Sunday 25th November 2007 Beccehamian A 21 - 0 Blackheath A Rugby as it should be. Two good sides, well matched and playing hard, fast and skillful rugby. Sure there was a bit a of niggle at times but I put that down to both sides playing with their hearts and refusing to give ground. Discipline is important though and for the most part it was played in good spirit. Blackheath's large pack set out to dominate us and for large parts of the game had us under pressure. This led to a bit of nervousness early on and some uncharacteristic errors as they pressed up on us. But the forwards worked their way into the game, playing a rucking game and trying not to get tied up in rucks against the bigger Blackheath boys. This faster approach eventually led to a well worked try with quick ruck ball putting the backs away and some slick handling putting Liam Melville over in the corner, Jack Robertson converting. Blackheath hit back and ended the half strongly but, despite having us under the cosh on our line for a long period, were unable to score and we ended the half 7-0 up. Blackheath thought coming down the hill in the second half would be an advantage but the Beccs forwards started to dominate, especially at scrumtime where the Beccs front row were outstanding. Conor Brophy had a strong game, disrupting the line out and having some good carries. The back row were heavily involved too and their greater pace started to tell. Blackheath were a constant threat, especially when they worked the ball to their right wing. Not only was he exceptionally fast but was stocky too and took some stopping. All credit to our tackling which was strong throughout, although we still fell off one or two first time tackles. The backs played well all day, moving the ball well and were rewarded when another crisp handling move put Jack away to run in behind the posts and converrt his own try. Paul Broadhurst had a strong game at scrum half, constantly sniping away and competing for the ball. Good use of the blind side put Liam away and it looked as if he must score but their full back put in a superb takle to save a second certain try in as many minutes, the same player having stopped Charlie Phair when it looked as if he too was going to score. Charlie made amends just before the end, threading through a glorious grubber for Jack to run onto and score, again converting his own try for a final score of 21-0. This was a great result and a performance to be proud of. Well done. Beccehamian B 5 - 12 Blackheath B Another great game, every bit as competitive as the first with both sides playing some skillful rugby. Blackheath started strongly, using their strong ball carriers well and making good ground. We looked competitive in rucks and mauls but our early tackling was poor and we were punished when Blackheath ran in two good tries with minimal resisitance from us to take a 12-0 lead. the game was in danger of slipping away from us but credit to the boys, they gathered themselves and began to compete more strongly. By closing down Blackheath's time and space, the tackles began to tell and, led by some strong carrying by Christopher Carmichael, Eddie Varona and James Chatten, worked themselves up to the Blackheath line. A strong rucking drive led to James burrowing over on the stroke of half time to close the gap to 12-5. The second half was equally competitive but spoilt by too many mauls that seemed to go on forever, slowing the game down and creating fewer chances. That shouldn't hide the fact that this was a strong performance by all the squad who once again showed great improvement. George Scott was as dynamic as ever, Mark Boyle had some good runs and made some cracking tackles and Joe Davies showed great courage to continually drive into bigger boys. Unfortunately we couldn't do enough to get the score we needed but it was a great game and you should be proud of yourselves. Well done. Robbie