The conditions could have been worse, but not much. Swirling wind, rain that started just before kickoff and didn't stop at all and a heavy pitch. We may have gone into this game on the back of 3 straight wins, but Battersea had suffered some narrow defeats and were gunning for a win this time. They know our strengths and they know theirs after 10+ years of annual fixtures between us, this time successfully turning the match into one on their terms. A game where our wings probably touched the ball a couple of times each.

The game began with our regular fly-half and captain Max puking on the sidelines, reminiscent of James at Alleynians but unfortunately not after having first scored 2 tries. Matt Rogers took over and was soon joining James McGrath in putting in some thumping early tackles. Battersea came at us hard and early, pushing us back into our own half for most of the first 10 minutes. Pressure was relieved by a great clearing kick from Cameron, chased up well by Matt Shaw and Sam. As the pressure started to be reversed, a slick move out to the left between Chris, Sam and Aaron nearly got us a score. This was not to be a day for the backs however - that may have been the only clean ball we got, and was certainly the most fluid move of the match.

The ball was with the forwards, and in the Battersea half. After two lineouts in their 22 and some great mauls, the ball was eventually carried over by Ellis Morgan. Cameron then slotted what was to turn out to be a critical conversion. Battersea pushed us back into our own 22 for the next 5 minutes, forcing some memorable tackles by Matt Shaw and particularly Chris Robinson. The half ended however with us in their 22 again, James McGrath ending up just short with a typical burrowing run. Half time and 7-0 up.

The second half started with unbelievable Battersea pressure, answered by equally unbelievable defence from Wimbledon. For 10 minutes they were camped inside our 22 or more often 5 yards out, and the ball was held up over the line on at least 3 occasions - it may have been more. Even with that pressure, we were unlucky when the ref gave Battersea a try even when he said himself he couldn't see it being grounded! Conversion missed and we retained a narrow 7-5 lead. Pushing for another score, the next few minutes were in the Battersea half. We stole the ball from 2 consecutive Battersea lineouts, as Dom Bellenger managed to claw the ball back superbly from above the heads of the opposition. The possession nearly turned into a try with us unlucky to knock on in the horrible conditions. Disaster followed soon after as Battersea got a fortunate bounce and raced away for a breakaway try. 7-10 down with about 10 minutes to go.

For the next few minutes it was not looking likely that we would recover, as we were pushed back into our own half with Battersea dominating possession and our lineout starting to fail. After pressure on our scrum and some clearing kicks by Max, back on after recovering, one particularly good clearing kick was chased up by Sam and put us back in their half. With the clock ticking down, more and more pressure forced 2 lineouts and then 2 penalties progressively deeper into the Battersea half. Taking the second penalty early and being called back, Toby was subject to some regrettable and indeed soon-to-be-regretted sledging from the opposition. Moving the ball out to the right, we dragged most of the Battersea defence with us then switched back rapidly to the left. We were treated to the rare, unlikely but extremely welcome sight of two props combining perfectly on the wing, Connor releasing Toby to score in the corner. Connor then narrowly missed the conversion, but we were 12 -10 up.

There was still a minute to go, but we were able to control the game and keep the ball for most of that, denying Battersea any real chance to come back. If the game had not been near the end then they might have been a man down after a nasty-looking dump tackle on Matt Rogers. However from the resulting penalty Max was able to confirm that this was the last kick of the game and duly booted the ball out of play.

What a game. We may have had some thumping wins this season, but personally I would put this messy, ground-out, ugly victory above the lot. The spirit on display from the whole squad, particularly in the last-ditch defending on our line, was something to make the whole coaching team proud. Well done and we go into the Christmas break with 4 wins out of 4.