Phoenix 15 - 34 Wheatley

After their comprehensive victory over Chipping Norton, the Wheatley 1sts travelled to Slough to take on Phoenix filled with confidence. However, they knew it would be a tough game with Phoenix determined to register their first win of the season.

Warming up it was a lovely sunny day and the backs were licking their lips at the thought of some free flowing rugby. Feeling ready and with excitement high the team headed back into the changing rooms ten minutes prior to kick off. Coach Nathan provided the final tactical instructions, old head Banton chipped in with his wise words and of course, Captain Pooch, was his inspirational self….

As the pumped up players headed back out for the imminent kick off things suddenly weren’t looking as rosy as the heavens had opened! Nonetheless, Seb kicked off for Wheatley in the heavy rain, on what felt like an under 9s sized pitch! In these awful conditions neither team could put together more than two phases before dropping the ball and then to make things even more enjoyable for the players it started hailing! These conditions continued for the first 15 minutes of the game and during that time the only things worth mentioning were; Phoenix slotting a penalty in front of the posts to take a 3-0 lead, Dougie and Moose making some barnstorming runs and Lil having to off injured to be replaced by Jack Smith on the wing.

To the players and spectators relief though after the rain and hail stopped and the level of quality started to raise a little. Wheatley were now able to retain the ball with more success and their forwards were putting Phoenix under sustained pressure. About 20 minutes in this pressure finally paid off, from a scrum on the Phoenix 22, Captain Pooch picked up from number 8, waddled a few metres, passed to scrum half Tippet who was able to find his charging full back Luke who found his way under the posts. Seb converted to make it 7-3 to Wheatley.

A second try followed shortly when from another scrum fly half Leon was able to hold the defence and beautifully put inside centre through. Seb converted his own try to make it 14-3.

Phoenix responded well and managed to gain a penalty again in front of the posts but much further out this time. A decent effort from their kicker fell short and Wheatley were able to clear their lines. After another big collision Jack Smith was forced off the pitch to be replaced by Dingle, who went to full back and Luke moving to the wing.

The away side were then able to add a third try before half when turnover ball, in the middle of the park, was quickly shifted down the back line to speedy outside centre Adam Muir who was able to gas his man and hold off the closing full back to score in the corner. Wheatley had a healthy 19-3 lead going into the interval, which actually lasted a whole 15 minutes because the kids needed the pitch for a game of tag!

Knowing the game was now theirs to lose, Wheatley started the second half enthusiastically and it paid off straight away. Repeated drives from the forwards tired marched Wheatley ever closer to the try line and eventually the ball was released to the backs with Dingle being brought down within inches of the line. Luckily, the supporting Luke was able to scoop up the ball and touchdown in the corner for his second try of the game and Wheatley's 4th of the day. This put the game to rest and ensured the away team a second consecutive bonus point victory. 24-3.

With the game now in the bag, Wheatley were guilty of relaxing a little too much and to their credit Phoenix kept working hard for a try. Repeated pressure eventually told as their forwards bundled their way over the line. Successfully converted for 24-10.
This woke Wheatley up again and after several pick and drives it was Captain Pooch who was able to power over the line. A relatively central kick was shanked wide by Seb. Apparently "some bastard stole my kicking tee at half time". 29-10.

This seemed to catch on though as from the restart the Phoenix fly half completely miss kicked the ball slicing it to Adam Muir standing 10 metres in front of him! Muir then danced his way 30 metres up field dodging several defenders before eventually being brought down.

From the ruck Phoenix turned the ball over and punted it away to relieve the pressure. In reality it was a panicked kick that should have been dealt with easily but what ensued was must more entertaining. The ball landed in space between full back Dingle and right wing Noop who were both heading to the ball. As the ball took a wicked bounce back up the pitch Noop lost his footing trying to turn sharply on the wet ground and somehow managed to tackle his team mate Dingle, with the onrushing Phoenix players getting closer! Just in the nick of time Dingle was able to dive on the ball and prevent a comical second try for Phoenix.

The home didnt have to wait long for their second try however, as they had Wheatley pinned back in their own 22 for several minutes and again through some strong forward play they forced their way through the defensive line to make it 29-15.

In the dying minutes of the game, it was Wheatley who had the last laugh. Some nice handling in the backs allowed Dingle to make a break before offloading to the supporting Joe Hobdell, who in turn popped the ball to his little bro Pooch who faced with just the full back in front unselfishly spun the ball left to the supporting Andy Tippet. "Who's a good boy Poochie!" Final Score 34-15.

Overall an inconsistent but solid win for Wheatley, in bad conditions to keep their momentum going forward for their home game against Chesham next week.

Man of the match = Moose who worked tirelessly all day making some good runs and putting in some big hits.

Dick of the day = Noop & Dingle (Although Poochie tried to steal the limelight with an attempted volley from a kick off that went backwards!)

Words - Tippet