Wild Geese 51 – 5 Thanet Wanderers – 4th September 2010
In their first game of their first season in London One the Wild Geese threw down the gauntlet to the more established sides in the league; the new boys were not here to make up the numbers. A long and well structured pre season meant that London Irish were in top physical condition and this was telling as a fast game on a dry day proved too much for the visitors from Kent. An 8 try to 1 Victory was just reward for a stylish performance in front of a bumper crowd at Sunbury.
The team were played onto the pitch to ‘Garry Owen’ played by the Pipes and Drums of the London Irish Rifles, this seemed to rouse not only the players but also the supporters drawn out from their pre match lunch to the stand. Thanet retained possession from the kick off and attacked Irish from inside their own half for the first 10 minutes of the half, Irish absorbed this pressure, kept Thanet in the wrong part of the park and then on gaining possession went about reminding everyone why they were London 2 League Champions last year. Young Wing George Owen scored a hat trick with a catch from a clever cross field kick behind the defence by débutante fly half David Dunne the pick. Others to impress were centre Barry McLaughlin and Scrum Half Jack Marczewski both playing their first league games at the Club.
Cobham 14 – 38 London Irish Wild Geese – 11th September 2010
London Irish Wild Geese travelled to near neighbours Cobham on Saturday for the second round of the league. The teams met in the final of the Surrey Trophy last season with Irish victorious so all new Cobham would need no motivation for this encounter.
The game started at a fast and furious pace which not only suited the home side but saw the Geese on the back foot and 3 points down from an early penalty. However the Geese quickly recovered and when the home team gave away two penalties, Barry McLaughlin’s boot got the Geese into the lead by six points to three. Proving why they are a good London One side Cobham answered the penalties by pushing the Geese up the pitch and slotting over a drop goal to even up the score.
With twenty minutes gone the Geese increased the intensity and speed of their play and this saw them not only take the ball into contact more aggressively, but also get the ball from the contact zone and out to the backs with increasing confidence, safe in the knowledge that support players would always be on hand. As a result Chris Brown and Jack Marcezewski both scored tries in quick succession, only one of which was converted. As half time approached the home team answered the Geese with a try of their own to leave the half time score at 11 – 18.
As the second half got underway the Geese put the pressure back on the home team with two smartly executed moves in quick succession that saw both David Dunne and Ben Kitching go over to extend the Geese’s lead by a further ten points. If the London Irish Geese thought that it was game set and match, they were sorely mistaken as the home side upped their game, and kept the Geese well and truly pinned down on the try line for a full twenty minutes. However stout hearted defence from the pack kept Cobham from scoring any tries, they did, however force a penalty and gain an extra three points. In the last quarter of the game the Geese, started to regain the upper hand and as a result slowly pushed the home team back up the pitch, leading to penalty which Barry McLaughlin duly scored. With the wind back in their sails the Geese once again pushed forward from the restart to quickly put Ben Kitching under the posts leaving David Dunne with the easiest of conversions.
In the dying minutes of the game Cobham once again tried to pressure the Geese defence, but they never looked like getting over the line leaving the Geese with their second win in two weeks as the full time whistle blew.
Director of Rugby commented “You cant complain when you are top of the table with a maximum of 10 points from two bonus point victories. The boys have scored 13 tries in two games and only conceded 2. We will have much tougher challenges in the weeks to come and the away match against League favourites Tunbridge Juddians on 25th looms on the horizon. That was this teams 20th straight League victory and I think it is an indication of the players resolve and ambition that it was a statistic that went unremarked on”.
Head Coach Jamie Balls added “I am pleased that we have started where we finished off last season, we are developing our game plan and introducing new players to the side so i was particularly pleased with our recent signings and how they have fitted into the team ethos both on and off the pitch”
The Wild Geese have home league games at Sunbury against Chobham 18th September, Haywards Heath 2nd October and Portsmouth 9th October. All support is welcome and entry and parking is free.
Cobham 15 – 22 London Irish Wanderers – 11th September
In the team’s first league outing of the season the Wanderers lined out with a strong squad combining team regulars and new comers.
At the start of the game the Wanders came out hard and fast against the home team. As a result for the opening 35 minutes the Wanderers kept the home side pinned down in their half, which was reflected in the early score line of three tries and one conversion. Despite their clear advantage the Wanderers let a few chances slip near Cobham’s try line, which left the Wanderers with a half time lead of 17 points to 5.
During the half time break the home team must have had a serious talking too as they came back hard at the Wanderers. A combination of two predicable and strong ball carriers and some ill-discipline at the breakdown by the Wanderers allowed the home team back into the game.
With the pack leading the way the Wanderers put up a heroic display of defence in the second half resulting in the Wanderers limiting the home side to 15 points.
During the half the Wanderers had only about 20% of ball possession, but when they did have the possession they made good use of it, by spreading it wide and making considerable ground, so much so that the team were able to score another try to seal their victory of 22 points to 15.
