On a day and pitch well suited to running rugby, the Kews took on an organised Old Paulines side who enjoyed plenty of early possession but came up against an (unusually) organised defence which was able to absorb several attacks and disrupt the breakdown.

Once the Kews got hold of possession a try soon came with Charlie Reed ending a good passage of play with a neat chip and chase, outsprinting the opposition cover to score under the posts. The Kews then enjoyed a period of sustained pressure, before the Old Paulines winger intercepted in his own 22 and raced away only to be hunted down by our prop Josh Leslie. Jack Burrows and Josh continued their fine games with both going over for their first tries of the afternoon.
The Kews were in control for much of the first half thanks to a dominant performance from our forwards. There were several barnstorming runs from Jack Burrows, strong carries from Guy Wilson on debut, and a several big hits from Tom Clark, although no further scores.

The last 5 minutes of the half were spent camped on our own line, with tireless tackling from the back row of Dobby, Jack Barratt and Old Pauline convert Feargus Murphy helping us to repelling two 5m lineouts and withstand several tap-penalties. Eventually the Kews won a 5m scrum against the head to enter halftime 19-0 up – and for scrum-half Will and second row Oli to finally appear from the train station.

The second half started brightly, with another fine finish from Josh Leslie securing the win. For the next 15 minutes there was relatively little continuity from either side. However, the Kews soon found a rhythm once more and defensive pressure led to the opposition kicking away ball only to be returned with interest by our back three of Santi, T and JP. One 70m run from T was particularly impressive, beating several men in the 5m channel and using his full array of side-steps, dummies and hitch-kicks.

Old Paulines got a deserved try following a particularly audacious cross-kick from the wing into midfield by hooker Rauri which was gratefully received and finished off. However, this was a consoliation try which came following further tries for Jack Burrows and Jack Barrat, before the scoring was rounded off by Ross Swanson.

Overall, a very satisfactory performance which bodes well for a tougher test at Sandhurst next week.

Kew Occasionals RFC

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