Wootton Bassett IIIs 15 – 18 BOA IIs
The new season began for BOA seconds in never-before charted territory, as they made their debut in D&W 2 North. There was only a skeletal contingent of last season’s ‘championies’ side available for this tricky opening day fixture away at Wootton Bassett and in fact, it was nothing short of a miracle that a bare complement of 15 made the journey up the M4. Even then, Dan “driving Miss Daisy” Cooney did his best to break the world “lack of speed” record for motorway driving – presumably in an attempt to arrive as late as possible. But thankfully his passenger, Duncan “the Professor” Dawson, showed Dan how to use 4th gear and they made it with time to spare.
Despite the presence of a few familiar faces in the BOA ranks, this was very much a scratch side, with a number of people making their debuts; even positions were not finalised until minutes before kick off! Nonetheless, the trademark defensive fortitude which was synonymous with the BOA of last season came to the fore and a well-deserved, but extremely hard fought, victory was attained.
Playing against the slope in the first half, BOA were put under pressure right from the off by (as seems the norm!) the considerably larger opposition pack. However, without exception, BOA defended stoutly and it was only from continued pressure that the BOA line was eventually breached for a push over try in the corner. However, BOA came back strongly and scored two tries of their own through Father “soon to be a real father” Time, the second of which was as a result of some excellent slight of hand and fancy footwork by Joe “guest appearance” Awdry. Ben “Deputy Boss Man” Cocks added the extras and BOA ended the half 12-5 to the good, after absorbing more persistent pressure with some further excellent defensive work.
The second half saw BOA with the slope “advantage” but it turned out to be anything but as the home side came back strongly and scored a further two tries without reply, neither of which was converted. BOA certainly had their fair share of possession in the second half, but it was only more excellent defence and two sweetly struck penalties from “the deputy” which ensured that BOA avoided snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
It was unfortunate that such a scratch side had to be mustered for the very first match of the season, but each and every player was superb on the day, showing real courage and commitment. Particular mention must go to Andy Pickett for stepping into the breach at the very last minute (and not even a glimpse of his blackberry!) and also to Mike Lamplough for surrendering his hopes of making the next Ryder Cup team in order to make the numbers up to 15. Also, praise for debutant Tom “Eric Bana” Kilkenny who played a blinder, particularly in defence; the pre-match words of Coxy rang true: “he’s a machine; just a machine”. Congratulations also to Stoney for playing a full 80 minutes (yep, you read that correctly folks; not a typo!)
Finally, Man of the Match: David Lamplough. Not only has he made the step up this year from the Academy, but – in light of not yet being 18 – he had to play outside the front row. Nonetheless, he gave a barnstorming performance and on the basis of his debut, things bode well for the rest of the season.