An eclectic mix of age and youth overcome Wimbledon 2s - Report by Paddy McAlpine

With many regulars missing through injury or selection for the 1s, Chi RFC 2s fielded a very young side away against Wimbledon on Saturday in an important Zoo Sports Division 3 South league match. Chi called up Ollie Gatland, Will Norton, Charlie Arden-Brown, Danny Butlin and Berty Dobbs from Seaford College for their first 2s cap, while welcoming back their 6th Form mates, Harry Guest and Jamie Wilcock; Bishop Luffa 6th Former, Harry Johnson, also gained another cap. With the shortage of available props capable of playing at the elite squad level once again featuring front and centre in the senior teams selections, Chi RFC Director of Rugby, stepped into the breach at the last moment and played his first 40 minutes of rugby in 10 years. His dedication and commitment to the Blue and Blue is unquestionable but his willingness to fill the empty position at prop and make the Chi scrum competitive was above and beyond the call of duty. He was needed: Wimbledon came out of the blocks fast and determined and took an early lead with a penalty, which was quickly followed up by another. Too many mistakes and infringements by the Chi 2s kept Wimbledon in the game and on the front foot until the marauding 2s captain Martin O’Callaghan broke through the gain line, was supported by the consistently dependable Liam O’Hagan, who offloaded to scrum-half, Nathan Tucker to score under the posts. Full-back Dean Morris converted and the 2s started to settle and provide better ball for the back line to exploit. Key to everything the backs did was out-half Danny Kirkpatrick who gave an outstanding running and kicking display all afternoon. He carved open the Wimbledon defence to put Guest in for a well taken try and then orchestrated a lovely back line move that saw the ball shipped with perfect timing all the way out to Johnson to score on the wing. Kirkpatrick turned up the heat on the disheartened Wimbledon defence once again, chipped over the on rushing tacklers for Oli Wilson to collect, commit his man and then offload to the supporting Kirkpatrick to score a wonderful try and close out the first half 6 – 24 to the Blue and Blue. The first 10 minutes of the second half saw Wimbledon rally and push deep into Chi territory but strong tackling by Wilcock, Dobbs and Butlin and commitment at the breakdown by Gatland and Norton held the line. Gatland collected a loose ball and another great break by Kirkpatrick put Wilson in for the first score since halftime. This was quickly followed up by a good kick chase by Tucker and then Johnson, who benefited from a fortuitous bounce to score. With confidence high, Chi moved the ball gracefully along the backline from the restart and put Dobbs in at the corner. After some spirited attacking by the hosts, O’Callaghan stole the ball and broke loose, rampaging up the pitch and timed his pass to perfection to release the hooker, Harry Shonk, at pace to score a try that was converted by Morris. Proceedings were brought to an end after another period of continuity by the 2s and slick handling to put Wilson in for his second try. This was another important win that keeps the 2s in the hunt for promotion. Final score 6 – 55.

Team: Davies, Shonk, Colley, O’Callaghan, Wright, Grace, Butlin, O’Hagan, Gatland, Norton, Tucker, Kirkpatrick, Guest, Wilcock, Wilson, Johnson, Morris, Arden-Brown, Dobbs.

Scores: Tries – Tucker, Guest, Johnson (2), Kirkpatrick, Wilson (2), Dobbs, Shonk; Conversations: Morris (5)