Cancelled games have meant quite a layoff for at least half of the squad, and this was a great opportunity to get some game time in before the run of matches in November and December. Alleynians are reforming after losing a lot of players last year - they had to drop out of the league - and this was a good opportunity for them to try out their squad against decent opposition. From the evidence on the day, they will do just fine in Division 3. Also based on the day, our B guys would also thrive in Division 3 if only we could get enough of them out! Players - keep pushing for friends, family, schoolmates, neighbours or vague Facebook contacts to come down and join us!

A 'game of three halves' format allowed us to try out the maximum number of players. A big apology to Aidan and Charlie, who ended up with no game time in the end. We just couldn't put such strong players into a game where we were running over the opposition anyway. We really had no idea in advance what strength squad they would bring, and to be fair neither did Alleynians.

First Half - Wimbledon B vs Alleynians

This did not start well - big surprise. Our boys were asleep at the kickoff and some woeful (non) tackling saw Alleynians charge through our line and score under the posts. This provided the necessary wake-up call to Wimbledon, and some good moves saw James Waghorn first threaten to score, and then go over on the right. Some good driving runs from both the backs (Matt Shaw being prominent) and the forwards (Eslam Djennad) maintained steady pressure and James was able to run in another try shortly afterwards. Alleynians then came back at us for 5 minutes, but our defence was up to the task and we worked our way up to their 22. From a scrum there, Louis Hogan picked up and ran through their line to score under the posts with a great low drive at knee level - someone was watching the All Blacks last week. Louis was able to convert his own try to put Wimbledon into a commanding lead. Alleynians were not finished yet however, and again were camped for several minutes in our half before Wimbledon broke away in the form of Harry Smith, who scored in the left corner just before the end.
Wimbledon 24-7 up at the break

Second Half - Wimbledon A/B vs Alleynians

We came out in the second half with still a very mixed side, as those few A players who did come on were mainly playing out of of position. Alleynians had a few large forwards to bring on, and they were able to put pressure on us right from the start - resulting in an early unconverted try. Continued strong running from them once again broke our line, leaving James Waghorn - playing at fullback as the last line of defence. His brave tackle almost bounced off the huge opposing forward but the effort was great to see. Alleynians drove over again shortly after that to bring the score to 24-17. This was the cue for a series of excellent moves and great defending from Wimbledon. A slick move between Dom Suckling, Sam Codling and Fraser Wilson was unlucky not to get a score, and defensively Jodi Smith put in two huge tackles in quick succession. A good move saw the ball go all the way out to our right, then quickly back down the line to allow Harry Sullivan to go over for his first score for Wimbledon. Alleynians again continued to pressurise us, but another great run from Dom ended with a timely pass to Sam, to score his second. This was converted by Archie, but just before the end of the half Alleynians again were able to convert some good pressure into a score.

Wimbledon 36-22 up at the break (14-15 for this half)

Second Half - Wimbledon A/B vs Alleynians

Wimbledon dominance with a mixed-up side convinced us that to put out the full A squad would have been an unfair mismatch. This did allow us to continue giving our B players a good runout, and to try out some different combinations of players and positions.Once again our apologies to Charlie and Aidan for them having to sit out on the sidelines.

Dom Suckling was again prominent, playing at No8 as impressive newcomer Jack Gleeson took over at hooker. Some great runs and in particular his handoffs made it seem rather unlucky for him not to score himself on the day. The scoring was re-opened in the end by Archie Watkins, looping out on to the wing to score in the left corner. A fine try, but overshadowed by an absolutely outstanding conversion - as good as if not better than the one against Rosslyn Park, from right out on the left touchline. Alleynians were presumably tiring by this point, because their tackling was getting ragged. Angus Bonner and then Nic Shuttleworth were able to burst through their line and score 2 fine breakaway tries. Throughout this, the B players continued to impress with Matt Shaw and George Batchelor making particularly valuable contributions. Two more tries were to follow, Lucas Strauss finishing off a fine team move to score in the corner, and Harry Smith going over for the second time with a great drive from 20 yards out. It is to Alleynians credit that they kept going in the face of a storm of scores against them, and managed the last points of the game with a try in the corner just before the final whistle.

Final result Wimbledon 67-27 Alleynians (31-5 for this half)

Regards and see you all either this Sunday or next,
Martin