Match Report |
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| Date - 23rd September 2000 | Old Brentwoods 2nd XV -v- East London 2 |
| Old Brentwoods lost 37 - 10 | |
| In a match which was closer than the scoreline suggests, two
factors were ultimately decisive in East London's win. The first was a break away try in the first minute of the second half, when, with the scores close, a handling error saw the Old Boys give away possession with too many players committed to attack. East London managed to quickly shift the line of attack to the other side of the pitch and used their substantial overlap to run in behind the posts. The second determining factor was the lack of replacements, the result of the call up of several 2nd team regulars to the 1st XV. This meant that a series of injuries at the beginning of the second half reduced the Old Boys to 12 for the last fifteen minutes. This gave Old Brentwoods no way back, and East London made good use of their numerical superiority to run up a considerable tally by the final whistle. For the majority of the match it was a close fought contest with tremendous defence from both sides and few clear cut scoring opportunities. A strong cross-wind meant that kicking was difficult and line-out ball hard to control. Underfoot conditions, however, were good and for the most part, therefore, the game was played at high pace with the ball in hand. East London piled over for an unconverted try early on, but Old Brentwoods struck back with a superb solo effort from Damion Bateman following up a midfield kick from Danny Pembroke, levelling the scores. East London scored just before the break to turn the game round with the scores at 5 - 10, but the second half belonged to East London after injuries to Mark Featherstone, Ian Waite and Michael Ashby reduced Old Brentwoods to 12 men. Despite this they did managed short periods of pressure, one of which resulted in Mike Bristow driving over from a penalty 5m out for the Old Boys only score of the second half. |
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| Old Brentwoods Scorers Tries - Damion Bateman, Mike
Bristow |
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| Players Player Award - Michael Haddock | |
| Team Prop - Dave Knapp Scrum Half - Hugh Godfrey Subs - None |
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