Bulldogs 28 - 26 Chiswick 3rd's
Hi chaps
What a game….this one will go down in the records as one of the big ones !!!!
Chiswick arrived with a few players missing but we had a number of new players and could help them out,
This was a little like corse rugby…..I had no idea of the standard of the players we gave to the opposition apart from one very good prop who had recently joined us BUT we gave away Kiwi Dave who completely organized the opposition and quite frankly before we knew what had happened we were 26 points down at half time!!
However; let’s get back to the game
It was a good day for rugby …weather fine and very mild and good visibility until late pm and ground nice and firm
Good number of spectators on the touchline which is always welcome and Brad was in good form on his beach chair with his leg in plaster..missing the sun
We had a number of guest players and this took us upto around 20 players but as the opposition needed a few players it all balanced out rather well.
Chiswick 3rds appeared to be a good fixture for us and it was an easy to game to referee with no problems and played in very good spirits on both sides.
Our thanks to Jonathan for bringing down Kiwi David but not telling us how good this chap happened to be!! Absolute dynamite playing for Chiswick and was instrumental in their four tries...
The game was played in two parts . We were very much the sleeping giant in the first half. We paid the penalty and Chiswick found themselves 26 points up by half time.
In the second half I had to make some radical changes to get Kiwi Dave back on our side!!
My apologies to bringing players off and my thanks for your understanding and it enabled me to give everyone a game and ultimately a 2 point win.
The second half of this game and the last 10 mins was awesome and played with such Bulldog spirit it seemed Churchillian in its approach.
Big Len was skippering the side and firmly stamped his, mark and charisma on the team with constant inspirational talks and very much leading by example and making countless drives and support for his forwards.. Jamie our new scrum half started to drive the pack and put in some good long passes to Ben at No 10 . Suddenly the spark was there and the team ignited into constant attack and forward rushes and awesome Omar tackles that forced Chiswick back time and time again.
The ball was now alive and moving down the line and the tries started to flow in …all hard worked tries with the whole team supporting the ball runner….Jonathan at No 8 made good ground many times and Kiwi Dave was always in hot support …Jamie 1 at centre received a good ball down the line and made an impressive darting and searing run through the opposition. Our front row started to wear down the opposition and Rupert 1 was very evident in the loose mauls and again made good ground with much determination
Saffa Pete at back row had one of his best games and was highly active chasing the ball and stealing the ball many times from the opposition.
With only 20 minutes left we were looking at 26 points against and no score on our side…how would a normal team cope with such a situation?
Chsiwick felt very confident with a big points cushions and would normally witht that type of score coast home in the last 2o mins..
However, for over 30 years The Bulldogs have been well known for never giving in until the whistle blows and somewhere we can always dig deep and bring out that extra 10% …Len mustered his men again and with stragic talks from Lord Lenthall and Len’s drive the team dug deep and the first try by Andrew who collected a ball way out and ran forcefully through the opposition to bang down the first try…Roger converted.
We were now on the board and inspiration and determination started to show through… we played more as a team and another break by Ben and he scythed through for the second try…Roger again converted
Now we had only 10 mins left and still need two more tries.
Chiswick had a good side and made few mistakes but there were now getting stretched and gaps were being made and Omar picked up another loose ball making a good powerful run for the line and the third try was there for Roger to convert.
We were now in the closing last 5 mins and the Bulldogs knew they could win and on the touchline one could feel the charged up Bulldog spirit and adrenalin that was pouring through the players . This was knife edge stuff and something straight out of an unbelievable report
Somehow from a loose maul Johno got the a ball and headed with a strong darting run for the line and he banged down another try for Roger to convert
We only had two minutes to go and we had scored in the last 20 mins 28 points and won by 2 points an epic and fantastic game
Well done chaps and it just goes to show what can be done when we pass the ball wide and keep the ball in hand tries will come …let us learn a lesson from this great game and play a full 80 mins and not leave it to the last 20 mins with everyone on the touchline on tender hooks
Spare some thought for Roger who unlike his opposite number converted all our tries to give us that 2 point lead…it took great concentration, steel like nerves to kick every conversion especially when Roger has impaired eyesight in one eye…make it even more difficult chaps…well done Roger.
Cheers
Colin and my thanks to Iron Man Tony for the photos and to Matt on the touchline effort his advice and support on some difficult decisions
P.S. The Bulldog motto is Agincourt which seemed appropriate onSaturday with such odds in the last 20 mins!!