Walden 1's score 108 points without conceding

Captain Mark Kimberley scores 53 points with 5 tries 14 conversions.

Director of Rugby – Match Report vs Basildon Sat 29 Sep 18
An outstanding performance from Walden with 8 different try scorers and Mark Kimberley having a great day with the boot kicking 14 out of 16 conversions.

With Jon Goodin failing a pre-game fitness test, former Capt James Gosden was called up to the bench just before the start of the game against Basildon at Henham. With Basildon having lost all 3 of their fixtures so far this season the message for Walden was to start with a high tempo and to not let Basildon grow with confidence and into the game. Basildon are coached by former Saracens and Toulon lock Kris Chesny so the Walden pack were expecting a tough day at the office.

The game started well for Walden with a catch and drive near the Basildon line ending with tight head Steve Muggridge forcing his way over from close range after 5 mins. Further tries followed in close succession from Adam Miles and Villi Devuto who beat 3 defenders in a tight space to race away and score.

There then followed a 15-minute spell of Basildon pressure compounded by Walden giving away cheap penalties at the breakdown however with some excellent defensive sets the Walden line held firm and it was from a rock-solid scrum where the ball was moved wide to winger Ollie Webber with second row Brad Baker barging his way over the Basildon line. The try bonus point was in the bag after 22 mins. 2 more tries were scored before half time the first by a superb 60-metre individual effort form Adam Miles and Brad Baker grabbing his second from a series of phases that Walden put together. Half time score 40 – nil.

The message at half time was for Walden to continue to play with intensity, go through the phases and identify mis matches in the opposition defensive line whilst ensuring that their own defence remained water tight.

With Walden completely in the driving seat another 10 tries were scored in the second half. Walden’s offloading game and support play was supreme with all players contributing to a fine performance. Special mention must be made to Man of the Match and Capt Mark Kimberley who scored 5 tries and kicked 14 out of 16 conversions for an individual points total of 53! Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the performance is the players desire to not allow Basildon to cross the Walden whitewash. Final score Walden 108 – Basildon nil.

The game was watched by 13 guests from Hitchin who are “rugby enthusiasts” hopefully they will go away extolling the virtues of the style of rugby that we are trying to play.

Walden are still unbeaten after 4 games this season with a points difference of plus 186. The set piece looks strong, the back rows support play is excellent, half backs are controlling the tempo of games, centres are getting over the gain line and the back 3 are creating plenty of try scoring opportunities.

Walden’s next game is away against Harlow Sat 6 Oct 18 where the players look forward to facing former player and coach Tom Hughes who is now a player coach at Harlow.