20 miles north of Cardiff in the heart of the Rhonda Valley sits the home of the Valley Commandoes, Pontypridd RFC and their imposing ground Sardis Road, “The House of Pain” – a venue that once struck fear into visiting teams throughout Wales and those clubs that dared to cross the border from England. The equivalent in West Berkshire: Monks Lane – pitch 5.
We welcomed some old friends from Basingstoke RFC on Sunday morning in brutal conditions where spectators resembled an expedition party to the South Atlantic. One man stood above this – dressed in shorts and a t-shirt as if he was going for a stroll on a beach in Barbados, Coach Walshie looked in his element “perfect rugby weather” snarled the former prop as he applied some sunblock.
A strange start to the pre-game checks as the referee (resplendent in orange) rather than checking their boots, asked to see the birth certificates of the giant Basingstoke pack but fortunately as one parent pointed out size isn’t everything.
From the kick off this was an outstanding performance from all 20 members of the match day squad. Early tries from Noah and JC “Sexton”, 4 conversions from 5 in those conditions mighty impressive, settled any nerves and from there the team went from strength to strength. A second try from Noah and a fourth try of the game from Austin put the game to bed within the first twenty minutes. Then came the highlight of the morning – brilliant rucking from the forwards drove the bigger Basingstoke pack off the ball and slick hands from the backs put the ball into Jude’s hands and from there it was reminiscent of Jonah Lomu v Tony Underwood c1995 – pace, power and a hand off to score a brilliant team try under the posts. Half time 33-0.
Great credit to Basingstoke on a miserable morning 33-0 down at half time away from home on the “pitch of pain” they battled and fought to keep the second half scoreless and left with their heads held high. Or was the second half scoreless? The one controversial note in the game with the infamous “it was definitely forward” comment from the referee and without VAR we will never know if it was a second try for Austin or not.
A warm welcome to Patrick making his debut on Sunday in the front row and he didn’t once take a backward step and one crunching tackle on the giant Basingstoke no8 with live long in the memory. Good to see the injured players supporting their teammates from the sidelines which says a lot about the togetherness and spirit in the squad which we will need to demonstrate on tougher challenges that lie ahead. The morning finished as it always should – players from both sides enjoying each others company and Austin on the phone to Specsavers to book an appointment for his Dad.
On behalf of all the players and parents, a massive thank you to Clare and the coaches – we wish Duncan well as he recovers from his fractured eyelash which put him out of action on Sunday.
Geoff A.