A day to be proud of the lads

Apologies for the lack of reports recently this is no reflection of the sides performance. PJF have been battering at the doors of victory for the past two fixtures coming away with a losing bonus point against Freemens and a losing bonus point and a try bonus point against Trinity. This Saturday we played Teddington away. Teddington was one of the two sides that had beaten us well in the early part of the season. PJF had a difficult journey over from Purley. I had forgotten to organise the washing of the kit, so we had to use an old spare. The game kicked off and Teddington were out of the blocks quickly. Their large pack battering itself against the PJF defence that just about held on in the early exchanges. Outgunned in the set scrum it was only a mater of time. The Teddington pack, winning a good supply of the ball were able to set up the Teddington centres for crash ball after crash ball. But still PJFs defence held firm with some excellent tackling. Teddington rarely got beyond the gain line. despite the resolve the pressure form the Teddington pack eventually told and the crossed the PJF whitewash. The kick was converted. Words were said, adjustments made and PJF re-joined battle. A slightly fortuitous interception by Callum Law set up an almost immediate PJF response and the kick tied the game up. Teddington continued to batter their way forward but PJFs defence matched them. It was becoming apparent that Teddington were a side who only had one way to play and the robust PJF tackling was sapping their confidence. Mistakes started to creep into their game.
The first half came to an end with the teams tied at 7-7.

The second half started with a re-invigorated Teddington side driving forward only to be thwarted by the PJF line. The defence was magnificent, throwing back every assault and with the Teddington failure came more errors on their part. PJF were quick to jump on the errors and on a swift drive towards the Teddington line Phil Jones picked up at the base of a ruck 5m out and drove himself over under the Teddington posts. Dan Wilkinson added the extras. Teddington came crashing back but a poor pass saw Luca Merlini intercept the ball 40m out. Having experienced a tough 50 minutes in the front row against a bigger and stronger Teddington pack Luca took his revenge and charged down the pitch outstripping the chasing defence to go over on the left hand side. Dan again added the extra points. A few minutes later, like a mongoose playing with a cobra, another swift break from PJF down the right side of the pitch saw the attack held up just short of the line. the resulting maul delivered quick ball that was swung wide to the left, Joe Dwyer as the penultimate man in the line drew his man and delivered the perfect pass to who but Luca Merlini who went over for his brace. Dan , who had kicked impeccably all afternoon added the two points. The try bonus point wrapped up PJF now had to see the game out for the four points for the win. Teddington came forward again and after a series of penalties in the PJF 22m they managed to force their way over the line for a consolation try. The match ended with a victory to PJF by 28-14. The side showed enormous character. The back row were immense, the backs defended magnificently and the front five played with great resilience and character. The bench changed things up in the second half with Brad Bosman, Joe and Tomas continually turning over ball to draw the sting from the Teddington offence. Every member of the team should be proud of themselves tonight.

Next week we welcome O Whitgiftians to the Pightle. This promises to be a fantastic game with OWs looking to gain revenge for their loss earlier in the season, the game having been curtailed by an unfortunate injury to a Whitgiftian player.
The match will be preceded by lunch at 12.30. For those of you who wish to attend but have not yet let me know please contact me by Tuesday evening by clicking here.
We look forward to seeing you at the Pightle on February 1st.