OHs win tough match v Chipstead 32-11

Evening lads,

Apologies for the tardiness… better late than never though aye.

Match Report – Chipstead vs Old Haileyburians

The mighty OH headed to Chipstead who were seeking redemption for their 50-5 drilling at the hands of OH 2's the previous week. The stage was set – a sunny winter afternoon, a pitch wonkier than Disco Dave on a Saturday night, and the Chipstead old boys wined, dined and ready to witness a spectacle.

OH’s warm up started in typical fashion, noisy from the start, great structure, and Henry Trimmer planning the list of injuries he was going to reel off at half time.

The game kicked off and OH were straight out the blocks. The first 10 minutes saw some incredible darts from Jake, and a couple huge carries from Trimmer senior saw OH march their way up the field. After some sexy phase play off the back of a BaaBaa's style back-to-the-opponent penalty tap, Trimmer once again broke the line to open the scoring. 0-5 OH.

Minutes later, a solid scrum against a very impressive Chips pack set up a classy play from the backs who flung it out to Searley, who carved his way through and offloaded to Luke in space, who stepped inside and dotted down to make it 0-10.

Defence was the name of the game for the rest of the half, with a special mention to old man Curtis for his bone crunching dump tackle. After some powerful runs from the likes of Joey, who ran through their 10 like a steam train, we found ourselves 5 meters out from Chips’ line. The dying minutes of the half teased a score, with another perfect lineout and driving maul which was held up over the line.

The first half ended, 0-10 OH.

The second half took an unfortunate turn as resident chimney and tight head prop Tobi took a fag break, leaving yours truly to replace him. Two minutes, two yellow cards, and a penalty try later, Tobi was back on the field, with McNyasherty joining Jake & I on the sidelines due to us not fielding a front row.

With only 12 men on the field, Chips managed to take the lead at 14-10. The final 10 minutes showcased the depth of OH's squad. Debutant Harry Shields skipped through a brilliant gap, scoring under the posts. Swiftly converted by Searley, OH were back in the game at 14-17.

Chipstead launched a final attack, but OH's defence held strong, reminiscent of a wall even Trump would admire. The heroics of second debutant Josh Bull, the better Josh, sealed the deal as he intercepted a 3-on-1 Chips attack, booting the ball out to secure OH's 15th consecutive win.

A huge shout out to ultimate clubman Matt Richardson for an unbelievable final game for the OH, and good luck with your move!

MOTM: Jamie Curtis
DOTD: Josh Sterne

League standings below, #FuckRuts:

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Cheers,

Josh Sterne