Oakmedians 3 - 35 Heathens Academy

This was always going to be a difficult fixture, a good side with an hour's drive to get there plus a total of 3084 mince pies consumed in the weeks since the last match was to stack the odds against Heathens. A beautful setting welcomed them on arrival at Oakmedians, a stark contrast to the facilities and surroundings of Cams Alders.

It was a very experimental side, potentially weaker than usual in several key areas. Injuries and illness had forced the selectors hands, and there were clear question marks over the decisions. But these were Heathens, playing out of position would not bother them in the slightest, they just wanted to get on with the task. And so it was that the parents, staff and supporters sttod on the sidelines awaiting kick off. It was a wonderful suprise to see Chris Snell there considering he is rumoured to be ready to give birth at any moment. (Note: has a baby ever been born with a moustache?)

Oakmedians were put on the back foot very quickly, and some panic defensive play didn't help their situation. Luck was on Heathens side also, and despite some wrong decisions the first score went their way with captain Tom Hiron bulldozing his way across the line. Oaks came back into the match, and Heathens were rattled. A knock on at the edge of Oaks' 22 gave an attacking scrum in a good position. Clark and Paterson combined well to feed Dean 'Little Sod' Smith who duly touched down in the corner. Heathens continued the pressure, and some scrappy play in the centre of the pitch was collected by the Combat Wombat. He ducked and dived, diced and sliced his way through and scored under the posts. He converted his try to take the match to 17-0. An Oakmedians penalty was the only other score before half time.

Conor Snell arrived at half time, and was a sensation from the off. His blistering pace and devilish sidestep caused the defence no end of problems, and his two tries sandwiched a Jon Dawes penalty. He needed just one more to ensure his Dad was buying the guiness all weekend, but risk of pushing him into labour was too great and so he "deliberatley" dropped the final pass of yet another fast-paced attack.

Joey Clark finished the scoring, when he was taken out off the ball an intelligent penalty play saw the ball go wide and Clark, ignoring the 4 man overlap, took on the entire Oakmedians defence, eventually creeping over the line.

Another win on the road to legendary status, all made possible by outstanding performances by a number of players – Gedge, Jones and White the pick of the bunch. The mix and match side has created many selection headaches for the coaching staff ahead of the trip to US Portsmouth next week. And, who knows, before long the secret weapon Chinese exchange player may even be back wearing his pink shirts, single handedly tackling every opposition player and serving chow mein all at once.

Scores

5 mins Try (Hiron)
13 mins Try (Smith)
22 mins Try (Carter – converted, Carter)
33 mins Opposition Penalty

HALF TIME

36 mins Try (Snell)
45 mins Penalty (Dawes)
53 mins Try (Snell)
70 mins Try (Clark)