19/09 1s vs Guildford 2s

In the last of our pre-season games Raynes Park 1^st XV travelled to Guildford 2^nd. The game started at a frantic pace that saw us dominating both possession and territory. Our hard work paid off nicely when Just-in chased down a deft kick from Louis to score a great try. 5 minutes in, 5-0 to Park.

In the next ten minutes, Guildford capitalised on a few lapses in our defense, turning-over our ball and scoring two opportunist tries. The first of which was dropped on the try-line – which the referee somehow failed to see. 10-5 to Guildford.

Shortly after their second try, Guildford managed to go over for a third when their

centre stepped through our defense from first phase ball. Their kicker couldn’t convert it leaving the score at 15-5 with ten minutes to go.

We started stringing some phases together and really started to apply the pressure – especially in the scrum where our forwards were really starting to tire theirs out. A couple of good pick-and-go's in their 22 and some handy work by Louis allowed Jian to step his way through their defence and cross over untouched. We nailed the conversion making it 15-12 with a few minutes to play and shortly afterwards we were awarded a penalty. We took the 3 points, which tied the scores at 15 all going into the break.

We came out strongly in the second half and after some good rucking and mauling Louis found his way over the line making it 15-20 to Raynes Park. Their forwards were really struggling to get around the park, and, after some scrappy play, Guildford resorted to tactical kicking. It paid off. They got an attacking lineout just out from our try-line and some good mauling got them over the line for another five points and a successful conversion. 22-20 to Guildford.

With five minutes to go it seemed that luck just wasn’t on Park’s side as Guildford were on the attack in our half again. But up stepped Robbie. A big hit on a particularly gobby Wing turned the ball and our luck. From the resulting ruck Pieter went blind and put the gas burners on, running through their Winger and around the cover defence before executing a perfect swan dive under the posts.

It was 22-27 to Park with the clock winding-down. Quickly.

Straight from the restart, Lloydie, who'd be faultless in his catching all day, caught the ball from the kick-off and set up another maul. We kicked down field and the resulting chase was enough to force a wayward pass which Just-in plucked out of the air to off-load to Skinny. After showing-off his juggling skills he passed it to Hobbsy who found Robbie running an awesome line at pace that cut their defence to ribbons. He scored a great try – right under the poles again – making it 22-34 to Park and the game.

The win was a great result. Our scrum was a great improvement on last week thanks in part to the return of two recognised locks and we won some great lineout ball and pressured theirs. Jordan Jr made his debut for the 1^st XV and played well. And our handling and finishing was markedly better than last week. Well done to Pieter for a deserved Man of the Match performance. If we can maintain everything next week it will put us in great stead for our first game against Old Blues.

I want to say well down to everyone for the wins over the weekend. Let’s keep it up and get this season started with a BANG!!!

3/10 1s vs Old Abbots ( Jnr Vase )

On a blustery Saturday afternoon we welcomed Old Abbotstonians to Rayne's Park to play in our first cup tie of the season. Conditions proved to be far from ideal for running rugby due to the gale force winds, yet this didn't deter the close contest that was to follow.

Raynes Park coming off the back of a very disappointing defeat the week before were determined to put some good phases together and get our winning season back on track. Unfortunately for Park Old Abbots had other ideas and proved to be a stubborn opposition. The first half started at a good pace, right from the kick off Park won good quick ball and sent it wide, Justin on the wing in his true trademark style shrugged off a couple of tackles only then to get rocked backwards by a crushing tackle. From then on wards the first half proved to be a difficult period for the home side as we did not favours for ourselves. Playing into the wind the backline struggled to get into the game and a series of 50/50 passes, and pointless kicking resulted in us losing what little possession we had. The forwards struggled in the line outs on our own ball and the scrum was put under pressure on numerous occasions. Points were hard to come by and after several attempts in the swirling wind , last week's man of the match, Ben put us into the lead with a penalty conversion. The first half was evenly contested and some good defence was on show, some great tackling in the centres managed to stop Old Abbots rather large centre on numerous occasions. Defence all round was solid and we had in most instances the upper hand as we kept hitting them back in the tackle yet were unable to capitalise once we had won the ball. The half ended with yet another Park error which saw the opposition camping in the bottom left hand corner of the field for what seemed like age's, probably the only crack in our defence during the game came from a lineout close to our line.Our players were sucked in to the maul and Old Abbots were able to peel around the inside and score the first try of the game. Going into half time Park were trailing 3 -10. Raynes Park once again falling victim to falling 'asleep' in the
first half of a game.

The second half started with promise as a galvanised Park, playing with the wind, managed to win good ball of the kickoff and nail a good set of phases together through the forwards and some good hard running by the backs. A ruck was set up just inside the opposition half and with some great skill shown by number 8 BP in managing to hang onto a wayward pass and off loading onto Dups who with a well weighted chip, added by a nice little gust of wind allowed the chases to put pressure on their back three and resulting in Ben crossing over the line for our first and only try of the game, Ben dually converted and the game was locked at 10 -10. At times during the second half Park threatened to come out of our self induced coma by playing some structured rugby but this failed to take shape.  Another penalty by Ben and we went into the last 15mins with a three point lead. From then onwards it was all about defence as Old Abbots launched a series of somewhat predictable yet at times effective attacks with their runners gaining ever closer to our goal line. This time though Park held firm with some brilliant defence right on our goal line and continuously tackled Old Abbots back behind the gain line. A
late break out by the back line had Justin screaming down the right hand touch line which by his own admissions he had 'To many options' which
left us wondering what if. A last minute surge saw park end down the far side of the field and the game was called with Park winning 13 -10. By in large this was a game that should have been won by 20 - 30 points but vital and basic errors cost us again and things could have ended very differently.  The major positive to take out the game was the body on the line defence by the players , and a special mention to skipper BP for his man of the match performance well deserved for some bull like charges and big hits in all parts of the field. A close game indeed and in the wise words of veteran fullback Rob Roche 'We'll take the win. Next Weekend: vs Cranleigh (AWAY)

10/10 1s vs Cranleigh

This weekend saw the 1s take on Cranleigh away. after a hard fought win against old abbotts last week park were keen to get their league back on track and some good training sessions during the week suggested that this would be the case. Piet called for the ball off kick off and made one of his trade mark runs down into the opppotion half and some quick ball saw park with a great attacking opportunity. the ball failed to find our hands and all of sudden it was Cranleigh on attack and some poor defence from park saw them score a soft try. 5-0. in what seemed only a few minutes later, Off kick off we put some good pressure on Cranleigh and had a good opportunity to stay in their 22. this didn't last long and after more defensive lapses we found ourselves under the wrong poles again. 10-0. the next period of play saw Ben leave the field with a head wound and Wayne and their flank get into a scuffle and both get yellow carded. our defence had picked up though and we making some good tackles, notably Hugh on their big centre who ran hard but was stopped in his tracks by Hugh, and an effort by Rob. unfortunately our defence didn't hold and they were able to run in at the corner to score their 3rd try. 15-0. the score line was flattering park who couldn't seem to hold onto the ball for more than a couple of phases despite winning decent first phase ball. we managed to get a couple of tightheads and win most of our own ball, passes just didn't stick.  A good attacking move down the right provided park with the best move of the half, only for Justin to get smashed into touch which was blatantly late and without the ball. the ref however deemed the tackler to be within the law and saw nothing wrong, Rob aired his disagreement and found himself having a 10min breather and a penalty awarded against park. Fortunately, with some hard work park managed to turn their fortunes few the last couple of minutes of the first half and through a well worked lineout Danie got his first try of the season in the corner. James then added the extras with a brilliant kick from the touchline. 15-7. I thought James' kicking throughout the game was very good.  After a good half time talk where we felt we were enough in the game and it mattered most that we scored first. initially this looked unlikely but after their captain got yellow carded for a spear tackle, we thought we'd have the upper hand against 14 men. unfortunately the game just got scrappier and still park couldn't put the phases together. they hacked the ball through and Piet was back to cover, only to get caught and set up a ruck. Some miscommunication from the ref saying 'black hands away' and baiting park into a false sense of security of an impending penalty to our advantage. as it turned out, it was a penalty to Cranleigh who took it quickly and scored an opportunist try. 22-7. the rest of the game was scrappy and while they didn't score again we didn't do ourselves any favours defensively. in the last few minutes park managed to put some phases together and put some pressure on the Cranleigh line. unfortunately it was too little too late as the referee blew his whistle at the last ruck. lets pick it up for our next game vs London Media at HOME this weekend.

17/10 1s vs London Media

After two loses on the trot Park had to work hard to prove to themselves that they were of the quality to remain in Surrey 2 league. A combination of good training sessions and a few players returning for selection ensured that Park got their league back on track with a decent performance against London Media. The game started at a fast pace and a few phases later  after the Media fullback dropped an up-n-under, the home side was presented with a penalty, which was duely converted by James. 3-0. Off kick off Park put a few structured phases together and worked our way to their 22 and set up a good maul from which Lloydie crossed over for his first try of the season and the first of the game. We failed to add the extras making it 8-0. Media were keen to get on the scoresheet and began an attack from their 22. A great tackle by Justin saw them spill the ball into BP’s hands and he made a dart towards the tryline coming just short and popping a pass out the tackle to Jian who was in support to score a good 5pointer. A reckless challenge from one of the Media players saw them reduced to 14 men for the next 10mins. We made the most of this as Ben hot-stepped his way off a well worked set piece to score a 5pointer. Shortly afterwards some good interlinking between Justin and BP set Robbie up for a try in the bottom corner. It was clear that the training sessions during the week had paid off as we kept the ball and played structured rugby, running where possible and kicking when necessary. Hot on attack in the Media 22m, a scuffle ensued and Pieter was sent to the cooler for some handbags. Media made the most of this and scored two quick tries while we were reduced to 14men. The half time whistle went and Park had a decent lead.

A good half time talk saw the home side keep the structure into the second half and playing into the wind. Almost immediately from kick off Park were on the move again. A well worked move in our own 22m and a great line from Ben drawing their full back and setting Carey away for an excellent backline try in the far left corner.  Media continued to fail to put together the phases as Park turned over some good ball which finally ended in a scrum in the opposition 22m. Some great pressure on their pack saw the ball spill out and Pieter pounced on it to score under the poles fresh from returning from his 10mins rest. Some sloppy work followed and Media managed to break our line a few times but some good covering defence put paid to those potential scores. We managed to turn over the ball and begin a good attack and some slick handling between Beano, Lloydie and BP saw Pieter ghost his way through some would be defenders to score under the poles. Park were building a good lead and playing with structure and purpose. A few substitutes were made for some fresh legs and the structure remained. Park needed to regroup and ensure that we kept the ball. Eventually BP crossed over in the corner for his first try of the season after some good handling by Carey. Off kickoff Park attacked again and nice chip kick from Jian saw Sam slip down the touch line and almost score, unfortunately putting a foot in touch in the process. More pressure from Park saw a penalty in their favour and put the ball in touch. Another good lineout move saw Danie cross over for another try, his second in two games. Media began to put some phases together and worked their way into our 22m with some good running by their captain and halfbacks put real pressure on the Park line. Some handy footwork from their captain saw them cross over for a 7pointer. A few phases after kickoff saw the ref blow the whistle for full time. Park with a resounding 52-17 win over London Media.

Jian deservedly getting the Man of the Match award for his try and his marshalling of the backs both on attack and defence.

31/10 1s vs Old Grammarians ( Jnr Vase ) 

On Saturday 31st October Raynes park played our 2nd cup game of the season against Old Grammarians.

A good weeks build up and our unexpected rest from the week before left the squad keen for some game time.

Grammarians play in the Herts/Middlesex 1 league so we weren't too sure what to expect from our opponents.

At kick off, Park had a shaky start allowing the ball to bounce and then allowing Grammarians to attack on the far side, narrowly preventing a score from them. We recovered to dominate more of the possession and set ourselves up for a penalty in front of the posts that Ben duly converted to put us 3 up. Park lacked the aggression and hunger from our last league game and silly errors kept us from building phases. On the few occasions that we got some continuity going our backs looked dangerous and Rob put Park further ahead towards the end of the half with a good try through some good interplay and and passing. An experienced Grammarians front row put the Park scrum under pressure and resulted in a couple of tightheads conceded and not allowing clean ball for scrumhalf Pieter to work with. Park lacked our usual intensity at ruck time and the opposition capitalised and played to the ref and turning some ball over. Grammarians kept themselves in the game with 2 penalties and half time ended with the scoreline 8-6. Not our most exciting half of rugby.

The 2nd half started with better intensity but some nothing kicks and basic errors still prevented the good phases coming together. Scrum time was better and some clean ball from scrums and lineouts gave our backs more space to run and they looked dangerous with ball in hand. Our super sub Waine W made a big impact in the second half with some huge carries giving us go forward ball. James who came on at Flyhalf had some excellent tactical kicks and showed the lads that he could tackle after the preceding week's abuse. Warren went off with a blood injury halfway through the half after a head clash. During his time off the field Ben made a great line break and offloading to BP who unselfishly offloaded to Sam to dot down in the corner, another missed conversion left the scoreline at 13-6. 5 mins from full time and some defensive lapses as well as good running by the Grammarians dangerous right wing resulted in a try scored and duly converted. This left the scores level 13-13. The Full time whistle sounded with scores level. As this was a cup game a result was required and extra time was needed to settle the game.

Two 10 min halves and a full set off subs were allowed for extra time.

They would certainly be needed for 100 mins of rugby on a warm day! Park were definitely the hungrier team in extra time but Grammarians held us out in the first 10. In the second 10 some excellent interplay between lose forward Hugh and fullback Rob who put Justin away in the corner for a try. The conversion was missed by James and Grammarians still had a chance in the game. A few nervous minutes towards the end were defended well by Park and Warren ended the game with a kick into touch for a hard fought 18-13 victory to Raynes Park 1's.

Well done to man of the match Hugh for awesome flank work and some great running lines that set up the winning try.

The Raynes park train gathers momentum but we have some work to do at training this week. Our next game is a league fixture against Old Cranleighans at HOME

07/11 1s vs Old Cranleighians  

After a hard fought game the previous weekend against Old Grammarians, Park worked hard during the week to ensure that some of the basics were ironed out. The day seemed to be perfect for good running rugby which we knew OC’s enjoyed having played them a couple of times a few seasons ago.

The game started with a bit of kicking tennis, before a great chip and chase by BP led to a penalty on OC’s 5m line. A quick tap penalty off loaded to Graham V saw him crash over for the try with James duly adding the extras.  Raynes Park were building some good phases and did well to keep control of the ball for some period and it paid off with a good try to Justin. Our tight forwards showed some good domination with a 20m drive off the lineout that had OC’s battling again in their 22. Quick ball from this and some neat work from the backs saw Dave H cross the whitewash with James again adding the extras. Park had built up a handy 21-3 lead before some defensive lapses and some good running lines by OC’s saw their lock cross our line twice before the half time whistle.

The second half started at a frantic pace, with Park working up the left hand side nicely straight from kick off. Again the forwards clearing out good ruck and giving the backs some good ball and Hugh was able to beat his man for another touch down. It seemed as though Park had the upper hand and began to play some unstructured rugby which didn’t work in our favour. Some wayward kicking in our 22 saw OC’s set up a maul off the lineout and drive close to our line. Some good pick and drives and they managed to get the 5pointer. A good kick and all of sudden it was another tight affair.

Raynes Park worked their way back into OC territory and it became a game of tit-for-tat scoring. Dave managed to crash over for his second try, James failing to add the extras leaving the scoreline at 33-27. OC’s could feel that victory was in their grasp as the last quarter of the game began winding down. A clever chip kick from their flyhalf saw a footrace for the line. Park thought we had it covered as one of each of the players dived for the ball as it crawled towards the deadball line. Rather fortuitously the ref awarded OC’s the try and they had the chance to take the lead with the conversion to come.  To our relief they missed and the scores were tight at 33-32 in favour of Raynes Park. We had to ensure that we kept the ball tight and played in their half of the field. A high tackle in their 22 gave us the opportunity to stretch our slender lead by 3 points, taking the final score to 36-32. We did well to hold out for the win but OC’s pushed us for the full 80mins.

Well done to Dave H who got the Man of the Match award this weekend. Fully deserved with his try scoring double and some great defence and tactical kicking.

Some great running rugby to watch and another week of good work to be done before we take on Law Society away next weekend.