The weekend’s Bandits fixture had so much to it outside the actual rugby from a touch of rugby history and family connections to striking similarities between the recent experiences of both teams.
Old Dunstonians were a bit of an unknown quantity with none of the club men having played them before, but we did know that like the Bandits a few years ago Old Ds had been forced to pull out of Counties 3 and drop to the Merits to rebuild. We also know that despite difficulties with player numbers, they’d have a core of Counties level players.
Old Ds were clearly happy to host us as we were greeted on arrival with “it’s so great to see Blackheath shirts here again”, for there had been an annual Boxing Day fixture between the clubs for many years. There was another connection as the Bandits fly half, David Thompson, was returning to play at the club where his father, our very own Alan Thompson had played for 16 seasons alongside his brothers.
Rugby is truly a special community.
And so to the rugby itself.
Old Ds were a predominantly young side and well drilled, with some true gas in the back three. They quickly got on top, putting our scrum under immense pressure and being so quick to the breakdown, securing too much turnover ball form us to be able to live with. Old D’s had some very hard runners, and the fitness and experience difference showed as they made a few line breaks right through the bandits defence. Quick ball and their attacking shape allowed OD’s to cut through the bandits defence multiple times in the first half, with Club not really getting a chance to show our pattern. They dominated possession and the Bandits fought hard to keep them out but their hard carries & offloads were hard to counter and they were the scoreboard on the 7 minute mark. Another long defensive shift followed but eventually they broke through again. Aside from their upper hand in the scrum, their work in the loose undid us, with their being first to almost every breakdown securing them too many turnovers. By half time we were 28-0 down.
Losing Oli Smith to injury early in the second half and not having a front row replacement meant that the scrums had to go uncontested. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining for this meant that Reuben Gibbs could move from hooker to his more usual position of back row and he was able to have more influence in the open. Pinpoint accuracy from Danny on the KO’s encouraged some incredible chases from Billy, who was always the first one at the breakdown, with excellent work to clean out rucks and win penalties, which helped us establish some control that we had been lacking at times. Club found their shape in the last 20 minutes putting phase after phase together, thanks to huge carries from Tim Cetin and Tex and ably controlled by half backs Danny & David. In true Bandits style our first breakthrough came from a Tonga – a set move – with skipper for the day Andrew Wylie powering over the line. He then doubled his tally as captain with a run into the corner after some slick Bandits hands.
Our two debutants acquitted themselves well, making not just their first appearances for Club off the bench but in fact their first games of rugby ever. Lastly a big shout out to Big Jim Nugent, 61 years old and playing a full 80 in the row.
Given the nature of the occasion we wanted to bring in the thoughts of some of our players, to get the game from their perspective.
Big Jim Nugent
From my POV, OD’s front row was one of the best I’ve come across in ages. Two heavy weight experienced props and a hooker that was clearly comfortable swinging off their shoulders. Given the inexperience of our front row, I thought our guys did well to hang on in there, especially Smudge who battled through injury before finally conceding. Apart from the scrum, I think we lost it in the loose. Wylie led by example with some good driving runs/counter-attacks. Rueben, with his enthusiasm and determination to chase everything was very inspiring for this old fart.
Oli Smith
I think our scrum lacked weight and experience – myself included having moved from hooker to tighthead TH. I just struggled to keep up against their big lumps.
Our set / pattern / formation just wasn’t familiar to the scratch team and we found ourselves unfortunately out of position quite often, with big gaps and missed tackles creating such a discrepancy on the scoreboard. The scoreboard reflects a team who are still figuring out their roles and building cohesion.
Reuben
It was an interesting one [playing my first game at hooker]. I didn’t really have a clue what to expect other than it would hurt in the morning, to which it didn’t disappoint. I feel like we held (our) own in the scrum despite the difference in packs between us and OD’s.
It was a weird experience not being the first one out from a scrum but I enjoyed the experience. It was nice to still get around the pitch and get some decent carries and tackles.
Tex
It was clear from the off that ODs are a classy side with a pedigree from much higher up the pyramid but now in a transitional period. Main thing is the fight from the entire team to keep at it – running hard and tackling harder. And, we didn’t get at each other as can happen when it gets as tough as it was on Saturday – we stayed positive and supported our mates. This sometimes happens.
Brindle
I had been in comms with Old Ds all week so was aware of their pedigree and of the history, so knew we would have a big hill to climb being one of the more scratch Bandits teams of recent years. Watching from bench I was impressed how the boys battled against the odds and heads never went down. When I eventually came on in the unfamiliar position of full back I felt clearly off the pace but we gave it our all and I was proud of how we dug in and showed more of what we could do in the second half. The way that players like Billy, smallest player on the pitch, were still hitting rucks like they were showed we weren’t done yet. Despite the loss it felt good to be back in a Club shirt with my mates after a long injury lay off.
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