Saturday 18th January 2003

Old Alleynians 13 Streatham and Croydon 6

Powergen Junior Vase Round 6

Following defeat in the league the week before and the end of our unbeaten run, the team responded with a magnificent effort to keep the dreams of Twickenham alive for at least a few more weeks. There were a number of changes from the previous Saturday. John Hanna returned from injury to the wing, where his physical presence had been sorely missed. The pack was bolstered by the presence of Mark Easter and John Nurse, both of whom had made long trips to answer the call to arms. There was also an enforced change at half back with Lawrence Dilworth moving up to scrum-half and Tim Sandars moving back to, probably his best position, Fly-Half.

Streatham, who had won comprehensivly the week before, may have underestimated their task before the game, but knew they were in a real match this time from the start. Having played the referee very well the week before, they also failed to adapt to being pulled up for offside and killing the ball and gave away a costly stream of penalties in the early stages.

The main feature of the OA's performance was a fantastic defensive display with everyone putting in big and crucial tackles when it really mattered. The OA's only try came from Giles Burris who stretched out from close in to place the ball on the line. The referee, once again well positioned despite the clawing mud, raised his arm and we were on our way. Tim Sandars converted and shortly afterwards added a penalty to make it 10-0.

Then came the only wobble in the performance came as one of the Streatham players burst through on the 22, crossed the line virtually unchallenged and placed the ball down under the posts: 10-7. Those of us who have been watching the OA's for many years feared the worst.

Our worries were unfounded however, as Tim Sandars stretched the lead again with another penalty and Streatham's efforts became more and more desperate in the face of an heroic effort by the whole team.

One should of course mention the long break in the game just before half-time when the Steatham hooker was injured as a scrum was coming together. An ambulance had to be called and there was a wait of at least 20 minutes. We hope that the injury is not too serious and wish him well.