OLD STREETONIANS - V - DATCHWORTH RFC - SATURDAY 28th JANUARY 2023

The 1st XV, despite having 15 players unavailable, put in a very gutsy performance away to high-flying Old Streetonians. Despite going down 17-3 twenty minutes into the game, they fought back well against a high-tempo team with a slick set of backs, eventually losing 31-13.

Some of the refereeing was inconsistant but our young team kept their cool throughout. Our pack were dominant in the scrums and almost matched Streetonians in the loose. The line-outs were a bit scrappy but could have been worse after losing our lin-out thrower to injury early in the 2nd half. We were also missing Stuart Young and Joe Wing from the forwards, which inevitably had an effect on the line-out. In the forwards, John Simons, Connor Harris and Pat Falvey worked very hard. The 2s/3s lads who had to step up yet again also contributed well - Greg Emms, Ben Akers and Matt Summerscales.

In the backs, Ioan Bryant-Fowler (18) and Ollie Barnes (20) are forming a good half-back partnership. Ollie’s tackle count, always high, was exceptional in this game and generally, our defence was very good. Connor Sullivan (18) contributed well with a strong defensive game on the wing.
All in all, an encouraging performance with so many “front-line” players missing. The players appreciated the strong support from the travelling fans and know that we’re behind them, come what may.