Kews opened the season with a win against the Civil Service in a high scoring game, with Kews coming from behind in the closing stages.

On a disappointingly grey and drizzly day to start the season, the conditions combined with early season rustiness to deliver a game with a high error count; the high score not necessarily an indication of the quality of much of the game. That said, Kews did play well in patches, and specifically the first and final fifteen minutes. The first of these saw Kews start strongly, dominating at the scrum and initially adapting well to the conditions. A lead of 26-5 was soon generated after only half of the first half, the highlight being prop Josh Leslie’s break and side-step of the fullback to run under the posts following a brilliant turnover by number 7 Jack Barrat. For the next 40 minutes however, Kews proceeded to let CS back into the game. CS played the conditions better during this period, kicking more ball and seeking to play more rugby in the Kews’ half. This proved effective, with Kews’ error count increasing and the penalty tally at the breakdown being one way in CS’ favour. Kews’ defence was too often not organised enough, particularly on kick chases and open play, allowing CS some relatively easy scores. At half time, the lead was down to 26-24, with three further CS tries at the start of the second half seeing CS take a 39-26 lead with less than a quarter of the game to go.

Facing an anti-climactic start to the season, Kews finally began to again play with the intensity of the first quarter. The execution of skills reached a level whereby Kews were able to put phases together, stretch the CS defence and take advantage of the spaces created. The spark for the comeback came from a great solo finish from Charlie Reed, grubber kicking ahead to dive over the line after running half the length of the field. Next, continued Kews pressure saw CS infringe on their own line and deny a clear try scoring opportunity. This meant a sin binning for the offending CS player, and at the resulting scrum, Kews marched CS backwards to earn a penalty try and drawing within 1 point with less than five minutes to go. CS went on to take good field position from the following restart, and from a driving line-up, were only prevented from scoring thanks to the quick reactions of Matt Gupta who managed to get his arms under the ball. At the resulting scrum, again spearheaded by Josh, Rauri Haddlington and Dave Cuthbertson in the front row, Kews were able to turnover possession. The ball was then passed quickly to the backs who swept the length of the field, offloading with composure, to take the final score.

In addition to the standout performances of the front row, the game saw very impressive debuts from Will Beynon and Oli Johnson Munday at scrum half and lock respectively. Matt Gupta scored a vital 7 from 9 kicks in a composed game at 10, while Chris Stone showed he’d lost little of his bite after his long spell on the side-lines due to injury.

Next week the Kews travel to Old Paulines.

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