Development XV Match Reports
Camberley 34 - Old Wimbledonians 14 13 Sept 2008
Camberley ran out with a strong looking Dev't XV, led by a vociferous Gus, comprising a blend of new, young and experienced camberley players all looking to play themselves into 1st team contention. The front row & scrummage contest looked like a particularly mouth watering prospect with a front row of Dave Harries, Rocky, and Christophe - and the powerhouse second row behind them of big K and Aron.
Alas this contest was not to be - OW's turned up short and the game started with them fielding only 12 players and therefore uncontested scrums from the off and the game fait accomplis as a result - Camberley had technically won the game without kicking the ball.
Camberley started well with quick ball out to the backs from the kickoff - finding Big Jade who cantered over for the first try. At this point a cricket score seemed inevitable. However, OW's would not roll over, they ran the ball from every opportunity, looking for gaps in the Camberley defence, and at times finding them and then scored in reply to lead 7-5 with the conversion.
Camberley did not seem to be playing with much shape in attack or defence, and with the Ref looking to 'even' things up any 50-50 breakdowns went against camberley most of the time - which did not allow Camberley to get into their stride, but allowed OW's into theirs. Camberley failed to blow away the opposition at rucks - despite their superior numbers - leaving the ball carrier isolated and giving the Ref the opportunity to blow up or turn over ball. At times Camberley defended like school boys - chasing the ball instead of holding their lines and pushing out to defend channels - and on more than one occasion 12 men OW's had numbers wide !
After half time Camberley started to play to their strengths - pumping the ball up through the big forwards, and releasing the backs out wide - at times though the ball was held up too long in the forwards resulting in the inevitable turn over due to handling errors - but at that point camberley started running in try's at will to put the game beyond doubt. However, in the last quarter, perhaps due to the heat, lack of match fitness, and the game in the bag Camberley faded and OW's were able to mount a series of attacks and eventually found space to score again. Final Score 34-14 and overall a win is a win but there is still a little close season rust to shake off. The game was messy, and spoilt in parts due to the lack of active scrums and lack of fluency, but there were signs that this side have much better performances in them and will be pushing for 1st XV places very soon.
Russ.