Old Blues vs Merton

The Old Blues Bedouins arrived at a very wet and windy Motspur Park on Saturday and were wondering whether it was worth togging out when even the ref came into the changing room to ask if we really wanted to play?!! Of course the boys were well up for it especially given the strange circumstance of even having a bench for once (ok, so it was one sub but that’s about 3 more than usual….). The conditions did not suggest that there would be much champagne on show but fair play to the Blues and the Merton boys who decided to have a go and throw the ball around as much as possible in what turned out to be a fairly entertaining game. First blood went to the Bedouins when good ball from the base of the ruck was shipped out quickly to William Gatward who went over just to the right of the posts in a move that BrianO and the Ireland boys clearly copied the following afternoon against the Aussies. The Blues stretched their lead when Ian White finished off some good passing across the line to run in from about 30 yards out. The first half ended with the Merton lads pounding the Old Blues line which did fantastically well to hold firm and the half time whistle came just in time with the Blues leading 14-0. The second half continued in much the same way with both sides happy to have a go and both sides managing to break the line and put some good runs in. However, the conditions were starting to take their toll and the Blues benefitted from having slightly better luck at keeping hold of the ball when it mattered and Chris Probert, who was outstanding in midfield, converted one of his many runs into a cracking score from just inside the Merton half. Merton’s bad luck continued when their excellent loosehead prop took a knock to the shoulder and had to leave the field. The uncontested scrums allowed the fat lads to take a breather every so often which helped keep the game running along at a fairly brisk pace. The Blues sealed the deal with a fourth try when no.8 Jim Condie picked from the base of a 5m scrum and the pack combined well to drive him over the Merton line. From then on the Blues were coasting but the Merton boys were determined to get on the scoreboard and were unlucky not to do so when a couple of good moves were snuffed out by the worsening conditions and some last ditch defence. The final whistle went with the Blues 28-0 up. The Blues were definitely worth the win but to be fair the score line probably flattered us a little and on a drier day and firmer pitch Merton would have converted at least a couple of their chances. A great all-round team performance warrants honourable mentions to Chris Perez, Ian Malsters and Chris Probert however, Homme du match went to the Silver Fox Mr Giles Simons who was back to his cheating ba5tard best and managed to go the full 80mins without dying – outstanding!!