The Legend grows...
Thanks to a deluge of biblical proportions, Fortress Turney was able to welcome the excellent men of Dutch Courage to engage in sporting and beverage combat on Sept 10th.
A proper Kings Club day was in prospect as some of the finest ever to pull on a Kings shirt filed into the changing room, to be greeted by the new KIPirS anthem - "Yo Ho, a pirate's life for me". The team lined up with eye patches for the pre-match photo and then both teams observed a respectful one minute's silence to honour the passing of HM the Queen.
The oppo were formed of an Edinburgh Uni team from a few years' back and fronted up fast and hard in some robust early exchanges. The KIPirS stood firm however and blunted their attacks.
New skipper Groundhog's game ended abruptly after a series of boots to the face, allowing grizzled front rower Dave Ball to enter the fray as hooker supported by Croftons on both sides, with Hagrid junior acquitting himself well on the loose. With Ronaldo and Crash providing the grunt in the second row, and a ridiculously strong back row of Dan Harmsworth, Liam "Warburton" Harris and Billy Scanlan, the KIPirS rolled back the years to the era of club legend Pete "Rawhide" Moore when many of this group of players made the 2.s pack a feared unit.
The Kings efforts were duly rewarded with the first of three tries, Liam dotting down after a period of pressure. A second followed from strike runner George Wagg in the Centre, and despite Dutch scoring one themselves, Kings came back with a try to settle the encounter from Seal, and with 2 conversions from 3 we ran out 19-7 winners.
Half time saw a few changes, with Joe Thomas, Antivirus Norton and Dennis Isaacs, as well as a bloke called Chris all coming on in the backs and Chris Winton in the front row. Mini Me and Seal had been a sound axis at half-back for our piratical boys, Andy Scott was literally all over the park, but Ratty was again and again our main source of thrust and reminded us of his immense nuisance value. Quin graced the wide empty spaces, and Piggers simply doesn't age and delivered a faultless display at the back, and takes with him our massive thanks and appreciation for skippering the side through Covid and beyond. Look out for news also of a Piratical invasion of the Cotswolds to take on Piggers' new club, Minchampton.
Referee Nick Krauspe, a Kings alumnus, kindly reffed the game up to the last 5 when he decided to put on a shirt and get stuck into playing, leaving us with no ref, so Groundhog stepped up to deliver arguably the worst refereeing performance we're likely to see outside of away games at Dartford. Despite volleys of unhelpful abuse, the game finished in good order, tho most of the combatants were out on their feet, despite being heavily fuelled by the official KIPirS drink - Capt Morgan Spiced Rum - at half time.
And then the afternoon/evening's festivities began - some of the highlights being a downing of a yard of ale by a Dutch prop: a wonderfully extended Court session (this was a Tour game), and of course fine singing from Piggers with yellow Bird, JY and his friend Yogi and many others, with some of the 1.s joining us, the day finishing with protestations of eternal friendship and a potential reverse fixture later in the season. Last point - next time youre at the bar, please look out for the shield that DC gave us - a nice gesture. GH