They say that the deeper the foundations, the stronger the fortress… This was certainly the case last week as Grists hosted the second VP lunch of the season that sees former players and supporters welcomed back to their old stomping ground. It seems we should make a habit out of inviting Portsmouth down in front of a crowd as the boozy support propelled Ts to victory which followed last season’s comprehensive win on Lady’s Day.

The day began with good conditions but these quickly deteriorated with intermittent spells of horizontal rain coupled with strong gales prompting player coach Blackers to install a gritty game plan for the squad for at least the first half. The warm up was fairly flat for whatever reason – perhaps spawning from the indifference that comes with neither promotion nor relegation an issue.

The game itself could not have been more different however. For once, Ts actually implemented said plan and the first half was dominated by a tireless defence from the entire team as they battled against both slope and wind. Phase after phase of attack from Portsmouth was repelled with McCue (back at 9 after only a few minutes following a late hit on Blackers with veteran Pads onto the wing) marshalling the forwards. Penalties were exchanged with Tiffs also encouraged by finding it easy to make yards in the opposition half when in possession.

Two poor tries were conceded from shoddy kick chases and dog-legged defence as Pompey resorted to a different tactic following the strong D from OTs. The bitty first half was summed up by a brilliant read and huge tackle from Sharif on the oppo centre, unlucky to be called for a penalty as Tiffs were not rewarded for their grit and determination. The Tiffs scrum was also dominating (shock) thanks to Lozza and co. with two further penalties from Gavin saw the half end 15-9 to Portsmouth.

No one panicked at half time with the game plan seemingly going well as Taylor was encouraged to spread the play and runners told to drop wider and deeper to really start hurting the tiring Portsmouth defence in the second half.

Once again, the game plan was followed and Tiffs found themselves deep in enemy territory soon after the restart. Good work from Jake down the left flank scattered the visiting defence and gifted an offside penalty. A crucial decision by Carvs saw Gav push it into the corner rather than go for the posts. The resulting lineout was collected by JGJunior at the back before a 20 yard rolling maul to the line allowed Jae to crash over at the back. With the conversion slotted (Gav kicked 6 from 7 in another brilliant performance despite suffering a nasty cut to his groin that saw him re-Christened as RedBallsBaz) Tiffs held the lead for the first time.

Tiffs then typically let their concentration slip just when it looked like they would press home their advantage. After stealing possession from Portsmouth the ball was given to Taylor who looked to clear the danger but a (offside?) runner charged down the kick for an easy score which was a hammer blow at a crucial stage in the game. Portsmouth then managed to put together a few good phases and trundle a maul of their own over the line to leave Tiffs shell shocked.

The desire in this team to beat the best in this league, the desire that so lacked in the warm up, was clear to see in the eyes of everyone in the huddle under the posts. ‘Show me you want it boys!’ screamed Tim, refusing to let another victory against a top 4 side slip away. ‘We were up against USP, we lost. We were up against Winchester, we lost…its not happening again’ were the words from Carvill as the conversion sailed over his head to leave OTs 13 points down with 13 minutes to play.

Tiffin drove back down towards the Portsmouth try line and were twice denied by knock-ons and good scrambling defence from the visitors. The crowd had been bolstered by the 2s from their earlier kick off and were being orchestrated by James ‘Tiffin Godfather’ Fentimen who was quite pissed. The pressure resulted in another penalty to the corner which was again collected at the back and driven forward over the line with a few crunching blacks ending with Jae collecting his second of the game.

With only a few minutes it was all Tiffin and they were camped on the Portsmouth 5 meter line, desperate to strike the killer blow. Some monstrous runs from Taylor and Tim saw the former run his favoured line off himself and reach for the white with at least 3 hanging off him. He scored. Wild celebrations from the now positively boisterous crowd ensued and the final few minutes were played out with scrums in Portsmouth’s half with some wiley play from the pack.

Overall, a thoroughly deserved victory for a team that has been able to beat all the teams positioned below it in the league and come close on many occasions to upsetting the big boys. A relatively easy run in the last 6 games gives Tiffin a good shot at leap-frogging Warlingham and perhaps even USP into 4th… To do this Tiffs must cut out the individual errors that were so costly against Winchester and almost provided another ‘nearly’ moment in what will go down as a Grists classic.

Tries: Jae x 2, Taylor
Penalties: Gav x 3, 3 conversions
MoM: Not sure who it was given to on the day but I would personally give it to Tim because I heard Portsmouth literally arguing over who should be tackling him after the penultimate try.
DoD: No one on this day.