Match Report: Saturday 1st October 2005

LSA vs Civil Service

Superb first win for LSA!!

LSA took the field for the second game of the season at the Civil Service Club in Chiswick. The pitch was in excellent condition and the weather ideal for rugby.

From the start of the pre-match training session the LSA backs were looking very sharp – a sign of what was to come. The pack put in some hard work on set pieces and organisation to make up for a lack of time on the training pitch.

From the off the team was really fired up by captain Ryan Hendrikz. This over eagerness to get stuck into the opposition led to a spate of penalties against LSA which in turn allowed CS to open up a slender lead after the opening exchanges.

However, any early confidence gained by CS was taking a bashing from the LSA pack. The LSA forwards were now beginning to channel their aggression into the right areas and operate as a cohesive unit helped by strong running and excellent ball carrying from lock Mark Porter. LSA were camped on the CS line for over 5 minutes and despite some penetrating runs with players being held up, LSA were unable to cross the line.

Frustration was about to boil over when from a breakout from the their own 22, CS were able to finish the passage of play with a try in the corner. Despite all of the LSA efforts the score after 25mins was 11-0 to the CS. Another test of character was unfolding for LSA. Unfazed by the setback, the re-start produced some aggressive forward play and excellent inter play from the backs which allowed Mark Porter to crash over for the first try – LSA’s first ever try in competitive rugby was to prove the turning point.

New boy Warren Ross-Alan (ex Natal & Colegens U21) came on at 8 to replace Mike Cohen and immediately made an impact. A sprint from his own 22 to retrieve a kick from scrum half Daniel James ended with him beating a number of CS players to score under the posts in the 36th min. The extra points were ably taken by Joe Wearne starting at 10 this week after his previous outing at 9.

From the restart the forwards punched into the CS pack creating a number of good phases of possession. The LSA backs needed no second invitation to show their potential and created some outstanding play spreading the ball to both sides of the field. The inevitable result was another score, this time for wing Tim Lopez. At the break LSA led 24-11.

LSA came out where they left off – in the 46th minute, again after some wonderful inter play and slick handling by the backs, Joe Wearne provided a short pass to Rob Smith at 12 who sprinted in unheeded to score.

A mere 10 minutes later, again after a quality move involving Joe Wearne and Frazer Kellytham on the wing, Frazer cut an excellent angle back inside and popped the ball to Gert van Deventer (another LSA player making his debut) at 13 to score in the corner. 

The icing on the cake was provided in the form of two further tries…. The first was an outstanding effort from former Wasp U21 scrum half Tom Hendry who burst from the back of ruck to out sprint his opposite number over 20mtrs. LSA’s final score came from a well-finished backs move that gave Nick Osman the opportunity to score – a fitting finale for the ex-Gloucester 12 making his first start for LSA.