Clifton squeeze past the Geese

Earlier in the season we lost by a point at Sunbury by a point. It was a game we could have won but Brad Barnes last second conversion attempt hit the bar and bounced back into play.

We were determined not to have repeat of this result in the reverse encounter.

The previous day was fine and sunny but the pitch was close to water logging so arrangements were put in hand to hold a pitch inspection early the next day.

The overnight weather was kind to us and Darren decided to cancel the inspection as he found the pitch wet but firm and with the forecast suggesting heavy rain later in the afternoon it was decided to proceed.

Our side is always capable of producing winning rugby in dry conditions and struggle to come away with a result in wet conditions. This was a day when the side demonstrated it was capable of winning in difficult conditions.

The side the Wild Geese put out on the day was much stronger than the one we faced earlier in the season and for the first hour play was even with perhaps the visitors having the edge up front.

The dynamics of the game in the final quarter when our superior fitness enabled us to establish a deserved winning margin.

The victory was our eleventh home win on the trot in the National Leagues and in doing so we established a club record.

Not picked up on the day was the personal landmark achieved when he took his points tally for the season to 101 which he reached in 13 starts.

He started the game well for Clifton as he landed a penalty after only 3 minutes.

The visitors then took control of possession through their well organised pack and the kicking of their half backs. They were not helped as they twice lost players to the blood bin in the opening quarter.

They were unable to make progress against a solid defence well organised by centre Tom Preece.

When we had possession despite the poor conditions our backs were capable of denting the visitors defence and after 10 minutes a run by James Golledge almost brought its reward but was stopped short of the line.

Visiting fly half Oscar Thomas and Foley swopped penalties before the first try of the game came after 28 minutes. Again the pace of Clifton’s backs unsettled the visitors and George Karayiannis went over with Foley converting.

The Wild Geese then enjoyed their best period of the game and when Clifton failed to win a line out they took play to their try line. They launched a succession of drives at the line and eventually No 8 Darren Livett went over with Thomas converting.

The visitors kept up the pressure and early in the second half Thomas levelled the scores with a penalty.

Clifton then upped their pace as the visitors play began to fall away.

Ellis Genge was showing his versatility as normally a prop he played at flanker and when Foley passed to him he made 40 metres passed several defenders before plunging over the line with 2 men hanging on to him.

Clifton kept up the pressure and when visiting flanker Joe Hoare was sin binned Golledge scored his sides third try after a powerful run.

Darren was pleased with the defensive performance of his side and was pleased with his sides performance as conditions hampered their normal style of play.

Ben Johnstone a recent recruit from Stewarts Melville F P’s had an encouraging debut and will clearly strengthen Darren’s back row resources.

This results sadly dropped London Irish Wild Geese into bottom three but with the commitment in this game they should be capable of pulling clear of the relegation zone. They entertain in form Dings on Saturday who are only a couple of points above them so a positive result is vital for both clubs.