This week was not the time to sugar-coat things. Off the back of a disappointing collapse at home against Sussex rivals Hove, injuries and unavailability had forced the 2s to forfeit their home game against Burgess Hill with the 1st team given the daunting task of an improved showing against promotion hopefuls Twickenham. With hooker Ben Tottman stepping up as an emergency tighthead prop, Noah Roberts reprising last season’s role of reluctant scrum half and DOR Dan Poulton called out of retirement for the second time this season, we headed to Twickenham with no backs on the bench. After some midweek soul-searching and some hard truths delivered before the warm up, it was all positivity from then on as the coaches sent us on with one common goal - a try bonus point. Given our combined total of 18 points against Twickenham last season, this was no small challenge.

Twickenham have never had trouble scoring tries, and despite a promising start from EG, the home team struck first off the back of a dominant scrum to score down the opposite wing. Having missed a penalty kick to take an early lead on our first entry into the opposition’s 22, we made no mistake second time around. A well-executed lineout on the 5m line saw captain Ryland Thomas escorted to the try line at the back of a maul to level the score at 5-5.

Unfortunately, the rest of the first half was all Twickenham on the scoreboard. Three more tries and a penalty gave them a comfortable half time lead of 29-5, but a physical defensive effort from EG had forced the home side to empty their bench in the first half hour. The second half would give us the advantage of the wind, and we had to believe we were capable of three more tries.

Despite losing the first attacking lineout of the half, a tackle and jackal turnover from second rows Ollie Toogood and Sam Lindsay-McCall produced front foot ball that saw us turning up the pressure in Twickenham’s 22m. When a knock-on lost possession, Noah Roberts pounced on a laboured box kick to run it back into the 22m. Patience and pressure in the short phases eventually saw Jake Radcliffe unleashed on the opposite wing, and a difficult conversion by Luke Maker reduced the deficit to 29-12.

10 minutes later, Radcliffe was off his wing and pouncing on loose ball off an attacking lineout to break through several tackles before offloading to Max Crawley-Moore to bounce off one defender and skip past 2 more to score under the posts. The following restart was gathered by the EG forwards, with a few short phases failing to make ground before scrum half Roberts exploded through a poorly guarded ruck. Escaping the grip of one defender, a grubber kick trickled past three scrambling defenders to allow him to regather the ball to complete a stunning solo try. At 29-26 we had secured one bonus point, and had 20 mins left to go for more. Was a comeback on the cards?

Unfortunately, no. Consecutive penalties gave up territory and possession to Twickenham as they wrestled back momentum for their fifth try and a 10-point lead. Showing a strength of character that has not been evident this season, EG kept up the pressure even as bodies tired, and the next 10 mins were spent in the Twickenham half, probing the defensive line but not breaking it. After losing top try-scorer Ali Moffatt to injury, number 8 Dan Billin moved to inside centre but the reshuffled lineup continued to control possession and territory. However, Twickenham struck back with a powerful line break down the right wing that sealed the win for the home side.

In the final 5 mins, EG continued to play with intent in the opposition 22 and remained patient and disciplined until Ted Hardisty squeezed into the corner for a consolation try to end the game 43-31.

This team is in no doubt about the mountain they have to climb, as other results in this finely balanced league saw us pushed down to the bottom of the table. However, this game felt to all involved like a significant turning point. Having scored just 3 tries in our previous two encounters, 5 tries against Twickenham was a big step forward, and our highest points tally so far this season. The physical strength and the strength of character shown at Twickenham proved what this squad is capable of, what a difference it could have made in our defeats to London Cornish and Hove, and what we have to replicate against 9th-placed KCS Old Boys at home on Saturday.