OC's 20 - 13 Rosslyn Park Hatters

A superb effort from the OCs who were missing a couple of regulars and were without the luxury of subs. The Hatters had previously manage to beat us 5-0 in the season's opener back in October so revenge was very much in our game plan.

A tough but uninspired first half saw the Hatters 3-5 up at the break. The OCs really came to life in the second half, adding a bit of belief to our breakdown play and cutting down on the careless mistakes. After some sustained pressure, we managed to pierce the midfield thanks to Ben Gelder and Vasey, and one quick offload later and Steve Hartland dragged himself and his would be tackler over the line to edge us in front 10-5.

The Hatters put some good phases together after we had turned over our own ball and went over under the posts to make it 10-10. It might have been a different game had their kicker not opted to take the conversion about 8 yards from the posts and take a 6 yard run up. It stayed level as half the team managed to charge down the kick.

Despite the close score the OCs seemed to have the momentum and it was no surprise when we scored, although it was a surprise to see number 8, Rich Butler, sporting some fancy new fingerless gloves plucking a loose ball from the air one handed and 'sprinting' through unopposed to make it 17-10. The Hatters pulled 3 points back through a penalty, but we sealed it with Ben Gelder's 4th successful kick of the day to make it 20-13.

All in all, a great win for the team.

Owen VJ

Team: Ali Turner, Henry Brace, Anthony Vasey, Steve Hartland (1Try), Dan Unsworth, Rich Butler (1Try), Paul Kellet, 1xBorrowed Hatter; Gareth LL, Ben Gelder (2Con, 2Pen), Euan K, Benny Gibbs, Paddy Ko, Owen VJ, Matt Boardman