Bulldogs 19 - 5 Ealing Exiles
What another great game and the third win a row
The Bulldogs 19 points Ealing Exiles/Vets 5 points.
However, I was aware that Ealing would be a hard side and I took a number of precautions.
First of all both sides had subs. and we must thank the sporting gesture of Ealing for allowing us to give everyone of our 23 players a game.
The game plan was a simple one. We would put out our heavy forwards to wear down the pack and for our outsides to have a good platform to run in tries. In rhe second half our subs would come-on and then hold the score. I kept a number of key players in both halves to maintain a degree of continuity and to take care of any unexpected wobbles. Ben at no 10 held his line steady and Roger at fullback was a very re-assuring figure who could kick us out of trouble ….Len maintained the continuity in the scrum and the front row was also kept intact.
We lost Simon at an early stage with a dislocated finger…not certain how he did it but now all OK fro next week
Ealing proved a very hard side to score against…they were a very well drilled side with bags of experience and a very hard pack. Their lineout play and speed onto the loose ball was excellent and our forwards had to really work hard to move ahead against this effort.
However, from the set piece we controlled and gave good ball to our outsides and the first try came from a sparkling run from Jamie Wright who has that special magic to weave through almost any defence and then to outpace Ealing to run in a superb try .Roger came up and calmly converted and we stood at 7 points up in the first 15 mins or so. Jamie is also good at weaving through the Piano Bar inRichmond!
Our line out play was spot on and Dave U was nicely lifted by our two Fijians and his balls are now twice as big having been more lor castrated by the enthusiasm of our two props lifting him head and shoulders above his opposite number. However Dave had a few problems up in the air as his eyes were watering so much he could not always see the ball. We had a similar situation last season following Steve’s vasectomy when a as our jumper the hooker who threw the ball in slipped and hit him Steve square on the crown jewels!
Our forwards were now starting to wear down the opposition and Andrew won a few balls against the head and the game started to look in our favour but you will see from the photo report the effort involved in keeping Ealing out of the game and our tackling was superb and quite deadly . Ealing were now being subjected to our forward rushes lead by Len and Jonathan and backed up by our snarling back row . The whole back row had been informed that they were off at half time and that they should go like stink and 150% for 40 mins.
There was no doubting the commitment of al lplayers and Jamie 11 found Ben and from a great break by Ben who seemed to mesmerise Ealing the move resulted in Farren making a rapid break for the line and over for another try and so we started to pull away as we approached half time
Ealing came back with a scorching forward drive but ran into our two Fijian props who stopped them in their tracks….the sudden intake of air was heard on the touchline at the impact and The Bulldog defence was absolute!
With such a good forward platform Jamie 11 was able to provide Ben and the outsides with good ball and sure enough Ben decided to make a break on his own and went through the defence having side stepped a number of forwards to put in the last try before half time and we then stood at 19 points to nil.
Half time arrive and tactical changes swere made on both sides and also to give all players a game.
Our pack was lighter in the second half and we did start to feel the difference and Ealing stared to get back into the game
However, our defence was still very good and Roger at full back made some great long kicks to push us back into the Ealing half and take the pressure off. We lost Ben at No 10 with a bad tackle and we were now moving towards the last part of the game…the light was getting bad and the ref, nice little chap was certainly in danger of being mixed up in a loose maul…in future bright glow wear waistcoats for the ref would not go amiss!
Sure enough the pressure that Ealing put on us started to get closer to our line on a more continuous basis and this resulted in quite frankly a very well worked try run in by a fast outside.
The final whistle blew and the game finished at 19 point to us and 5 points to Ealing.
An excellent game played in good spirit by both sides and a hard won victory for us.
We then entertained Ealing back at our clubhouse by the river, The White Swan and had a most enjoyable après game.
Our two guests kindly presented the Club with one of their ANZAC tour shirts which will go into our trophy section at The White Swan…the shirt had the regiments logo and motto on it….”who dares wins” …very similar to The Bulldog one …”we never give in”
As Bulldogs we always try to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat.
Remember when you put on a Bulldog shirt you are puting on 30 years of a great and proud spirit of rugby that is rhe envy of many other clubs and when the game is over wear with pride your Bulldog leisure shirt and be recognised as a very worthy ambassador for this great game of rugby.
The Bulldog ethos is not about winning ….it is about taking part…being given the opportunity to support your fellow player, to protect him when needed and to play a team game…..on the park we are not individuals…no one player scores the try….. 14 others have given that player the opportunity to score a try and we must be humble and thankful for that opportunity.
PLEASE CONFIRM FOR HOME GAME 2:15 K.O. ASAP
Cheers
Colin