Medway makeway

With the pressure building from an undefeated start to the season and the battle cries from a dominant 1xv performance the week before still resounding through the Lumley Bar, the baton had now been passed onto the 2nd xv to keep alive what can only be described as a bravura start to the Sidcup season.

The day marked the highly anticipated return of Colin “Velasco” Cooper, with his 182 week ban for undesirable behaviour on the pitch finally up. The occasion also saw the addition of “Sonny” Bill Williams to the team who seems to have become somewhat of a fan favourite with his explosive performances off the 1st team bench as of late. This paired with the exciting talent on show and the high calibre of players involved, it’s no surprise that the highly coveted Supporter of the day award (S.O.T.D) was so heavily contested with Sidcup stalwarts on show in their masses.

With the somewhat uneven landscape of the pitch the hot topic of conversation, Pricey the non-biased touch judge made his first controversial call labelling the dreaded far corner “World’s End”. A title fitting for the battle ahead with a strong Medway outfit that nil’d Tunbridge Wells the previous match week.

Sidcup seemed to settle the quickest as they stormed to an early try in the shape of Dartfordians Louis, cutting a Poland esq line from a swift backs move penetrating through the middle of the defence and dotting down under the posts. Hearts were then very quickly in mouths as anyone who watched his kicking warm up would have seen that Colby Wilkinson McMahon was (as usual) firing blanks. However unlike his girlfriend, the crowd and his fellow teammates were not left disappointed and wanting more, as he got himself of the mark for the day converting the first two points.

The brace came almost too soon for Sidcup as Freddie Ruff also went over the whitewash coming off the back of a well formed maul; the conversion successful making McMahon 2 from 2 for the day. However any thoughts of an easy day were very quickly eradicated as some quick hands and a finesse finish in the corner put Medway back in the game. The try prompting the competition for S.O.T.D to begin as Pip Evans and Jack Dutton wagered over the outcome of the upcoming kick, Dutton owing two fingers as Medway convert to make it 14-7.

Kick off was well collected by Velasco Cooper and after a few carries from the forwards, what came next could only be described as sorcery. Captain Brady (as most prop forwards do) found himself loitering on the wing ready to butcher any forthcoming opportunity, but not this time. As the formidable fly half Dan Evans launched another attack, the ball moved expeditiously down the line creating a 2 v 1 some meters out. As the ball came to him, defying all rugby purists, Captain Brady executed a perfect no look flick on to release ‘Three hairs Day’ who finished in the corner. Conversion missed by McMahon costing both S.O.T.D contenders two fingers.

The game took a turn in Sidcup’s favour as Dartfordians Louis finally managed to implement one of his trademark hitchkicks to beat the covering defenders and score his second of the afternoon in the corner. Conversion added, Dutton owes two more, score stands at 26-7. However with increased pressure towards the end of the second half Medway managed to knock the door down and with a strong carry from their number 6, five points were added in their favour with two minutes left of the half. Conversion missed, Dutton gets on the scoreboard and the half finishes at 26-12.

Both teams made changes for the second half, Medway’s bench seemingly decided to watch the first team game before getting involved in the 2nd team fixture. Fortunately the 2nd half brought more of the same excitement as the first. Dartfordians Louis somehow deploying another comical hitchkick to get over the try line again, Colby adding the 2 and Dutton falling behind.

Sensing the game was getting away from them, the Medway pack started to build momentum and turned on the heat with ten minutes of scrum time in none other than the “World’s End” corner. With the force starting to tell and the Medway 14 being abruptly stopped just short of the line, the home team managed to capitalise after tempers boiled with a few handbags thrown leading to them going over to make the score 33-19, following the conversion and a yellow card to Sonny Bill. As players started to tire and rain started to fall, a great joint effort Chris Orford and Freddie Ruff gave Sidcup the chance to stretch their lead after being award the penalty and this time Medway being on the receiving end of a yellow.

These points ultimately being the last of the game, the scoreboard concluding at 36-19 meaning that the unbeaten dream was still alive after being seriously threatened by a strong Medway performance. Man of the Match awarded to Freddie Ruff and Supporter of the Day given to Pip Evans after brushing Dutton away with a final score of 8-5.

Coshy Osborn