Another cracking result for the Worth Old Boys on the pitch sees us go into second place in the league. Early indications in the week were that we would be able to field a fairly strong team. The pack was fast and fit, and the backs were a really incisive unit. The London Fire Brigade team are famed for their one-dimensional rolling-maul style of play along with their love of a fight. Games in the past have descended into running battles and trips to casualty. This year was better.

The start of the game was delayed for 15 minutes due to a fire (!!) so we had an unusual time to prepare. Having won the toss we started the game playing downhill and the plan was to race into a big lead and effectively kill both the game and their belligerent resistance by half time. Unfortunately the first half didn’t go to plan. We had a slightly uncertain start and the Fire Brigade scored first from…guess what…. a rolling maul! The WOBS confidence was not dented however, as we knew that beyond that they offered very little. At the end of the first half we were leading by about three scores to one. A very good sign was that the WOBS looked really fresh and the Fire Brigade looked shattered. Again, credit must go to fitness coach Katrina!

In the second half we ripped them apart. Our back line made break after break and the forwards were magnificent in both support and defence. The whole team played really well, but the outstanding players were James Burt (number 8) for his shattering tackles around rucks and mauls, Tom Lewis (second row) for his storming runs and ceaseless effort, Andy Tyler (fly half) for his control of the game, Tom Holt (full back) for his line breaking jinks and Ali Stirling (wing) for his excellent lines of running and four tries.

The turn out to fitness training on Wednesdays in Battersea Park remains really high and this is paying dividends in our games.

There will be a rugby representation at the WOBS wine tasting evening this Thursday with Hurley, Carson, Burt and Tyler forming a team, with the possibility of another team coming in late!

Next weekend we play Raynes Park at home in the league. We have a few players missing and I have a feeling this will be our first real test, but I am sure we are up to the task