Close.... But no cigar

Ealing came down with a big name, unbeaten record and very early. They also had a lovely bus. We arrived with Christmas jumpers, secret santa presents and a pocketful of dreams.

It’s no secret that the vast majority of clubs in the Herts / Middlesex setup were strongly opposed to Ealing joining the league this season. With a glamorous, Championship parent club and access to facilities which clubs at this level can only dream of i.t was felt by many that 1871’s presence in the league would see them romping home virtually unopposed (which they have done in a fair few games already with clubs refusing to play them). Being Watford, naturally we were never in any danger of not fulfilling the fixture (it was play or be forced into Christmas shopping / battling post works-do hangovers (Dicko) ) . The big question, would we be competitive?

Any worries about being stuffed quicker than a Christmas turkey were soon dismissed in the first 40 mins. Watford have employed a more streamlined, dynamic warm up in recent weeks and, as they say, the proof is in the pudding. Fired up and keen to prove a point, we tore into Ealing from the off. Physical carries and strong, intense work at the breakdown saw 1871 on the ropes almost immediately. After a dominant first five minutes, a well timed pass from skipper Simon Bram put Josh Wilkinson through 30 metres out. With the fullback to beat, Josh backed his pace to round the last man and score the opening try. Scotty kicked the extras, 7-0 Watford. 7 soon became 14, a Watford rolling maul making good inroads into the Ealing half before being halted. The ball was recycled, finding its way to Nwefo who in typical fashion showed great strength and speed to score his 200th try of what is already a stellar season. Scott was once again laser-like in his accuracy, 14-0.

At times I think we were even surprising ourselves with some wonderful rugby being executed at a high, intense tempo which our more illustrious opponents were struggling to stick with. Ealing appeared to be rattled, an infringement costing them another 3 points thanks to Scott’s metronomic boot. At 17-0 down, the visitors finally gained possession and were gradually beginning to get themselves into the game. Watford defended stoutly, applying the fundamentals of this weeks training to apply defensive pressure to the waves of Ealing attack. The pressure eventually reaped rewards, Cirigliano intercepting an Ealing pass within his own 22. Luigi was scragged, however managed to offload to MOTM Stephen James who in true baa baas style and playing heads up (or rather head through the legs) rugby channelled his inner Carlos Spencer to pop the ball through his legs to Menzies who broke up the wing. With the Ealing defence scrambling, Scott passed inside to Josh who finished off one of the tries of Watford’s season to put us 24-0 up and in sight of a try bonus before the end of the half. This was duly delivered when Skinny caught the resulting kick off, popped to Martin who broke up field before quick ruck ball and some wonderful hands unleashed the man beast Kingsley to score his 705th try.

Ealing scored at some point in the half. Boo. Hiss.

Ealing won the second half fairly comprehensively. Boo. Hiss.

In summary – a fantastic opening 40 minutes, arguably the best we have played for a long time. Very pleasing to see the fundamentals we have been working on at training in attack and defence starting to translate to on field performances. As mentioned after, as individuals we need to take some personal responsibility to ensure that we are fit enough to maintain that level for a full 80.

As an aside, Ealing were good sports and stuck around for a few beers and a chat. Best of luck to them for the remainder of the season.

MOTM – Steve James. Does the basics brilliantly, allowing our back three to shine.

WOTW – Scotty. Exocet with the boot, other than one re-start. People have unfairly said it didn’t go 10. It did. Just happened to be our 10.