Three on the Trot

Getting this team together was one of the toughest of the year and this wasn't helped by a number of stalwarts of recent weeks being genuinely unavailable due to unfortunate coincidence and injury. Thankfully for the Barbarians we are not only well supported by the boys and coaches of the current Colts team but also some hardy (super?) vets who pulled out the stops to make a long journey many would avoid, this together with the spirit of the regulars who were determined to make the trip no matter what put the icing on this well earned win.

Taking this into account it was a game that nearly didn't go ahead because of issues at Chichester. This game was originally scheduled to be at home in Horsham but because of our struggles in the early season the game was called off which meant this one was swapped to the away game. With three other games at home this put Chichester's facilities under quite a strain and a call on Friday was made to postpone the fixture. We offered to host the game but were informed that there was no way Chichester would travel so we had to insist that we'd turn up. Thankfully facilities and a pitch were found and the game went ahead.

Playing on a good pitch albeit with a stern slope Horsham won the toss and elected to take on the hill first, would they sill be in contention when the benefit came their way? Early indicators were ominous with Chichester really taking the game to the men in green for the first ten minutes. Despite some good tackling, the response to the ball on the floor was a little lacklustre perhaps owing to the journey and the ordeal in finding a parking space. Following on from the Crawley match the set piece was looking good. Gumbo, assisted by his lifters was imperious at the front of the lineout and some proper pressure was being applied despite the hill to the Chi scrum. This influenced an early decision by Chi to take a shot at the posts when maybe they'd otherwise opt for the line. Unfortunately for the team in blue it wasn't pretty and the points went begging.

As the Horsham side began to wake up and gel together they made steady progress up the pitch and several chances to open the scoring were missed. A well worked move from one of many scrums taken against the head taken by big Jim Richards saw Chris Mallows the nearly man of the game stopped just short. In another opportunity and worked overlap by the Colts trio of Callum Boswell, Alex Cleary and Luke Saunders saw a pass to Neil Jenkins, playing his first contact game for a number of years just fail to find it's target with no further opposition between him and the line.

Half time with the score at 0-0 Horsham knew they had a great chance to get that third win and set about thel task with purpose. The first score came though one of several incisive breaks by Tom Hooley playing at 7 running with speed and power. Stopped short the ball was well recycled and moved down the line and with plenty of work to do Luke Saunders capped and impressive senior debut beating several men to get that all important first score. Starved of any useful set piece and facing a steep hill Chichester were struggling to get out their half but it took a while before Horsham crossed the line again. Chris Mallows was denied a couple of times as were a number of forwards by some resolute defence. However Tom Hooley's energy and eagerness to make a difference which saw another drive at the Chichester defence forcefully handing off and evading some tired tackles to get a deserved try. Neil Jenkins was finding his feet making some strong surges up the with a try the only thing lacking from a super performance and long awaited start for the Baa Baas.

With Gumbo now sporting the Captains armband and looking to preserve some of the older folks for games to come the next penalties for Horsham were kicked by the dependable foot of Callum Boswell. Kim Platfoot who had had a great game in the front row and supporting breaks had to make way for Ade Lewis who with out we'd have really been in trouble with no front row cover.

Chichester took the final score following a string of penalties leaving some of the Horsham players and spectators slightly bemused but none would question that Chichester deserved some reward for their determination and attitude.

Final score 7-20.I'd have to give MOTM to Tom Hooley in a close contest with Luke Saunders, we'll hopefully see you guys next week for a rematch ;) I'd also like mention another lad making his senior debut Max Phillips who did a superb job in the back row and Ciaran Fitzgerald making an impact from the bench who was harshly denied a try where he certainly grounded the ball.

Another good win, three on the bounce for the 3rd team. Wins across all three senior teams sides for a second week in succession and the 1st team securing promotion back into London South 2 with four games to spare. It's a great time to be playing for Horsham with the future looking very bright. I was in the last Horsham team to play in London South 2 and have to say the club is currently in far better health to make this lasting. With the way the current colts are being ingratiated into the senior club I'm certain is the footprint for future successes and gives the vets of the club a real sense of purpose setting them off on their senior rugby careers.

Next week is Barns Green away, they have done us the honor of inviting our VP's to a meal. We need to have good availability this week so we can go down there and put on a good show. Perhaps a beer or two after?