On the morning of the EGRFC 2022 Halloween Social East Grinstead 2nd XV hosted St Francis 1st XV hoping for not too many scares as they continue to fight for the top of the table spot.

Double headers are as rare as chickens’ teeth and the EG boys were keen to put on a good show in front of the EG faithful fans and the match started off extremely well for the boys in blue and white. It took just 4 minutes for East Grinstead (former) bad boy Ryland Thomas to break through Frannies defence and put the first score on the board which was then converted by G’s Centre/Flyhalf Richard Dodgson. 10 minutes later ex colt Will Roberts scored his first senior men’s rugby try after a great break down the oppositions wing set up by his brother Oli, again converted by Dodge.
St Francis however were certainly not going to let this be an easy game for the boys. And by the end of the half their skill and experience as a well-trained team saw them break through Gs defence and score two of their own tries before the end of the half. Halftime score EGRFC 14 – 10 St Francis.

A nervy end to the first half saw both teams come out of the block strong in the second half. Amazing breaks from Jack Billin could have resulted in several tries if only the ageing forward pack could have kept up with the young man. Big carries from Ben Pellet, Noo, Richard Dodgson and both the Roberts brothers as well as dominant hits from Ryland, Jules and Harrison made it an exciting watch from the side-lines. Unfortunately, with minutes to spare St Francis scored their third try of the day after a handling error in the G's backline allowed their winger to dot down under the posts which was then converted.

With 2 minutes left of the game the score was EG 14 – 17 St Francis. The game was all but over, ghosts of the past few games came to life in this fixture and came back to haunt us in the dying embers of the game. However….from kick off G’s sprinted up the pitch like a pack of wild wilder beasts lead by MotM Ryland Thomas and trampled over St Francis leading to a forced error and in literally the final seconds of the game Gs were awarded a penalty in front of the sticks.

There was one man for the job. Our prolific inside centre Richard “Dan Carter” Dodgson. A man who has a surprisingly sensual boot slotted the ball between the sticks leaving EG with a draw 17-17 against a fantastic St Francis team.

This week there was only 1 man who was in contention for the coveted MOTM jacket and that was Ryland Thomas who was superb. I would love to see the stats of the number of tackles and line breaks he made at the weekend he was unplayable. However potentially the most stand out moment for Ryland this weekend was to not be carded despite being bought down by the neck several times.

A week off ahead for the 2s boys this coming weekend to rest up aching bodies and fine tune some of the basics. Next fixture shall see the G’s on the road to Heathfield & Waldron 2s. Still unbeaten this year so far in the league. Lets keep on marching.