Starting line-up

1 Sam Vail 2 Ren Pesci 3 Rik Relph

4 Owain Harrison 5 Bob Copping

6 Chris (The Glove) Milne 7 Stewart Faben 8 Rob Bevington

9 Graham (Capt) Beckford 10 Daray Horn 15 Roger McGachan

11 Matt Turner 12 Lloyd Smart 13 Colin Weir 14 Alexis Moreau

Manager: Chris Beddow

Match report by Chris Beddow

The day dawned bright and full of promise. As the morning wore on strong winds blew in grey skies. On entering the Renegades dressing room the usual level of witty banter and personal insult seemed to be absent, the desire to get back to winning ways in the Merit Table was palpable however it's difficult to be hungry when the opposition haven't arrived. After an uncomfortable wait cars could be heard arriving and it was time for Darey to get changed like the rest of the team.

The warm-up started a little late and lacked intensity, yet again there was an eerie silence. Line outs were practised, backs moves run through and last minute preparations made. With the wind behind their backs Renegades received kick-off. Immediately, as in previous games, Renegades started to go through the phases, this time with a greater intensity than before. The ball was recycled and eventually Darey Horn opting to kick rather than run pinned Sawston back into their 22; this was to be a key feature of the first half. It was at this point I realised I was responsible for the match report, so following Jay Hall's example I decided to rely on technology!

Under pressure in the scrum early on it looked like it would be a difficult day for the Renegades front row; Sam Vail said something about head butting and boring, it was a brave admission on his part but I just walk away when he's boring me! Anyway after 5 minutes of being camped in the Sawston 22 for a couple of scrums and a series of rucks, Graham "Beaky" Beckford squirm and rolled over the line for a try much to the disgust of the Sawston 9 who was given a piece of the referees mind; although most would find the thought of a squirming, rolling Beaky disgusting.

Sadly Stuart "Fabio" Faben missed the enormous conversion, but redeemed himself 8 minutes later by bursting through the middle to score under the post and add the conversion. It looked as though there may be plenty of opportunities; Tom and Alfie had arrived to watch and naturally the conversation turned to the need to make the correct decisions in possession.

As if to prove the point a throw to the front of the lineout, practised in training and the warm-up worked in text book fashion, leading to Beaky scoring again out wide on the left. It was as if he wanted to give Fabio as much opportunity to practise his long, angled kicks; well he showed he relished the opportunity by landing an enormous kick to take the score to 19-0 after 17 minutes. This was beginning to look like the dream start.

In fairness to Sawston they weren't going to go away, but Renegades were looking fast and mobile and were winning far more possession. After 6 more minutes the ball was won again at the ruck, Darey released Matt "Paperboy" Turner with a double miss pass who scampered on and was able to combine with Colin Weir who stayed on his feet and then reached for the line to score, despite three Sawston players trying to bring him down. Fabio's iron boot pushed the kick wide.

Renegades were tackling well and were stealing the ball at every opportunity and just to rub salt into the wound would then kick Sawston back into their 22. From a lineout the ball went through to phases and Beaky found Darey, who despite being 24-nil up decided to get himself on the scoreboard with a typical South African dropkick.

Suddenly something happened, either the referee decided to even things up, or Renegades were guilty of heinous crimes, they were pinged several times and Sawston took the points from 40 metres out directly in front of the post and into the wind. 27-3 at half time.
From the kick off Chris "Glove" Milne chased through and the resulting pressure leads to a 5 metre scrum. Two scrums later Fabio picked up at the back, passed to Beaky who released Paperboy to score. Fabio missed the kick into the wind from out wide.

What happened next was almost balletic, until you realised in was Rob Bevington who scored. Beaky and Fabio combined again and somehow Bev got the ball when running towards the line. Like the a hippo wearing a tutu in an advert for beds he pirouetted, put in a little arabesque, tripped and scored; claiming later he was trying to get under the posts. Fabio didn't need to be any closer as he converted the kick.

Talk was now turning to replacements but those on the pitch were showing no sign of tiring. A sweeping more through Sam and Bev in the centre and saw Darey score on the wing! On second thoughts if Sam and Bev were in the centre it was because they were tired, perhaps they should have been replaced earlier. Fabio missed the conversion.

Still Sawston would not roll over, with changes made it was another 20 minutes before Renegades scored again. After a period of kicking tennis Paperboy followed up a kick and put in a crunching tackle for one so small. The ball was snapped up, passed through the hands for Darey to score out wide on the left.

Renegades were now enjoying their game and the banter on the touch line indicated that happy times were here again. There was a surfeit of advice given to Nolan as he played on the wing but he took it well and was close at hand, although not involved in the last try of the game. Yet again Beaky released Fabio who barrelled through a couple of tackles to score, Ken "the Mitten" Pearce describe this as "fantastic" which confirms why he wasn't selected to write the match report. Fabio added the extra points with the conversion to make it Renegades 56, Sawston 3.

This was a game that was played in good spirit with an opposition who deserve credit for their tenacity. The referee did everything in his power to let both teams play and this, coupled with Renegades rucking well, resulted in an open game. There was stout defence, particularly in the centre from Lloyd who directed things well, Paperboy and Bill-Bob-Eddy; strong work in the scrum and precise lineout work enabled the dynamic duo to combine; Darey, always better on the front foot, did a sound job. It was good to see a sizeable crowd including old friends and in their wisdom they selected Sam Vail as man of the match for his much improved fitness, commitment and contribution, it was absolutely nothing to do with him catching a kick off or feeling sorry for him being boring…..honest!

Quotes!

"What can I say? A most satisfying game to watch not because of the score line, but for the rugby played. Some fantastic running on and most importantly off the ball, the support play was awesome resulting in quick recycled ball. The defence was very impressive every man stood up and did their job when required. Also a great low penalty count.

My only criticism would be, some of the tackles on the bigger guys is still too high, and some of our out of hand kicking was not thought out and a bit loose.
What is it about our 10mtr retreat when we are penalised????? The ref. won't change his mind so just retire but don't turn your back.

Well done I'm looking forward to more of the same for the rest of the season.

Match moments....

Bill Bob put in one try saving tackle of note, and took a great mark.
Matt (paperboy) took down several men larger than himself and also helped turn over and retain possession by joining the breakdown on several occasions. One of his tackles led directly to a try.
Sam was very active, great hands, good running, solid in the scrum.
Powerful running from the big guys, Beaky, Fabio, and Bev.
Great running and defence from the backs, Lloyd, and colin.
Ren and Chris always a pain in the arse.

Greattoseethetrainingpayingofflove." Tom Wykes

"My 2p's worth...

This is the first game I've managed this season, and the standard has definately gone up a couple of notches on the scale.

Good support work. Good close running by the sides of the rucks and mauls, where someone takes the ball at speed as soon as it gets passed out. Very good defence. Good work at the rucks and mauls where we do not commit too many players. Good lineouts.

What could be better. The scrums were not perfect, we sometimes went backwards and we rarely pushed them back. The "close" call at the front of the line was never picked up by the ref as not being a backwards pass.

All in all a very satisfying improvement of previous seasons.

Niceworkladslove" Martin Doughty

Try

Graham Beckford 2
Stuart Faben 2
Colin Weir 1
Matt Turner 1
Rob Bevington 1
Daray Horn 2

Penalty

Conversion

Stuart Faben 4

Drop Goal

Daray Horn 1

Nominations

Player of the Match: Sam Vail. Doughnut of the match: Chris "The Glove" Milne