Guildford have always proved tough opposition; we lost to them the last time we played. Arriving with 15 players meant some enforced positional changes; thanks to Ross Lynch (open-side), Andrew (full-back), Ben (centre) for playing out of position. Thanks too to Matthew Cockburn for playing on in the last five minutes with an injury.

We got off to a great start with a super run by Josh from deep in his own half scoring under the posts, and demonstrating a turn of pace akin to his father in his hey day. Josh had one of his best games in a Wimbledon shirt, scoring two further tries the last of which was an intelligent dart to the blindside off the back of a ruck for a score in the corner. A man of the match performance.

Dylan too gave a fine display at No.8 gaining excellent ground from the back of several attacking scrums, scoring two strong tries.

There were tries too for Evan (who travels from Battersea on his own by train), and, of course, Ben. Evans line out work was tremendous and his contributions have been excellent to date. Another newcomer Pierce deserves a mention with a solid performance at hooker.

The score 41-7 does not do justice to a Guilford team that never gave up. Their performance in the first 15 minutes justified more points, though our defence was pretty stout throughout. They rucked better than us in the first part of the game. The tide turned after a break in play, however, and following some “encouragement” from Coach we started to secure more ball at ruck-time, and took the ascendancy. A more aggressive approach by the pack started to take its toll, with Ross Dinneen making headway, and Patrick and Tomos as direct as ever. Ed has his best game at scrum-half too, with much ferreting of the ball.

There will be much tougher times ahead, but the performances have been encouraging to date, with everyone playing their part in two fine wins. We have an opportunity to build more confidence in our remaining friendlies against Twickenham and London Welsh. There are only 15 players available for the former; please let Carol Anne know if your circumstances change.

Looking forward to welcoming Alex back in the near future, and hope that Cavan’s hairline fracture mends quickly. Those that took a knock/ill on Saturday, hope to see you next week for training.