1st XV
Matches
Sat 06 Oct 2018  ·  Surrey 1
Old Haileyburians
18
16
Law Society RFC
1st XV
Tries: R ArmstrongConversions: R EagerPenalties: R Eager (3)
Law lose it late against old friends Old H's

Law lose it late against old friends Old H's

Tom Brewer9 Oct 2018 - 17:24
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Try: R Armstrong Con: R Eager Pens: R Eager (3)

The Law rocked up to the familiar setting of Old Haileyburian's RFC where they had been just 3 weeks previous for the their fabulous pre season hog roast. The weather couldn't have been more different as the fixture fell on the only rainy day in week and certainly on the long walk from the train station the weather was biblical.

This prompted a solid forward orientated start to the match from the Law who would have to adapt their free flowing rugby that saw them victorious the week before. Controlled play from the base of the rucks in the first few minutes maintained the Law's possession until a penalty was awarded for an OH tackler not releasing. Robin Eager banged it long into touch for an attacking lineout. The 7 man drive was set up successfully and the law ploughed close to the try line doing well to retain possession as the maul went to ground. A few close quarter pops and drives later and it was time for the killer blow as Tom Maclean passed to 1 yard out expert Rick Armstrong who crashed through the defenders to score. 3 tries already this season for the skipper all coming with the obligatory Penguin assist. Eager Robin ran up and slotted the conversion.

The rest of the first half was slower, the wet conditions resulted in a lot of scrums and turned over ball from both sides. The Law were awarded 3 penalties which they opted to go for goal with two of which were successful by Eager. Late in the first half OH's got into the game with a try in the corner, demonstrating their wide back play that had been on display in the pre season game. The Law lead 13-5 going into the second half.

The lead was extended early after the break, Eager slotting another penalty to take his personal tally to 11. However the tide was changing and OH's began to play more of the rugby with the Law struggling to exit their own half. OH scored another try through the wide back play however were unsuccessful with the conversion meaning the law were still 6 points to the good. Having ridden out numerous attacks from the home side with notably large tackles coming from James Thomas who would need to be replaced after his third shoulder smasher. The Law cleared to touch from a turnover though the kick only went as far as the 22. The OH lineout was knicked by the Law but the slap back was too powerful and left scrum half Maclean scurrying back to try and protect the ball yards away from the Law line. Smelling blood the OH pack counter rucked viciously and turned the ball over, this aggressive and quick play led to a somewhat inevitable score out wide. The only blessing of this score was that the conversion was missed meaning the Law retained a one point lead.

This advantage was soon lost as a poor restart chase allowed OH's to get back in the Law half where they would win their fifth penalty for offside of the afternoon. The home side's kicker finally came good and he nudged the penalty over to take the lead for the first time in the math with less than 5 minutes remaining. The Law mounted a handful of efforts in the dying minutes to try to score using direct forward runners and driving lineouts but the OH boys had the bit between their teeth and disrupted just enough to thwart all attempted attacks.
However the Law were awarded one last throw of the dice as the ref blew for penalty in kickable range with time dead. Armstrong signaled for the posts as Robin Eager stepped up for a 30 yard kick midway to the left of the field. Unfortunately the strike wasn't quite clean enough and the ball just fell right of the posts as the ref blew for time with Old Haileyburians victorious.

As is often the case with Law losses the team were guilty of a number of dull errors and ultimately not taking control of the game when it mattered, a missed kick at the end was not the defining feature of the performance more the fact that after 45 minutes the Law failed to score a point whilst the opposition scored 13. Opportunity missed for sure but the Law do sit mid table after taking a losing bonus point away from home in very tough conditions. The 1st XV now have a rest weekend before a block of 8 back to back games (including cup fixtures) leading into Christmas.

Match details

Match date

Sat 06 Oct 2018

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Surrey 1

League position

2
Old Haileyburians
6
Law Society
Team overview
Further reading