YOUNG 1ST XV DOES PROPER JOB

LSA 7 – EXILES 50

I’d like to start with a big tap on the back to all those involved in the 1sts and 2nds on Saturday. As a club our points tally was 131 for and 12 against. Not bad at all.

Another notable mention must go to all involved in the post-match antics. If we can replicate this intensity and desire on the field god only knows what we could produce.

This week’s 1st XV fixture saw the London Exiles travel away to Thames Ditton to face up against bottom of the table London South Africa. Previous scores hinted that this would be a one sided encounter however as we all know with this league that is never guaranteed.

The Exiles couldn’t have started worse with Hupfield not making the 10 from the kick off. A sign of true class. The next few minutes were played within the Exiles 22 however some solid defence kept LSA at bay and we eventually cleared our lines. However, ill-discipline and a number of basic errors allowed LSA to apply the pressure once again before another good Exiles defensive effort gained ourselves a turnover. After some fancy footwork from Max Allen and patience around the breakdown we cleared our lines once again.

After 10 minutes of frustrating play the Exiles began to wake up and found a plethora of open space out wide. Quick ball from the deck allowed Zac, Pez and our back 3 to exploit this and the LSA floodgates began to open allowing us to get behind the LSA defensive line and sharp support play provided the exiles with valuable yards. Now in their 22 and the LSA defence gathered around the breakdown like Gourlay around a group of distinctly average girls the Exiles had a huge overlap out wide which we used well and touched the ball down in the corner. The conversion was put wide ……… 0-5.

What came from the restart proved to be an Exiles dominated remainder of the half with Brundan proving to be more effective through the LSA defence than a Black and Decker leaf blower in autumn. Quick ball from the breakdown provided the outside backs with ball out wide for Pez to finish off. This seemed to be the story for rest of the half. At half time the score was 0-24.

The second half began with a frustrating start as the Exiles were unable to catch a anything and consequently gave possession to LSA time after time. However, we eventually got our acts together and once we cut out the 50/50 passes we were able to hold on to the ball, dominate the possession and break down the LSA defence before finding gaps to exploit and put Pez through. The next 20 minutes followed in the same manner with the Exiles retaining the ball and Pez racking up his tries tally.

Before long the score was 0-50 and the LSA spirits were dampened. However, credit must go to the opposition and they failed to give up. From the restart LSA gained possession and a neat cross field kick into the corner combined with mild panic attack from Beanie and Max Allen when faced with the LSA defensive line forced an Isles fumble and a LSA put down. The score…….7-50.

This seemed to provide the Exiles with a much needed second wind and some neat offloading and strong running lines in the open presented Pez with another 2 tries to round off his day with a rather selfish 8 tries.

DOTD – Beanie for turning up 2 minutes before KO and giving away the only points of the day. Brundan for the kit situation 4 weeks ago. Pez for not hitting double figures.
MOTM – Pez for scoring 8 tries
Other Notable Mentions – The Aki’s for their debut run outs and Brundan for some fine attacking play (albeit he looked seriously unfit).