team that is selected on Tuesday night!

Enjoy your week.

Paul.