Crawley Crushed

Beautiful sunshine greeted us at Saint Hill on Saturday as we prepared to play local friends and rivals, Crawley. Several new players were bolstering our ranks including, as luck would have it, Alistair, who put in his transfer from Crawley only a few days before this match! He had to suffer loads of banter from the oppo in the warm up, and I could see in his eyes that he was out to reply in the best way possible.

The opening few minutes showed that this was going to be a long afternoon for our opposition as Gibbo crossed, then Alistair as he scored the first of his five tries. Gibbo scored another three, and further tries from Edu, Tom, Crazy and Will (I think it was Will?), made the total 13 - definitely unlucky for Crawley.

The most memorable moment of the game - and a first for me, was when the ref felt dizzy at half time, and had to come off. I rushed up the touch line to find anyone who could take over and found not one, but two willing ref’s! The first was Peter Reed, resplendant in his shirt and blazer, his black brogues, polished to a mirrored gleam, showed that being in your 70’s doesn’t stop you blowing a whistle! Not wishing to be outdone, Phil Holley stepped up, and agreed that they would patrol one half of the pitch each (Although I kept having to remind eager Peter to stay in his half). This arrangement worked perfectly, and apart from Phil losing his pencil at one point with all the furious scribbling, meant that the game continued with little disruption. Thank you so much both for stepping in!

Thank you also to Crawley who were great lads. Very much looking forward to locking horns again. My MoM goes jointly to Alistair, for replying to the banter with five great tries, and the starting ref Fred, who bought both us and Crawley loads of beer for the changing room after the match. Thank you Fred - you can feel dizzy anytime! DotD goes to the person who has got the 21 shirt! Can you please check your bags because it is missing!!!

Next weekend sees a huge, top of the table clash, against Crowbourgh. Like us they are unbeaten in the league and will prove stern opposition. Please come and support the five ferns, in what will be a classic.