At the pre match lunch the Guildford President in a very thoughtful speech said that, "today's match is the match no one ever wants to be involved in," a match which could well have significant ramifications come the end of the season. The hard fought win moves Blues to fourth from bottom of Regional 2 South Central and seven points clear of Guildford, who remain second from bottom. The only certainty of course is that nothing is certain and there will be no complacency on anyone's part going into the final six games of the season. If there is a sporting God looking down on Newbury let us all hope that the final match of the league season against Chichester is not a must win or else match. I'm all for a spot of sporting jeopardy, but not that much. And just when the team needed its senior players to play a blinder, that is exactly what happened. Player of the match Kyle Doel was tireless in attack and defence and played one of his best games of the season, as did Dan Thorne.
I am always conscious writing these reports of sounding overly sycophantic towards our captain but yesterday he was superb throughout! The skill Dan showed in creating and scoring Blues first try was right up there. His awareness of where the space was behind the Guildford defence, the weighting he put on the grubber kick through and the pace he showed to touch down the ball were just awesome. Add to that the thirteen points he scored from the boot and there you go, a true captain's effort. And that of course clearly shows just how good Kyle was in achieving player of the match. There were other notable performances from Jonny Lees, Dylan Stewart, Josh Bartlett and a shout out also to Harry Johnson, his second game at scrum half, with only two training sessions under his belt and settling in very well to the patterns of play. And last but certainly not least, Graham Stewart, coming on as replacement and winning two scrum penalties in the final quarter of the game to lift the team This was a much needed and well deserved victory.

Guildford started like they really meant business. Within the first two minutes, they won a penalty and one attacking lineout and a forwards rumble later and Blues were five nil down. And if that wasn't bad enough, ten minutes later with Blues attacking shape looking good, Guildford intercepted a pass in midfield and ran in to score their second try. The conversion made the score 12-0 to the visitors. Blues responded well and knew if they could get their fast paced game going, looking to attack edges, they were well within range to hit back, which is exactly what they did. Under pressure, Guildford gave away two penalties. Blues opted to kick both to the corner and from the second lineout, the ball came to Dan Thorne who grubber kicked his way to the first Blues try. The conversion cut the arrears to five points. The game then became one of both sides trading kicks to gain field position, reflecting the edgy nervousness of not wanting to make a mistake in the middle third of the field. Guildford then found themselves in an attacking position, won a lineout and their outside half put in a superb cross field kick for the ball to be collected by their wing who crossed for their third try of the game to take the score to 17-7 to the visitors. Three tries but only one converted. Ten minutes later Guildford tried to run the ball out of defence but a great tackle by Harry Waye Branch led to a Blues attacking scrum and from this position the ball was moved swiftly and expertly from left to right and Josh Bartlett's perfectly timed pass to Ali McGee saw Ali run in for Blues second try of the game. More was to come and on the stroke of half time Dan Thorne kicked a penalty to take the score to seventeen all at the break. From twelve points adrift earlier in the half this was a significant fight back from Blues.

The second half started with Blues having their most sustained period of pressure and for six or so minutes Guildford were rocked back on their heels. To their credit their scramble defence held firm and a loose pass from Blues led to the visitors being able to exit without conceding points. The thought at this point in the game was whether not scoring, having exerted so much pressure close to the Guildford line would prove to be a pivotal at the final whistle. That it wasn't was due to the effort and doubling down of all the players. Fifteen minutes into the second half Guildford gave away a penalty and Dan Thorne's successful kick put Blues ahead for the first time in the match. From the restart Guildford secured an attacking position and from here they levelled the game with a penalty of their own. Twenty points all with the game going into the final quarter and both sets of supporters feeling nervous about what the next twenty minutes would bring. The match was most certainly in the balance and everyone knew a mistake here or there, a refereeing decision going against one of the teams, a fortuitous bounce of the ball or even a bit of luck could well decide the outcome of the match. As it turned out the match was decided by a penalty awarded to Blues, which Dan Thorne slotted over to regain Blues slender lead with about five minutes left to play. During these final minutes Blues defence suffocated all attempts by Guildford to run out of defence and ensure the visitors were not to win the match with a breakaway try in the dying moments like they had in the fixture earlier in the season. The final play saw Blues turn over the ball just outside the Guildford twenty two and kick it into touch to secure a 23-20 victory. Whew.....

As the players trooped off to prepare for their Cowboy themed social evening, there was the small matter of Ireland v England to watch, although the most important result of the weekend had just been witnessed by a good sized crowd of supporters in Blues Corner, on the balcony and in the stand and thanks to everyone who turned up to support and to those who stayed to watch the Six Nations game. As always the first weekend of the Championship is anticipated with great eagerness and there were some very happy Irish supporters in Kickers at the final whistle. Well done to Ireland, France and Scotland and here's to next weekend, rearranged match against Chobham to look forward to as well as some more Six Nations matches, including the Championship decider being played in Rome , although one could argue there is a distinct and not even a subtle difference between optimism and delusion.

Thanks as always to a whole host of people including players and coaching and management staff, to Louise and her team for their tireless work on match days, to all our sponsors, to the travelling Guildford support and their players and to referee Robert Melhuish. Here's to next weekend.