Firstly, I have to say that this was a great turnout in the end today - 23 players for a friendly at a ground an hour away for most of you, and a late kickoff to boot. Clearly you all took on board what I said about having to fulfil fixtures like this in order to get the home games we all obviously prefer. Thanks to Badger for making the trip with us, and commiserations to those among the squad who were attempting to play with a hangover even worse than his!

It was also great to see several players making their debut for Wimbledon in a competitive game. Communications however could be improved, we were chasing for availability right up to Saturday which can't be sustainable. On that note - PLEASE get back to me with availability for Guildford next week, I'm only looking at 10 confirmed players right now! This is another 'everyone plays' friendly.

On to the game - this was originally arranged as an A/B game, when we were getting 30+ players each week last January. We've been whittled down a bit since then by injuries and dropouts, so we in the end only took one squad. This meant that we were facing the full Beckenham A squad (who play in D1), and the result should be looked at in that context - i.e. this was a great performance.

Beckenham began the game strongly, dominating our scrum in the initial phases and kicking very well (which continued for the whole game). They were able to force two penalties in our half, converting one to take the early lead. With our backs to the wall, Wimbledon put in some great defensive tackles, notably from Max, Rob, Matt Shaw and Arun. However we then started to come back into the game, pushing Beckenham back into their half with some great kicking from Max; from one of these Matt Shaw was unlucky not to convert after a determined chase. The forwards were also making an increasing contribution as we came closer to holding their scrum, while in the loose Charlie and newcomer James Hole made some great driving runs. It was therefore particularly unfortunate that a lucky bounce from a kick allowed Beckenham to run in a try under the posts shortly before half time: Beckenham 10 - 0 Wimbledon.

Second half, and the early running was made by Wimbledon - closely missing a penalty but failing to convert pressure into points by again reverting to very flat and predictable play with the ball in hand. We know you can do it in training - and by the end of the game there were a couple of flashes from the backs of the moves we have been rehearsing. We were punished for that when Beckenham put together a simple but effective move from a ruck on the left out to an overlap on the right and went over in the corner. 15-0 down and it could have been worse right afterwards but for a try-saving tackle from Archie. Similar good defensive work from Jodi and Lucas kept us in the game until we then put together some of our best rugby of the afternoon. Beginning with a massive, brutal handoff from Max - sharp intakes of breath all down the sideline! Dom and Ellis then made some powerful runs, pushing Beckenham back to their line, and we eventually converted when Dom offloaded to Charlie to score in their left corner.

5-15 down and very much in the game, but renewed pressure from Beckenham forced some great defensive play from us, including a saving tackle from Lucas, a superb under-pressure box kick from Max and more determined counter-rucking from the forwards. However as the clock ticked down Beckenham were able to repeat their move from left to right and go over with the last play of the game, converted to leave the final score 22 -5.

A lot of positives to take out of this game. We had several players making their debut today, and some playing in unfamiliar positions - all of whom acquitted themselves well. It was good to see us start to come to terms with their strong pack, and to see the backs gain in confidence to the point of throwing in some moves. The ref told me afterwards that he had counted 10 consecutive phases of play from Wimbledon, which I think goes to show how far we have come with our ball retention. Expect the rucking drills to continue!

See you all next week for the home game - note that clocks go back, and that we are starting the session at 11 for a 12 o'clock KO.

Regards
Martin