On a damp and grey October day we gathered in expectation to watch our lads take the field in the yellow and green of Shoreham for the first time in almost two years and, while the ultimate scoreline may look disappointing, we saw a performance full of heart, endeavour and no small amount of skill that demonstrated how hard the boys have worked on their game and how much they have learnt from our excellent coaching team.

Against a well-drilled and significantly larger Lewes side, we had some real moments of excitement to cheer as well as some lessons to learn for future matches.

Playing uphill in the first half was always going to be a challenge. From the kick-off it was apparent that the larger Lewes players were not going to be pushovers, but from the first crunching tackle put in by Henry, the Shoreham team showed that they were willing to fight. Our first ever 5 man scrums held firm despite only learning how to bind from the coaching of the referee before the match. Eoghan at scrum half was able to make good passes and a couple of good breaks by Martin and Roshan showed potential for later in the game.

Although on the back foot for most of the first half, some strong tackles from players such as Sam, Joel and Jacob showed the team was not daunted by the Lewes team. Billy even showed a welcome aggressive streak fighting hard for the ball in a maul right in front of the spectators.
Unfortunately, the speed and strength of some of the Lewes players running from deep led to some inevitable missed tackles and breaks down the wing and at half time the scoreline was perhaps unfairly 11-0 against us.

The second half, though, was a different story. Buoyed by some strong words from coach Murph, Martin’s kick off was sent deep into Lewes territory and, as the Lewes team seemed frozen in time, Pablo dived on the ball over the line for the team’s first try of the season.

New players Jake and Loan had been introduced at the end of the first half and both showed their strength in tackles, with Jake almost breaking through the Lewes line at one point. In fact the whole team seemed more inspired and our forwards, Kieran, Sam, Henry, Joel and Jamie began to play as more of a unit when in possession or rucking against the Lewes pack. Our smaller and younger players showed courage, too, with Jacob memorably holding onto the shirt of a charging Lewes winger for long enough for support to arrive and bundle him into touch and George, Kieran and Henry not being afraid to get in the mix with older players.

Although Lewes scored a couple more tries, a second Shoreham try was well-deserved as Roshan sent a delicate chip forward for Pablo to run onto and gather before rounding the last line of Lewes’s defence and running in to score.

The team showed their fitness was high as they kept fighting to the end. On another day, bursts from Martin, George and Jake might have led to more tries, and tackles such as Roshan’s brilliant tap tackle by the try line and Pablo’s diving touchline grab would have deservedly saved Lewes’s scores. In the end, the final scoreline seemed unrepresentative of a good performance by our young and inexperienced team.

A final word of thanks should go out to the cheering and supportive spectators, our wonderful coaches and to Paula for organising the catering at the end of the match. We look forward to the team continuing to learn and grow from their experience as we get back to competitive rugby over the winter.

Report by M Walsh

Shoreham RFC

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