One for the Purists

Anyone who was out and about on a Saturday afternoon will appreciate just how bad the conditions were for playing in.

I'd be fibbing if I said this was an entertaining game, the truth is that Storm Den put paid to that the second it touched down in Watford on its way to France to become Les Dennis (I'm here all week, try the veal).

In conditions where anything other than up the jumper was a lottery, West London took the first half 0-7 with the wind at their backs. Josh Wilkinson coped admirably at fullback with the inevitable aerial bombardment, using his feet to good effect before battling back upfield against the storm and opposition players. The set piece looked solid (I'm convinced half the knock ons from both sides were intentional in order to gain some measure of respite from the weather), A. Routley doing well to avoid throwing directly to the backs at the lineout and exerting pressure on his opposite man at scrum time. We weren't helped by injuries to Matt (knee), Bees (shin) and Josh (early onset hypothermia), but Ottewill, Murray and Silver all came on and acquitted themselves well.

With the wind behind them in the second half, Watford looked far more dangerous (so I'm told). Tries from MotM Sam Matthews after a quick penalty, along with a fine finish in the corner from player-coach Silver put some gloss on two well struck penalties from Scott Menzies.

To be honest, both teams (and the referee) deserve immense credit for their efforts in some of the worst conditions I've seen for a rugby game. Credit to the hardy supporters who managed the full 80 as well.

A week off for the ones before a trip to undefeated table toppers Ealing next Saturday (29th). Fun times.