In this crazy modern age of information overload, 24 hour news and Straughney knowing how to use Facebook, there are so few genuine, pure pleasures that have not been corrupted by the world that we live in. Off the top of my head, I can only think of a few– A smile on a baby’s face, the first sip of coffee in the morning and Smashing West Bridgford RFC so hard that they walk off the pitch looking like they may never want to play rugby again.
If pure pleasure seeking wasn’t motivation enough, there was the small matter of a terrible performance which left us lucky do draw in the first League game before Christmas. Coming off of a huge win against Sleaford last week, Fitton informed us that this may well be a stronger test as Bridgford had apparently put 90 points on Mansfield last week, and the same on Casuals the week before – if that is the case I for one CANNOT WAIT to play those teams!
The warm up was far from comprehensive, but the basics got covered and there was a quiet determination which compensated for the lack of preparation. The decision to run into the wind in the first half turned out to be quite correct, and for the second week in a row Moderns were off to a flyer as early territory from the backs and excellent ball retention at the breakdown from the pack put us in the Bridgford 22, and when the Red Sea parted in front of Fly half Offer he began what was to be a steady procession of scores that only stopped for a 10 minute period in the middle of the first half when Bridgford used their wind advantage to secure some field position.
This week was such a dominant performance that it really is difficult to cite specific incidents in any detail. The front 8 were, as always, outsized but, as always, never outfought, with a lineout and scrum functioning well for 80 solid minutes they toiled relentlessly to secure phase after phase of ball, and on the rare occasions that Bridgford secured any possession they defended tirelessly. No individual mentions necessary, because it was a complete effort from 1-8 (and a Dutch cameo!). The only huge miscarriage of justice was that not one of the 13 tries Moderns scored came from the Pack! They were however the engine room which opened the gaps, or rather gaping chasms, for the backs to keep scoring through – this was a situation that they sought to rectify a couple of times when receiving kick offs in the second half - stringing offloads together and picking lines which waltzed through Bridgford better than Gavin Henson could have done, both times making fully 40 yards without a back in sight, but it just wasn’t fated to be today!
Often forwards will grumble that they kill themselves trying to secure possession only for the backline to waste their work. This could not have been further from the truth today, as the backline turned possession into field position and tries with more efficiency than Scouse hookers turn Frey Bentos into crumbs and leftover packaging. Dobson and Rollings provided the brutal go forward in the centres, and their skill in sucking in more than one defender before offloading allowed Pease and Farr to pick lines off them to great effect. With Offer pulling the strings (I seem to remember his last game for the 2s was an armchair ride – he can play again!) and Slack telling the forwards exactly when he wanted the ball and where, the tries fell like this: 3 to Rollings, 2 each to Offer, Dobson, Pease and Bevis with 1 to Slack and Farr. Despite his best efforts, and some par for the course outrageous dummies Fitton could not get over this week. The words “couldn’t” and “get laid in a brothel” spring to mind…!
The game was brought to a close at 73 – 19 and it was on reflection probably the most complete performance from the 2nd XV this season. With double header matches and a cup semi final in the coming weeks, this is a pretty good time to start hitting this kind of form and if it can be maintained then this season could be even better than last year.
Deciding the man of the match this week was n easy feat, and in the end it was a joint decision to reflect the good work of both the backs and the pack – step forward Messrs. Dobson and Alexander.
Not one thing worthy of Dick of the Day – serious! Even though Laurence came close for turning up in Sunglasses, and his claims of genuine surprise that drinking pints of Vodka & Cranberry juice got him hammered. But it was before the game so we decided not to mention it. Oh, wait… |