MATCH DAY 5 – Wimbledon at home
Conditions: persistent rain and strong wind pushing towards the tennis courts (bottom right corner)… second half the rain intensified…. Pitch fairly firm underfoot considering the rain.

CSStags1863 started with the elements… Wimbledon fielded the kick off from Josh Knight (10) returning it upfield for Freddie Cracknell (15) to catch and set off…. High ball from the halfway, bounced kindly Freddie gathering and running in unopposed. Joshua Knight converted 7-0… what a start. The tempo was up and we were disrupting in every facet except in the scrums, more on that later… Our second score came from a strong maul drive, the ball being released down the line and Dan James (2) breaking the line and scoring unopposed… Joshua Knight converted 14-0… repost from Wimbledon 14-5..our final score of the half came from a Tom Proctor (4) rip allowing for the ball to be released down the line with fast hands and Daffyd Rees(11) getting in to the corner with a fine team try. 19-5… in the final minutes of a 50 minute first half Wimbledon pulled another one back. Half time 19-12…. The assessment of the first half was a strong strategy executed well, building on the work from last week.

I mentioned earlier that our scrum could not settle, the second half saw the situation deteriorate further with front row injuries, yellow cards and unopposed scrums. We relinquished a first half lead and sucked up a lot of points, the game finishing 19-59 to a side that were all about their front row and pack outside they were actually not very creative nor able to break through us. Our only chance of a try bonus point coming with a marginally offside call on Ollie Bryant (13) touching down from a grubber by Joshua Knight.
We have a week off next week so we can all have a rest and recuperate on what has been a turbulent start to the season, the side is coming together very well and we are excited about what this squad of players can achieve..

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Luke Chadwick as chosen by Chris Swann (DoR) and Grant Hathaway (Head Coach). Luke personified the team spirit in his defence and drive, while playing out of position in the front row. Happy Birthday Luke for yesterday (Match day)....
Special mention goes to the whole team for the effort and drive.. the first half has some of the best rugby played so far this season. Great spirit....