Hastings based Cinque Ports struggled to find a pitch this week so the fixture was reversed, with us avoiding the long drive South. Having played them twice last season we knew they would be big and direct and so it proved to be. We spoke before the game of playing the game in the right half, of not letting Ports have any platform in our 22 and to score at least two in the first quarter. It’s not often the boys listen to anything I say, but as soon as Lampkin caught the kick off we were away. The forwards have been getting better and better each week and they stepped up again, giving an amazing platform for the evergreen Lee Sands to distribute play from scrum half. With no mistakes, the ball was clinically moved down the pitch for Max to drive over on the left, Cookie converted to begin a master class of kicking in very tricky conditions. Deja vu as Lampkin caught the restart and fed Pentney and the forwards did it all over all over again until Kiernan crashed over.

A minor crisis in the backs this week saw Radcliffe pulling on the 13 jersey and flanker Tom Keeley playing his first game on the wing (He said it was great to experience real rugby among some more intelligent and better looking players - I wonder if we’ll get him back into the pack?), you wouldn’t have known it was a makeshift back line however as Max and Radders were breaking the line at will and it wasn’t long until Max again broke clear and touched down for his brace.

The reassuring sound of “Lamps Ball” again rang out at the restart, and from first phase at the breakdown Max was away again, with support either side, he chose Stokes to finish well on the left (Which was a good thing as Stokesy had been grizzling about playing on the wing all week - it was great to see that cheeky smile again!). There was still time for Champers to stroll over before the try of the game. Training park moves saw the ball clinically spread from one side of the pitch to the other, stretching the oppo defence thinner and thinner until lovely hands down the line saw Keeley in on the right - a great team try of great skill and composure! The whistle went with the scoreboard showing 40 - 0, a brilliant half of controlled rugby where we had starved Cinque Ports of any ball, and snuffed out any danger before it had begun.

Any thoughts that this Ports side would roll over, were quickly put to bed as the second half began. We realised exactly what this team of powerful runners could do if they had the ball, as attack after attack pushed us back until a lovely break from the oppo 7 saw him over the whitewash for the first points of the half. The next 20 minutes saw both teams cancel each other out, with defences to the fore. It wasn’t until late in the half that Sands sniped expertly, after a deft dummy, to score the game’s final points, 47 - 7. A good afternoon’s work.

MoM goes to Max Crawley-Moore whom the opposition just couldn’t deal with, but other mentions go to the brilliantly dependable Steve Lampkin, Tom Keeley who played beautifully in his first game on the wing and Steven Cooke who converted all but one of our tries, all out wide, which gave a lovely gloss to our scoreline. DOTD goes to Ben Gray as I know he misses us on his holidays.

Hellingly next week who we know will be even bigger opposition - time for us to go up another gear or two.