The New Year started on the wrong note with the 1st XV shipping tries midway through the second half.

After such a long time out with no rugby, with the Holiday period and two weeks of unplayable pitches, it was perhaps inevitable that the two top League sides spluttered to put together any meaningful moves although a spate of injuries, some needing prolonged attention, and the kicking away balls into awkward areas for recovery - none in the Thames fortunately - meant the game never really got going at any stage.

Park started strongly, through their pack, whilst BE had stern defence: in the set scrums, there were signs of BE control but that failed over time, whilst BE never capitalised on their lineout possession. In fact, BE could not string more than two phases together from any possession: PETER MOULTON and LLOYD MORGAN made strong runs into the Park 22 but the ball could not be retained whilst CHARLIE MAYS was not very decisive in his attacking kicks.

A coule of defensive mistakes, on the BE 22, in the fifth minute, left SANJAY DEWAN isolated and PARK won the ball to send their left winger over for the only score of the first half. Both CHARLIE MAYS and the home kicker missed a couple of penalty attempts in the first half. The second half was no real difference, with Park having the more promising attacks but always coming against BE's soild defence whilst BE were able to make a few counter-attacks, mainly through driving mauls. On the hour mark, BE made errors in tackling: first, when Park ran the ball from just inside their half to expose a hole in the BE's back line and secondly, from just ten metres out, when they passed quickly across the backs to beat BE's cover defence. Both tries were converted, the first narrowly.

BE did score when a LLOYD MORGAN led driving maul resulted in the same player scoring a try. They had other attacks but nothing came of them. Park were attacking at the end although one such move resulted in a mass forward brawl under BE's posts, with a BE player being sin binned yet he was the one with the bleeding head wound, as a result of a punch: hardly self inflicted !

The 1st XV are away to Old Actonians on Saturday at 2.15pm.

PGY