Stags secure win in first game of the season

The defeat by Maidenhead in the final game of last season seemed to be of another age on Saturday when Stags ran in thirteen tries against Amersham and Chiltern II. The same blend of youth and experience was on view and it paid dividends on a day when sun hats, sun cream and ice cream were the order of the day. Stags set a blistering pace from the start and they kept this up right until the final whistle despite the heat. It was this pace that Amersham and Chiltern could not match and although they scored a try on the half hour it was brief respite against a powerful home attack and well organised defence. Thankfully for the players there were a couple of water breaks during the game and these were certainly needed. It was a taste of what rugby might be like if it reverted to being a summer sport. I for one am not a great believer in such a move for the game although I dare say an away journey to the cold and snowy Chilterns in January or February might be just the thing to shake me from my old school complacency about changing the game too much.

As it turned out this was as good a performance by Stags for a long while and like Bob Beaman when he broke the world long jump record by 55 cms at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 or Roger Bannister when he ran the first sub four minute mile at Oxford in 1954, or Adam Peaty breaking swimming records seemingly almost at will, everything went right for Stags on Saturday and their fitness is a testament to the pre season work overseen by the coaches and the medics, but ultimately to do with the effort put in by all the players to achieve this level of fitness. There will undoubtedly be closer games and sterner tests to come and one thing's for certain there will be no resting on laurels, no complacency, no thinking all games are going to be like this. Great individual performances yes, great team performance yes, great result, yes, but feet firmly on the ground with the visit to Beaconsfield next weekend.

There were five debutants in the team on Saturday, prop Louis Morgan, second rows Harry Keatley and Peter Hyde, scrum half Kieran Jenvey and back row and hooker Fraser Carr. All equipped themselves well and Peter Hyde was very close to man of the match with line out steals, a great turn of pace and a hunger for the ball which resulted in a well taken try. Whilst Peter was close to being named man of the match, Kieran Jenvey was unanimously named DOD by his teammates for missing a conversation from in front of the posts. To be fair to Kieran he had a very good all round game and got the back line moving smoothly, but a missed conversion which even Coach Newton might have put over.........sacrilege!

Stags got off to a blistering start and had secured a try bonus point within twenty five minutes with tries from Dylan Stewart, Kieran Caulfield and two from man of the match Ben Armstrong. Some of the support play was outstanding and George Anderson and Harry Waye Branch were prominent in all phases of play. After scoring their first try Am/Ch began exerting some pressure on Stags and although the final score makes it appear a relatively easy match, rugby matches are anything but easy and it was strong, effective defence that saw the visitors only scoring one try all afternoon. Prominent in the defensive effort just as Am/Ch were looking they might recover from a 29-5 deficit were Dylan Stewart and Joel Cripps. Half time saw Stags 36-5 ahead with the other first half tries being scored by Peter Hyde and Alex Harris.

The second half saw Stags score a further seven tries and keep up the defensive effort. On one occasion Harry Stevens made a try saving tackle on another Stags pack held up Am/Ch as they were pressing hard and after this Am/Ch never really threatened to score again as they began to tire. Seven more tries for Stags reinforced their dominance. Some of these tries were individual efforts and some the result of great team work. Steve Denner opened the second half scoring, followed by tries from Fraser Carr, Joel Cripps after a deft cross field kick by Tom Cole, who himself scored a try, a third try for Ben Armstrong, and second tries for Harry Stevens and Alex Harris.

The one down side of the afternoon was a nasty knee injury to Gregor Ross. We wish him well for a speedy recovery.

So its on to Beaconsfield, weather forecasting 25 degrees on Saturday, another day where hydration becomes significant and where fitness is crucial. Stags will travel in good heart with the aim of repeating the performance of last week. If this happens the team will be in with a chance of victory, but as often happens in sport progress is not always linear, the team could be changed due to injuries and unavailability so it is with optimistic caution we head east, braving the M4 smart motorway upgrade which is planned for ever or at least that's what it feels like.

Best wishes to Amersham and Chiltern II for the rest of the season.